Explicit and implicit emotion regulation in individuals with problematic internet use: Evidence from effective...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Emotion regulation comprises explicit and implicit processes.
• Problematic internet use (PIU) is linked to cognitive control deficits, potentially impairing explicit emotion regulation.
• Implicit emotion regulation, less cognitively demanding, may be preserved in PIU.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare explicit and implicit emotion regulation performance in individuals with PIU.
• To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying emotion regulation in PIU using fNIRS.
• To explore the role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmpfc) and orbitofrontal cortex (ofc) in PIU emotion regulation.

Main Methods:

• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to assess brain activity.
• Behavioral assessments measured explicit and implicit emotion regulation performance.
• Analysis focused on group differences in performance and neural connectivity.

Main Results:

• Explicit emotion regulation was less effective than implicit regulation overall.
• Individuals with PIU showed poorer explicit emotion regulation performance.
• No significant group differences in implicit emotion regulation performance were found.
• The PIU group exhibited reduced vmpfc activation and vmpfc-ofc connectivity.
• vmpfc-ofc connectivity mediated the relationship between PIU severity and explicit emotion regulation.

Conclusions:

• Explicit emotion regulation is impaired in individuals with PIU, while implicit regulation remains intact.
• The vmpfc and ofc are crucial neural correlates for emotion regulation in PIU.
• Findings highlight distinct neural pathways for explicit and implicit emotion regulation in PIU.