Exploring the Reward System: A Dual Investigation into Substance Use and Overeating

When the reward systems are dysregulated, some individuals may turn to the excessive use of natural rewards, such as eating, while others may resort to artificially rewarding activities, such as substance use (Barson et al, 2012). While substance use and overeating have been both identified as maladaptive coping mechanisms employed to alleviate negative emotional states, the role of positive emotions remains an understudied domain. This project aimed to investigate: <ol> <li>the role of positive urgency - higher impulsivity in response to positive emotions - and sensation-seeking in the degree of substance use in university students, employing heart rate variability as a reward sensitivity biomarker; <li>the role of the positive emotion of joy in food intake in university students, using skin conductance as the potential underlying mechanism. </ol>