Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Hauptstrasse 47-51, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department Neuroimaging, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2018 Dec;12(6):1529-1543. doi: 10.1007/s11682-017-9788-6.
Cognitive reappraisal of emotion is strongly related to long-term mental health. Therefore, the exploration of underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms has become an essential focus of research. Considering that reappraisal and executive functions rely on a similar brain network, the question arises whether behavioral differences in executive functions modulate neural activity during reappraisal. Using functional neuroimaging, the present study aimed to analyze the role of working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive flexibility in brain activity during down-regulation of negative emotions by reappraisal in N = 20 healthy participants. Results suggests that WMC and cognitive flexibility were negatively correlated with prefrontal activity during reappraisal condition. Here, results also revealed a negative correlation between cognitive flexibility and amygdala activation. These findings provide first hints that (1) individuals with lower WMC and lower cognitive flexibility might need more higher-order cognitive neural resources in order to down-regulate negative emotions and (2) cognitive flexibility relates to emotional reactivity during reappraisal.
情绪的认知重评与长期心理健康密切相关。因此，探索潜在的认知和神经机制已成为研究的重点。考虑到重评和执行功能依赖于相似的大脑网络，问题出现了，即执行功能的行为差异是否调节重评过程中的神经活动。本研究使用功能神经影像学，旨在分析在 20 名健康参与者中，工作记忆容量（WMC）和认知灵活性在通过重评下调负面情绪时对大脑活动的作用。结果表明，在重评条件下，WMC 和认知灵活性与前额叶活动呈负相关。此外，结果还显示认知灵活性与杏仁核激活呈负相关。这些发现首次表明：（1）WMC 较低和认知灵活性较低的个体可能需要更多的高阶认知神经资源来下调负面情绪；（2）认知灵活性与重评过程中的情绪反应有关。
