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Emotional IntelligenceEQNCT01721356

Neurobiological Basis of Emotional Intelligence

An observational study of Emotional Intelligence, run by Mclean Hospital.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to accurately perceive and identify emotions in oneself and others, understand and use emotions to enhance cognitive processes, and effectively manage one's own emotions as well as those of others. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 45 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Emotional Intelligence
How many people
70 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Sep 2009to May 2012
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 45 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Study population: Between 70 and 80 healthy, English speaking, right-handed, adults between the ages of 18 and 45 participated. Attempts were made to include equal numbers of men and women to permit the broadest generalization to the population and to permit direct assessment of gender effects, an issue that has received considerable attention recently regarding the neurobiology of affective processes. Subjects were not excluded on the basis of ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Healthy participants were recruited via local advertisements, including email broadcasts such as the Harvard Hospital and Partners Healthcare systems, internet advertisements, and posting of IRB-approved flyers in various community centers. IRB-approved print advertisements were posted in local newspapers.

Who may be able to join

  • Age range between 18 and 45
  • Right handed
  • Primary language must be English

Who cannot join

  • Any history of neurological illness, current DSM-IV Axis I disorder, lifetime history of major depression or psychotic disorder, or head injury with loss of consciousness > 30 minutes
  • Complicating medical conditions that may influence the outcome of neuropsychological assessment or functional imaging (e.g., HIV)
  • Mixed or left-handedness
  • Current score of 15 or greater on Beck Depression Inventory
  • Abnormal visual acuity that is not corrected by contact lenses
  • Metal within the body, claustrophobia, or other contraindications for neuroimaging
Show all 13Show fewer
  • Less than 9th grade education
  • Evidence of impaired reading comprehension
  • Excess alcohol use (Males: regular intake of 5+ drinks on one occasion or >2 drinks per day on average for past 2 months; Females: 4+ drinks per day or >1 drink per day on average for past 2 months)
  • History of alcoholism or substance use disorder
  • Use of illicit drugs
  • Best of 4 learning trials of Memory Suppression Task Training below 85%
  • Indication of invalid responding, potentially including elevated Omission Rate, Inconsistency Index, or Positive/Negative Impression scales on EQi, or elevated Omission Rate or Scatter score on MSCEIT

About this study

Official title: The Neurobiological Basis and Potential Modification of Emotional Intelligence Through Affective / Behavioral Training

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to accurately perceive and identify emotions in oneself and others, understand and use emotions to enhance cognitive processes, and effectively manage one's own emotions as well as those of others. Two major approaches to the construct of emotional intelligence have emerged. These two approaches can be broadly defined as the Trait and Ability Approaches. The Trait Approach, which is typically assessed via self-report measures such as that Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, appears to be strongly related to existing models of personality and coping. The other major approach to EI follows an Ability Model, assuming that EI is similar to but distinct from other types of cognitive intelligence, and involves measurement of a variety of skills and abilities related to emotional processing. An understanding of the neurobiological substrate of emotional intelligence is beginning to emerge. One influential theory that is particularly relevant to the neurobiology of emotional intelligence is the "somatic marker hypothesis," yet there still remains a limited understanding of the neurobiological basis of EI. The proposed investigation will attempt to provide the most comprehensive study to date examining the behavioral, psychological, functional, and brain structural correlates of EI. The proposed study will use neuroimaging techniques to examine the relationship between current measures of EI, behavioral expression of emotionally competent capacities, brain functional responses, and structural cerebral organization.

The specific questions to be addressed and their associated hypotheses are:

  1. The two major approaches to EI (i.e., Trait vs. Ability) will show only modest, though significant positive correlations with one another.
  2. EI Trait measures will be highly correlated with measures of personality but weakly correlated with specific skills such as facial affect identification, emotional decision-making, and affectively based judgments, whereas EI Ability measures will correlate more highly with specific emotional skill measures.
  3. During functional MRI affective challenge tasks, EI scores will be negatively correlated with activity within the Somatic Marker Circuitry suggested by Damasio and colleagues (i.e., ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insular cortex), as suggested by the neural efficiency hypothesis.

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Study groups in NCT01721356
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy individualsHealthy individuals ranging in age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and years of education

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Score on ability measure (MSCEIT) of emotional intelligence

    Measured: Measure administered on the day of the MRI scan

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted5 Nov 2012 (estimated)
  2. Study startSep 2009
  3. Primary completionMay 2012
  4. Study completionMay 2012

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
70 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01721356
Sponsor's protocol ID
W81XWH-09-1-0730
Acronym
EQ
Status last verified
Nov 2012
First submitted
31 Oct 2012
Last updated
5 Nov 2012
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Bajaj S, Raikes AC, Razi A, Miller MA, Killgore WD. Blue-Light Therapy Strengthens Resting-State Effective Connectivity within Default-Mode Network after Mild TBI. J Cent Nerv Syst Dis. 2021 May 19;13:11795735211015076. doi: 10.1177/11795735211015076. eCollection 2021.

    PubMed 34104033

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Emotional Intelligence, run by Mclean Hospital.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 13 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 5 Nov 2012. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Score on ability measure (MSCEIT) of emotional intelligence (time frame: Measure administered on the day of the MRI scan). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01721356, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 5 Nov 2012.

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