Abstract
Successful emotion regulation plays a key role in psychological health and well-being. This study examines (1) whether cognitive control and corresponding neural connectivity are associated with emotion regulation and (2) to what extent external instructions can improve emotion regulation in individuals with low vs. high cognitive control capacity. For this, emotion regulation capabilities and the impact of emotion regulation on a subsequent emotional Stroop task was tested in participants with low (N = 25) vs. high impulsivity (N = 32). The classification according to impulsivity is based upon the stable correlation between high impulsivity and reduced cognitive control capacity. A negative emotion inducing movie scene was presented with the instruction to either suppress or allow all emotions that arose. This was followed by an emotional Stroop task. Electromyography (EMG) over the corrugator supercilii was used to assess the effects of emotion regulation. Neurophysiological mechanisms were measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy over frontal brain areas. While EMG activation was low in the low-impulsive group independent of instruction, high-impulsive participants showed increased EMG activity when they were not explicitly instructed to suppress arising emotions. Given the same extent of functional connectivity within frontal lobe networks, the low-impulsive participants controlled their emotions better (less EMG activation) than the high-impulsive participants. In the Stroop task, the low-impulsive subjects performed significantly better. The emotion regulation condition had no significant effect on the results. We conclude that the cognitive control network is closely associated with emotion regulation capabilities. Individuals with high cognitive control show implicit capabilities for emotion regulation. Individuals with low cognitive control require external instructions (= explicit emotion regulation) to achieve similarly low expressions of emotionality. Implications for clinical applications aiming to improve emotion regulation are discussed.
Highlights
Conscious cognitive control is often perceived as a key element of a “desirable life” and in this regard associated with academic success (Nota et al, 2004), physical health, reduced substance dependence, better personal finances, and less criminal offenses (Moffitt et al, 2011)
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of emotion regulation in high- vs. low-impulsive participants and the underlying functional connectivity within the cognitive control network (CCN)
In line with our hypotheses, we found a significant effect of impulsivity on both EMG activation during emotion induction and subsequent Stroop performance
Summary
Conscious cognitive control is often perceived as a key element of a “desirable life” (cf. Inzlicht et al, 2015) and in this regard associated with academic success (Nota et al, 2004), physical health, reduced substance dependence, better personal finances, and less criminal offenses (Moffitt et al, 2011). Whereas the direct type relies on a reciprocal connection of the ventral PFC (VPFC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) with subcortical emotional appraisal systems (e.g., amygdala), the indirect type involves the DLPFC and is assumed to influence appraisal systems only mediately (e.g., via VPFC). With respect to these neurophysiological considerations, Ochsner et al (2012) outlined a cognitive model describing the multifaceted influence of cognitive control on emotion. For the paradigm of the current study (emotion induction using a short film clip), internal situation modification, attentional processes, appraisal and reappraisal, as well as response modulation are of particular interest. The PFC and especially the DLPFC (explicit appraisal processes, Ochsner and Gross, 2005; selective attention and working memory, Ochsner et al, 2012) are considered to play a crucial role for these processes
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