The puckish sense of humour, twinkling eyes and boyish grin belie the seriousness of Dr. Stephen Smith's vocation and the passion with which he pursues it. Dr. Smith is exploring the neuroscience of emotion through a handful of interrelated projects.

One set of studies examines the relationship between emotion, attention and memory. Here, Dr. Smith is examining whether the physical responses we feel at a time of emotion can affect the way we think, our ability to learn, and our memory. This research will also investigate learned emotional responses, such as being nervous to drive after having an accident. Upcoming studies will use neuroimaging (MRI) to study how these innate and learned emotions are represented in the brain.

A related study involves epilepsy patients who have had part of their brain removed to stem frequent, severe seizures. The amygdalae, a pair of areas deep in the central brain, control emotional reactions and emotional memories. The first phase of the study examined patients with one amygdala removed and provided information about the role of the left and right amygdala in emotional tasks. That research has now expanded to test patients before and after surgery, and a group of matched non-patients, to produce comparative results. This includes testing memory and perception, physical responses to stimuli, and neuroimaging. In addition to revealing more about the role and influence of the amygdalae, the results should also offer specific information of value to patients facing surgery, allowing for better-informed decisions and a heightened understanding of what to expect post-surgery.

Dr. Smith and his colleagues have also begun groundbreaking research assessing the role of the spinal cord in emotional responses. While much is known about the spinal cord's role in movement and sensation, little is known of its activity during emotional responses. “Emotions don't just exist in the brain. Every emotion has a movement associated with it.” Smith aims to fill that knowledge gap through functional neuroimaging of spinal-cord activity during emotional responses coupled with studies of patients with spinal-cord damage to see if they exhibit deficits in emotional perception and decision-making.

To round out his research, Dr. Smith is delving into the long-term influence mindfulness meditation may have on emotional reactivity and regulation. An individual who has received mindfulness meditation training should be able to regulate their emotions more efficiently. Smith's research will use cognitive and neuroscientific techniques to measure both emotional reactivity and subsequent emotional regulation before and after mindfulness meditation training. “Hopefully we'll all learn how to be happy.”