Abstract
Human older age ushers in functional decline across the majority of cognitive domains. A notable exception seems to be affective processing, with older people reporting higher levels of emotional well-being. Here we evaluated age-related changes in emotional reactivity and regulation in a representative subsample (N = 104; age range: 23–88 years) of the population-derived Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience cohort. Performance on a film-based emotion reactivity and regulation task in the magnetic resonance imaging scanner showed an age-related decline in positive reactivity, alongside a similar decline in the capacity to down-regulate negative affect. Decreased positivity with age was associated with reduced activation in the middle frontal gyrus. These findings, from the largest neuroimaging investigation to-date, provide no support for age-related increases in positive emotional reactivity.
Highlights
Emotion Reactivity and Regulation Task Emotional film clips
The thirty emotional clips were followed by a 5 second washout clip, with the exception of the final clip for each participant which was a positive film clip
The positivity effect is not moderated by gender, education or depression The age related decline in positivity was not moderated by gender, β = 0.01, t =
Summary
Emotion Reactivity and Regulation Task Emotional film clips. The task included ten 30 second film clips in each condition: positive watch, neutral watch, negative watch and negative regulate. The thirty emotional clips were followed by a 5 second washout clip, with the exception of the final clip for each participant which was a positive film clip.
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