Research lines

Includes the development and/or adaptation of psychometric tools, the study of the precursors, the analysis of the predictive ability of psychopathy diagnosis and the testing of neurobiological hypotheses based in the Behavioural Inhibition System and the Behavioural Activation System. We have recently included the study of vulnerability biomarkers such as fear conditioning and the endocrine responses to stress.

Study of the role of aversive and appetizing systems as factors of vulnerability to various disorders (obsessive-compulsive, major depression, bipolar disorder). Psychometric methodology is used in the clinical and subclinical population and, in some cases, neuropsychological and learning laboratory tests.

This line of research offers to the scientific community some instruments of evaluation in research and clinical settings by means of the adaptation to our cultural context of questionnaires already published in other countries or the construction of new psychometric instruments.

Investigation in subclinical populations of the basic psychological mechanisms involved in the processes of acquisition of fear and anxiety, using the startle reflex and electrodermal activity as indexes of affective processing

Study of possible biomarkers related to vulnerability and resilience to develop behavioural problems and psychopathic traits. Markers of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the sympathetic-medulo-adrenal system and oxytocin are included.