Goal setting and attaining: Neural correlates of positive coping style and hope

Trait hope focuses on individual goal-related thoughts and is assumed to be a critical indicator for one's mental health. However, the neurobiological basis of hope and the neurological mechanisms underlying the relationship between positive coping style (PCS) and hope (including the two dimensions of pathway thinking and agency thinking) are still largely unknown. Thus, this study explored the neural basis of trait hope by correlating the regional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) with the self-reported hope of 576 healthy first-year college students underwent RS-fMRI. Our results showed that trait hope was positively associated with PCS. A whole-brain correlation analysis provided early evidence that higher levels of trait hope were associated with decreased ALFF in the left frontal pole cortex (FPC). Additionally, pathway thinking was associated with decreased ALFF in FPC, increased ALFF in the right postcentral gyrus (PCG), decreased RSFC of the left FPC and left posterior cingulate cortex, the left FPC and right middle temporal gyrus, and the right PCG and left cerebellum. Furthermore, mediation analyses demonstrated that the PCG-cerebellum connectivity might link to pathway thinking through PCS and PCS might relate to trait hope through PCG-cerebellum connectivity. Our findings contribute to the neurobiological basis of hope and the neural mechanism underlying the relationship between trait hope and coping style.