Emotion Regulation Behavior Research Articles

Examining the psychometric properties of the behavioral emotion regulation questionnaire - Persian version (BERQ-PV) among Iranians

Examining the psychometric properties of the behavioral emotion regulation questionnaire - Persian version (BERQ-PV) among Iranians

Emotion regulation from infancy to toddlerhood: Individual and group trajectories of full-term and very-low-birthweight preterm infants.

Adaptive emotion regulation begins with infants operating jointly with their parents to regulate their emotions, which fosters the development of independent regulation. Little is known about when or how this transition occurs, or the impact of factors such as parental availability or premature birth status. The current study examined the use of self-soothing, attentional distraction, and dyadic regulation in full-term and healthy very-low-birthweight (VLBW) preterm infant-mother dyads at 5 ½, 12, and 18months of age. At 5 ½ months, dyads participated in the Still-Face procedure. At 12 and 18months, dyads participated in two free-play interactions, a puzzle task, and an interference task. Emotion regulation behaviors were coded using two systematic, observational systems. Results indicated that infants used less self-soothing and attentional distraction and more dyadic regulation as they aged. Increased use of self-soothing at earlier ages predicted increased use of dyadic regulation at subsequent ages. Toddlers used more independent, attention-seeking, and escape behavior during periods of maternal unavailability. There were no significant differences between full-term and VLBW/preterm toddlers' emotion regulation behaviors. Results from the current study contribute to the understanding of normative development of emotion regulation and the risk associated with prematurity.

Gamma Oscillations in the Basolateral Amygdala: Localization, Microcircuitry, and Behavioral Correlates.

The lateral (LA) and basolateral (BL) nuclei of the amygdala regulate emotional behaviors. Despite their dissimilar extrinsic connectivity, they are often combined, perhaps because their cellular composition is similar to that of the cerebral cortex, including excitatory principal cells reciprocally connected with fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs). In the cortex, this microcircuitry produces gamma oscillations that support information processing and behavior. We tested whether this was similarly the case in the rat (males) LA and BL using extracellular recordings, biophysical modeling, and behavioral conditioning. During periods of environmental assessment, both nuclei exhibited gamma oscillations that stopped upon initiation of active behaviors. Yet, BL exhibited more robust spontaneous gamma oscillations than LA. The greater propensity of BL to generate gamma resulted from several microcircuit differences, especially the proportion of FSIs and their interconnections with principal cells. Furthermore, gamma in BL but not LA regulated the efficacy of excitatory synaptic transmission between connected neurons. Together, these results suggest fundamental differences in how LA and BL operate. Most likely, gamma in LA is externally driven, whereas in BL it can also arise spontaneously to support ruminative processing and the evaluation of complex situations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The basolateral amygdala (BLA) participates in the production and regulation of emotional behaviors. It is thought to perform this using feedforward circuits that enhance stimuli that gain emotional significance and directs them to valence-appropriate downstream effectors. This perspective overlooks the fact that its microcircuitry is recurrent and potentially capable of generating oscillations in the gamma band (50-80 Hz), which synchronize spiking activity and modulate communication between neurons. This study found that BLA gamma supports both of these processes, is associated with periods of action selection and environmental assessment regardless of valence, and differs between BLA subnuclei in a manner consistent with their heretofore unknown microcircuit differences. Thus, it provides new mechanisms for BLA to support emotional behaviors.

Arrestin-dependent internalization of rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors.

The internalization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is an important mechanism regulating the signal strength and limiting the opportunity of receptor activation. Based on the importance of GPCRs, the detailed knowledge about the regulation of signal transduction is crucial. Here, current knowledge about the agonist-induced, arrestin-dependent internalization process of rhodopsin-like GPCRs is reviewed. Arrestins are conserved molecules that act as key players within the internalization process of many GPCRs. Based on highly conserved structural characteristics within the rhodopsin-like GPCRs, the identification of arrestin interaction sites in model systems can be compared and used for the investigation of internalization processes of other receptors. The increasing understanding of this essential regulation mechanism of receptors can be used for drug development targeting rhodopsin-like GPCRs. Here, we focus on the neuropeptide Y receptor family, as these receptors transmit various physiological processes such as food intake, energy homeostasis, and regulation of emotional behavior, and are further involved in pathophysiological processes like cancer, obesity and mood disorders. Hence, this receptor family represents an interesting target for the development of novel therapeutics requiring the understanding of the regulatory mechanisms influencing receptor mediated signaling.

Adhering to COVID-19 health guidelines: Examining demographic and psychological predictors of adherence.

The effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID‐19) has relied heavily on the general public's compliance with health guidelines limiting social contact and mitigating risk when contact occurs. The aim of this study was to identify latent variables underlying adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines and to examine demographic and psychological predictors of adherence. A sample of US adults (N = 1,200) were surveyed in late April to mid‐May 2020. The factor structure of adherence was examined using exploratory factor analysis. Machine learning regression models using elastic net regularization were used to examine predictors of adherence. Two factors characterized adherence: avoidance and cleaning. Elastic net models identified differential demographic and psychological predictors of these two forms of adherence. Religious affiliation, denial coping, full‐time employment, substance use coping, and being 60 or older predicted lower avoidance adherence. Behavioral and mindfulness emotion regulation skills, agreeableness, and Democrat political affiliation predicted greater avoidance adherence. For cleaning adherence, interpersonal and behavioral emotion regulation skills and conscientiousness emerged as strong predictors of greater cleaning. Efforts to promote compliance with COVID‐19 health guidelines may benefit from distinguishing avoidance and cleaning adherence and considering predictors of each of these aspects of adherence.

Endocannabinoids and Precision Medicine for Mood Disorders and Suicide.

Diagnostic precision, prediction and prevention of psychiatric disorders, including major unipolar depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide ideation and attempts, remain underdeveloped areas in psychiatry given a general lack of biomarker assessment in the field. This makes the unmet goal of developing a precision medicine for these debilitating conditions an urgent necessity of neuropsychopharmacology research. Precision medicine, defined as “an emerging approach for treatment and prevention that takes each person's variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle” into account (1), will permit choosing the right treatment for the right person at the right time based on a unique individual neurobiologic biosignature. Indeed, it is anticipated that biomarker discovery will tremendously enhance refinement of individualized medicine that currently rely on subjective symptom assessment based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V). Both depression and PTSD are highly prevalent conditions affecting 3.4–12% of the general population and one of the main causes of disability. In the United States, pre-Covid suicide rates have increased by 25–30%, (from 10.5 to 13 per 100,000). These disorders share a number of symptoms and are highly comorbid. MDD is characterized by sadness, anhedonia, disturbed concentration, while PTSD symptoms include avoidance of traumatic memories, hyperarousal, hyperreactivity, flashbacks and nightmares. Antidepressant treatment with SSRIs (the gold standard for PTSD and depression) improves symptoms to about half of patients (2). Developing reliable biomarkers entails the promise of predicting the best treatments for subjects that are more likely to respond to an individually-designed rather than to a “one-fit-all” treatment. Biomarker discovery will also enhance diagnostic evaluation of patients who suffer from psychiatric disorders that share a large symptom overlap and prevalent disorder comorbidity. In recent years, several novel biomarker candidates for mood disorders have been suggested [reviewed in (3)]. The endocannabinoid system has received much interest owing its role in several physiological and pathophysiological functions, including regulation of emotional behavior, cognitive processes, inflammation, chronic pain, epilepsy, and in general, its role underlying neuropsychiatric disorders (4, 5). This opinion article will focus on the intriguing role of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of affective disorders, specifically on major depressive disorders, PTSD and suicide behaviors. Furthermore, it will analyze whether data gathered in this exciting area of psychiatric research entails new leads in establishing novel biomarkers for these debilitating and prevalent psychiatric conditions that affect millions worldwide.

112 Chronic sleep restriction disrupts slow-wave sleep homeostatic regulation and damages monoaminergic structures in the rat brain

Abstract Introduction The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying long-term neurological and cognitive disorders associated with chronic sleep restriction (CSR) are not fully understood. Here we evaluated how the sleep-wake cycle changes during and after a period of sleep restriction in rats, and whether CSR results in neurodegeneration in monoaminergic brain structures. Methods For CSR, 7-8-month-old Wistar rats underwent cycles of 3 h of sleep deprivation (SD) and 1 h of sleep opportunity (SO) continuously for 5 days on the orbital shaker. Telemetric sleep recordings were made before, during, and after CSR. Neurodegeneration in brain monoaminergic structures was assessed immunohistochemically. Results During SD, wakefulness comprised 85% of the total registration time; the remaining time was represented by drowsiness with low EEG delta power. Rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) was absent. During CSR, slow-wave sleep (SWS) and REMS were reduced by 62% and 57%. Total SWS time during SO periods increased on the first CSR day, but decreased to the baseline by the fifth CSR day. SWS EEG delta power (a measure of sleep intensity) decreased gradually from the first to the fifth CSR day. REMS total time remained elevated during all SO periods. During the first recovery day after CSR, SWS did not change, but REMS increased by 30%. No changes in total sleep time were found on the second recovery day but sleep intensity was decreased. In 14 days after CSR, all sleep parameters returned to the baseline. We revealed a loss of 24% of noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons, 29% and 17% of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, the ventral tegmental area as well as in their striatal terminals. Conclusion We consider CSR as a damaging factor leading to a gradual suppression of homeostatic mechanisms governing sleep recovery. CSR can provoke neurodegeneration in monoaminergic structures involved in the regulation of emotional behavior, sleep, and autonomic functions. Support (if any) Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation grant (No. 075-15-2020-916 dated November 13, 2020) for the establishment and development of the Pavlovsky Center “Integrative Physiology for Medicine, High-Tech Healthcare and Stress Resilience Technologies”.

Gendered associations among callous-unemotional traits, emotion regulation, and antisocial behavior

Callous-unemotional (CU) Traits, a subset of psychopathic traits often used to characterize youth, affect community wellbeing via associated antisocial behaviors such as aggression, substance use, and criminal acts. Impaired emotion regulation (ER), which contributes to both internalizing and externalizing behavior, may be related to the association between CU traits and antisocial behavior. However, ER, similarly to CU traits, appears to manifest inconsistently across gender. The current study tested the role of ER in the relationship between CU traits and antisocial behavior, while incorporating gender into two theoretically-driven models of this association. Results indicated that gender moderates the indirect relationship between CU traits and antisocial behavior, specifically the association between ER and antisocial behavior, which was significantly greater for males. CU traits were associated with impaired ER comparably for each group. These findings underscore ER as a construct worthy of further investigation in the context of CU traits and interventions targeting antisocial behavior, particularly among emerging adult males.

Somatoform complaints in middle childhood A developmental path-analysis

Repeatedly occurring somatoform complaints often cause disruptions in children’s daily life, both in family and school settings. Associated with these complaints, there is an increased demand for medical help in the affected children. Despite the frequent occurrence of somatoform complaints in childhood, only a small number of studies have focused on this subject, and the development and maintenance of somatoform complaints have not sufficiently explained to date. Previous research suggests that many different factors are involved, including insecure attachment, a lack of emotion regulation (ER) strategies, and psychiatric behavior problems. The aim of this study is to examine possible pathways describing the interplay of aforementioned factors, in order to contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms. A nonexperimental cross-sectional study was conducted. Questionnaires were completed by 221 children (female n = 115; Mage = 9.70 years, SDage = .56) reporting on their attachment and ER strategies, and their parents reported on the behavior problems and somatoform complaints. Path analysis revealed a good model fit (Χ2 = p .798, Χ2/df = .415, NFI = .994, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = .000). Results revealed that attachment anxiety predicted maladaptive ER strategies, and attachment avoidance predicted emotion control. In turn significant paths were found between ER strategies, behavior problems, and somatoform complaints. This study provides a first insight into the underlying mechanisms describing the occurrence of somatoform complaints. Results revealed two developmental pathways, based on attachment quality and mediated through different emotion regulation strategies.Clinical Trial Registration: The project “Impact factors and conditions of somatoform symptoms in childhood within familial and school contexts” is listed in the German Clinical Trails Register (DRKS-ID: DRKS00012444) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

Biological signatures of emotion regulation flexibility in children: Parenting context and links with child adjustment.

Emotion regulation (ER) is a key facet of positive adjustment throughout the lifespan. Recent theoretical and empirical innovations suggest that current methods for assessing ER are limited, because they measure discrete strategy use instead of ER flexibility and are insensitive to ecologically valid social contexts that influence ER. This is particularly important for studying the impact of parenting on ER development during childhood. The current study (N = 93; 47 females; Mage = 6.98, SD = 1.12) examined child ER flexibility during a directed reappraisal task (DRT) with two parenting contexts: passive parent presence or active scaffolding. Two biological signatures of ER flexibility were measured: respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of physiological flexibility; and the late positive potential (LPP), an index of neurocognitive flexibility. Emotion regulation behavior was observed during a frustrating wait, and parents reported on child ER and adjustment. Greater ER flexibility indexed via the LPP and RSA both predicted observed ER during the frustrating wait, but only RSA predicted parent-reported trait ER and fewer adjustment problems. Emotion regulation flexibility indexed by the LPP was bolstered by parent presence and scaffolding of child ER during the DRT, but RSA measures were not sensitive to parenting context. Taken together, the results provide converging evidence for the conceptualization of ER in terms of physiological and neurocognitive flexibility in childhood. Furthermore, among school-aged children, while physiological flexibility broadly predicted parent-reported child adjustment, neurocognitive flexibility may be context-sensitive and predictive of concurrent observed ER.

어머니의 정서표현성이 유아의 정서조절능력 및 문제행동에 미치는 영향

어머니의 정서표현성이 유아의 정서조절능력 및 문제행동에 미치는 영향

Feasibility of Delivering a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-Based Resilience Curriculum to Young Mothers by Public Health Nurses

Background: Young mothers have higher rates of mental health problems, yet can be difficult to engage in care. Few interventions exist targeting the full range of mental health problems these women face. While transdiagnostic psychotherapies have been utilized in adolescent groups, they have not been tested in young mothers. Objective: Our objective was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a public health nurse-delivered transdiagnostic CBT-based resilience curriculum for young mothers in a supported school setting, and to determine preliminary estimates of the program’s effects. Methods: 56 mothers, 21 years of age or younger were recruited from a supported high school program in Canada. Using a pretest/post-test design with no control group, measures of maternal depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, and offspring behaviour were collected immediately before and after the completion of the weekly 10-session intervention. Results: The intervention was feasible and acceptable to young mothers. While few statistically significant changes were noted in the complete sample, for those with moderate-severe depression at baseline, program participation resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in depression, anxiety, and emotion regulation. Conclusion: Provision of a transdiagnostic CBT-based resilience-building program delivered by public health nurses in a supported school setting was both feasible and well-tolerated. Given the preliminary nature of this study, its clinical utility is unclear, though it may have benefits for young mothers with more significant mental health problems at baseline.

Intrapersonal Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Maladaptive Interpersonal Behavior in Adolescence.

Although most research conceptualizes emotion regulation as an internal process (i.e., intrapersonal), emotions are frequently regulated in an interpersonal context. Adolescents may be particularly prone to turn to peers for assistance, given that honing emotion regulation abilities is a key task and peers become increasingly important at this stage. Adolescents each participated with a self-nominated same-gender friend (total N = 186; M age = 15.68years). All participants provided self-reports of their own emotion regulation difficulties and their engagement in interpersonal behaviors (excessive reassurance seeking, negative feedback seeking, conversational self-focus, self-disclosure) as well as their perceptions of their friends' engagement in excessive reassurance seeking and conversational self-focus. Using a cross-lagged panel model design, the current study tested associations between adolescents' intrapersonal emotion regulation difficulties and engagement in self- and friend-reported interpersonal emotion regulation behaviors at 3 time points over 6months. Gender and age group differences were considered. Results evidenced concurrent and longitudinal associations between emotion regulation difficulties and self-reported maladaptive (excessive reassurance seeking, conversational self-focus, negative feedback seeking), but not adaptive (self-disclosure), interpersonal regulatory behaviors. Friends' reports of adolescents' excessive reassurance seeking and conversational self-focus were associated concurrently, but not longitudinally, with self-reported emotion regulation difficulties. Implications for clinical intervention with adolescents struggling to regulate emotions are discussed.

Comorbid anxiety-like behavior in a rat model of colitis is mediated by an upregulation of corticolimbic fatty acid amide hydrolase

Peripheral inflammatory conditions, including those localized to the gastrointestinal tract, are highly comorbid with psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. These behavioral symptoms are poorly managed by conventional treatments for inflammatory diseases and contribute to quality of life impairments. Peripheral inflammation is associated with sustained elevations in circulating glucocorticoid hormones, which can modulate central processes, including those involved in the regulation of emotional behavior. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is exquisitely sensitive to these hormonal changes and is a significant regulator of emotional behavior. The impact of peripheral inflammation on central eCB function, and whether this is related to the development of these behavioral comorbidities remains to be determined. To examine this, we employed the trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced model of colonic inflammation (colitis) in adult, male, Sprague Dawley rats to produce sustained peripheral inflammation. Colitis produced increases in behavioral measures of anxiety and elevations in circulating corticosterone. These alterations were accompanied by elevated hydrolytic activity of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which hydrolyzes the eCB anandamide (AEA), throughout multiple corticolimbic brain regions. This elevation of FAAH activity was associated with broad reductions in the content of AEA, whose decline was driven by central corticotropin releasing factor type 1 receptor signaling. Colitis-induced anxiety was reversed following acute central inhibition of FAAH, suggesting that the reductions in AEA produced by colitis contributed to the generation of anxiety. These data provide a novel perspective for the pharmacological management of psychiatric comorbidities of chronic inflammatory conditions through modulation of eCB signaling.

Serotonergic neurons in the treatment of mood disorders: The dialogue with astrocytes.

Astrocytes were traditionally regarded as cells important to neuronal activity, providing both metabolic and structural supports. Recent evidence suggests that they may also play a crucial role in the control of higher brain functions. In keeping with this hypothesis, it is now well accepted that astrocytes contribute to stress but also react to antidepressant drugs as they express serotonergic transporters and receptors. However, the downstream mechanisms leading to the fine-tuned regulation of mood are still unknown. This chapter pays attention to the role of astrocytes in the regulation of emotional behavior and related serotonergic neurotransmission. In particular, it gives a current state of the clinical and preclinical evidence showing that astrocytes respond to environmental conditions and antidepressant drugs through the release of gliotransmitters and neurotrophic factors which in turn, influence serotonergic tone in discrete brain areas. This state-of-the-art review aims at demonstrating the remarkable potential for novel therapeutic antidepressant strategies targeting these glial cells.

Dysregulated metabolism and behaviors by disrupting gut microbiota in prenatal and neonatal mice.

The live microbiota ecosystem in the intestine plays a critical role in maintaining the normal physiological and psychological functions in both animals and human beings. However, the chronic effect of microbiota disturbances during prenatal and neonatal developing periods on animal's health remains less studied. In the current study, pregnant ICR mice were fed with an antibiotic diet (7-g nebacitin [bacitracin-neomycin sulphate 2:1]/kg standard diet) from day 14 of conception, and their offspring were provided with the same diet till the termination of the experiments. Dams treated with antibiotics showed increased body weight along with enlarged gut. Antibiotic-treated offspring revealed decreased bodyweight, increased food, water, and sucrose intake. Administration of antibiotics affected corticosterone responsivity to acute 20min restraint challenge in male pups. In behavior tests, female pups showed decreased movement in open field while male pups revealed decreased latency to open arms in elevated plus maze test and immobility time in tail suspension test. Together, these results suggested that early antibiotic exposure may impact on the food intake, body weight gain, and emotional behavior regulation in mice.

All for one and one for all – How are students’ affective states and group-level emotion regulation interconnected in collaborative learning?

This study explored the interplay between students’ group-level emotion regulation behavior and affective conditions and products of regulation (emotional valence, activation, participation). The participants were 12-year-old students (N = 31, 10 groups) performing a collaborative science task. Conditions, emotion regulation behavior, and products of regulation were captured from video and electrodermal activity data. Results reveal that affective conditions were related to students’ regulatory behavior. Students were more likely to initiate regulation when they indicated a personal need to restore affective grounds. Moreover, regulation was activated to restore participation by targeting regulation to non-participating students. While regulation did not always change conditions for collaboration, the results indicate that it was more influential for students who either initiated or were targets for regulation.

Emotion regulation and borderline personality features in daily life: The role of social context

BackgroundBorderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with emotional dysfunction and interpersonal sensitivity. Yet, little work has characterized how BPD features predicts emotional reactivity and emotion regulation behaviors in response to interpersonal stress relative to other forms of stress. MethodsParticipants were 152 university students who completed baseline measures of BPD features and complied with two-week daily diary procedures assessing daily emotion regulation strategy use in response to social and non-social stressors. ResultsGeneralized estimating equations revealed that BPD features predicted greater negative and positive emotions in response to daily stressors, and interacted with type of stressor in predicting urges and behaviors. Elevated BPD features was associated with greater urges for dysfunctional emotion regulatory behaviors and fewer functional emotion regulatory behaviors to a greater extent in response to social (versus non-social) stressors. LimitationsThis study was limited by its focus on past-day retrospective recall. Further, the student sample limits the generalizability of these findings. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that individuals with elevated BPD features may have less functional emotion regulation in social contexts.

Individual beliefs about emotion and perceptions of belief stability are associated with symptoms of psychopathology and emotional processes

There are a variety of beliefs people can hold about emotions (e.g., beliefs that emotions are malleable, beliefs that emotions last forever). In addition, some people's beliefs may fluctuate—their beliefs might change during an emotional event (i.e., belief instability). In two studies, we explored a variety of beliefs about emotion and perceptions of belief instability alongside symptoms of psychopathology, trait-based emotional skills (Study 1, n = 359) and behavioral emotion regulation strategies (Study 2, n = 725). In both studies, individual emotion beliefs were associated with age, gender and symptoms of psychopathology. In addition, in both studies, beliefs that emotions last “forever,” beliefs that ones own emotions are unique, and belief instability predicted heightened psychopathology. After controlling for psychopathology, preferences for logic and beliefs that emotions should be hidden from others predicted lower emotional expressivity, lower emotional intelligence, and lower social support seeking. Beliefs that emotions are “bad” predicted emotion dysregulation but no specific behavioral regulation strategies, and beliefs about emotions lasting “forever” predicted a variety of outcomes even after controlling for psychopathology. Overall results confirm that beliefs about emotion are associated with a wide range of emotional processes, and that further attention to belief instability may be useful.

The Emotion Regulation Roots of Job Satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is a core variable in the study and practice of organizational psychology because of its implications for desirable work outcomes. Knowledge of its antecedents is abundant and informative, but there are still psychological processes underlying job satisfaction that have not received complete attention. This is the case of employee emotion regulation. In this study, we argue that employees’ behaviors directed to manage their affective states participate in their level of job satisfaction and hypothesize that employee affect-improving and -worsening emotion regulation behaviors increase and decrease, respectively, job satisfaction, through the experience of positive and negative affect. Using a diary study with a sample of professionals from diverse jobs and organizations, for the most part, the mediational hypotheses were supported by the results albeit a more complex relationship was found in the case of affect worsening emotion regulation. This study contributes to expanding the job satisfaction and emotion regulation literatures and informs practitioners in people management in organizations about another route to foster and sustain positive attitudes at work.