The Nature of Emotion: Fundamental Questions

Dr. Fox is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and a Neuroscience and Behavior Core Scientist in the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis. His work as a translational affective neuroscientist aims to bridge basic neuroscientific findings to our understanding of human emotion. Dr. Lapate is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. She has published a number of articles in leading psychology and neuroscience journals on the neural bases of emotion regulation and on individual differences in affective style. Her work is currently supported by the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Shackman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, a member of the executive board for the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) Program, a core faculty member of the Maryland Neuroimaging Center, and the Director of the Affective and Translational Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Maryland. He has published more than 50 articles and chapters focused on the neurobiology of emotion-related traits, states, and disorders and his work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Mental Health and Drug Abuse. He serves as an Associate or Consulting Editor at Emotion; Cognition and Emotion; Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience; and Personality Neuroscience. Dr. Davidson's research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices. He has published over 375 articles, numerous chapters and reviews and edited 14 books. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2006. He is the author (with Sharon Begley) of The Emotional Life of Your Brain published in 2012.