Age-related differences in functional connectivity during cognitive emotion regulation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Aging Research

Background:

• Emotion regulation relies on cognitive strategies to modulate emotional responses.
• Age can influence the choice and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural network connectivity in younger and older adults during cognitive reappraisal and selective attention.
• To examine age-related differences in brain regions activated during emotion regulation.

Main Methods:

• Used psychophysiological interaction analyses to study functional connectivity.
• Focused on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a key node in the emotion regulation network.
• Compared connectivity patterns during cognitive reappraisal, selective attention, and passive viewing.

Main Results:

• Both age groups showed greater functional connectivity between the ACC and PFC during reappraisal compared to other conditions.
• Younger adults exhibited stronger ACC connectivity with lateral dorsolateral PFC, ventrolateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, and posterior cingulate.
• Older adults demonstrated stronger ACC connectivity primarily with ventromedial PFC and orbitofrontal cortex during reappraisal.

Conclusions:

• Young and older adults utilize PFC networks for emotion regulation, particularly during reappraisal, but engage distinct regions within these networks.
• Older adults can recruit ACC and PFC regions into coherent networks for emotion regulation, despite potential age-related neural declines.