Differences between endogenous and exogenous emotion inhibition in the human brain.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Affective Science

Background:

• Emotion regulation is crucial for mental health.
• Previous research primarily used external cues for emotion inhibition.
• The neural basis of self-initiated emotion regulation remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms of endogenous emotion inhibition (self-control).
• To compare brain activity during self-initiated versus externally-cued emotion inhibition.
• To explore the functional connectivity underlying different emotion regulation strategies.

Main Methods:

• Healthy participants viewed emotionally evocative images.
• Two conditions: endogenous (self-decided inhibition/feeling) and exogenous (externally-cued inhibition/feeling).
• fMRI and functional connectivity analyses were used to assess brain activity and interactions.

Main Results:

• Subjective emotional intensity was more modulated by self-control (endogenous) than external cues (exogenous).
• Endogenous inhibition activated the dorso-medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC).
• Exogenous inhibition activated the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC), distinct from endogenous control.

Conclusions:

• A functional dissociation exists between endogenous (dmPFC) and exogenous (lPFC) emotion inhibition centers.
• Endogenous inhibition involves greater control of the dmPFC over the pre-supplementary motor area.
• These findings offer insights into emotion regulation in both healthy individuals and psychopathology.