Emotion regulation unveiled through the categorical lens of attachment.

BACKGROUND: Emotion regulation, the process by which individuals manage and modify their emotional experiences, expressions, and responses to adaptively navigate and cope with various situations, plays a crucial role in daily life. Our study investigates the variations in emotion regulation strategies among individuals with different attachment styles (AS). Specifically, we examine how individuals with secure, anxious, avoidant, and fearful attachment styles effectively utilize cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression to regulate their emotions. METHODS: A total of n = 98 adults were instructed to attend, reappraise, or suppress their emotions while viewing negative and neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in an experimental emotion regulation task. After completing the task, participants rated the valence and arousal elicited by the images. Attachment styles were measured using the ECR-12 questionnaire and then categorized into four AS. RESULTS: Our study revealed that individuals with secure AS (n = 39) effectively reduced displeasure through cognitive reappraisal but experienced levels of displeasure with expressive suppression. Anxious AS (n = 16) individuals successfully reduced displeasure using cognitive reappraisal but struggled to regulate arousal and effectively use expressive suppression. Avoidant AS (n = 24) individuals could reduce displeasure with both strategies but experienced high arousal during suppression attempts. Fearful AS (n = 19) individuals effectively regulated both displeasure and arousal using either strategy. However, Secure AS individuals showed superior reappraisal efficacy, significantly reducing arousal levels compared to the Fearful AS group. Both Secure and Avoidant AS groups experienced higher valence during reappraisal relative to a baseline, indicating a decrease in displeasure. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with different AS exhibit variations in the effectiveness of their use of emotion regulation strategies. Our findings reinforce the significance of AS in shaping emotion regulation processes and emphasize the need for tailored approaches to support individuals with different attachment orientations.

Brain oscillations during emotion regulation and the two-dimensional model of adult attachment.

Emotion Regulation (ER) refers to the processes by which individuals influence their own emotions. It is a crucial aspect of human behavior, affecting everything from interpersonal relationships to mental health. The relationship between ER and Attachment Theory (AT) is pivotal. AT suggests that early bonds with primary caregivers influence future relationship expectations and behaviors. These initial experiences shape internal models of self and others, affecting how individuals regulate their emotions. Understanding the interplay between ER and AT is essential for comprehending the human affective system. In this study, we explored the neural underpinnings of ER, focusing on two distinct strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we examined changes in neural oscillations from 52 adults during an ER task. Specifically, we observed increased frontal theta activity (3-6 Hz) during reappraisal compared to suppression strategies. This frontal theta activity suggests enhanced cognitive control engagement. Conversely, during suppression, we noted a decrease in beta frequency (15-30 Hz) activity from central electrodes, indicative of differing neural processes. Further integrating psychological theories, we explored the relationship between these neural markers and dimensions of human attachment. Employing the Experiences in Close Relationships-12 scale (ECR-12), we identified a negative correlation between attachment anxiety and frontal theta activity. Lower levels of attachment anxiety were associated with increased theta activity, reflecting potentially more effective emotion regulation. Additionally, we found that higher theta activity corresponded with fewer difficulties in emotional control measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Regarding central beta activity, our findings revealed an interesting correlation with Emotional Inattention, a concept tied to Attachment Avoidance. This suggests that central beta activity may serve as a neural marker for specific attachment-related ER processing. These results highlight the distinct neural pathways involved in different ER strategies and their relationship with the AT and neural responses during emotional processing.

Emotion regulation strategies and the two-dimensional model of adult attachment: a pilot study.

Introduction: Emotion Regulation plays a crucial role in human's daily lives. Extensive research has shown that people with different attachment orientations exhibit divergencies in how they perform emotion regulation strategies. Methods: 44 adults performed an experimental emotion regulation task in which they were instructed to attend, reappraise, or suppress their emotions while viewing negative and neutral images taken from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Afterward, participants rated valence, arousal, and emotional dominance elicited by the images. Additionally, attachment orientations were measured using the ECR-12 questionnaire. Results: Results showed a relationship between attachment avoidance and the level of arousal during the reappraisal condition; specifically, the higher attachment avoidance levels, the greater the emotional intensity during the implementation of cognitive reappraisal strategy. Such results suggest an association between failing in downregulate intense emotions using cognitive reappraisal when there are higher levels of attachment avoidance. Consistently, we also found that lower dominance during reappraisal was associated with more levels of avoidance. Conclusion: These results indicate that people with higher levels of attachment avoidance experience difficulties when using the cognitive reappraisal strategy to reduce the emotional impact produced by negative emotional stimuli. Our findings reinforce the idea that avoidant people experience high physiological activation when experience emotions.

Propuesta de Valores de Referencia para el Cuestionario de Evaluación del Apego Adulto: Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-12), en población adulta chilena / Reference values for the Adult Attachment Assessment Questionnaire: Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-12) in the Chilean Adult Population

El cuestionario de Experiencias en Relaciones Cercanas (ECR) es un instrumento de auto-reporte ampliamente utilizado para evaluar el apego en la adultez, a partir de dos dimensiones: la ansiedad y la evitación asociadas al apego. Este instrumento ha sido adaptado en múltiples contextos, incluyendo el chileno, del cual existe una versión abreviada (ECR-12), objeto de análisis del presente estudio. Si bien existe consenso en que la seguridad en el apego es mejor descrita en términos dimensionales, hay ámbitos, como en la práctica clínica donde contar con valores de referencia podría ser de utilidad. El objetivo de este estudio es proveer valores de referencia para la interpretación de los valores del ECR-12 en el contexto chileno. Para ello, una muestra de 6779 participantes respondió el ECR-12. Se utilizó el método de puntuación z con normalización para obtener los valores de referencia. Los análisis realizados evidenciaron la necesidad de construir baremos diferenciados por edad. Así, para el grupo de 29 años o menos, el punto de corte en la dimensión de ansiedad es de un promedio igual o superior a 4.4 puntos, y para la evitación, el punto de corte es de un promedio igual o superior a 2.5. En cambio, para el grupo de 30 años o más, el punto de corte en la dimensión de ansiedad es de un promedio igual o superior a 4.2, y para la evitación, es de un promedio igual o superior a 2.9. Estos hallazgos pueden ser relevantes no sólo para identificar a personas que puedan presentar niveles sustancialmente altos de ansiedad y/o evitación en el apego, sino, también puede constituirse como una herramienta clínica complementaria en contextos terapéuticos.

The Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) questionnaire is a widely used self-report measure to assess adult attachment, based on two dimensions: attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. This instrument has been adapted in multiple contexts, including the Chilean, for which there is an abbreviated version (ECR-12), that is the object of analysis in the present study. Although there is consensus that attachment security is best described in dimensional terms, there are areas, such as clinical practice, where having reference values could be useful. The aim of this study is to provide reference values for the interpretation of ECR-12 scores in the Chilean context. To do this, a sample of 6779 participants was evaluated using the ECR-12. The z-score normalization method was used to obtain the reference values. The analyzes carried out showed the need to build scales differentiated by age. Thus, for the group of 29 years or less, the cut-off point in the anxiety dimension is an average equal to or greater than 4.4 points, and for avoidance, the cut-off point is an average equal to or greater than 2.5. On the other hand, for the group aged 30 or older, the cut-off point in the anxiety dimension is an average equal to or greater than 4.2, and for avoidance, it is an average equal to or greater than 2.9. These findings can be relevant not only for identifying people who may present substantially high levels of anxiety and/or avoidance in attachment, but also as a complementary clinical tool in therapeutic contexts.

A Visuospatial Planning Task Coupled with Eye-Tracker and Electroencephalogram Systems.

The planning process, characterized by the capability to formulate an organized plan to reach a goal, is essential for human goal-directed behavior. Since planning is compromised in several neuropsychiatric disorders, the implementation of proper clinical and experimental tests to examine planning is critical. Due to the nature of the deployment of planning, in which several cognitive domains participate, the assessment of planning and the design of behavioral paradigms coupled with neuroimaging methods are current challenges in cognitive neuroscience. A planning task was evaluated in combination with an electroencephalogram (EEG) system and eye movement recordings in 27 healthy adult participants. Planning can be separated into two stages: a mental planning stage in which a sequence of steps is internally represented and an execution stage in which motor action is used to achieve a previously planned goal. Our protocol included a planning task and a control task. The planning task involved solving 36 maze trials, each representing a zoo map. The task had four periods: i) planning, where the subjects were instructed to plan a path to visit the locations of four animals according to a set of rules; ii) maintenance, where the subjects had to retain the planned path in their working memory; iii) execution, where the subjects used eye movements to trace the previously planned path as indicated by the eye-tracker system; and iv) response, where the subjects reported the order of the visited animals. The control task had a similar structure, but the cognitive planning component was removed by modifying the task goal. The spatial and temporal patterns of the EEG revealed that planning induces a gradual and lasting rise in frontal-midline theta activity (FMθ) over time. The source of this activity was identified within the prefrontal cortex by source analyses. Our results suggested that the experimental paradigm combining EEG and eye-tracker systems was optimal for evaluating cognitive planning.

Application of machine learning techniques for dementia severity prediction from psychometric tests in the elderly population.

Previous research has shown the benefits of early detection and treatment of dementia. This detection is usually performed manually by one or more clinicians based on reports and psychometric testing. Machine learning algorithms provide an alternative method of prediction that may contribute, with an automated process and insights, to the diagnosis and classification of the severity level of dementia. The aim of this study is to explore the use of neuropsychological data from a reduced version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) to predict absence or different levels of dementia severity using the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) scores through the implementation of the kNN machine learning algorithm. A sample of 1164 elderly people over sixty years old were evaluated using a reduced version of the ACE-III and the GDS. The kNN classifier provided good accuracies using 15 items from the ACE-III and adequately differentiating people with absence and mild impairment, from those with more severe levels of impairment according to the GDS rating. Our results suggest that the kNN algorithm may be used to automate aspects of clinical cognitive impairment classification in the elderly population.

Education bias in typical brief cognitive tests used for the detection of dementia in elderly population with low educational level: a critical review.

Dementia is a significant decline in cognition that interfere with independent, daily functioning. Dementia is a syndrome caused by a myriad and include primary neurologic, neuropsychiatric, and medical conditions. It has been projected that the prevalence of dementia will triple in the elderly population by the year 2050. Despite the benefits of early diagnosis, there is an effective under-detection of around 62% of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. One of the factors associated with this problem is that diagnostic techniques are affected by the educational level of those evaluated. This is an important aspect to consider in the use of brief cognitive tests for the detection of dementia. This review presents and critically analyzes the available evidence regarding the effect of educational level on the diagnostic utility of three of the most widely used tools in the clinical setting: the Mini-mental Test Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE). Previous evidence shows that the tasks that require reading, writing, calculation, phonological fluency, and visuoconstruction are affected by educational level. These results lead to discourage the use of these tests in older people with less than 6 years of schooling. The development of brief cognitive tests appropriate for people with a low educational level is recommended. We posit that adequate cognitive tests should not consider tasks or items that resemble characteristics of academic contexts and should be more analogous to daily activities situations.

La planificación cognitiva en el contexto de la evaluación neuropsicológica e investigación en neurociencia cognitiva: una revisión sistemática / Cognitive planning in the context of neuropsychological assessment and research in cognitive neuroscience: a systematic review

La planificación es definida como la habilidad de desarrollar un plan secuenciado de pasos conductuales para alcanzar una meta y forma parte de un conjunto de funciones cognitivas de alto orden denominadas funciones ejecutivas. Esta función se ve afectada en diversas situaciones de la vida cotidiana y en una variedad de trastornos neuropsiquiátricos (por ej., depresión, ansiedad, déficit atencional, esquizofrenia, etc.). Tanto el diseño de pruebas cognitivas para evaluar planificación en el contexto clínico, como también el diseño de paradigmas experimentales de evaluación de la planificación en el contexto de investigación, continúa siendo un desafío para la neuropsicología clínica y para las neurociencias. En este artículo de revisión sistemática que sigue las direcciones PRISMA, revisamos la teoría e investigación en relación con la evaluación clínica y la investigación de las bases neurobiológicas de la planificación y los aportes a la comprensión de los mecanismos de su implementación. Se reportan medidas metodológicas comunes y se resumen las aproximaciones teóricas que contribuyen en su comprensión. Nuestros hallazgos muestran la implicancia de la corteza prefrontal en el rendimiento en planificación, en particular el área dorsolateral, corteza cingulada anterior y frontopolar. Mayores estudios clínicos, instrumentales y experimentales son necesarios para comprender mejor la planificación en el contexto de una teoría integrativa de las funciones ejecutivas y del rol de la corteza prefrontal.

Planning is defined as the ability to develop a sequenced plan of behavioral steps to achieve a goal and is part of a set of high-order cognitive functions called executive functions. This function is affected in various daily life situations and in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, etc.). Both the design of cognitive tests to assess planning in the clinical context, as well as the design of experimental paradigms for evaluating planning in research context, continues to be a challenge for clinical neuropsychology and neurosciences. In this PRISMA systematic review article, we review theory and research regarding clinical assessment and research into the neurobiological bases of planning and contributions to understanding the mechanisms of its implementation. Common methodological measures are reported and the theoretical approaches that contribute to their understanding are summarized. Our findings show the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in planning performance, particularly the dorsolateral area, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the frontopolar cortex. Further clinical, instrumental, and experimental studies are needed to better understand planning in the context of an integrative theory of executive functions and the role of the prefrontal cortex.

The cumulative effect of fibromyalgia symptoms on cognitive performance: The mediating role of pain.

Fibromyalgia (FMS) is a chronic condition that encompasses widespread pain associated with cognitive impairment and significant emotional distress related to functional disability. This study aimed to obtain evidence of the role of pain in the effect of time since FMS diagnosis and cognitive performance using a novel online protocol of neuropsychological evaluation since the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged traditional neuropsychology testing leading to the need for novel procedures transitioning to tele-neuropsychology. A sample of 70 adult women was evaluated (50 with FMS and 19 controls) using online questionnaires that evaluated pain and executive functioning (impulsivity, inhibition control, monitoring, and planning). Afterward, participants were evaluated by trained neuropsychologists in a 30 min online session using virtually adapted cognitive tests: the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (memory), the Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (attention and speed processing), the F-A-S test (verbal fluency), and Digit Span tests (working memory). We found that the time of FMS diagnosis has an effect on cognitive functioning predominantly mediated by pain. Our results point out the role of pain as a mediator on cognitive performance, specifically in executive functions which are directly affected by the cumulative effect of the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, the importance of considering a broader perspective for assessment and treatment including novel procedures via tele-neuropsychology.

An Inescapable Cat Odor Exposure Protocol for Studying Innate and Contextual Threat Conditioning in Rats.

Animals respond to threatening situations by exhibiting a number of defensive behaviors, including avoidance, freezing, and risk assessment. An animal model with an ethological approach offers a deeper insight into the biological mechanisms underlying threat responses. This paper describes a methodology to measure defensive behaviors toward both innate and learned aversive stimuli in rats. Animals were individually exposed to predator odor in an inescapable chamber to elicit a measurable, sustained, defensive state. The experimental design involved placing a rat in a familiar chamber for 10 min followed by exposure to cat odor for another 10 min in the same context. The next day, the rats were re-exposed for 10 min to the same context chamber where cat odor exposure occurred. Sessions were video-recorded and defensive behaviors were assessed on both days. The behavioral test was coupled with reversible functional inactivation and c-Fos immunohistochemistry techniques to determine the role of the interoceptive cortex in threat responses. Rats exposed to cat odor on the first day and re-exposed to the context chamber on the second day displayed higher levels of defensive behaviors, and that cat odor elicited a robust increase in the neural activity of the interoceptive cortex. Moreover, muscimol inactivation of the interoceptive cortex reduced the expression of defensive behaviors in response to cat odor and impaired contextual threat memory. These results show that this behavioral assay is a useful tool for studying neural mechanisms of defensive behaviors and may offer insight into mechanisms that mediate fear in humans and its related disorders.

Theta activity from frontopolar cortex, mid-cingulate cortex and anterior cingulate cortex shows different roles in cognitive planning performance.

Cognitive planning, the ability to develop a sequenced plan to achieve a goal, plays a crucial role in human goal-directed behavior. However, the specific role of frontal structures in planning is unclear. We used a novel and ecological task, that allowed us to separate the planning period from the execution period. The spatio-temporal dynamics of EEG recordings showed that planning induced a progressive and sustained increase of frontal-midline theta activity (FMθ) over time. Source analyses indicated that this activity was generated within the prefrontal cortex. Theta activity from the right mid-Cingulate Cortex (MCC) and the left Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) were correlated with an increase in the time needed for elaborating plans. On the other hand, left Frontopolar cortex (FP) theta activity exhibited a negative correlation with the time required for executing a plan. Since reaction times of planning execution correlated with correct responses, left FP theta activity might be associated with efficiency and accuracy in making a plan. Associations between theta activity from the right MCC and the left ACC with reaction times of the planning period may reflect high cognitive demand of the task, due to the engagement of attentional control and conflict monitoring implementation. In turn, the specific association between left FP theta activity and planning performance may reflect the participation of this brain region in successfully self-generated plans.