Changes in neural activity during the combining affect labeling and reappraisal

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Emotion regulation is crucial for mental well-being.
• Reappraisal and affect labeling are distinct emotion regulation strategies.
• The combined effects of these strategies on neural mechanisms are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural correlates of combining affect labeling and reappraisal for negative emotion regulation.
• To compare brain activity during combined affect labeling-reappraisal versus reappraisal alone.
• To examine functional connectivity changes in the amygdala.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
• Participants viewed negative images and employed either reappraisal alone or affect labeling followed by reappraisal.
• Functional connectivity analysis focused on the right amygdala as a seed region.

Main Results:

• Combined affect labeling and reappraisal showed increased activity in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and medial frontal gyrus compared to reappraisal alone.
• A significant decrease in right amygdala activity was observed with the combined strategy.
• Functional connectivity analysis revealed increased coupling with the right amygdala during combined affect labeling-reappraisal.

Conclusions:

• Affect labeling can modulate the neural processes of reappraisal.
• The combined use of affect labeling and reappraisal offers a potentially more effective method for regulating negative emotions.
• These findings have implications for developing enhanced emotion regulation techniques.