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Updated: Mar 31, 2026
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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
Published on: August 26, 2011
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Using real-time fMRI to influence effective connectivity in the developing emotion regulation network.
Kathrin Cohen Kadosh1, Qiang Luo2, Calem de Burca3
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK; Psychology Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
Neuroimage
|October 18, 2015
Summary
Neurofeedback (NF) effectively trained emotion regulation (ER) networks in adolescents by teaching them to control insula activation. This intervention shows promise for shaping developing social cognitive networks and reducing long-term emotional difficulties.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period for emotional development, with emotion regulation (ER) difficulties potentially leading to long-term issues.
- Real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback (NF) has shown success in training ER networks in adults, but its efficacy in adolescents is less understood.
- Understanding how NF influences plasticity in developing ER networks is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility and neural mechanisms of using real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback (NF) to train emotion regulation (ER) in adolescents.
- To determine if NF can modulate activity and connectivity within key ER networks in a developing brain.
- To assess the differential effects of up-regulating versus down-regulating ER network activity.
Main Methods:
- A group of 17 adolescents (aged 7-16) underwent real-time fMRI-based NF training to up-regulate activation in the bilateral insula, a key ER region.
- Participants performed both up-regulation and down-regulation tasks during fMRI scanning.
- Granger causality analysis was employed to examine directed information flow within the ER network before and after NF training.
Main Results:
- All participants successfully learned to increase insula activation during up-regulation trials compared to down-regulation trials.
- NF training induced differential Granger information flow patterns: bottom-up flow (amygdala to insula) increased during up-regulation, while top-down flow (from prefrontal cortex regions to insula) increased during down-regulation.
- These findings suggest that NF training impacted both the surface-level activation and the underlying neurocognitive network dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback (NF) is a feasible intervention for training emotion regulation (ER) networks in children and adolescents.
- NF training can differentially modulate directed network connectivity, influencing both bottom-up and top-down processing within ER networks.
- This approach holds potential for shaping crucial social cognitive networks during development and mitigating long-term emotional challenges.
