Abstract
Studies investigating the neurophysiological basis of intrapersonal emotion regulation (control of one's own emotional experience) report that the frontal cortex exerts a modulatory effect on limbic structures such as the amygdala and insula. However, no imaging study to date has examined the neurophysiological processes involved in interpersonal emotion regulation, where the goal is explicitly to regulate another person's emotion. Twenty healthy participants (10 males) underwent fMRI while regulating their own or another person's emotions. Intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation tasks recruited an overlapping network of brain regions including bilateral lateral frontal cortex, pre-supplementary motor area, and left temporo-parietal junction. Activations unique to the interpersonal condition suggest that both affective (emotional simulation) and cognitive (mentalizing) aspects of empathy may be involved in the process of interpersonal emotion regulation. These findings provide an initial insight into the neural correlates of regulating another person's emotions and may be relevant to understanding mental health issues that involve problems with social interaction.
Highlights
The adaptive control of emotional experience plays a critical role in daily functioning and mental health (Gross and John, 2003)
The neural basis of intrapersonal emotion regulation is relatively well-established. Such studies have reported a network of brain areas involved in the down-regulation of negative emotion, typically elicited by affective images or videos, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Beauregard et al, 2001; Ochsner et al, 2002; Phan et al, 2005; Goldin et al, 2008; Kalisch, 2009)
EFFECT OF INTRAPERSONAL AND INTERPERSONAL EMOTION REGULATION ON SELF-REPORT BEHAVIORAL RATINGS A 3-within scan by 2-between scan repeated measures ANOVA with emotional experience as the dependent variable showed a main effect of regulation strategy [F(2, 38) = 8.04, p < 0.01, Figure 2] with emotional experience being higher in the watch condition than in the suppression (p < 0.05, p < 0.001 for intra- and interpersonal, respectively) and reappraisal (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) conditions
Summary
The adaptive control of emotional experience plays a critical role in daily functioning and mental health (Gross and John, 2003). The neural basis of intrapersonal emotion regulation is relatively well-established (see, e.g., Ochsner and Gross, 2005; Wager et al, 2008; Kalisch, 2009; Buhle et al, 2013; Kohn et al, 2014) Such studies have reported a network of brain areas involved in the down-regulation of negative emotion, typically elicited by affective images or videos, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Beauregard et al, 2001; Ochsner et al, 2002; Phan et al, 2005; Goldin et al, 2008; Kalisch, 2009). Supporting evidence is provided by studies of individuals with serious emotion regulation disturbance, such as major depression and borderline personality disorder, where activation in the frontal cortex and subsequent functional connectivity with limbic regions has been shown to be disrupted during intrapersonal emotion regulation (Johnstone et al, 2007; Koenigsberg et al, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
