Emotional Reactivity Research Articles

Is Resilience the Bridge Connecting Social and Family Factors to Mental Well-Being and Life Satisfaction?

AbstractFamily and social support can enhance our perception of our ability to cope with stressful life events, as well as our psychological flexibility and mental well-being. The main goal of this unique study was to explore how a complex interplay of family, social, and personal factors contribute to mental well-being and life satisfaction. We hypothesized that differentiation of self (DoS) and social support (from family, friends, and significant others) would be positively associated with mental well-being and life satisfaction through the mediation of resilience. The sample included 460 participants (mean age 45.2; 236 males), who filled out questionnaires examining DoS, social support, resilience, mental well-being, and life satisfaction. In light of gender disparities evident in both existing literature and the current study, we analyzed the model separately for women and men. The findings revealed a mediation model, indicating that resilience mediated the relationship between two dimensions of DoS (emotional reactivity and I-position) and mental well-being for males, while DoS and social support contributed to women’s mental well-being without the mediation of resilience. Two factors emerged as contributors to improved mental well-being and life satisfaction: DoS and social support. Specifically, DoS was deemed important for both men and women, while social support emerged as a crucial dimension mainly for women.

SELF DISTANCING EFFECT IN WRITING NEGATIVE EVENTS REMEMBERING OR WRITING? IMPLICATIONS OF SELF-DISTANCING IN THE REFLECTION OF NEGATIVE EVENTS

Although many studies indicate that self-distancing facilitates adaptive self-reflection, it is necessary to examine the variables in the adaptive self-reflection process further to determine whether it will produce the same profile when the self-reflection is done through writing. As such, this study aims to examine a) whether the induction to remember from an actor's perspective and from an observer’s perspective has the same implications as the induction to write using the first-person pronouns and using own-name in facilitating adaptive self-reflection, and b) whether adaptive self-reflection through writing has the same profile as adaptive self-reflection through remembering (thinking). Two quasi-experimental studies (N=428) conducted in this research found that self-distancing was the only variable that differed significantly when we induced the actor's perspective and the observer's perspective (study 1), but the variables of self-distancing, emotional reactivity, and reconstruing differed significantly when self-reflection was conducted through writing manipulation using the first-person pronouns and using own-name. It was also found that adaptive self-reflection through writing (study 2) had a stronger correlation in the negative direction between self-distancing and emotional reactivity, recounting, avoidance, and in the positive direction with the variables of reconstruing, memory age, and perceived resolution, which meant that writing about negative experiences better facilitates adaptive self-reflection than just remembering. We also analyzed the intervening variables to see the direct or indirect relationship between key variables.

Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Targeting the Amygdala May Increase Psychophysiological and Subjective Negative Emotional Reactivity in Healthy Older Adults

BackgroundThe amygdala is highly implicated in an array of psychiatric disorders but is not accessible using currently available noninvasive neuromodulatory techniques. Low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (TFUS) is a neuromodulatory technique that has the capability of reaching subcortical regions noninvasively. MethodsWe studied healthy older adult participants (N = 21, ages 48–79 years) who received TFUS targeting the right amygdala and left entorhinal cortex (active control region) using a 2-visit within-participant crossover design. Before and after TFUS, behavioral measures were collected via the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and an emotional reactivity and regulation task utilizing neutral and negatively valenced images from the International Affective Picture System. Heart rate and self-reported emotional valence and arousal were measured during the emotional reactivity and regulation task to investigate subjective and physiological responses to the task. ResultsSignificant increases in both self-reported arousal in response to negative images and heart rate during emotional reactivity and regulation task intertrial intervals were observed when TFUS targeted the amygdala; these changes were not evident when the entorhinal cortex was targeted. No significant changes were found for state anxiety, self-reported valence to the negative images, cardiac response to the negative images, or emotion regulation. ConclusionsThe results of this study provide preliminary evidence that a single session of TFUS targeting the amygdala may alter psychophysiological and subjective emotional responses, indicating some potential for future neuropsychiatric applications. However, more work on TFUS parameters and targeting optimization is necessary to determine how to elicit changes in a more clinically advantageous way.

People with sensory processing sensitivity connect strongly to nature across five dimensions

Human connections to nature are critical to the sustainability of life on Earth. Nature connections are often linked with pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, a better understanding of the nuances of human-nature connections can help inform policies and practices to advance sustainability. Connections to nature research has rarely investigated nuances like the nature connections of subpopulations or distinguished between types of nature connections. This article reports on an investigation of the subpopulation of highly sensitive individuals (HSPs), a group comprising about one-third of the general population thatexhibits higher levels of sensitivity to stimuli, greater depth of processing, and stronger emotional and physiological reactivity to both positive and negative stimuli than the general population, a suite of traits known as “sensory processing sensitivity” or “environmental sensitivity.” We assessed the nature connections of this group across five nature-connection types: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. We found that HSPs hold deeper nature connections than less sensitive individuals with respect to all five connection types. Additionally, variability in nature-connection scores decreased as sensitivity increased, showing a significant trend. Future research can investigate links between nature connections and pro-environmental behavior in this population and the potential mediating role of specific psychological characteristics. We also recommend that researchers consider including sensitivity in future connections to nature assessments.

Family and parenting factors are associated with emotion regulation neural function in early adolescent girls with elevated internalizing symptoms.

A prominent tripartite model proposes that parent role modeling of emotion regulation, emotion socialization behaviors, and the emotional climate of the family are important for young people's emotional development. However, limited research has examined the neural mechanisms at play. Here, we examined the associations between family and parenting factors, the neural correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation, and internalizing symptoms in early adolescent girls. Sixty-four female adolescents aged 10-12 years with elevated internalizing symptoms completed emotional reactivity, implicit (affect labeling) and explicit (cognitive reappraisal) emotion regulation tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Positive family emotional climate was associated with greater activation in the anterior cingulate and middle temporal cortices during emotional reactivity. Maternal emotion regulation difficulties were associated with increased frontal pole and supramarginal gyrus activation during affect labeling, whereas supportive maternal emotion socialization and positive family emotional climate were associated with activation in prefrontal regions, including inferior frontal and superior frontal gyri, respectively, during cognitive reappraisal. No mediating effects of brain function were observed in the associations between family/parenting factors and adolescent symptoms. These findings highlight the role of family and parenting behaviors in adolescent emotion regulation neurobiology, and contribute to prominent models of adolescent emotional development.

Loneliness in daily life: A comparison between youths with autism spectrum disorders and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS).

Loneliness is a negative emotional experience that can stem from a gap between desires and the reality of social relationships. It is also a predictor of mental health. Loneliness is therefore important to investigate in neurodevelopmental populations known for having difficulties in the social sphere. This co-registered study involved 48 youths with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 54 youths with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) and 65 typically developing youths (TD) aged 12-30. State loneliness was assessed with an ecological momentary assessment. Paper-pencil questionnaires assessing attitude toward aloneness, trait loneliness, and mental health, were completed by the youths and their caregivers. A comparable level of state loneliness between clinical groups and TD were found, with greater loneliness when alone than in a social context. Clinical groups showed a greater intra-individual variability. Both individuals with ASD and 22q11DS revealed a greater affinity toward being alone than TD, but only individuals with ASD reported greater trait loneliness. However, no significant association was found between attitude toward aloneness, trait and state loneliness. Emotional reactivity to loneliness was different between the clinical groups. Self-reported mental health only was associated with loneliness in the clinical groups. These results provide new insights into the understanding of loneliness in these clinical populations and have an impact on clinical care by highlighting the need to remain vigilant when encountering youths who report feeling lonely, and that these youths need to be supported in developing their social network, which appears to be a protective factor against loneliness.

Attuned to the Flux of Life: Relations Between Ability Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Reactivity.

The field of ability-related emotional intelligence (ability EI) could benefit from new perspectives concerning dynamic operations. According to a recent perspective, variations in ability EI are likely to be linked to variations in skills related to evaluation. This perspective contends, perhaps counterintuitively, that higher levels of ability EI are likely to be linked to higher levels of emotional reactivity, defined in terms of stronger event-emotion relationships. Two studies (total N = 245) pursue such ideas in the context of multilevel models involving event valence and emotional experience. Variations in ability EI modulated event-emotion relationships in the context of laboratory inductions involving hypothetical events (Study 1), affective images varying in valence (Study 1), and with respect to naturally occurring variations in positive and negative daily events (Study 2), such that higher levels of ability EI were linked to stronger event-emotion relationships, regardless of whether events and emotions were positive or negative in valence. These results provide new evidence for recent theorizing concerning ability EI while speaking to functional versus dysfunctional perspectives on emotional reactivity.

The Importance of Self-Regulation in the Development of Internalizing Symptoms During Middle Childhood.

The Importance of Self-Regulation in the Development of Internalizing Symptoms During Middle Childhood Current research discusses low self-regulation abilities during childhood as risk factors for the development of internalizing symptoms. However, longitudinal studies investigatingmultiple self-regulation facets simultaneously are scarce. We examined whether impairments in various self-regulation facets (emotional reactivity, inhibition, inhibitory control, planning behavior) in middle childhood predict internalizing symptoms two years later and whether they make an incremental contribution when established risk factors (gender, family adversity) are considered. Furthermore, we investigated whether self-regulation facets predict later internalizing symptoms under consideration of internalizing symptoms at baseline.The sample consisted of 1,617 children (t1:Mage = 9.1, t2:Mage = 11.1 years), assessed at two measurement points. Internalizing symptoms were rated by parents on the Emotional Problems Scale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Self-regulation facets were measured at the first measurement point using various methods and informants. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that increased emotional reactivity, reduced inhibitory control, and reduced planning behavior significantly predicted later internalizing symptoms, explaining 14.8 % of the variance. Adding risk factors increased the explained variance by 2.5 %. Under consideration of baseline internalizing symptoms, reduced inhibition and inhibitory control significantly predicted later internalizing symptoms, while other self-regulation facets and risk factors did not. Results of this study may inform prevention and intervention measures.

Anti-obesity Drugs for the Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder: Opportunities and Challenges.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most prevalent form of disordered eating, frequently associated with obesity. Both these conditions along with sharing overeating behaviour features can lead to substantial burden of disease and premature mortality. With limited specific evidence available on pharmacotherapy, since lisdexamfetamine is approved only in some countries, new drugs are urgently needed to provide physicians with efficacious prescribing choices when treating BED. Although unique mechanisms underlie psychopathological features of binge eating, including impulsivity, compulsivity, and emotional reactivity, anti-obesity drugs might represent an option for both weight management and symptom reduction in people with BED. The aim of this review is thus to provide a summary of available evidence on the efficacy of anti-obesity drugs for BED. After comprehensively searching for relevant studies in PubMed and the Cochrane Library, as well as for unpublished results in ClinicalTrials.gov, we included 14 clinical trials. Despite the limited sample size and the methodological variability, evidence from available studies suggests that most anti-obesity drugs, namely phentermine/topiramate, naltrexone/bupropion, liraglutide and semaglutide, though not orlistat, might variously achieve improvements for both body weight and severity and frequency of binge episodes. Findings from ongoing clinical trials are likely to provide further insight into the possible role of anti-obesity drugs for treating BED. Since these agents can hold the potential to be misused potentiating dietary restriction and pathological weight loss, it is crucial to promote responsible prescribing practices.

Moving toward affective immunology: Legacy and future directions

The term “affective immunology” has recently been used to denote a field focused on the interplay between affective processes (including mood states, specific emotions, and regulatory processes) and various aspects of immune function. The overarching goals of this commentary are a) to provide historical underpinnings of this field with a focus on the profound impact of the work of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, who is further honored in this special issue, b) to review important off-shoots of her legacy work in this domain, and c) to highlight important future directions for the field. Kiecolt-Glaser's work laid much of the foundation for affective immunology, with groundbreaking research related to depression, hostility and dyadic interactions, loneliness, and other affective patterns, often in the context of holistic models, novel experimental designs, and interventions. Her former mentees (and many of their mentees) have carried on her legacy in these domains, in ways that continue to advance appreciation of how affective processes relate to immune function. There are numerous remaining questions for the field to pursue, including better understanding of the role of emotion regulation, emotional reactivity and recovery, restorative processes, affective variability, and developmental and dynamic social processes. Such work will require greater use of longitudinal and within-person approaches and/or examination of processes in daily life, as well as models that account for interactive and reciprocal processes and which integrate behavior, social context, sociocultural factors, individual differences, and other aspects of health. As more work in these domains continues, building on Kiecolt-Glaser's rich legacy, we move toward the emergence of affective immunology as an important subfield in the domain of psychoneuroimmunology, one which will offer more nuanced understanding of the role of affective processes in immune health.

Utility of a virtual small group cognitive behaviour program for autistic children during the pandemic: evidence from a community-based implementation study

BackgroundAutistic children often experience socioemotional difficulties relating to emotion regulation and mental health problems. Supports for autistic children involve the use of adapted interventions that target emotion regulation and social skills, alongside mental health symptoms. The Secret Agent Society Small Group (SAS: SG), an adapted cognitive behavioural program, has demonstrated efficacy through lab-delivered randomized control trials. However, research is still needed on its effectiveness when delivered by publicly funded, community-based autism providers under real-world ecologically valid conditions, especially within the context of a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted access to community-based supports and services for autistic children, and programs have adapted their services to online platforms. However, questions remain about the feasibility and clinical utility of evidence-based interventions and services delivered virtually in community-based settings.MethodsThe 9-week SAS: SG program was delivered virtually by seven community-based autism service providers during 2020–2021. The program included the use of computer-based games, role-playing tasks, and home missions. Caregivers completed surveys at three timepoints: pre-, post-intervention, and after a 3-month follow-up session. Surveys assessed caregivers’ perception of the program’s acceptability and level of satisfaction, as well as their child’s social and emotional regulation skills and related mental health challenges.ResultsA total of 77 caregivers (94% gender identity females; Mean = 42.1 years, SD = 6.5 years) and their children (79% gender identity males; Mean = 9.9 years, SD = 1.3 years) completed the SAS: SG program. Caregivers agreed that the program was acceptable (95%) and were highly satisfied (90%). Caregivers reported significant reduction in their child’s emotion reactivity from pre- to post-intervention (-1.78 (95% CI, -3.20 to -0.29), p = 0.01, d = 0.36), that continued to decrease after the 3-month booster session (-1.75 (95% CI, -3.34 to -0.16), p = 0.02, d = 0.33). Similarly, improvements in anxiety symptoms were observed (3.05 (95% CI, 0.72 to 5.36), p = 0.006, d = 0.39).ConclusionsAs online delivery of interventions for autistic children remains popular past the pandemic, our findings shed light on future considerations for community-based services, including therapists and agency leaders, on how best to tailor and optimally deliver virtually based programming.Trial registrationThis study has been registered with ISRCTN Registry (ISRCTN98068608) on 15/09/2023. The study was retroactively registered.

REM Sleep Preserves Affective Response to Social Stress-Experimental Study.

Sleep's contribution to affective regulation is insufficiently understood. Previous human research has focused on memorizing or rating affective pictures and less on physiological affective responsivity. This may result in overlapping definitions of affective and declarative memories and inconsistent deductions for how rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) and slow-wave sleep (SWS) are involved. Literature associates REMS theta (4-8 Hz) activity with emotional memory processing, but its contribution to social stress habituation is unknown. Applying selective sleep stage suppression and oscillatory analyses, we investigated how sleep modulated affective adaptation toward social stress and retention of neutral declarative memories. Native Finnish participants (N = 29; age, M = 25.8 years) were allocated to REMS or SWS suppression conditions. We measured physiological (skin conductance response, SCR) and subjective stress response and declarative memory retrieval thrice: before laboratory night, the next morning, and after 3 d. Linear mixed models were applied to test the effects of condition and sleep parameters on emotional responsivity and memory retrieval. Greater overnight increase in SCR toward the stressor emerged after suppressed SWS (intact REMS) relative to suppressed REMS (20.1% vs 6.1%; p = 0.016). The overnight SCR increase was positively associated with accumulated REMS theta energy irrespective of the condition (r = 0.601; p = 0.002). Subjectively rated affective response and declarative memory recall were comparable between the conditions. The contributions of REMS and SWS to habituation of social stress are distinct. REMS theta activity proposedly facilitates the consolidation of autonomic affective responses. Declarative memory consolidation may not have greater dependence on intact SWS relative to intact REMS.

Feelings as a currency of care: A role for agreeableness in emotional reactivity.

The personality trait of agreeableness is linked to a number of core tendencies (e.g., empathy, warmth) that operate in a feeling-based manner. Following considerations of this type, it is proposed that the motivations and characteristics of agreeable individuals, relative to disagreeable individuals, should render them more receptive to emotional events and more responsive to them for this reason. Potential links between agreeableness and emotional reactivity were assessed in two studies involving four samples (total N = 517) in which participants continuously rated their feeling states in response to a variety of affective images. Agreeableness did not predict the speed with which emotional reactions began, but agreeable individuals exhibited higher-magnitude peak intensities, regardless of whether stimuli were appetitive (pleasant) or aversive (unpleasant) in nature. The findings provide novel insights into the personality trait of agreeableness, emotional reactivity phenomena, and the dynamic processes that link agreeableness to emotion.

Causes of Violent Behavior in Individuals and Others: A Qualitative Exploration

The qualitative study Exploring Causes of Violent Behaviors in Self vs. Others examine how violent behavior manifests in one's own behavior and in the opinions of persons who have witnessed or experienced violent behavior. The study investigated self-vs.-other violent behavior causes and variables. Participants were selected based on these criteria: 18–25 years old, enrolled in BS, MSc, and M.Phil. programs, and violent behavior screening using a violence & aggression support questionnaire. The interview lasted 30 minutes. This study investigated the reasons for violent conduct in violent people and in those who see or experience violence. Research expert approved research procedure before data collection, and ethics were followed throughout the investigation. The Islamia University of Bahawalpur performed face-to-face, one-on-one interviews until saturation, and 7 participants were included. Participant confidentiality and informed consent were ensured before research. All ethics were considered during study and reporting. To eliminate response uncertainty, all interviews were audio recorded, and field notes were taken. After transcription in Nvivo (20), the data were coded, classified, and organized into themes and subthemes. This study's Nvivo 20-extracted findings were 5 major themes and subthemes. Each theme is expanded using responder quotes and literature support. All participants met research sample criteria. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed five main themes with subthemes. Themes include emotional reactivity, destructive behavior, peer influence, physiological causes, and cognitive factors. All these topics reflected participant experiences. Emotionally reactive and physiological elements were blamed for aggressive tendencies, along with peer influence, cognitive factors, and destructive actions. Further studies can examine violent behaviors on a broader sample and test interventions.

Associations between emotional reactivity to stress and adolescent substance use: Differences by sex and valence.

Although stress is often related to substance use, it remains unclear whether substance use is related to individual differences in how adolescents respond to stress. Therefore the present study examined associations between substance use and daily emotional reactivity to stress within a year across adolescence. Adolescents (N=330; Mage=16.40, SD=0.74 at study entry; n=186 female; n=138 Latine; n=101 European American; n=72 Asian American; n=19 identifying as another ethnicity including African American and Middle Eastern) completed a longitudinal study, including three assessments between the 10th grade and 3-years post-high school. At each assessment, participants reported frequency of alcohol and cannabis use and the number of substances they had ever used. They also completed 15 daily checklists, in which they reported the number of daily arguments and their daily emotion. Multilevel models suggested that more frequent alcohol and cannabis use were related to attenuated positive emotional reactivity to daily stress (i.e., smaller declines in positive emotion on days when they experienced more arguments) for both male and female adolescents. Associations for negative emotional reactivity to stress varied by sex; more frequent alcohol use and use of more substances in one's lifetime were related to greater anxious emotional reactivity to stress among female adolescents, whereas more frequent alcohol and cannabis use and higher lifetime substance use were related to attenuated depressive emotional reactivity to stress among male adolescents. Taken together, substance use was related to emotional reactivity to daily stress within the same year during adolescence, although associations differed by valence and adolescent sex.

Emotional Dysregulation and Sleep Problems: A Transdiagnostic Approach in Youth.

Sleep is a complex phenomenon that affects several aspects of life, including cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. Sleep disturbances, especially during adolescence, can negatively impact emotional regulation, making it a critical factor in targeting psychopathology. This study explores the interplay between emotional dysregulation (ED) and sleep patterns in a sample of 90 adolescent patients by means of self- and parent-rated clinical measures. Our findings reveal a bidirectional relationship between ED and sleep problems. Adolescents with higher affective instability experience poorer sleep quality, while those with worse sleep quality exhibit higher internalizing problems. Additionally, emotional reactivity is associated with disrupted circadian rhythms. These results emphasize the significance of addressing sleep problems in the context of psychopathology treatment, potentially leading to improved outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the most effective treatment strategies, including nonpharmacological and pharmacological interventions. Understanding the intricate relationship between sleep problems and emotion regulation offers insights for more targeted and effective treatment approaches for youths struggling with ED.

The biology of reactivity in human relationships: a conversation with Victoria Harrison

AbstractThe concept of differentiation of self and its relationship to the natural capacity of humans and other social animals to adapt underpins clinician and researcher Victoria Harrison's long‐term investigation of the biology of reactivity in relationships. Victoria's early research related to infertility and reproduction demonstrated how reactivity in at least three prior generations can contribute to chronic conditions, such as endometriosis, that are less amenable to intervention. Her most recent project, the ‘Observations of Change in Physiology and Family’ research, highlights how work on differentiation of self improves functional outcomes in physical and mental health for the family. While an individual may not experience the ‘calm mind’ that is often the goal of conventional therapeutic intervention, a significant reduction in symptoms and an improvement in overall functioning and relatedness are outcomes. This occurred when participants focused on increasing person‐to‐person contact with extended family members, reducing their emotional reactivity to significant others in the important triangles of their life and family and maintaining intellectual activity, often described as curiosity, even while reacting.

Affective cognition in response to infant stimuli in pregnant compared with non-pregnant women

ABSTRACT Physiological, neurocognitive, and psychological changes facilitates adaptation to motherhood. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women in affective cognitive and psychophysiological responses to infant stimuli. We hypothesized that pregnant women would display (I) reduced negative emotional reactivity and perception of distressed infant stimuli, (II) increased attention toward infants compared to adults, and (III) greater psychophysiological response to infant distress. The sample comprised 22 pregnant women (22–38 weeks gestation) and 18 non-pregnant nulliparous women. Four computerized tasks were administered to measure affective cognitive processing of infant stimuli, while recording facial expressions, electrodermal activity, and eye gazes. Results indicated that pregnant women exhibited fewer negative facial expressions, reported less frustration when exposed to distressed infant cries, and showed greater attention to emotional infant faces compared to non-pregnant women, but the differences did not remain statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. No differences were observed in psychophysiological responses. The findings indicate a possible pregnancy-mediated effect regarding the cognitive processing of infant stimuli, potentially as preparation for motherhood. Future research with larger samples and longitudinal design is needed to understand the predictors, timing, and plasticity of cognitive changes during pregnancy.

Neural responses to reward, threat, and emotion regulation and transition to hazardous alcohol use.

Reward processing and regulation of emotions are thought to impact the development of addictive behaviors. In this study, we aimed to determine whether neural responses during reward anticipation, threat appraisal, emotion reactivity, and cognitive reappraisal predicted the transition from low-level to hazardous alcohol use over a 12-month period. Seventy-eight individuals aged 18-22 with low-level alcohol use [i.e. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score <7] at baseline were enrolled. They completed reward-based and emotion regulation tasks during magnetic resonance imaging to examine reward anticipation, emotional reactivity, cognitive reappraisal, and threat anticipation (in the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, superior frontal gyrus, and insula, respectively). Participants completed self-report measures at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up time points to determine if they transitioned to hazardous use (as defined by AUDIT scores ≥8). Of the 57 participants who completed follow-up, 14 (24.6%) transitioned to hazardous alcohol use. Higher baseline AUDIT scores were associated with greater odds of transitioning to hazardous use (odds ratio = 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.13-2.66, P = .005). Brain activation to reward, threat, and emotion regulation was not associated with alcohol use. Of the neural variables, the amygdala response to negative imagery was numerically larger in young adults who transitioned to hazardous use (g =0.31), but this effect was not significant. Baseline drinking levels were significantly associated with the transition to hazardous alcohol use. Studies with larger samples and longer follow-up should test whether the amygdala response to negative emotional imagery can be used to indicate a future transition to hazardous alcohol use.

Emotion-Induced Frontal Alpha Asymmetry as a Candidate Predictor of Relapse After Discontinuation of Antidepressant Medication

BackgroundOne in 3 patients relapse after antidepressant discontinuation. Thus, the prevention of relapse after achieving remission is an important component in the long-term management of major depressive disorder. However, no clinical or other predictors are established. Frontal reactivity to sad mood as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging has been reported to relate to relapse independently of antidepressant discontinuation and is an interesting candidate predictor. MethodsPatients (n = 56) who had remitted from a depressive episode while taking antidepressants underwent electroencephalography (EEG) recording during a sad mood induction procedure prior to gradually discontinuing their medication. Relapse was assessed over a 6-month follow-up period. Thirty five healthy control participants were also tested. Current source density of the EEG power in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) was extracted and alpha asymmetry was computed by comparing the power across 2 hemispheres at frontal electrodes (F5 and F6). ResultsSad mood induction was robust across all groups. Reactivity of alpha asymmetry to sad mood did not distinguish healthy control participants from patients with remitted major depressive disorder on medication. However, the 14 (25%) patients who relapsed during the follow-up period after discontinuing medication showed significantly reduced reactivity in alpha asymmetry compared with patients who remained well. This EEG signal provided predictive power (69% out-of-sample balanced accuracy and a positive predictive value of 0.75). ConclusionsA simple EEG-based measure of emotional reactivity may have potential to contribute to clinical prediction models of antidepressant discontinuation. Given the very small sample size, this finding must be interpreted with caution and requires replication in a larger study.