Disentangling cognition and emotion in older adults: the role of cognitive control and mental health in emotional conflict adaptation.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research suggests cognition has a bidirectional relationship with emotional processing in older adults, yet the relationship is still poorly understood. We aimed to examine a potential relationship between late-life cognitive function, mental health symptoms, and emotional conflict adaptation. We hypothesized that worse cognitive control abilities would be associated with poorer emotional conflict adaptation. We further hypothesized that a higher severity of mental health symptoms would be associated with poorer emotional conflict adaptation. METHODS: Participants included 83 cognitively normal community-dwelling older adults who completed a targeted mental health and cognitive battery, and emotion and gender conflict-adaptation tasks. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesis, poorer performance on components of cognitive control, specifically attention and working memory, was associated with poorer emotional conflict adaptation. This association with attention and working memory was not observed in the non-affective-based gender conflict adaptation task. Mental health symptoms did not predict emotional conflict adaptation, nor did performance on other cognitive measures. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that emotion conflict adaptation is disrupted in older individuals who have poorer attention and working memory. Components of cognitive control may therefore be an important potential source of inter-individual differences in late-life emotion regulation and cognitive affective deficits. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

COGNITION-CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT INTERACTIONS IN THE PREDICTION OF ANTIDEPRESSANT OUTCOMES IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER PATIENTS: RESULTS FROM THE iSPOT-D TRIAL.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) history has been associated with poor treatment response in major depressive disorder (MDD), but the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain opaque. Dysfunction in the neural circuits for executive cognition is a putative neurobiological consequence of CM that may contribute importantly to adverse clinical outcomes. We used behavioral and neuroimaging measures of executive functioning to assess their contribution to the relationship between CM and antidepressant response in MDD patients. METHODS: Ninety eight medication-free MDD outpatients participating in the International Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression were assessed at baseline on behavioral neurocognitive measures and functional magnetic resonance imaging during tasks probing working memory (continuous performance task, CPT) and inhibition (Go/No-go). Seventy seven patients completed 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment. Baseline behavioral and neuroimaging measures were assessed in relation to CM (history of childhood physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse) and posttreatment depression outcomes. RESULTS: Patients with maltreatment exhibited decreased modulation of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity during working memory updating on the CPT, and a corresponding impairment in CPT behavioral performance outside the scanner. No between-group differences were found for imaging or behavior on the Go/No-go test of inhibition. Greater DLPFC activity during CPT significantly predicted posttreatment symptom improvement in patients without maltreatment, whereas the relationship between DLPFC activity and symptom change was nonsignificant, and in the opposite direction, in patients with maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of CM on prefrontal circuitry involved in executive function is a potential predictor of antidepressant outcomes.

Tracking emotional valence: the role of the orbitofrontal cortex.

Successful navigation of the social world requires the ability to recognize and track emotions as they unfold and change dynamically. Neuroimaging and neurological studies of emotion recognition have primarily focused on the ability to identify the emotion shown in static photographs of facial expressions, showing correlations with the amygdala as well as temporal and frontal brain regions. In this study, we examined the neural correlates of continuously tracking dynamically changing emotions. Fifty-nine patients with diverse neurodegenerative diseases used a rating dial to track continuously how positive or how negative the character in a film clip felt. Tracking accuracy was determined by comparing participants' ratings with the ratings of 10 normal control participants. The relationship between tracking accuracy and regional brain tissue content was examined using voxel-based morphometry. Low tracking accuracy was primarily associated with gray matter loss in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Our finding that the right OFC is critical to the ability to track dynamically changing emotions is consistent with previous research showing right OFC involvement in both socioemotional understanding and modifying responding in changing situations.

Executive functions and the down-regulation and up-regulation of emotion.

This study examined the relationship between individual differences in executive functions (EF; assessed by measures of working memory, Stroop, trail making, and verbal fluency) and ability to down-regulate and up-regulate responses to emotionally evocative film clips. To ensure a wide range of EF, 48 participants with diverse neurodegenerative disorders and 21 older neurologically normal ageing participants were included. Participants were exposed to three different movie clips that were designed to elicit a mix of disgust and amusement. While watching the films they were either instructed to watch, down-regulate, and up-regulate their visible emotional responses. Heart rate and facial behaviours were monitored throughout. Emotion regulatory ability was operationalised as changes in heart rate and facial behaviour in the down- and up-regulation conditions, controlling for responses in the watch condition. Results indicated that higher verbal fluency scores were related to greater ability to regulate emotion in both the down-regulation and up-regulation conditions. This finding remained significant even after controlling for age and general cognitive functioning. No relationships were found between emotion regulation and the other EF measures. We believe these results derive from differences among EF measures, with verbal-fluency performance best capturing the complex sequence of controlled planning, activation, and monitoring required for successful emotion regulation. These findings contribute to our understanding of emotion-cognition interaction, suggesting a link between emotion-regulatory abilities and individual differences in complex executive functions.

Explicit and implicit emotion regulation: a dual-process framework.

It is widely acknowledged that emotions can be regulated in an astonishing variety of ways. Most research to date has focused on explicit (effortful) forms of emotion regulation. However, there is growing research interest in implicit (automatic) forms of emotion regulation. To organise emerging findings, we present a dual-process framework that integrates explicit and implicit forms of emotion regulation, and argue that both forms of regulation are necessary for well-being. In the first section of this review, we provide a broad overview of the construct of emotion regulation, with an emphasis on explicit and implicit processes. In the second section, we focus on explicit emotion regulation, considering both neural mechanisms that are associated with these processes and their experiential and physiological consequences. In the third section, we turn to several forms of implicit emotion regulation, and integrate the burgeoning literature in this area. We conclude by outlining open questions and areas for future research.

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia buffers against rejection sensitivity via emotion control.

Emerging evidence suggests that high resting heart rate variability in the respiratory frequency band, or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may capture individual differences in the capacity to engage in situationally appropriate regulation of affect and behavior. The authors therefore hypothesized that high RSA may act as a protective factor against difficulties controlling negative affect and hostile behaviors in conflicts with romantic partners in highly rejection-sensitive individuals--a population otherwise vulnerable to these responses. Results were consistent with this hypothesis such that highly rejection-sensitive participants reported less emotion control and more hostility in conflicts only if they were also low in RSA. Furthermore, emotion control mediated the joint effect of rejection-sensitivity and RSA on hostile conflict behavior. These results are consistent with the argument that resting RSA is a marker of flexible responding in the context of highly emotional situations, and further suggest that it may serve as a protective factor particularly in vulnerable populations.

Effect of antidepressant treatment on cognitive impairments associated with depression: a randomised longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Antidepressant treatment failure is a common problem worldwide. In this study, we assess whether or not an important aspect of depression, cognitive impairment, is untreated by antidepressants by studying the effect of acute antidepressant treatment on a range of cognitive domains. METHODS: In this randomised longitudinal study, which is part of the International Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression (iSPOT-D) trial, we assessed the effects of acute antidepressant treatment in a large patient population, across clinical remission outcomes, on a range of cognitive domains: attention, response inhibition, executive function during visuospatial navigation, cognitive flexibility, verbal memory, working memory, decision speed, information processing speed, and psychomotor response speed. We enrolled patients from primary or specialty care clinics in a multicentre, international, open-label, randomised, prospective trial. Eligible patients (aged 18-65 years) were previously untreated or were willing to undergo a 1-week medication washout before the study start, and could not have had inadequate response to study medications in the past. We enrolled a large population of medication-free (ie, untreated) outpatients in a depressive episode and assessed them for cognitive function at enrolment (pre-treatment), and again after 8 weeks of treatment with one of three antidepressant drugs (escitalopram, sertraline, or venlafaxine extended-release). Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to one of the three antidepressants using a blocked randomisation procedure (block size of 12). As a comparison group, we also simultaneously enrolled matched healthy participants. Healthy participants received no medication or intervention, but were assessed for change in cognitive and clinical measures during the same interval and testing protocol. Therefore, this group acts as a test-retest control for the primary outcome measure examined in this study, change in cognitive measures over 8 weeks of treatment in depressed patients. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00693849. FINDINGS: Between Dec 8, 2008, and Sept 30, 2011, we enrolled 1008 eligible people into the study. Impairment in five domains-attention, response inhibition, verbal memory, decision speed, and information processing-showed no relative improvement with acute treatment (controlling for time or repeated testing), irrespective of antidepressant treatment group, even in patients whose depression remitted acutely according to clinical measures. Broader cognitive impairment was associated with greater illness chronicity (earlier illness onset) but not with symptom severity or previous antidepressant failures. INTERPRETATION: Depression is associated with impairments in higher-order cognitive functions and information processing, which persist independently of clinical symptom change with treatment. We recorded no difference between the three antidepressants tested, with none showing efficacy for these impairments. Although the 8-week treatment period limits interpretation to acute treatment effects, it does highlight cognitive impairment as an untargeted contributor to incomplete treatment success. FUNDING: Brain Resource Company Operations Pty Ltd and NIH.

Frontoparietal Activation During Response Inhibition Predicts Remission to Antidepressants in Patients With Major Depression.

BACKGROUND: Despite cognitive function impairment in depression, its relationship to treatment outcome is not well understood. Here, we examined whether pretreatment activation of cortical circuitry during test of cognitive functions predicts outcomes for three commonly used antidepressants. METHODS: Eighty medication-free outpatients with major depression and 34 matched healthy controls were included as participants in the International Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression (iSPOT-D) trial. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants completed three tasks that assessed core domains of cognitive functions: response inhibition (Go/NoGo), selective attention (oddball), and selective working memory updating (1-back). Participants were randomized to 1 of 3 arms: escitalopram, sertraline (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors [SSRI]), or venlafaxine-extended release (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor [SNRI]) therapy. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were repeated after 8 weeks of treatment, and remission was assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. RESULTS: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation during inhibitory "no go" responses was a general predictor of remission, with remitters having the same pretreatment activation as control participants and nonremitters hypoactivating relative to controls. Posttreatment dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation was reduced in both remitters and controls but not in nonremitters. By contrast, inferior parietal activation differentially predicted remission between SSRI and SNRI medications, with SSRI remitters showing greater pretreatment activation than SSRI nonremitters and the SNRI group showing the opposite pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Intact activation in the frontoparietal network during response inhibition, a core cognitive function, predicts remission with antidepressant treatment, particularly for SSRIs, and may be a potential substrate of the clinical effect of treatment.

Limbic Activity Modulation Guided by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Inspired Electroencephalography Improves Implicit Emotion Regulation.

The amygdala has a pivotal role in processing traumatic stress; hence, gaining control over its activity could facilitate adaptive mechanism and recovery. To date, amygdala volitional regulation could be obtained only via real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a highly inaccessible procedure. The current article presents high-impact neurobehavioral implications of a novel imaging approach that enables bedside monitoring of amygdala activity using fMRI-inspired electroencephalography (EEG), hereafter termed amygdala-electrical fingerprint (amyg-EFP). Simultaneous EEG/fMRI indicated that the amyg-EFP reliably predicts amygdala-blood oxygen level-dependent activity. Implementing the amyg-EFP in neurofeedback demonstrated that learned downregulation of the amyg-EFP facilitated volitional downregulation of amygdala-blood oxygen level-dependent activity via real-time fMRI and manifested as reduced amygdala reactivity to visual stimuli. Behavioral evidence further emphasized the therapeutic potential of this approach by showing improved implicit emotion regulation following amyg-EFP neurofeedback. Additional EFP models denoting different brain regions could provide a library of localized activity for low-cost and highly accessible brain-based diagnosis and treatment.

Associations Between Childhood Abuse, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Implicit Emotion Regulation Deficits: Evidence From a Low-Income, Inner-City Population.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood abuse is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes, including increased risk for development of emotion dysregulation and psychopathology, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal of the present study was to examine associations between child abuse, PTSD symptoms, and performance on an emotional conflict regulation task that assesses implicit emotion regulation abilities. METHOD: The sample consisted of 67 (94% African American) females recruited from a public, urban hospital. Childhood abuse was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and PTSD was measured using the modified PTSD Symptom Scale. Task accuracy and implicit emotion regulation were measured through an emotional conflict regulation behavioral task. RESULTS: A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that exposure to moderate to severe childhood abuse was significantly related to worse emotional conflict regulation scores independent of current PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and adult trauma exposure, suggesting a deficit in implicit emotion regulation. We also found an interaction between PTSD symptoms and abuse exposure in predicting accuracy on the behavioral task; high levels of PTSD symptoms were associated with poorer task accuracy among individuals who reported moderate to severe exposure to childhood abuse. However, no relationship between implicit emotion regulation abilities and overall PTSD symptom severity was found. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence of an implicit emotion regulation deficit for individuals exposed to significant childhood abuse and further supports the growing evidence that addressing various aspects of emotion dysregulation, such as awareness of emotions and strategies to manage strong emotions, in the context of treatment would be valuable.

Delay of gratification in childhood linked to cortical interactions with the nucleus accumbens.

Delay of gratification (DG) is the ability to forego immediate temptations in the service of obtaining larger, delayed rewards. An extensive body of behavioral research has revealed that DG ability in childhood is associated with a host of important outcomes throughout development, and that attentional focus away from temptations underlies this ability. In this study, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to identify the neural underpinnings of individual differences in DG among children. We observed a relationship between behavior during the classic DG task, a well-studied and ecologically valid measure, and functional connectivity during a modified version of this task in the scanner. Specifically, greater attentional focus away from temptations was associated with stronger functional coupling between the nucleus accumbens, a brain region that supports approach behavior, and several regions within prefrontal and parietal cortex that support self-control. These results shed light on the network interactions that contribute to DG and that account for individual differences in this capacity.

The international Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression (iSPOT-D): outcomes from the acute phase of antidepressant treatment.

We aimed to characterize a large international cohort of outpatients with MDD within a practical trial design, in order to identify clinically useful predictors of outcomes with three common antidepressant medications in acute-phase treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The international Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression has presently enrolled 1008 treatment-seeking outpatients (18-65 years old) at 17 sites (five countries). At pre-treatment, we characterized participants by symptoms, clinical history, functional status and comorbidity. Participants were randomized to receive escitalopram, sertraline or venlafaxine-extended release and managed by their physician following usual treatment practices. Symptoms, function, quality of life, and side-effect outcomes were assessed 8 weeks later. The relationship of anxiety to response and remission was assessed by comorbid Axis I diagnosis, presence/absence of anxiety symptoms, and dimensionally by anxiety symptom severity. The sample had moderate-to-severe symptoms, but substantial comorbidity and functional impairment. Of completers at week 8, 62.2% responded and 45.4% reached remission on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; 53.3% and 37.6%, respectively on the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms. Functional improvements were seen across all domains. Most participants had side effects that occurred with a frequency of 25% or less and were reported as being in the "none" to minimal/mild range for intensity and burden. Outcomes did not differ across medication groups. More severe anxiety symptoms at pre-treatment were associated with lower remission rates across all medications, independent of depressive severity, diagnostic comorbidity or side effects. Across medications, we found consistent and similar improvements in symptoms and function, and a dimensional prognostic effect of comorbid anxiety symptoms. These equivalent outcomes across treatments lay the foundation for identifying potential neurobiological and genetic predictors of treatment outcome in this sample.

Neural activity to positive expressions predicts daily experience of schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms in adults with high social anhedonia.

Social anhedonia (SA), the diminished pleasure from social relationships, is a prominent characteristic of the vulnerability and manifestation of schizophrenia disorder. However, SA can develop for multiple reasons and little is known about its neural basis; these 2 issues hinder the utility and sensitivity of SA as a marker of schizophrenia pathology. This study investigated whether lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) deficits in social reward processing are associated with both SA and other schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms. During functional MRI (fMRI), a community sample of healthy adults (N = 30) with high and low SA viewed positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions. Afterward, participants completed an online daily diary in which they rated schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms and occurrence of interpersonal conflict each day for 21 days. Compared with low SA, high SA participants had less ventral (V)LPFC activity to positive versus neutral expressions. In addition, participants with a combination of high SA and low VLPFC activity to positive versus neutral expressions had worse daily diary ratings of schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms, including worse cognition, paranoia, motivation/productivity, and vigor/positive affect (i.e., psychomotor activation). Finally, among high SA participants, VLPFC activity predicted the daily relationship between distress from interpersonal conflict and symptom-severity; specifically, high SA participants with low VLPFC activity had worse paranoia on days of high conflict distress. These findings indicate that VLPFC deficits in positive emotion are associated with both SA and other schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms and that understanding the interaction of SA, VLPFC function, and social stress could facilitate the use of SA in the prevention and treatment of schizophrenia.

A neurobiological approach to the cognitive deficits of psychiatric disorders.

Deficits in brain networks that support cognitive regulatory functions are prevalent in many psychiatric disorders. Findings across neuropsychology and neuroimaging point to broad-based impairments that cross traditional diagnostic boundaries. These dysfunctions are largely separate from the classical symptoms of the disorders, and manifest in regulatory problems in both traditional cognitive and emotional domains. As such, they relate to the capacity of patients to engage effectively in their daily lives and activity, often persist even in the face of symptomatically effective treatment, and are poorly targeted by current treatments. Advances in cognitive neuroscience now allow us to ground an understanding of these cognitive regulatory deficits in the function and interaction of key brain networks. This emerging neurobiological understanding furthermore points to several promising routes for novel neuroscience-informed treatments targeted more specifically at improving cognitive function in a range of psychiatric disorders.

Los déficits en las redes cerebrales que dan soporte a las funciones de regulación cognitiva son frecuentes en muchos trastornos psiquiátricos. Los hallazgos de la neuropsicología y de las neuroimágenes apuntan a grandes deterioros que cruzan las fronteras de los diagnósticos tradicionales. Estas disfunciones son en gran medida independientes de los síntomas clásicos de los trastornos y se expresan en problemas de regulación de las áreas cognitiva y emocional. Es así como ellas se relacionan con la capacidad de los pacientes de participar efectivamente en la vida y en la actividad cotidiana, y a menudo persisten a pesar de los tratamientos sintomáticos efectivos y están mal abordadas por los tratamientos actuales. Los avances en las neurociencias cognitivas nos permiten aterrizar una comprensión de estos déficits de regulación cognitiva en la función e interacción de las principals redes cerebrales. Esta comprensión neuro-biológica emergente además señala algunas rutas promisorias para nuevos tratamientos en base a las neurociencias, orientados más específicamente a mejorar la función cognitiva en varios trastornos psiquiátricos.

Les déficits des réseaux cérébraux à la base des fonctions régulatrices cognitives sont prévalents dans de nombreux troubles psychiatriques. Les données de neuropsychologie et de neuro-imagerie mettent en évidence des atteintes importantes qui dépassent les frontières diagnostiques traditionnelles. Ces atteintes sont bien séparées des symptômes classiques des troubles psychiatriques ; ce sont des problèmes de régulation dans les domaines émotionnel et cognitif traditionnels. À ce titre, ces troubles se reflètent dans l'aptitude des patients à participer efficacement à leurs activités et à leur vie quotidiennes ; ils persistent souvent malgré un traitement efficace sur les symptômes et sont mal pris en charge par les traitements actuels. Les progrès des neurosciences cognitives nous permettent maintenant de comprendre comment ces déficits de la régulation cognitive trouvent leur origine dans la fonction et l'interaction de réseaux cérébraux clés. Cette compréhension neurobiologique récente ouvre plusieurs voies prometteuses pour de nouveaux traitements basés sur les neurosciences et s'intéressant plus particulièrement à l'amélioration de la fonction cognitive dans de nombreux troubles mentaux.

The effect of the serotonin transporter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on empathic and self-conscious emotional reactivity.

We examined the relationship between a functional polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and individual differences in emotional reactivity in two laboratory studies. In Study 1, empathic responding and physiological reactivity to viewing films of others in distress were assessed in healthy adults in three age groups. In Study 2, emotional responding to watching oneself in an embarrassing situation was assessed in healthy adults and in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. In Study 1, participants with two short alleles of 5-HTTLPR reported more personal distress and showed higher levels of physiological responses in response to the films than participants with long alleles. In Study 2, participants with two short alleles reported more anger and amusement and displayed more emotional expressive behaviors in response to the embarrassing situation than participants with long alleles. These two findings from diverse samples of participants converge to indicate that individuals who are homozygous for the short allele variant of 5-HTTLPR have greater levels of emotional reactivity in two quite different socially embedded contexts.

Individual differences in neural responses to social rejection: the joint effect of self-esteem and attentional control.

Individuals with low self-esteem have been found to react more negatively to signs of interpersonal rejection than those with high self-esteem. However, previous research has found that individual differences in attentional control can attenuate negative reactions to social rejection among vulnerable, low self-esteem individuals. The current fMRI study sought to elucidate the neurobiological substrate of this buffering effect. We hypothesized and found that while looking at scenes of social rejection (vs negative scenes) low self-esteem high attentional control individuals engaged the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), an area of the brain associated with emotional control, more than their low self-esteem low attentional control peers. Furthermore, we found that low self-esteem high attentional control individuals evaluated social rejection as less arousing and less rejecting in a separate behavioral task. Importantly, activation in the rACC fully mediated the relationship between the interaction of self-esteem and attentional control and emotional evaluations, suggesting that the rACC activation underlies the buffering effects of attentional control. Results are discussed in terms of individual differences in emotional vulnerability and protection and by highlighting the role of rACC in emotion regulation.

Greater emotional empathy and prosocial behavior in late life.

Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films, and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-related linear increases were found for both emotional empathy (self-reported empathic concern and cardiac and electrodermal responding) and prosocial behavior (size of contribution) across both films and in self-reported personal distress to the distressing film. Empathic concern and cardiac reactivity to both films, along with personal distress to the distressing film only, were associated with greater prosocial behavior. Empathic concern partially mediated the age-related differences in prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in terms of our understanding both of adult development and of the nature of these vital aspects of human emotion.

Aging and emotion recognition: not just a losing matter.

Past studies on emotion recognition and aging have found evidence of age-related decline when emotion recognition was assessed by having participants detect single emotions depicted in static images of full or partial (e.g., eye region) faces. These tests afford good experimental control but do not capture the dynamic nature of real-world emotion recognition, which is often characterized by continuous emotional judgments and dynamic multimodal stimuli. Research suggests that older adults often perform better under conditions that better mimic real-world social contexts. We assessed emotion recognition in young, middle-aged, and older adults using two traditional methods (single emotion judgments of static images of faces and eyes) and an additional method in which participants made continuous emotion judgments of dynamic, multimodal stimuli (videotaped interactions between young, middle-aged, and older couples). Results revealed an Age × Test interaction. Largely consistent with prior research, we found some evidence that older adults performed worse than young adults when judging single emotions from images of faces (for sad and disgust faces only) and eyes (for older eyes only), with middle-aged adults falling in between. In contrast, older adults did better than young adults on the test involving continuous emotion judgments of dyadic interactions, with middle-aged adults falling in between. In tests in which target stimuli differed in age, emotion recognition was not facilitated by an age match between participant and target. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications for the study of aging and emotional processing.

The ability to regulate emotion is associated with greater well-being, income, and socioeconomic status.

Are people who are best able to implement strategies to regulate their emotional expressive behavior happier and more successful than their counterparts? Although past research has examined individual variation in knowledge of the most effective emotion regulation strategies, little is known about how individual differences in the ability to actually implement these strategies, as assessed objectively in the laboratory, are associated with external criteria. In two studies, we examined how individual variation in the ability to modify emotional expressive behavior in response to evocative stimuli is related to well-being and financial success. Study 1 showed that individuals who can best suppress their emotional reaction to an acoustic startle are happiest with their lives. Study 2 showed that individuals who can best amplify their emotional reaction to a disgust-eliciting movie are happiest with their lives and have the highest disposable income and socioeconomic status. Thus, being able to implement emotion regulation strategies in the laboratory is closely linked to well-being and financial success.