Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jan 2;121(1):e2306295121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2306295121. Epub 2023 Dec 27.
Focusing on the upside of negative events often promotes resilience. Yet, the underlying mechanisms that allow some people to spontaneously see the good in the bad remain unclear. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion has long suggested that positive affect, including positivity in the face of negative events, is linked to idiosyncratic thought patterns (i.e., atypical cognitive responses). Yet, evidence in support of this view has been limited, in part, due to difficulty in measuring idiosyncratic cognitive processes as they unfold. To overcome this barrier, we applied Inter-Subject Representational Similarity Analysis to test whether and how idiosyncratic neural responding supports positive reactions to negative experience. We found that idiosyncratic functional connectivity patterns in the brain's default network while resting after a negative experience predicts more positive descriptions of the event. This effect persisted when controlling for connectivity 1) before and during the negative experience, 2) before, during, and after a neutral experience, and 3) between other relevant brain regions (i.e., the limbic system). The relationship between idiosyncratic default network responding and positive affect was largely driven by functional connectivity patterns between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the rest of the default network and occurred relatively quickly during rest. We identified post-encoding rest as a key moment and the default network as a key brain system in which idiosyncratic responses correspond with seeing the good in the bad.
关注负面事件的积极面通常会促进韧性。然而，仍不清楚是什么机制使一些人能够自然而然地从坏事中看到好的一面。积极情绪的拓宽与建构理论长期以来一直表明，积极情绪，包括面对负面事件时的积极性，与特质性思维模式（即非典型的认知反应）有关。然而，支持这种观点的证据一直很有限，部分原因是难以衡量特质性认知过程的展开。为了克服这一障碍，我们应用主体间代表性相似性分析来检验特质性神经反应是否以及如何支持对负面体验的积极反应。我们发现，在经历负面体验后休息时，大脑默认网络中的特质性功能连接模式预测了对事件的更积极描述。当控制连接性时，这种效应仍然存在）1）在负面体验之前和期间，2）在中性体验之前、期间和之后，以及 3）在其他相关脑区（即边缘系统）之间。特质性默认网络反应与积极情绪之间的关系主要是由腹侧前额叶皮层和默认网络其余部分之间的功能连接模式驱动的，并且在休息期间相对较快地发生。我们确定了后编码休息作为一个关键时刻，默认网络作为一个关键的大脑系统，其中特质性反应与从坏事中看到好的一面相对应。
