Always look on the bright side of life: Individual differences in visual attentional breadth for understanding temperament and emotion regulation in adolescents.

Introduction: Cognitive-affective models of depression show that negative and positive emotionality differentially confer risk for depression through maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies respectively. Yet, no research has examined the mechanisms through which these temperament traits shape individual differences in ER. The current study explored the mediating role of attentional breadth for emotional information in the distinct pathways from temperament to ER strategies in adolescents. Methods: The hypotheses were tested in a selected sample of 71 adolescents (M = 14.15, SD = 1.90; 62% girls) using a previously validated measure of visuospatial attentional breadth. Results: First, positive emotionality was positively associated with attentional breadth for positive stimuli and temperamental vulnerable adolescents showed deficits in the processing of positive stimuli when presented far from the center of the visual field. Second, attentional breadth towards neutral stimuli was positively related to adaptive ER strategies. Third, no evidence was found for the proposed mediation models. However, post-hoc analyses provided preliminary evidence for a reversed mediation model in which adaptive ER strategies mediate the relationship between temperament and attentional breadth towards neutral stimuli. Discussion: The results underscore the apparent complexity of the relations between temperament, attentional breadth, and ER and point out the need for further research in order to inform early intervention.

Uncontrolled eating in healthy women has limited influence on food cue reactivity and food-related inhibitory control.

Uncontrolled eating-in the general population-is characterized by overeating, hedonic hunger and being drawn towards palatable foods. Theoretically, it is the result of a strong food reward signal in relation to a poor ability to exert inhibitory control. How food consumption influences inhibitory control and food cue sensitivity, and how this relates to the continued urge to eat, remains unclear. We used fMRI in order to investigate the neural mechanism underlying food cue reactivity and food-specific response inhibition (go-nogo task), by comparing women reporting high (n = 21) versus low/average (n = 19) uncontrolled eating across two sessions: during an inter-meal state and after consumption of a high-caloric snack. We found no effects of individual differences in uncontrolled eating, food consumption, nor their interaction on food cue reactivity. Differences in uncontrolled eating and food consumption did interact in modulating activity in an occipital-parietal network, extending from left lateral superior occipital cortex to visual cortex, cuneal cortex, and precuneus during response inhibition of non-food stimuli, areas previously associated with successful nogo-vs. go-trials. Yet, behavioural performance on the go-nogo task was not modulated by uncontrolled eating nor food consumption. Women with a low/average tendency for uncontrolled eating may need more cognitive resources to support successful response inhibition of non-food stimuli during food 'go' blocks in an inter-meal state, whereas women with a high tendency for uncontrolled eating showed this after food consumption. However, considering current and previous findings, it seems that individual differences in uncontrolled eating in healthy women have only limited influence on food cue reactivity and food-related inhibitory control.

The relationship between affective flexibility, spontaneous emotion regulation and the response to induced stress.

Effective emotion regulation contributes to adapting well to challenging situations. One of the proposed cognitive mechanisms underlying emotion regulation is cognitive flexibility in processing of affective material (i.e. affective flexibility). We investigated (n = 118) effects of affective flexibility on the response to a stressor and on spontaneous use of 'adaptive' and 'maladaptive' emotion regulation strategies. Additionally, we examined how emotion regulation influences stress reactivity and recovery. Affective flexibility was measured with a task-switching paradigm in which participants shift attention between affective and non-affective aspects of emotional material. We investigated changes in emotion and heart rate variability to a stress induction. Affective flexibility did not influence the response to stress, but less efficient shifting of attention towards affective aspects of negative information, and more efficient shifting of attention towards non-affective aspects of positive information were related to more use of maladaptive strategies. Emotion regulation strategy use had limited influence on the perceived and actual physiological response to a stress induction, but especially more use of adaptive regulation strategies reduced negative emotional reactivity. Our findings suggest that individual differences in affective flexibility have limited influence on the (acute) response to a stressful event and recovery afterwards, but do influence spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies.

Individual differences in affective flexibility predict future anxiety and worry.

Deficits in cognitive flexibility have been associated with anxiety and worry, however few studies have assessed cognitive flexibility in the context of emotional stimuli (i.e. affective flexibility). The present study (n = 79) investigated whether individual differences in affective flexibility predict levels of trait anxiety and worry over a period of seven weeks. Affective flexibility was measured using a task-switching paradigm. Results showed that less efficient shifting of attention towards affective aspects of positive stimuli predicted higher anxiety over time. Additionally, more efficient shifting of attention away from affective towards non-affective aspects of negative stimuli predicted higher anxiety and worry over time. This latter finding may be understood by considering theoretical models and empirical evidence associating avoidance of negative information with increased anxiety. The effects were small and require replication in larger, representative samples, but they are an initial indication that anxiety may not be associated with general impairments in cognitive flexibility. Instead, our study emphasises the importance of breaking down cognitive flexibility into different components to investigate more nuanced relationships.

The link between resting heart rate variability and affective flexibility.

The neurovisceral integration model aims to account for the complex interplay between physiological, cognitive, and emotion regulation processes through their support by common cortico-subcortical neural circuits. According to the model, vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a peripheral index of the functioning of these circuits, with higher levels of resting HRV reflecting more optimal functioning, to support goal-directed behaviour and adaptability to environmental demands. Although increased cognitive flexibility has been related to higher resting HRV, this has not been assessed in the context of emotional information to examine the interplay between cognition and emotion. Therefore, we investigated (n = 109) the relationship between resting HRV and performance on a task-switching paradigm in which participants shift attention between affective and nonaffective aspects of emotional material. Resting HRV was not associated with flexibility in processing of positive material, but more efficient shifting of attention (greater flexibility) from affective to nonaffective aspects of negative information was related to lower resting HRV. The avoidance theory of worry and anxiety, as well as empirical evidence, links anxiety to attentional avoidance of negative information. Our findings therefore support the neurovisceral integration model such that when greater flexibility can facilitate attentional avoidance of negative information-as seen in anxiety-it is related to lower resting HRV.

Beating uncontrolled eating: Training inhibitory control to reduce food intake and food cue sensitivity.

In our food-rich environment we must constantly resist appealing food in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Previous studies have found that food-specific inhibition training can produce changes in eating behaviour, such as a reduction in snack consumption. However, the mechanisms that drive the effect of inhibition training on eating behaviour remain unknown. Identifying the mechanism underlying food-specific inhibition training could lead to more targeted training interventions increasing the potential efficacy of such interventions. In the current study, we investigated directly whether training-induced effects on inhibitory control might underlie the predicted change in eating behaviour. Healthy individuals who scored high on uncontrolled eating were randomly assigned to receive six online training sessions over six consecutive days of either food-specific response inhibition training (active group; n = 21) or response inhibition training without food stimuli (control group; n = 20). We measured pre- and post-training inhibitory control in the context of food and food cue sensitivity, as well as food consumption in a bogus taste test. As expected, food-specific inhibition training decreased snack consumption in the bogus taste test relative to control training. However, the active training did not improve inhibitory control towards food, nor did it reduce food cue sensitivity above and beyond the control training. Future studies are needed to investigate the potential underlying mechanism of food-specific inhibition training, as it remains unclear what drives the reliable effect on eating behaviour.

The worrying mind in control: An investigation of adaptive working memory training and cognitive bias modification in worry-prone individuals.

Worry refers to the experience of uncontrollable negative thoughts. Cognitive models suggest that the combination of negative information processing biases along with diminished attentional control contribute to worry. In the current study we investigate whether promoting a) adaptive interpretation bias and b) efficient deployment of attentional control would influence the tendency to worry. Worry-prone individuals (n = 60) received either active cognitive bias modification for interpretation bias (CBM-I) combined with sham working memory training (WMT), adaptive WMT combined with sham CBM-I, or sham WMT combined with sham CBM-I. Neither of the active training conditions reduced worry during a breathing focus task relative to the control condition. However, when considering inter-individual differences in training-related improvements, we observed a relation between increases in positive interpretation bias and a decrease in negative intrusions. Moreover, increases in working memory performance were related to a reduction in reactivity of negative intrusions to a worry period. Our findings show that facilitating a more benign interpretation bias and improving working memory capacity can have beneficial effects in terms of worry, but also highlight that transfer related gains from existing training procedures can be dependent upon improvement levels on the training task.

Uncontrolled eating in adolescents: The role of impulsivity and automatic approach bias for food.

Obesity is a global problem reaching epidemic proportions and can be explained by unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyles. Understanding the psychological processes underlying unhealthy eating behaviour is crucial for the development of effective obesity prevention programmes. Dual-process models implicate the interplay between impaired cognitive control and enhanced automatic responsivity to rewarding food cues as key risk factors. The current study assessed the influence of four different components of trait impulsivity (reflecting impaired cognitive control) and automatic approach bias for food (reflecting automatic responsivity to food) on uncontrolled eating in a large sample (N = 504) of young adolescents. Of the four impulsivity factors, negative urgency was found to be the strongest predictor of uncontrolled eating. Interestingly, we found that lack of premeditation was a key risk factor for uncontrolled eating, but only when approach bias for food was high, supporting a dual-process model. Lack of perseverance showed a similar interactive pattern to a lesser degree and sensation-seeking did not predict uncontrolled eating. Together, our results show that distinct components of trait impulsivity are differentially associated with uncontrolled eating behaviour in adolescents, and that automatic processing of food cues may be an important factor in modulating this relationship.

The effect of positive mood on flexible processing of affective information.

Recent efforts have been made to understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying psychological resilience. Cognitive flexibility in the context of affective information has been related to individual differences in resilience. However, it is unclear whether flexible affective processing is sensitive to mood fluctuations. Furthermore, it remains to be investigated how effects on flexible affective processing interact with the affective valence of information that is presented. To fill this gap, we tested the effects of positive mood and individual differences in self-reported resilience on affective flexibility, using a task switching paradigm (N = 80). The main findings showed that positive mood was related to lower task switching costs, reflecting increased flexibility, in line with previous findings. In line with this effect of positive mood, we showed that greater resilience levels, specifically levels of acceptance of self and life, also facilitated task set switching in the context of affective information. However, the effects of resilience on affective flexibility seem more complex. Resilience tended to relate to more efficient task switching when negative information was preceded by positive information, possibly because the presentation of positive information, as well as positive mood, can facilitate task set switching. Positive mood also influenced costs associated with switching affective valence of the presented information. This latter effect was indicative of a reduced impact of no longer relevant negative information and more impact of no longer relevant positive information. Future research should confirm these effects of individual differences in resilience on affective flexibility, considering the affective valence of the presented information. (PsycINFO Database Record

Feeling happy when feeling down: The effectiveness of positive mental imagery in dysphoria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mental imagery can evoke strong emotional responses, but imagery perspective can influence the response, with observer perspective reducing emotionality. This is important provided that positive imagery can be an effective mood repair strategy in healthy individuals. However, (sub-clinical) depressed individuals tend to spontaneously adopt an observer perspective. We investigated whether positive imagery would result in a similar emotional response in dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals when instructed and trained to use field perspective imagery. Additionally, we compared the emotional response in dysphoric individuals who received instructions to dysphoric individuals who received no instructions on processing mode during positive memory recall. METHODS: Dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals completed a mood induction procedure imagining positive or neutral memories. They received instructions and practice in the use of field perspective imagery. An additional control group of dysphoric individuals recalled positive memories without receiving instructions on processing mode. RESULTS: Dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals who received instructions on field perspective imagery reported similar use of field and observer perspective imagery, and a similar positive emotional response. Dysphoric individuals who did not receive specific instructions, as compared to those who did, reported greater use of observer perspective and lower levels of positive affect afterwards. LIMITATIONS: A dysphoric sample limits generalization to clinically depressed individuals, although these individuals are at risk for developing depression. However, mental imagery used in relapse prevention is likely targeting sub-clinical populations. CONCLUSIONS: Providing practice in field perspective imagery could potentially improve the effectiveness of positive memory recall as a mood repair strategy in (sub-clinically) depressed individuals, and may therefore have important therapeutic benefits.

Mental imagery of positive and neutral memories: A fMRI study comparing field perspective imagery to observer perspective imagery.

Imagery perspective can influence what information is recalled, processing style, and emotionality; however, the understanding of possible mechanisms mediating these observed differences is still limited. We aimed to examine differences between memory recall from a field perspective and observer perspective at the neurobiological level, in order to improve our understanding of what is underlying the observed differences at the behavioral level. We conducted a fMRI study in healthy individuals, comparing imagery perspectives during recall of neutral and positive autobiographical memories. Behavioral results revealed field perspective imagery of positive memories, as compared to observer perspective, to be associated with more positive feelings afterwards. At the neurobiological level, contrasting observer perspective to field perspective imagery was associated with greater activity, or less decrease relative to the control visual search task, in the right precuneus and in the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Greater activity in the right TPJ during an observer perspective as compared to field perspective could reflect performing a greater shift of perspective and mental state during observer perspective imagery than field perspective imagery. Differential activity in the precuneus may reflect that during observer perspective imagery individuals are more likely to engage in (self-) evaluative processing and visuospatial processing. Our findings contribute to a growing understanding of how imagery perspective can influence the type of information that is recalled and the intensity of the emotional response. Observer perspective imagery may not automatically reduce emotional intensity but this could depend on how the imagined situation is evaluated in relation to the self-concept.

The influence of psychological resilience on the relation between automatic stimulus evaluation and attentional breadth for surprised faces.

The broaden-and-build theory relates positive emotions to resilience and cognitive broadening. The theory proposes that the broadening effects underly the relation between positive emotions and resilience, suggesting that resilient people can benefit more from positive emotions at the level of cognitive functioning. Research has investigated the influence of positive emotions on attentional broadening, but the stimulus in the target of attention may also influence attentional breadth, depending on affective stimulus evaluation. Surprised faces are particularly interesting as they are valence ambiguous, therefore, we investigated the relation between affective evaluation--using an affective priming task--and attentional breadth for surprised faces, and how this relation is influenced by resilience. Results show that more positive evaluations are related to more attentional broadening at high levels of resilience, while this relation is reversed at low levels. This indicates that resilient individuals can benefit more from attending to positively evaluated stimuli at the level of attentional broadening.

Effects of positive mood on attentional breadth for emotional stimuli.

Although earlier studies have related positive emotions to attentional broadening, recent findings point out the complexity of this relation and show that these broadening effects interact with factors such as characteristics of the information that is presented. Besides stimuli characteristics, individual characteristics such as the presence of depressive symptoms could also influence the broadening effects as depressive symptoms have previously been related to a more narrow attentional scope. Therefore, the aim of this study was to further investigate the attentional broadening effects of positive emotions, testing whether this is influenced by the emotional valence of the information presented and secondly, how the presence of depressive symptoms might interact with this relationship. We used a performance-based measure to assess fluctuations in attentional broadening for positive, neutral, and negative stimuli. We assessed the presence and severity of depressive symptoms in an unselected study sample and tested whether these symptoms moderate the relationship between induced positive mood and attentional breadth for emotional information. Results showed no direct relation between positive mood and attentional breadth, regardless of the emotional valence of the stimuli. However, the presence of depressive symptoms moderated this relationship in such a way that among low levels of depressive symptoms, positive mood was related to attentional broadening specifically when positive information was presented, while at high levels of depressive symptoms this relation was reversed. The current findings suggest that both stimuli characteristics, individual characteristics and their interplay should be taken into account when investigating the broadening effects of positive emotions.

Effects of positive mood on attention broadening for self-related information.

Studies on cognitive effects of positive emotions have associated positive emotions to broadened attention. Given the widely investigated relationship between self-focused attention and mood, it is important to investigate the effect of positive mood on visuospatial attention for self-related information. We used a performance-based measure to assess fluctuations in attentional broadening from self-related contrasted to not-self-related information. In Experiment 1, we checked that the self-related versus not-self-related stimuli did not evoke differential attention effects in general. In Experiment 2, we manipulated mood and found that an increase in positive mood was associated with a relative broadening of attention for self-related information. These results suggest that the meaning of the target of attention provides an interesting dimension for further investigation into the relation between positive emotions and attentional broadening.

Using an experimental medicine model to explore combination effects of pharmacological and cognitive interventions for depression and anxiety.

Selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive therapies are effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Previous research suggests that both forms of treatments may work by altering cognitive biases in the processing of affective information. The current study assessed the effects of combining an SSRI with a cognitive intervention on measures of affective processing bias and resilience to external challenge. A total of 62 healthy participants were randomly assigned to receive either 7 days of citalopram (20 mg) or placebo capsules while also completing either an active or a control version of a computerized cognitive bias training task. After treatment, standard measures of affective processing bias were collected. Participants' resilience to external stress was also tested by measuring the increase in negative symptoms induced by a negative mood induction. Participants who received both citalopram and the active cognitive bias training task showed a smaller alteration in emotional memory and categorization bias than did those who received either active intervention singly. The degree to which memory for negative information was altered by citalopram predicted participants' resistance to the negative mood induction. These results suggest that co-administration of an SSRI and a cognitive training intervention can reduce the effectiveness of either treatment alone in terms of anxiety- and depression-relevant emotional processing. More generally, the findings suggest that pinpointing the cognitive actions of treatments may inform future development of combination strategies in mental health.