Neural Correlates Of Emotion Regulation Research Articles

The impact of culture on Emotion Suppression: Insights from an Electrophysiological Study of Emotion Regulation in Japan

Prior theory and evidence suggest that native East Asians tend to down-regulate their negative emotional arousal through expressive suppression, an emotion regulation technique focused on suppressing one’s emotional experience. One proposed explanation for this choice and effectiveness of regulation strategy is rooted in their commitment to the cultural value of interdependence with others. However, prior work has not yet thoroughly supported this hypothesis using in vivo neural correlates of emotion regulation. Here, we utilized an established electroencephalogram (EEG) correlate of emotional arousal, the late positive potential (LPP), to examine whether down-regulation of the LPP in native East Asians might be particularly pronounced for those high in interdependent self-construal. Here, 52 native Japanese participants attempted to suppress their emotional reaction to unpleasant images during EEG recording. In support of the hypothesis that emotion suppression among native East Asians is influenced by the cultural value of interdependence, there was a significant effect of interdependent self-construal on the LPP. Specifically, those high in interdependent self-construal had a smaller LPP for unpleasant pictures when instructed to suppress emotions than when watching the stimuli naturally. However, this effect was negligible for those low in interdependent self-construal, suggesting that cultural values impact the efficacy of different in vivo emotion regulation techniques. These results demonstrate the importance of identifying correspondence between self-report measures and in vivo correlates of emotion regulation in cross-cultural research.

Neural Markers of Emotion Reactivity and Regulation Before and After a Targeted Social Rejection: Differences Among Girls With and Without Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Histories

BackgroundSuicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are common among adolescent girls and increase risk for suicide death. Emotion regulation difficulties are linked with STBs, particularly in response to targeted social rejection. However, neural correlates of this link have not been investigated and may identify novel targets for interventions. Here, we examined neural correlates of emotion regulation before and after an experimentally delivered targeted social rejection in adolescent girls with STBs and girls without STBs (i.e., control participants). MethodsGirls (N = 138; age range, 9–15 years; mean [SD] age = 11.6 [1.79] years) completed a functional neuroimaging emotion regulation task. In the middle of the task, participants were socially rejected by an unfamiliar confederate whom the participants had elected to meet. Participants also completed a multimethod STB assessment. ResultsBefore rejection, girls with a history of STBs, compared with control participants, showed greater activation in the right superior frontal gyrus when passively viewing negative stimuli, and girls with suicidal behavior (SB) versus those without SB showed less activation in the right frontal pole during emotion regulation attempts. Following the rejection, girls with STBs, compared with control participants, showed greater activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus during emotion regulation. ConclusionsBefore social rejection, girls with SB versus without SB may not activate brain regions implicated in emotion regulation, suggesting a vulnerability to poor regulation at their baseline emotional state. After social rejection, girls with any history of STBs showed altered activation in a brain region strongly associated with inhibition and emotion regulation success, possibly reflecting increased effort at inhibiting emotional responses during regulation following stress exposure.

Emotion regulation and reactivity are associated with cortical thickness in early to mid-childhood.

This study explored the neural correlates of emotion regulation and emotional reactivity in early to mid-childhood. A sample of 96 children (70% White, mid-to-high socioeconomic status) aged 3-8years provided structural neuroimaging data and caregivers reported on emotion regulation and emotional reactivity. The amygdala, insula, inferior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex were explored as a priori regions of interest (ROIs). ROI analyses revealed that emotion regulation was positively associated with cortical thickness in the insula, whereas emotional reactivity was negatively associated with cortical thickness in the inferior frontal gyrus. Exploratory whole-brain analyses suggested positive associations between emotion regulation and both left superior temporal thickness and right inferior temporal thickness, as well as negative associations between emotional reactivity and left superior temporal thickness. There were no significant associations between emotional regulation or reactivity and amygdala volume or cortical surface area. These findings support the notion that surface area and cortical thickness are distinct measures of brain maturation. In sum, these findings suggest that children may rely on a wider set of neural regions for emotion regulation and reactivity than adults, which is consistent with theories of interactive specialization across the life span.

Sex Differences in Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation in Relation to Resting Heart Rate Variability

Prior studies suggest that sex differences in emotion regulation (ER) ability contribute to sex disparities in affective disorders. In behavioral studies, females rely more on maladaptive strategies to cope with emotional distress than males. Neuroimaging studies suggest that males more efficiently regulate emotion than females by showing less prefrontal cortex activity (suggesting less effort) for similar amygdala activity (similar regulation outcome). However, physiological studies involving heart rate variability (HRV) indicated that, compared with males, females have higher resting HRV, indicative of parasympathetic dominance and better control of emotion. To help resolve these apparently inconsistent findings, we examined sex differences in how resting HRV relates to brain activity while using cognitive reappraisal, one of the adaptive strategies. Based on 51 males and 49 females, we found that females showed different levels of self-rated emotional intensity and amygdala activity for negative versus positive emotions, while males did not. Females also showed greater overall prefrontal cortex activity but similar levels of amygdala activity compared to males. Sex differences in how resting HRV related to brain activity during ER were evident only during viewing or regulating positive emotion. The results suggest that sex differences in the neural correlates of ER and resting HRV might lie in valence more than arousal modulation.

Neural correlates of emotion regulation and associations with disordered eating during preadolescence.

Neural correlates of emotion regulation and associations with disordered eating during preadolescence.

Ageing, Emotion Regulation and Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

The process of ageing is usually defined in terms of physical and cognitive decline. A number of observations have been associated with the process of ageing such as, reduced productivity, a conservative nature, and a preference for tranquility. However, previous studies have reported interesting findings on increased emotional abilities among older adults which enable them to critically evaluate their life to find a meaningful purpose which thereby, accord to escalate their emotional stability. The current article describes the scope of existing literature examining emotion regulation in older adults. We first describe the emotion regulation in older adults through psycho-social perspectives. Following, we discuss the cognitive and neural correlates of emotion regulation in older adults. We then lay emphasis on the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions to enhance the quality of life including emotion regulation abilities in older adults.

Reappraisal and empathic perspective-taking – More alike than meets the eyes

Emotion regulation and empathy represent highly intertwined psychological processes sharing common conceptual ground. Despite the wealth of research in these fields, the joint and distinct functional nature and topological features of these constructs have not yet been investigated using the same experimental approach. This study investigated the common and distinct neural correlates of emotion regulation and empathy using a meta-analytic approach. The regions that were jointly activated were then characterized using meta-analytic connectivity modeling and functional decoding of metadata terms. The results revealed convergent activity within the ventrolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex as well as temporal regions. The functional decoding analysis demonstrated that emotion regulation and empathy were related to highly similar executive and internally oriented processes. This synthesis underlining strong functional and neuronal correspondence between emotion regulation and empathy could (i) facilitate greater integration of these two separate lines of literature, (ii) accelerate progress toward elucidating the neural mechanisms that support social cognition, and (iii) push forward the development of a common theoretical framework for these psychological processes essential to human social interactions.

How Therapeutic Tapping Can Alter Neural Correlates of Emotional Prosody Processing in Anxiety.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychological disorders worldwide resulting in a great demand of adequate and cost-effective treatment. New short-term interventions can be used as an effective adjunct or alternative to pharmaco- and psychotherapy. One of these approaches is therapeutic tapping. It combines somatic stimulation of acupressure points with elements from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Tapping reduces anxiety symptoms after only one session. Anxiety is associated with a deficient emotion regulation for threatening stimuli. These deficits are compensated e.g., by CBT. Whether Tapping can also elicit similar modulations and which dynamic neural correlates are affected was subject to this study. Anxiety patients were assessed listening to pseudowords with a different emotional prosody (happy, angry, fearful, and neutral) prior and after one Tapping session. The emotion-related component Late Positive Potential (LPP) was investigated via electroencephalography. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) served as control intervention. Results showed LPP reductions for negative stimuli after the interventions. Interestingly, PMR influenced fearful and Tapping altered angry prosody. While PMR generally reduced arousal for fearful prosody, Tapping specifically affected fear-eliciting, angry stimuli, and might thus be able to reduce anxiety symptoms. Findings highlight the efficacy of Tapping and its impact on neural correlates of emotion regulation.

Atypical Dorsolateral Prefrontal Activity in Female Adolescents With Conduct Disorder During Effortful Emotion Regulation

BackgroundConduct disorder (CD), which is characterized by severe aggressive and antisocial behavior, is linked to emotion processing and regulation deficits. However, the neural correlates of emotion regulation are yet to be investigated in adolescents with CD. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether CD is associated with deficits in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, or both. MethodsWe used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study effortful emotion regulation by cognitive reappraisal in 59 female adolescents 15 to 18 years of age (30 with a CD diagnosis and 29 typically developing (TD) control adolescents). ResultsBehaviorally, in-scanner self-report ratings confirmed successful emotion regulation within each group individually but significant group differences in emotional reactivity and reappraisal success when comparing the groups (CD < TD). Functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed significantly lower activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus in CD compared with TD adolescents during emotion regulation, but no group differences for emotional reactivity. Furthermore, connectivity between left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the bilateral putamen, right prefrontal cortex, and amygdala was reduced in CD compared with TD adolescents during reappraisal. Callous-unemotional traits were unrelated to neural activation, but these traits correlated negatively with behavioral reports of emotional reactivity. ConclusionsOur results demonstrate reduced prefrontal brain activity and functional connectivity during effortful emotion regulation in female adolescents with CD. This sheds light on the neural basis of the behavioral deficits that have been reported previously. Future studies should investigate whether cognitive interventions are effective in enhancing emotion-regulation abilities and/or normalizing prefrontal and temporoparietal activity in female adolescents with CD.

Cognitive emotion regulation and personality: an analysis of individual differences in the neural and behavioral correlates of successful reappraisal.

A common and mostly effective emotion regulation strategy is reappraisal. During reappraisal, activity in cognitive control brain regions increases and activity in brain regions associated with emotion responding (e.g., the amygdala) diminishes. Immediately after reappraisal, it has been observed that activity in the amygdala increases again, which might reflect a paradoxical aftereffect. While there is extensive empirical evidence for these neural correlates of emotion regulation, only few studies targeted the association with individual differences in personality traits. The aim of this study is to investigate these associations more thoroughly. Seventy-six healthy participants completed measures of broad personality traits (Big Five, Positive and Negative Affect) as well as of more narrow traits (habitual use of emotion regulation) and performed an experimental fMRI reappraisal task. Participants were instructed to either permit their emotions or to detach themselves from the presented negative and neutral pictures. After each picture, a relaxation period was included. Reappraisal success was determined by arousal ratings and activity in the amygdala. During reappraisal, we found activation in the prefrontal cortex and deactivation in the left amygdala. During the relaxation period, an immediate aftereffect was found in occipital regions and marginally in the amygdala. Neither personality traits nor habitual use of emotion regulation predicted reappraisal success or the magnitude of the aftereffect. We replicated typical activation and deactivation patterns during intentional emotion regulation and partially replicated the immediate aftereffect in the amygdala. However, there was no association between personality traits and emotion regulation success.

Neural response during emotion regulation in monozygotic twins at high familial risk of affective disorders

PurposeWe investigated the neural correlates of emotion regulation and -reactivity in adult unaffected monozygotic twins with a co-twin history of unipolar or bipolar disorder (high-risk), remitted or partially remitted twins with a personal history of unipolar or bipolar disorder (affected) and twins with no personal or first-degree family history of unipolar or bipolar disorder (low-risk).MethodsWe assessed 37 high-risk, 56 affected and 28 low-risk participants. Participants viewed unpleasant and neutral pictures during functional magnetic resonance imaging and were instructed to down-regulate their emotional response through reappraisal or mental imagery, as well as to maintain the elicited emotion.ResultsAfter adjusting for subsyndromal depressive symptoms, bilateral supplementary motor areas, posterior dorsal anterior cingulate cortices and the left frontal eye field showed less activity during reappraisal of unpleasant pictures in high-risk than low-risk participants. Notably, affected participants did not differ from high-risk or low-risk participants in neural response during reappraisal. There were no group differences in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex seed based functional connectivity during reappraisal or neural response during mental imagery or emotional reactivity.ConclusionLesser response in dorsal midline areas might reflect familial risk related abnormalities during down regulation of emotional reactivity through reappraisal.

175. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression and the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation: Prediction of Treatment Outcome and Longitudinal Effects

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective for a substantial minority of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but its mechanism of action is unknown, and predictors of treatment outcome are lacking. As core techniques of CBT seek to enhance emotion regulation, we examined the neural correlates of emotion regulation using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) before and after a course of CBT for MDD.

Trait Worry and Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation

Abstract. Pathological worrying is of high transdiagnostic relevance and is related to maladaptive emotion regulation processes. Dysfunctional emotion regulation and its underlying neural mechanisms might contribute to the maintenance of fear over time. Therefore, this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aims at investigating the association of trait worry with neural correlates of emotion regulation. Twenty-six healthy females were instructed to passively look at aversive pictures, to distract themselves with a neutral thought, or to down- and up-regulate negative feelings via cognitive reappraisal in response to repeatedly presented aversive pictures. Trait worry was not related to cognitive reappraisal but to distraction, which leads to a greater reduction of self-reported negative feelings and insula activation in individuals with higher trait worry. The current study indicates that the neural mechanisms underlying distraction seem to be altered in pathological worrying and may prevent adaptive emotional processing of aversive stimuli leading to the maintenance of fear.

Neural substrates of cognitive emotion regulation: a brief review

The current paper aims to review the recent evidence on the neural correlates of emotion regulation. The review is organized into two main sections. First, cognitive models that neuroimaging resear...

Longitudinal effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression on the neural correlates of emotion regulation

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective for a substantial minority of patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD), but its mechanism of action at the neural level is not known. As core techniques of CBT seek to enhance emotion regulation, we scanned 31 MDD participants prior to 14 sessions of CBT using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a task in which participants engaged in a voluntary emotion regulation strategy while recalling negative autobiographical memories. Eighteen healthy controls were also scanned. Twenty-three MDD participants completed post-treatment fMRI scanning, and 12 healthy volunteers completed repeat scanning without intervention. Better treatment outcome was associated with longitudinal enhancement of the emotion regulation-dependent BOLD contrast within subgenual anterior cingulate, medial prefrontal cortex, and lingual gyrus. Baseline emotion regulation-dependent BOLD contrast did not predict treatment outcome or differ between MDD and control groups. CBT response may be mediated by enhanced downregulation of neural activity during emotion regulation; brain regions identified overlap with those found using a similar task in a normative sample, and include regions related to self-referential and emotion processing. Future studies should seek to determine specificity of this downregulation to CBT, and evaluate it as a treatment target in MDD.

The Role of Motivation in Cognitive Reappraisal for Depressed Patients.

Background: People engage in emotion regulation in service of motive goals (typically, to approach a desired emotional goal or avoid an undesired emotional goal). However, how motives (goals) in emotion regulation operate to shape the regulation of emotion is rarely known. Furthermore, the modulatory role of motivation in the impaired reappraisal capacity and neural abnormalities typical of depressed patients is not clear. Our hypothesis was that (1) approach and avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation and the underlying neural substrates; (2) approach/avoidance motivation may modulate emotion regulation neural abnormalities in depressed patients.Methods: Twelve drug-free depressed patients and fifteen matched healthy controls reappraised emotional pictures with approach/avoidant strategies and self-rated their emotional intensities during fMRI scans. Approach/avoidance motivation was measured using Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scale. We conducted whole-brain analyses and correlation analyses of regions of interest to identify alterations in regulatory prefrontal-amygdala circuits which were modulated by motivation.Results: Depressed patients had a higher level of BIS and lower levels of BAS-reward responsiveness and BAS-drive. BIS scores were positively correlated with depressive severity. We found the main effect of motivation as well as the interactive effect of motivation and group on the neural correlates of emotion regulation. Specifically, hypoactivation of IFG underlying the group differences in the motivation-related neural correlates during reappraisal may be partially explained by the interaction between group and reappraisal. Consistent with our prediction, dlPFC and vmPFC was differentially between groups which were modulated by motivation. Specifically, the avoidance motivation of depressed patients could predict the right dlPFC activation during decreasing positive emotion, while the approach motivation of normal individuals could predict the right vmPFC activation during decreasing negative emotion. Notably, striatal regions were observed when examining the neural substrates underlying the main effect of motivation (lentiform nucleus) and the interactive effect between motivation and group (midbrain).Conclusions: Our findings highlight the modulatory role of approach and avoidance motivation in cognitive reappraisal, which is dysfunctional in depressed patients. The results could enlighten the CBT directed at modifying the motivation deficits in cognitive regulation of emotion.

THE ENDOPHENOTYPE OF EMOTIONAL REGULATION IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)

Introduction OCD symptoms have been associated with task-dependent alterations in brain activity implying dysregulation in limbic (e.g. the amygdala) and frontal-striatal circuits. Emerging evidence shows that there are functional neural endophenotypes in executive processing suggesting compensatory hyperactivation of fronto-parietal executive control networks and fronto-limbic dysregulation in OCD patients and first-degree relatives (de Wit et al., 2012; van Velzen et al., 2015). There are however few studies on emotional processing using a family-study design. We recently showed altered frontal-parietal and limbic functioning in OCD patients during emotion processing and emotion regulation (de Wit et al., 2015), but it remains unclear if these changes are also present in first-degree relatives. Method Forty-three unmedicated adult OCD patients, 19 of their unaffected siblings and 38 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during an emotion regulation task including neutral, fear and OCD-related visual stimuli. Stimuli were processed during natural appraisal (‘attend’ instruction) and during cognitive reappraisal (‘regulate’ instruction). Self-report distress ratings were collected from each picture. The neural correlates of emotion regulation were assessed using SPM12. Results Fear and OCD symptom provocation resulted in higher self-report distress ratings in patients compared with both siblings and healthy controls. Functional MRI analyses showed that specifically during OCD-related provocation, compared with controls, BOLD activation amplitude and timing was altered in the left hippocampus, right caudate nucleus and amygdala (for both patients and siblings), and bilateral thalamus (for siblings only). During fear regulation we previously found fronto-parietal hypoactivation in OCD patients, but fronto-parietal activation was not significantly different in siblings from patients or controls. During regulation of OCD-related stimuli siblings were more similar to patients (i.e. showing hyperactivation of the dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC) compared with controls). Compared with both patients and controls, hyperactivation in siblings was more extensive (including the supplementary motor area and parietal regions), and siblings showed increased dmPFC-connectivity with the middle cingulate, superior temporal, and superior frontal cortices during OCD-related emotion regulation. The diminished dmPFC-amygdala connectivity we previously reported in OCD patients during fear-regulation was not present in the sibling group. Discussion Unaffected siblings of OCD patients were similar to controls on the behavioral response to emotional provocation, but showed dissimilar neural responses during OCD-related emotion provocation and regulation compared to healthy controls, while there were fewer differences for general fear stimuli. During OCD-related emotion provocation we observed altered activation in limbic and striatal regions in both OCD patients and siblings. During OCD-related emotion regulation siblings showed few differences compared to patients, but showed increased activation in fronto-parietal and temporal areas compared to controls. Siblings also showed extensive dmPFC hyperconnectivity compared to the patients and controls, which suggests a compensatory response. These results extend previous findings of functional endophenotypes in OCD, and show dissociation between subjective distress and brain activity during emotion processing in unaffected siblings of people with OCD.

Hard to look on the bright side: neural correlates of impaired emotion regulation in depressed youth.

The cognitive regulation of emotion is impaired in major depressive disorder and has been linked to an imbalance of pre-frontal–subcortical brain activity. Despite suggestions that this relationship represents a neurodevelopmental marker of depression, few studies have examined the neural correlates of emotion regulation in depressed youth. We combined a ‘cognitive reappraisal’ paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the neural correlates of emotional regulation in a large sample of non-medicated depressed adolescents and young adults (n = 53) and healthy controls (n = 64). As compared with healthy controls, young people with depression were less able to reduce negative affect during reappraisal, which corresponded to blunted modulation of amygdala activity. While in healthy individuals amygdala activation was modulated by age, no such relationship was observed in depressed individuals. Heightened activation of the ventromedial pre-frontal cortex (vmPFC) and reduced activation of the dorsal midline cortex was also found for the depressed group. Overall, these findings suggest that brain systems that support cognitive reappraisal are functionally altered in youth depression. We argue that excessive engagement of the vmPFC in particular, may be central to understanding how the process of putting a ‘positive spin’ on negative emotional material may be altered in depressed youth.

Review on Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation and Music: Implications for Emotion Dysregulation.

Previous studies have examined the neural correlates of emotion regulation and the neural changes that are evoked by music exposure. However, the link between music and emotion regulation is poorly understood. The objectives of this review are to (1) synthesize what is known about the neural correlates of emotion regulation and music-evoked emotions, and (2) consider the possibility of therapeutic effects of music on emotion dysregulation. Music-evoked emotions can modulate activities in both cortical and subcortical systems, and across cortical-subcortical networks. Functions within these networks are integral to generation and regulation of emotions. Since dysfunction in these networks are observed in numerous psychiatric disorders, a better understanding of neural correlates of music exposure may lead to more systematic and effective use of music therapy in emotion dysregulation.

[Neural activity related to emotional and empathic deficits in subjects with post-traumatic stress disorder who survived the L'Aquila (Central Italy) 2009 earthquake].

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a chronic anxiety disorder. The continued efforts to control the distressing memories by traumatized individuals, together with the reduction of responsiveness to the outside world, are called Emotional Numbing (EN). The EN is one of the central symptoms in PTSD and it plays an integral role not only in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic symptomatology, but also in the disability of emotional regulation. This disorder shows an abnormal response of cortical and limbic regions which are normally involved in understanding emotions since the very earliest stages of the development of processing ability. Patients with PTSD exhibit exaggerated brain responses to emotionally negative stimuli. Identifying the neural correlates of emotion regulation in these subjects is important for elucidating the neural circuitry involved in emotional and empathic dysfunction. We showed that PTSD patients, all survivors of the L'Aquila 2009 earthquake, have a higher sensitivity to negative emotion and lower empathy levels. These emotional and empathic deficits are accompanied by neural brain functional correlates. Indeed PTSD subjects exhibit functional abnormalities in brain regions that are involved in stress regulation and emotional responses. The reduced activation of the frontal areas and a stronger activation of the limbic areas when responding to emotional stimuli could lead the subjects to enact coping strategies aimed at protecting themselves from the re-experience of pain related to traumatic events. This would result in a dysfunctional hyperactivation of subcortical areas, which may cause emotional distress and, consequently, impaired social relationships often reported by PTSD patients.