Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences - DipSCo, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 33, Rovereto, Italy.
Marica De Vincenzi onlus Foundation, Rovereto, Italy.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2022 Apr;22(2):304-315. doi: 10.3758/s13415-021-00952-3. Epub 2021 Oct 21.
Several neuroimaging studies have shown that a distributed network of brain regions is involved in our ability to appraise the emotions we experience in daily life. In particular, scholars suggested that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) may play a role in the appraisal of emotional stimuli together with subcortical regions, especially when stimuli are negatively valenced, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) may play a role in regulating emotions. However, proofs of the causal role of these regions are lacking. In the present study, we aim at testing this model by stimulating both the dACC and the left dlPFC via cathodal tDCS. Twenty-four participants were asked to attend and rate the arousal and valence of negative and neutral emotional stimuli (pictures and words) in three different experimental sessions: cathodal stimulation of dACC, left dlPFC, or sham. In addition to the experimental task, the baseline affective state was measured before and after the stimulation to further assess the effect of stimulation over the baseline affective state after the experimental session. Results showed that cathodal stimulation of dACC, but not the left dlPFC, was associated with reduced arousal ratings of emotional stimuli, both compared with the sham condition. Moreover, cathodal stimulation of left dlPFC decreased participant's positive affective state after the session. These findings suggest for the first time, a dissociation between the dACC and dlPFC, with the former more involved in emotion appraisal, and the latter more involved in mood modulation.
几项神经影像学研究表明，大脑区域的分布式网络参与了我们评估日常生活中体验到的情绪的能力。特别是，学者们提出背侧前扣带皮层（dACC）可能与皮质下区域一起在情绪刺激的评价中发挥作用，尤其是当刺激具有负效价时，而背外侧前额叶皮层（dlPFC）可能在调节情绪中发挥作用。然而，这些区域的因果作用的证据还缺乏。在本研究中，我们旨在通过经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）刺激 dACC 和左 dlPFC 来测试该模型。二十四名参与者被要求在三个不同的实验阶段（dACC 的阴极刺激、左 dlPFC 或假刺激）中关注和评估负面和中性情绪刺激（图片和文字）的唤醒度和效价。除了实验任务外，还在刺激前后测量基线情感状态，以进一步评估实验阶段后刺激对基线情感状态的影响。结果表明，dACC 的阴极刺激而不是左 dlPFC 的阴极刺激与情绪刺激的唤醒度评分降低有关，与假刺激相比均如此。此外，左 dlPFC 的阴极刺激会降低参与者在实验结束后的积极情绪状态。这些发现首次表明 dACC 和 dlPFC 之间存在分离，前者更多地参与情绪评估，后者更多地参与情绪调节。
