Pediatric Emotion Regulation Lab

Ten people in two rows standing on steps in front of Dealy Hall

PERL logo

Welcome to the Pediatric Emotion Regulation Laboratory!
Our research focuses on the study of children and adolescents who struggle to regulate negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. We have utilized state-of-the-art methods including functional MRI, EEG, and cortisol acquisition to examine the neural and physiological bases of such emotion regulation deficits. We have also conducted psychometric evaluations of tools developed for assessing irritability in young children and adolescents. The PERL lab recently began to investigate parent characteristics that may influence how they respond to their child’s strong emotions. Currently, we are looking for mothers of children with ADHD who may be interested in participating in a research study. See our Active Research Studies page for more information. 

 

Recent publications from members of the PERL lab include:

  1. Hirsch E, Alam T, Kirk N, Bevans KB, Briggs-Gowan M, Wakschlag LS, Wiggins JL, Roy AK. Developmentally specified characterization of the irritability spectrum at early school age: Implications for pragmatic mental health screening. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2023 Sep 15:e1985. doi: 10.1002/mpr.1985. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37712753.
  2. Davis, K., Hirsch, E., Gee, D., Andover, M., & Roy, A.K. (2022). Mediating role of the default mode network on parental acceptance/ warmth and psychopathology in youth. Brain Imaging and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-022-00692-z
  3. Silverman, M.R., Stadterman, J., Lorenzi, D., Feuerstahler, L., Hirsch, E., & Roy, A.K. (2022). Parental factors that confer risk and resilience for remote learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic among children with and without attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders.
  4. Silverman, M.R., Bennett, R., Feuerstahler, L., Stadterman, J., Dick, A.S., Graziano, P., & Roy, A.K. (2022). Measuring emotion dysregulation in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Revisiting the factor structure of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). Behavior Therapy, 53, 196- 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2021.07.004
  5. Hirsch, E., Davis, K., Cao, Z., & Roy, A.K. (2022). Understanding phasic irritability: Anger and distress in children’s temper outbursts. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 53, 317- 329. doi:10.1007/s10578-021-01126-5.