Polo Universitário de Rio das Ostras, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio das Ostras, Brazil.
Neuroscience. 2011 Oct 13;193:241-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.003. Epub 2011 Jul 20.
In the present study we investigated whether individuals would take advantage of an extrinsic and incidental reappraisal strategy by giving them precedent descriptions to attenuate the emotional impact of unpleasant pictures. In fact, precedent descriptions have successfully promoted down-regulation of electrocortical activity and physiological responses to unpleasant pictures. However, the neuronal substrate underlying this effect remains unclear. Particularly, we investigated whether amygdala and insula responses, brain regions consistently implicated in emotional processing, would be modulated by this strategy. To achieve this, highly unpleasant pictures were shown in two contexts in which a prior description presented them as taken from movie scenes (fictitious) or real scenes. Results showed that the fictitious condition was characterized by down-regulation of amygdala and insula responses. Thus, the present study provides new evidence on reappraisal strategies to down-regulate emotional reactions and suggest that amygdala and insula responses to emotional stimuli are adaptive and highly flexible.
在本研究中，我们调查了个体是否会通过给予先前描述来利用外在和偶然的重评策略来减轻不愉快图片的情绪影响。事实上，先前的描述已经成功地促进了对不愉快图片的电皮质活动和生理反应的下调。然而，这种效应的神经基础仍不清楚。特别是，我们调查了杏仁核和脑岛的反应是否会被这种策略所调节，杏仁核和脑岛是一致地参与情绪处理的脑区。为了实现这一目标，在两种情况下展示了高度不愉快的图片，其中一种情况是通过预先描述将其呈现为电影场景（虚构）或真实场景中的图片。结果表明，虚构条件的特点是杏仁核和脑岛反应的下调。因此，本研究为情绪反应的重评策略提供了新的证据，并表明对情绪刺激的杏仁核和脑岛反应是适应性的和高度灵活的。
