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Liu Z, Lu K, Hao N, Wang Y. Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression Evoke Distinct Neural Connections during Interpersonal Emotion Regulation. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8456-8471. [PMID: 37852791 PMCID: PMC10711701 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0954-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal emotion regulation is the dynamic process where the regulator aims to change the target's emotional state, which is presumed to engage three neural systems: cognitive control (i.e., dorsal and ventral lateral PFC, etc.), empathy/social cognition (i.e., dorsal premotor regions, temporal-parietal junction, etc.), and affective response (i.e., insula, amygdala, etc.). This study aimed to identify the underlying neural correlate (especially the interpersonal one), of interpersonal emotion regulation based on two typical strategies (cognitive appraisal, expressive suppression). Thirty-four female dyads (friends) were randomly assigned into two strategy groups, with one assigned as the target and the other as the regulator to downregulate the target's negative emotions using two strategies. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy system was used to simultaneously measure participants' neural activity. Results showed that these two strategies could successfully downregulate the targets' negative emotions. Both strategies evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings between the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems (e.g., PFC, temporal-parietal junction, premotor cortex, etc.), whereas cognitive reappraisal (vs expressive suppression) evoked a broader pattern. Further, cognitive reappraisal involved increased interpersonal brain synchronization between the prefrontal and temporal areas at the sharing stage, whereas expressive suppression evoked increased interpersonal brain synchronization associated with the PFC at the regulation stage. These findings indicate that intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the abovementioned systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing, underlie interpersonal emotion regulation based on cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT As significant as intrapersonal emotion regulation, interpersonal emotion regulation subserves parent-child, couple, and leader-follower relationships. Despite enormous growth in research on intrapersonal emotion regulation, the field lacks insight into the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation. This study aimed to probe the underlying neural correlates of interpersonal emotion regulation using a multibrain neuroimaging (i.e., hyperscanning) based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies successfully downregulated the target's negative emotions. More importantly, they evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing. These findings deepen our understanding of the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixin Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Kelong Lu
- School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325035, China
| | - Ning Hao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Yanmei Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, 200335, China
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2
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Zhang W, Qiu L, Tang F, Sun HJ. Gender differences in cognitive and affective interpersonal emotion regulation in couples: an fNIRS hyperscanning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad057. [PMID: 37837406 PMCID: PMC10612568 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation is vital in maintaining romantic relationships in couples. Although gender differences exist in cognitive and affective strategies during 'intrapersonal' emotion regulation, it is unclear how gender differences through affective bonds work in 'interpersonal' emotion regulation (IER) in couples. Thirty couple dyads and 30 stranger dyads underwent functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning recordings when targets complied with their partner's cognitive engagement (CE) and affective engagement (AE) strategies after viewing sad and neutral videos. Behaviorally, for males, CE was less effective than AE in both groups, but little difference occurred for females between AE and CE. For couples, Granger causality analysis showed that male targets had less neural activity than female targets in CH06, CH13 and CH17 during CE. For inflow and outflow activities on CH06 and CH13 (frontopolar cortex), respectively, male targets had less activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition, while for outflow activities on CH 17 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), female targets had more activity in the CE condition than in the AE condition. However, these differences were not observed in strangers. These results suggest gender differences in CE but not in AE and dissociable flow patterns in male and female targets in couples during sadness regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhai Zhang
- School of Education Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
- The Big Data Centre for Neuroscience and AI, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
| | - Lanting Qiu
- School of Education Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
| | - Fanggui Tang
- School of Education Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
| | - Hong-Jin Sun
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
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3
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Zhang W, Qiu L, Tang F, Li H. Affective or cognitive interpersonal emotion regulation in couples: an fNIRS hyperscanning study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:7960-7970. [PMID: 36944535 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Sadness regulation is crucial for maintaining the romantic relationships of couples. Interpersonal emotion regulation, including affective engagement (AE) and cognitive engagement (CE), activates social brain networks. However, it is unclear how AE and CE regulate sadness in couples through affective bonds. We recruited 30 heterosexual couple dyads and 30 heterosexual stranger dyads and collected functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning data while each dyad watched sad or neutral videos and while the regulator regulated the target's sadness. Then, we characterized interbrain synchronization (IBS) and Granger causality (GC). The results indicated that AE and CE were more effective for couples than for strangers and that sadness evaluation of female targets was lower than that of male targets. CE-induced IBS at CH13 (BA10, right middle frontal gyrus) was lower for female targets than for male targets, while no gender difference in AE was detected. GC change at CH13 during CE was lower in the sad condition for male targets than for female targets, while no gender difference in AE was discovered. These observations suggest that AE and CE activate affective bonds but that CE was more effective for regulating sadness in female targets, revealing different neural patterns of cognitive and affective sadness regulation in couples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhai Zhang
- The Big Data Centre for Neuroscience and AI, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
- Mental Health Center, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Lanting Qiu
- The Big Data Centre for Neuroscience and AI, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
| | - Fanggui Tang
- The Big Data Centre for Neuroscience and AI, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang 421002, China
| | - Hong Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Educational Science, Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou Guangdong, China
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4
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Massarwe A, Cohen N. Understanding the benefits of extrinsic emotion regulation in depression. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1120653. [PMID: 37179872 PMCID: PMC10172593 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1120653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression is a serious psychiatric illness that negatively affects people's feelings, thoughts, and actions. Providing emotion regulation support to others, also termed Extrinsic Emotion Regulation (EER), reduces depressive symptoms such as perseverative thinking and negative mood. In this conceptual review paper, we argue that EER may be especially beneficial for individuals with depression because it enhances the cognitive and affective processes known to be impaired in depression. Behavioral studies have shown that EER recruits processes related to cognitive empathy, intrinsic emotion regulation (IER), and reward, all impaired in depression. Neuroimaging data support these findings by showing that EER recruits brain regions related to these three processes, such as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex which is associated with IER, the ventral striatum, which is associated with reward-related processes, and medial frontal regions related to cognitive empathy. This conceptual review paper sheds light on the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of EER for individuals with depression and therefore offers novel avenues for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atheer Massarwe
- Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Noga Cohen
- Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Chavira Trujillo G, Gallego Tomás M, López‐Pérez B. The link between cognitive and affective empathy and interpersonal emotion regulation direction and strategies. Scand J Psychol 2022; 63:594-600. [PMID: 35698828 PMCID: PMC9796316 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) refers to the different processes aimed at changing the emotional states of others. Some authors have speculated about the pivotal role of empathy for interpersonal ER to happen. However, the very limited empirical evidence suggests that only cognitive empathy as opposed to affective empathy may be a necessary antecedent. As previous research only considered interpersonal affect improvement and showed mixed evidence for the regulation strategies, we aimed to address this gap in the current research. To that aim, 374 adults (M = 30.3 years, 249 female) reported their tendency to engage in cognitive (perspective-taking) and affective empathy (empathic concern and personal distress) as well as their tendency to improve and worsen others' mood, and to use different regulation strategies (situation modification, attention deployment, cognitive change, and modulation of the emotional response) to change others' feelings. Results of the regression analyses showed that while affect improvement was not significantly predicted by any of the empathy variables, affect worsening was positively predicted by personal distress. Concerning the regulation strategies, while cognitive change and situation modification were positively predicted by personal distress, attention deployment was positively predicted by perspective-taking. Overall, the obtained results highlight the need to further investigate the link between empathy and ER and to carefully consider the methods selected for that purpose.
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Ben Shalom D. The amygdala-insula-medial prefrontal cortex-lateral prefrontal cortex pathway and its disorders. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:1028546. [PMID: 36506872 PMCID: PMC9729692 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.1028546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Smith and Lane have suggested a model of emotion processing with at least three stations: areas like the amygdala, which process discrete body features areas like the anterior insula, which process whole-body patterns and areas like the medial prefrontal cortex, which process emotion concepts. Ben Shalom and Bonneh have suggested a model of the prefrontal cortex, in which medial BA 9 integrates emotional states, and lateral BA 9 performs selection/inhibition on these states. Taken together, the current paper suggests a pathway for emotion processing with at least four stations: areas like the amygdala, which process discrete body features areas like the anterior insula, which process whole-body patterns, medial BA 9 which integrates emotion concepts, and lateral BA 9, which performs selection/inhibition on these concepts. Following the existing literature, it then suggest that there is a significant involvement of the amygdala in psychopathy (Blair), of the anterior insula in alexithymia (Bird), of the medial BA 9 in deficits in somatosensory discrimination (Ben Shalom), and of lateral BA 9 in emotional impulsivity (Ronel).
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Kinkead A, Riquelme CS. Emotional interdependence: the key to studying extrinsic emotion regulation. PSICOLOGIA-REFLEXAO E CRITICA 2022; 35:35. [PMID: 36329354 PMCID: PMC9633879 DOI: 10.1186/s41155-022-00237-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The literature on extrinsic emotion regulation or the intention to modify other people’s emotions has grown in recent years, accompanied by proposals in which its definition is made more precise, the way to understand it in relation to other related processes is delimited, and the consequences of its use in the quality of close relationships are evidenced. Conceptual reviews on this topic recognize the importance of examining the affect and dyadic dynamics that arise between those who regulate each other extrinsically. This dynamic refers to emotional interdependence, the potential of the members of a dyad to shape each other’s emotions reciprocally, particularly in those who share a close bond, such as that of a romantic couple. There is little theoretical development regarding the relevance of this characteristic in relation to EER. This article has two objectives: (1) to make a narrative synthesis of the characteristics that define EER and (2) to expand and complexify the existing model by including the emotional interdependence as a vital component in the understanding of the functioning of EER. Lastly, the role of emotional interdependence in the emergence, maintenance, and satisfaction concerning couple relationships is made explicit through phenomena such as shared reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Kinkead
- grid.441837.d0000 0001 0765 9762Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Av. Pedro de Valdivia 425, Providencia, Santiago, Chile ,grid.412193.c0000 0001 2150 3115Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
| | - Christian Salas Riquelme
- grid.412193.c0000 0001 2150 3115Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
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Arbel R, Szpiro SF, Sagi J, Khuri M, Berkovits L, Cohen N. Reappraising negative emotions reduces distress during the COVID-19 outbreak. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022:1-10. [PMID: 36124046 PMCID: PMC9476464 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03642-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In two studies, we examined the utility of intrinsic (i.e., self) versus extrinsic (i.e., other) reappraisal training for distress reduction during two consecutive COVID-19 lockdowns in Israel. In both Study 1 (n = 104) and Study 2 (n = 181), participants practiced the use of reappraisal for eight sessions across three weeks. Participants were trained to reappraise either a personal event (self-reappraisal group) or an incident presumably written by another participant (other-reappraisal group). Study 2 also included an untrained control group. Outcome measures were daily negative mood and psychological distress immediately at post-training and at a two-month follow-up. The results demonstrate a benefit for training compared to no training in lowering immediate post-training distress and daily negative emotions. However, this advantage disappeared at the two-month follow-up. In both studies, intrinsic reappraisal was associated with lower post-training distress than extrinsic reappraisal. Findings suggest reappraising negative experiences may lower distress at times of major contextual stress. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03642-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reout Arbel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, The Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Hushi Ave, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Sarit F.A. Szpiro
- Department of Special Education, Haifa, Israel
- The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | | | - Lior Berkovits
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Haifa, Israel
| | - Noga Cohen
- Department of Special Education, Haifa, Israel
- The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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9
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Ngombe N, Kessler K, Shaw DJ. Take my advice: Physiological measures reveal that intrinsic emotion regulation is more effective under external guidance. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 180:49-59. [PMID: 35914547 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Research into emotion regulation (ER) has focused primarily on the intra-personal process through which we regulate our own emotions intrinsically. More recently, however, studies have begun to explore the inter-personal nature of intrinsic ER - that is, how we regulate our emotions under the guidance of others. Preliminary evidence suggests that ER might be more effective when implemented in an inter- compared with an intra-personal manner, but these findings are based almost exclusively on self-reported ratings that capture only the subjective experience of emotions. The current study therefore investigated whether this apparent superiority of inter-personal intrinsic ER could be replicated and extended to physiological measures of affective reactions - namely, various metrics of electrodermal activity. In a within-subjects design, a sufficiently powered sample (N = 146) were required to down-regulate their emotional reactions to negatively valenced images using an ER strategy they had chosen themselves intra-personally or one that had been recommended to them inter-personally. Physiological responses converged to demonstrate the greater effectiveness of inter- over intra-personal ER in decreasing negative affective reactions, despite subjective ratings suggesting that participants perceived the opposite to be true. The superiority of inter- over intra-personal ER in physiological recordings was unrelated to individuals' perceptions of their ability to regulate their own emotions, however, and so it remains to be seen if and how such benefits extend to clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Ngombe
- School of Psychology, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - Klaus Kessler
- School of Psychology, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
| | - Daniel Joel Shaw
- School of Psychology, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
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Suarez GL, Burt SA, Gard AM, Burton J, Clark DA, Klump KL, Hyde LW. The impact of neighborhood disadvantage on amygdala reactivity: Pathways through neighborhood social processes. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101061. [PMID: 35042163 PMCID: PMC8777301 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Youth growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely than their advantaged peers to face negative behavioral and mental health outcomes. Although studies have shown that adversity can undermine positive development via its impact on the developing brain, few studies have examined the association between neighborhood disadvantage and neural function, and no study has investigated potential social mechanisms within the neighborhood that might link neighborhood disadvantage to altered neural function. The current study evaluated the association between neighborhood disadvantage and amygdala reactivity during socioemotional face processing. We also assessed whether and which neighborhood-level social processes were related to amygdala reactivity, and whether these social processes mediated or moderated the association between neighborhood disadvantage and altered amygdala reactivity. We examined these aims in a registered report, using a sample of twins aged 7-19 years (N = 354 families, 708 twins) recruited from birth records with enrichment for neighborhood disadvantage. Twins completed a socioemotional face processing fMRI task and a sample of unrelated participants from the twins' neighborhoods were also recruited to serve as informants on neighborhood social processes. We found that neighborhood disadvantage was associated with greater right amygdala reactivity to threat, but only when neighborhood informants perceived norms in the neighborhood to be more permissive regarding general safety and management. The findings from this research add to the growing literature highlighting the influence of neighborhood disadvantage on amygdala function and the ways that supportive social processes may buffer the impact of adversity on brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela L Suarez
- Department of Psychology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - S Alexandra Burt
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Arianna M Gard
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience, The University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Jared Burton
- Department of Psychology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - D Angus Clark
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA
| | - Kelly L Klump
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Luke W Hyde
- Department of Psychology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
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Guendelman S, Bayer M, Prehn K, Dziobek I. Regulating negative emotions of others reduces own stress: Neurobiological correlates and the role of individual differences in empathy: Regulating others reduces own stress. Neuroimage 2022; 254:119134. [PMID: 35351648 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While witnessing the suffering of other people results in personal distress, it is not clear whether regulating others' emotions in such situations also comes at an emotional cost for the observer. METHODS this novel study included 62 subjects and used a newly developed functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) paradigm to investigate mechanisms of self and other emotion regulation via reappraisal while the subject and an interaction partner outside the scanner were facing the same distressing situation simultaneously. The relationship between distress levels and individual differences in emotional and cognitive empathy were also assessed. RESULTS We found that individuals exhibited especially high levels of personal distress when relating with a partner while both being exposed to aversive photographs and that especially highly empathetic individuals were prone to such personal distress. Moreover, when engaging in social emotion regulation, personal distress was reduced in the observer at a similar rate as in self emotion regulation. FMRI analyses revealed increased activation for other vs. self emotion regulation in the precuneus and the left temporo-parietal junction, which are commonly engaged in social cognition. Furthermore, this activation was associated with lower self-reported stress and decreased sympathetic autonomic activity. While regulating others, precuneus activation exhibited a distinctive functional connectivity profile with parietal emotion regulation regions. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates benefits of actively regulating another person's emotions for reducing one's own distress and identifies the precuneus as an important node for social emotion regulation. Given the novelty of the study design, the results are of exploratory and preliminary nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simón Guendelman
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind & Brain & Institute of Psychology; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Mareike Bayer
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind & Brain & Institute of Psychology; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristin Prehn
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind & Brain & Institute of Psychology; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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12
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Guendelman S, Bayer M, Prehn K, Dziobek I. Towards a mechanistic understanding of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) using an RCT neuroimaging approach: Effects on regulating own stress in social and non-social situations. Neuroimage 2022; 254:119059. [PMID: 35259523 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although much research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can reduce psychological stress, it is less clear if effects generalize to everyday social situations, which range among the largest stress triggers. Furthermore, mechanisms of MBIs have not been fully established. Emotion regulation (ER) has been suggested as one key mechanism, yet the role of cognitive reappraisal and acceptance strategies is still under debate. To address these questions, a neuroimaging-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed (n=68), comparing mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) with a reading/listening intervention (READ), using a novel dyadic paradigm for self and other emotion regulation under stress as primary outcome on behavior and brain levels and established empathy measures (clinicatrials.gov NCT03035669). Compared to READ, MBSR led to self-reported stress reduction through both cognitive reappraisal and acceptance only when regulating self and not when regulating others' distress. In addition, MBSR led to increased brain activation over time for regulating own (parietal cortex) and others' (precuneus, TPJ) emotions through cognitive reappraisal and acceptance, albeit this effect was also seen for the reading intervention for regulating own stress via reappraisal. Brain changes did not scale with subjective stress reduction and amount of meditation practice. More distant generalization effects of MBSR on socio-emotional functioning (cognitive empathy and compassion) could also not be shown. This study identified both cognitive reappraisal and acceptance as two ER mechanisms of MBSR, but indicates that effects do not extend to social settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simón Guendelman
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Institute of Psychology. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Mareike Bayer
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Institute of Psychology. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristin Prehn
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg - University of Applied Sciences and Medical University, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Institute of Psychology. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117, Berlin, Germany
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13
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Shamay-Tsoory SG, Hertz U. Adaptive Empathy: A Model for Learning Empathic Responses in Response to Feedback. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 17:1008-1023. [PMID: 35050819 DOI: 10.1177/17456916211031926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is usually deployed in social interactions. Nevertheless, common measures and examinations of empathy study this construct in isolation from the person in distress. In this article we seek to extend the field of examination to include both empathizer and target to determine whether and how empathic responses are affected by feedback and learned through interaction. Building on computational approaches in feedback-based adaptations (e.g., no feedback, model-free and model-based learning), we propose a framework for understanding how empathic responses are learned on the basis of feedback. In this framework, adaptive empathy, defined as the ability to adapt one's empathic responses, is a central aspect of empathic skills and can provide a new dimension to the evaluation and investigation of empathy. By extending existing neural models of empathy, we suggest that adaptive empathy may be mediated by interactions between the neural circuits associated with valuation, shared distress, observation-execution, and mentalizing. Finally, we propose that adaptive empathy should be considered a prominent facet of empathic capabilities with the potential to explain empathic behavior in health and psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone G Shamay-Tsoory
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa.,Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa
| | - Uri Hertz
- Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa.,Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of Haifa
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14
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Catricalà E, Conca F, Borsa VM, Cotelli M, Manenti R, Gobbi E, Binetti G, Cotta Ramusino M, Perini G, Costa A, Rusconi ML, Cappa SF. Different types of abstract concepts: evidence from two neurodegenerative patients. Neurocase 2021; 27:270-280. [PMID: 34058940 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2021.1931345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The observation of neurological patients showing selective impairments for specific conceptual categories contributed in the development of semantic memory theories. Here, we studied two patients (P01, P02), affected, respectively, by the semantic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (sv-PPA) and Cortico-Basal Syndrome (CBS). An implicit lexical decision task, including concrete (animals, tools) and abstract (emotions, social, quantity) concepts, was administered to patients and healthy controls.P01 and P02 showed an abolished priming effect for social and quantity-related concepts, respectively. This double dissociation suggests a role of different brain areas in representing specific abstract categories, giving insights for current semantic memory theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Catricalà
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - F Conca
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | - V M Borsa
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - M Cotelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - R Manenti
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - E Gobbi
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - G Binetti
- MAC Memory Clinic and Molecular Markers Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni Di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - M Cotta Ramusino
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - G Perini
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - A Costa
- IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy.,Department of Brain and Behavior, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - M L Rusconi
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - S F Cappa
- Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Mondino, Pavia, Italy
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15
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Does interpersonal emotion regulation ability change with age? HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2021.100847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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16
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On the benefits and costs of extrinsic emotion regulation to the provider: Toward a neurobehavioral model. Cortex 2020; 130:1-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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17
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Blanchard AR, Comfort WE. Keeping in Touch with Mental Health: The Orienting Reflex and Behavioral Outcomes from Calatonia. Brain Sci 2020; 10:E182. [PMID: 32235727 PMCID: PMC7139622 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10030182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Physical and psychological therapy based on touch has been gradually integrated into broader mental health settings in the past two decades, evolving from a variety of psychodynamic, neurobiological and trauma-based approaches, as well as Eastern and spiritual philosophies and other integrative and converging systems. Nevertheless, with the exception of a limited number of well-known massage therapy techniques, only a few structured protocols of touch therapy have been standardized and researched to date. This article describes a well-defined protocol of touch therapy in the context of psychotherapy-the Calatonia technique-which engages the orienting reflex. The orienting reflex hypothesis is explored here as one of the elements of this technique that helps to decrease states of hypervigilance and chronic startle reactivity (startle and defensive reflexes) and restore positive motivational and appetitive states.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - William Edgar Comfort
- Social and Cognitive Science Laboratory, Centre for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo 01241, Brazil;
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18
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Borja Jimenez KC, Abdelgabar AR, De Angelis L, McKay LS, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Changes in brain activity following the voluntary control of empathy. Neuroimage 2020; 216:116529. [PMID: 31931155 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In neuroscience, empathy is often conceived as relatively automatic. The voluntary control that people can exert on brain mechanisms that map the emotions of others onto our own emotions has received comparatively less attention. Here, we therefore measured brain activity while participants watched emotional Hollywood movies under two different instructions: to rate the main characters' emotions by empathizing with them, or to do so while keeping a detached perspective. We found that participants yielded highly consistent and similar ratings of emotions under both conditions. Using intersubject correlation-based analyses we found that, when encouraged to empathize, participants' brain activity in limbic (including cingulate and putamen) and somatomotor regions (including premotor, SI and SII) synchronized more during the movie than when encouraged to detach. Using intersubject functional connectivity we found that comparing the empathic and detached perspectives revealed widespread increases in functional connectivity between large scale networks. Our findings contribute to the increasing awareness that we have voluntary control over the neural mechanisms through which we process the emotions of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- K C Borja Jimenez
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A R Abdelgabar
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - L De Angelis
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - L S McKay
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Current Address: Division of Psychology, School of Education & Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street, Paisley, PA1 2BE, UK
| | - C Keysers
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018, WV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - V Gazzola
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018, WV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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19
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Verdejo-Román J, Bueso-Izquierdo N, Daugherty JC, Pérez-García M, Hidalgo-Ruzzante N. Structural brain differences in emotional processing and regulation areas between male batterers and other criminals: A preliminary study. Soc Neurosci 2018; 14:390-397. [PMID: 29804504 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2018.1481882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Poor emotion processing is thought to influence violent behaviors among male batterers in abusive relationships. Nevertheless, little is known about the neural mechanisms of emotion processing in this population. With the objective of better understanding brain structure and its relation to emotion processing in male batterers, the present study compares the cortical grey matter thickness of male batterers to that of other criminals in brain areas related to emotion. Differences among these brain areas were also compared to an emotional perception task. An MRI study and an emotional perception assessment was conducted with 21 male batterers and 20 men convicted of crimes other than Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Results demonstrated that batterers' had significantly thinner cortices in prefrontal (orbitofrontal), midline (anterior and posterior cingulate) and limbic (insula, parahipocampal) brain regions. The thickness of the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex in the batterer group correlated with scores on the emotional perception task. These findings shed light on a neuroscientific approach to analyzing violent behavior perpetrated by male batterers, leading to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in IPV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Verdejo-Román
- a The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR) , Granada , Spain.,b School of Psychology, Department of Personality , Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR) , Granada , Spain
| | - Natalia Bueso-Izquierdo
- a The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR) , Granada , Spain.,b School of Psychology, Department of Personality , Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR) , Granada , Spain
| | - Julia C Daugherty
- a The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR) , Granada , Spain.,b School of Psychology, Department of Personality , Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR) , Granada , Spain
| | - Miguel Pérez-García
- a The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR) , Granada , Spain.,b School of Psychology, Department of Personality , Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR) , Granada , Spain
| | - Natalia Hidalgo-Ruzzante
- a The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR) , Granada , Spain.,c School of Education, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology , University of Granada (UGR) , Granada , Spain
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20
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Abstract
A previous paper from our lab (Shalom, 2009) presented evidence that the medial part of the prefrontal cortex is involved in the integration of raw, unintegrated information into coherent, wholistic mental representations such as perceptual objects, episodic memories, emotional states, and motor actions. It has used this analysis to classify some challenges encountered by people with Autism Spectrum Disorders, linking different types of difficulties in integration with different subareas of the medial prefrontal cortex. The current paper performs a similar analysis for the corresponding subareas of the lateral prefrontal cortex. It presents evidence that the lateral part of the prefrontal cortex is involved in the selection/inhibition of perceptual, memory, emotion, and motor aspects of processing. It then uses this analysis to classify challenges encountered by people with ADHD, linking different types of difficulties in selection/inhibition to different subareas of the lateral prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziv Ronel
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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21
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Abraham E, Gilam G, Kanat-Maymon Y, Jacob Y, Zagoory-Sharon O, Hendler T, Feldman R. The Human Coparental Bond Implicates Distinct Corticostriatal Pathways: Longitudinal Impact on Family Formation and Child Well-Being. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:2301-2313. [PMID: 28401924 PMCID: PMC5645748 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Alloparental care, the cooperative care of offspring by group members other than the biological mother, has been widely practiced since early hominin evolution to increase infant survival and thriving. The coparental bond-a relationship of solidarity and commitment between two adults who join their effort to care for children-is a central contributor to children's well-being and sociality; yet, the neural basis of coparenting has not been studied in humans. Here, we followed 84 first-time co-parents (42 couples) across the first 6 years of family formation, including opposite-sex and same-sex couples, measured brain response to coparental stimuli, observed collaborative and undermining coparental behaviors in infancy and preschool, assayed oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP), and measured coparenting and child behavior problems at 6 years. Across family types, coparental stimuli activated the striatum, specifically the ventral striatum and caudate, striatal nodes implicated in motivational goal-directed social behavior. Psychophysiological interaction analysis indicated that both nodes were functionally coupled with the vmPFC in support of the human coparental bond and this connectivity was stronger as collaborative coparental behavior increased. Furthermore, caudate functional connectivity patterns differentiated distinct corticostriatal pathways associated with two stable coparental behavioral styles; stronger caudate-vmPFC connectivity was associated with more collaborative coparenting and was linked to OT, whereas a stronger caudate-dACC connectivity was associated with increase in undermining coparenting and was related to AVP. Finally, dyadic path-analysis model indicated that the parental caudate-vmPFC connectivity in infancy predicted lower child externalizing symptoms at 6 years as mediated by collaborative coparenting in preschool. Findings indicate that the coparental bond is underpinned by striatal activations and corticostriatal connectivity similar to other human affiliative bonds; highlight specific corticostriatal pathways as defining distinct coparental orientations that underpin family life; chart brain-hormone-behavior constellations for the mature, child-orientated coparental bond; and demonstrate the flexibility of this bond across family constellations and its unique contribution to child well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Abraham
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Gadi Gilam
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Yael Jacob
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orna Zagoory-Sharon
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Talma Hendler
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Department of Psychology and The Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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22
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Niven K. The four key characteristics of interpersonal emotion regulation. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 17:89-93. [PMID: 28950980 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 06/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Emotion researchers are increasingly interested in processes by which people influence others' feelings. Although one such process, interpersonal emotion regulation, has received particular attention in recent years, there remains confusion about exactly how to define this process. The present article aims to distinguish interpersonal emotion regulation from other, related processes by outlining its four key characteristics. Specifically, interpersonal emotion regulation is presented as a process of (i) regulation, that (ii) has an affective target, (iii) is deliberate, and (iv) has a social target. Considering these characteristics raises questions for future research concerning factors that may influence the process of interpersonal emotion regulation, why interpersonal emotion regulation sometimes fails, and whether interventions can improve people's use of interpersonal emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Niven
- Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester M15 6PB, UK.
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23
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Ashkanasy NM, Dorris AD. Emotions in the Workplace. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2017. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Neal M. Ashkanasy
- UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia;,
| | - Alana D. Dorris
- UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia;,
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24
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Xie X, Mulej Bratec S, Schmid G, Meng C, Doll A, Wohlschläger A, Finke K, Förstl H, Zimmer C, Pekrun R, Schilbach L, Riedl V, Sorg C. How do you make me feel better? Social cognitive emotion regulation and the default mode network. Neuroimage 2016; 134:270-280. [PMID: 27095057 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Revised: 03/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Socially-induced cognitive emotion regulation (Social-Reg) is crucial for emotional well-being and social functioning; however, its brain mechanisms remain poorly understood. Given that both social cognition and cognitive emotion regulation engage key regions of the default-mode network (DMN), we hypothesized that Social-Reg would rely on the DMN, and that its effectiveness would be associated with social functioning. During functional MRI, negative emotions were elicited by pictures, and - via short instructions - a psychotherapist either down-regulated participants' emotions by employing reappraisal (Reg), or asked them to simply look at the pictures (Look). Adult Attachment Scale was used to measure social functioning. Contrasting Reg versus Look, aversive emotions were successfully reduced during Social-Reg, with increased activations in the prefrontal and parietal cortices, precuneus and the left temporo-parietal junction. These activations covered key nodes of the DMN and were associated with Social-Reg success. Furthermore, participants' attachment security was positively correlated with both Social-Reg success and orbitofrontal cortex involvement during Social-Reg. In addition, specificity of the neural correlates of Social-Reg was confirmed by comparisons with participants' DMN activity at rest and their brain activations during a typical emotional self-regulation task based on the same experimental paradigm without a psychotherapist. Our results provide first evidence for the specific involvement of the DMN in Social-Reg, and the association of Social-Reg with individual differences in attachment security. The findings suggest that DMN dysfunction, found in many neuropsychiatric disorders, may impair the ability to benefit from Social-Reg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyao Xie
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Satja Mulej Bratec
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Gabriele Schmid
- Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Chun Meng
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Anselm Doll
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Afra Wohlschläger
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Kathrin Finke
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Hans Förstl
- Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Claus Zimmer
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Reinhard Pekrun
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Valentin Riedl
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Christian Sorg
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; TUM-NIC Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
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25
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Dixon-Gordon KL, Bernecker SL, Christensen K. Recent innovations in the field of interpersonal emotion regulation. Curr Opin Psychol 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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26
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Webb TL, Totterdell P, Ibar DNH. Foundations and Extensions for the Extended Model: More on Implicit and Explicit Forms of Emotion Regulation. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2015.960040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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