Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
Front Psychol. 2014 Apr 10;5:296. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00296. eCollection 2014.
The present study examined age differences in the timing and neural recruitment within lateral and medial PFC while younger and older adults hedonically regulated their responses to unpleasant film clips. When analyses focused on activity during the emotional peak of the film clip (the most emotionally salient portion of the film), several age differences emerged. When comparing regulation to passive viewing (combined effects of selective attention and reappraisal) younger adults showed greater regulation related activity in lateral PFC (DLPFC, VLPFC, OFC) and medial PFC (ACC) while older adults showed greater activation within a region DLPFC. When assessing distinct effects of the regulation conditions, an ANOVA revealed a significant Age × Regulation Condition interaction within bilateral DLPFC and ACC; older adults but not young adults showed greater recruitment within these regions for reappraisal than selective attention. When examining activity at the onset of the film clip and at its emotional peak, the timing of reappraisal-related activity within VLPFC differed between age groups: younger adults showed greater activity at film onset while older adults showed heightened activity during the peak. Our results suggest that older adults rely more heavily on PFC recruitment when engaging cognitively demanding reappraisal strategies while PFC-mediated regulation might not be as task-specific for younger adults. Older adults' greater reliance on cognitive control processing during emotion regulation may also be reflected in the time needed to implement these strategies.
本研究考察了年轻和年长成年人在愉悦地调节对不愉快电影片段的反应时，外侧和内侧前额叶皮质中时间和神经募集的年龄差异。当分析集中在电影片段的情绪高峰期间（电影中最具情绪显著性的部分）的活动时，出现了几个年龄差异。当将调节与被动观看（选择性注意和再评价的综合效应）进行比较时，年轻成年人在外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC、VLPFC、OFC）和内侧前额叶皮质（ACC）中显示出与调节相关的更大活动，而年长成年人在 DLPFC 内显示出更大的激活。当评估调节条件的不同影响时，方差分析显示双侧 DLPFC 和 ACC 中存在显著的年龄×调节条件相互作用；年长成年人而非年轻成年人在再评价时比选择性注意时在这些区域显示出更大的招募。当检查电影片段开始时和情绪高峰时的活动时，VLPFC 内与再评价相关的活动的时间在年龄组之间有所不同：年轻成年人在电影开始时显示出更大的活动，而年长成年人在高峰时显示出更高的活动。我们的结果表明，年长成年人在进行认知要求高的再评价策略时更依赖于前额叶皮质的招募，而对于年轻成年人来说，前额叶皮质介导的调节可能不是那么特定于任务。年长成年人在情绪调节过程中对认知控制处理的更大依赖也可能反映在实施这些策略所需的时间上。
