Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Department of Psychology, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44787 Bochum, Germany.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017 Dec 1;12(12):1950-1958. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsx120.
The ability to form positive mental images may be an important aspect of mental health and well-being. We have previously demonstrated that the vividness of positive prospective imagery is increased in healthy older adults following positive imagery cognitive training. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) is involved in the simulation of future affective episodes. Here, we investigate the effect of positive imagery training on rACC activity during the imagination of novel, ambiguous scenarios vs closely matched control training. Seventy-five participants received 4 weeks of positive imagery or control training. Participants underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, during which they completed an Ambiguous Sentences Task, which required them to form mental images in response to cues describing ambiguous social events. rACC activity was positively correlated with the pleasantness ratings of images formed. Positive imagery training increased rACC and bilateral hippocampal activity compared with the control training. Here, we demonstrate that rACC activity during positive imagery can be changed by the cognitive training. This is consistent with other evidence that this training enhances the vividness of positive imagery, and suggests the training may be acting to increase the intensity and affective quality of imagery simulating the future.
形成积极心理意象的能力可能是心理健康和幸福感的一个重要方面。我们之前已经证明,在接受积极想象认知训练后,健康的老年成年人的积极前瞻性想象的生动度会增加。额前扣带皮层(rACC)参与对未来情感事件的模拟。在这里,我们研究了积极想象训练对想象新颖的、模糊场景时 rACC 活动的影响,与匹配的对照训练相比。七十五名参与者接受了为期 4 周的积极想象或对照训练。参与者接受了功能磁共振成像扫描,在此期间,他们完成了一项模糊句子任务,要求他们根据描述模糊社会事件的提示来形成心理意象。rACC 活动与形成的图像的愉悦度评分呈正相关。与对照训练相比,积极想象训练增加了 rACC 和双侧海马体的活动。在这里,我们证明 rACC 在积极想象过程中的活动可以通过认知训练来改变。这与其他证据一致,即这种训练可以提高积极想象的生动度,并表明训练可能是为了增加模拟未来的意象的强度和情感质量。