Individual differences in the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal predict the reward-related processing.

Liyang Sai,Sisi Wang,Biao Sang,Yixuan Ku,Anne Ward

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01256

Liyang Sai, Sisi Wang + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01256

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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that instructed cognitive reappraisal can regulate the neural processing of reward. However, it is still unclear whether the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal in everyday life is related to brain activity involved in reward processing. In the present study, participants’ neural responses to reward were measured using electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during a gambling task and their tendency to use cognitive reappraisal was assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Event-related potential (ERP) results indicated that losses on the gambling task elicited greater negative reward-related feedback negativity (FN) than gains. The differential FN between losses and gains was significantly correlated with cognitive reappraisal scores across participants such that individuals with a higher tendency to use cognitive reappraisal showed stronger reward processing (i.e., amplified FN difference between losses and gains). This correlation remained significant after controlling for expressive suppression scores. However, expressive suppression per se was not correlated with FN differences. Taken together, these results suggest that the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal is associated with increased neural processing of reward.

Highlights

Receiving a reward elicits positive feelings that aid in learning and adaption (Walsh and Anderson, 2012)
Event-related potential (ERP) Results A two-way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the difference feedback negativity (FN) was performed with electrode site (Fz, FCz, Cz, CPz, and Pz) as a within-subjects variable and gender as a between-subjects variable
We investigated whether individual differences in everyday reappraisal use correlates with neural reward processing

Summary

Introduction

Receiving a reward elicits positive feelings that aid in learning and adaption (Walsh and Anderson, 2012). Abnormal reward processing underlies a variety of mental disorders including addiction, impulse control disorders, and depression (Koob and Le Moal, 2001; Foti and Hajcak, 2009). It is important to understand how reward processing is regulated. One of the most widely used emotion regulation strategies, seems a promising method for regulating reward processing. It has consistently been found that cognitive reappraisal can reduce selfreported negative emotional experience, peripheral physiology, and brain activity associated with emotion processing, such as the late positive potential (LPP) in event-relate potentials (ERPs; Hajcak et al, 2010) and amygdala activation (Ochsner and Gross, 2008); and enhance self-reported positive emotional experience and its associated Cardiovascular activity (e.g., heart rate and cardiac output) and LPP (Baur et al, 2015; Demaree et al, 2004; Pavlov et al, 2014)

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