A comparison of a multivariate neural pattern versus amygdala response for regulation of negative emotion

Emotion regulation is a core psychological function, and one of the most common strategies, cognitive reappraisal, involves thinking about a situation differently to alter feelings. A picture-induced negative emotion signature (PINES) has been shown to reflect negative emotion with greater accuracy than individual brain regions (e.g. the amygdala), but it remains unclear whether this measure is sensitive to cognitive reappraisal. In an functional MRI (fMRI) study of 82 young adults, participants viewed negative images with instructions to passively observe or cognitively reappraise them. We applied PINES and extracted amygdala activation levels. Amygdala activation did not differ between conditions (d = 0.16, P > .1), but PINES level was reduced during the cognitive reappraisal relative to passive viewing (d = 0.27, P = .02). An interaction test between condition and brain measure was not significant. Decreased PINES level was associated with lower negative affect (ρ = 0.27, P = .02), and PINES showed a significantly stronger relationship with negative affect relative to amygdala activation (P = .005). These findings suggest that whole-brain patterns may relate more strongly to emotion regulation than amygdala activation. Future studies in a larger sample may better determine the magnitude of these differences.