Neural correlates of reappraisal considering working memory capacity and cognitive flexibility.

Cognitive reappraisal of emotion is strongly related to long-term mental health. Therefore, the exploration of underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms has become an essential focus of research. Considering that reappraisal and executive functions rely on a similar brain network, the question arises whether behavioral differences in executive functions modulate neural activity during reappraisal. Using functional neuroimaging, the present study aimed to analyze the role of working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive flexibility in brain activity during down-regulation of negative emotions by reappraisal in N = 20 healthy participants. Results suggests that WMC and cognitive flexibility were negatively correlated with prefrontal activity during reappraisal condition. Here, results also revealed a negative correlation between cognitive flexibility and amygdala activation. These findings provide first hints that (1) individuals with lower WMC and lower cognitive flexibility might need more higher-order cognitive neural resources in order to down-regulate negative emotions and (2) cognitive flexibility relates to emotional reactivity during reappraisal.

Different roads to the same destination - The impact of impulsivity on decision-making processes under risk within a rewarding context in a healthy male sample.

The results of research about the influences of impulsivity on decision-making in situations of risk have been inconsistent. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural correlates of decision-making under risk in 12 impulsive, as defined by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, and 13 normal men. Although both groups showed similar decision-making behavior, neural activation regarding decision-making processes differed significantly. Impulsive persons revealed stronger activation in the (ventro-) medial prefrontal cortex and less deactivation of the orbitofrontal cortex while playing for potential gains. These brain regions might be associated with the emotional components of decision-making processes. Significant differences in brain areas linked to cognitive decision-making components were not found. This activation pattern might be seen as an indication for a hypersensitivity to rewarding cues in impulsive persons and might be linked to the propensity for inappropriate risk-taking behavior in persons with more extreme impulsivity levels, especially in situations in which they have a strong emotional involvement in the decision process.

Training of resistance to proactive interference and working memory in older adults: a randomized double-blind study.

BACKGROUND: Working memory (WM) performance is often decreased in older adults. Despite the growing popularity of WM trainings, underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Resistance to proactive interference (PI) constitutes a candidate process that contributes to WM performance and might influence training or transfer effects. Here, we investigated whether PI resistance can be enhanced in older adults using a WM training with specifically increased PI-demands. Further, we investigated whether potential effects of such a training were stable and entailed any transfer on non-trained tasks. METHOD: Healthy old adults (N = 25, 68.8 ± 5.5 years) trained with a recent-probes and an n-back task daily for two weeks. Two different training regimens (high vs. low PI-amount in the tasks) were applied as between-participants manipulation, to which participants were randomly assigned. Near transfer tasks included interference tasks; far transfer tasks assessed fluid intelligence (gF) or speed. Immediate transfer was assessed directly after training; a follow-up measurement was conducted after two months. RESULTS: Both groups similarly improved in PI resistance in both training tasks. Thus, PI susceptibility was generally reduced in the two training groups and there was no difference between WM training with high versus low PI demands. Further, there was no differential near or far transfer on non-trained tasks, neither immediately after the training nor in the follow-up. CONCLUSION: PI-demands in WM training tasks do not seem critical for enhancing WM performance or PI resistance in older adults. Instead, improved resistance to PI appears to be an unspecific side-effect of a WM training.

On the relationship between negative affective priming and prefrontal cognitive control mechanisms.

Although several studies have examined inhibition of affective stimuli, valence-dependent cognitive control effects remain poorly understood. Behavioural and functional imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) data were collected from 17 healthy participants to examine neural correlates of the Negative Affective Priming (NAP) task. We created relative ratio scores considering the reaction times of prime trials in order to assess the amount of interference after the presentation of negative and positive distracter words. Behavioural results showed an attenuated NAP effect for negative distracters compared to neutral stimuli. Furthermore, priming negative distracters generated more interference by reacting to the probe target than positive distracters. Neuroimaging data revealed a stronger prefrontal activation during negative NAP trials compared to positive NAP and neutral control trials, which was reflected in a heightened activation of superior and middle frontal gyrus as well as parietal cortex. The findings show the impact of negative distracters on prefrontal response, contributing to the understanding of NAP effects in healthy subjects.

Examining cognitive emotion regulation in frontal lobe patients: The mediating role of response inhibition.

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations have demonstrated the relationship between inhibitory deficits and maladaptive emotion regulation. Although several neuropsychological studies show that frontal lobe damage can lead to extreme inhibition impairments, there have been no investigations regarding the influence of frontal lobe damage and related inhibition impairments on the use of maladaptive strategies. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of executive functions impairments due to frontal lobe damage on cognitive emotion regulation. METHODS: Fifteen patients with frontal lobe damage were compared to twenty-two healthy controls on their reported use of maladaptive strategies. The effect of behavioral inhibition deficits among the frontal lobe damage group was examined. RESULTS: Patients reflected a heightened use of maladaptive strategies compared to healthy controls, significantly mediated by Go/NoGo task errors, which are an indicator for response inhibition deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that a heightened use of maladaptive strategies by patients relies to a strong extent on their impaired impulse control, highlighting the complex interplay between executive functions and emotional regulation.

Detaching from the negative by reappraisal: the role of right superior frontal gyrus (BA9/32).

The ability to reappraise the emotional impact of events is related to long-term mental health. Self-focused reappraisal (REAPPself), i.e., reducing the personal relevance of the negative events, has been previously associated with neural activity in regions near right medial prefrontal cortex, but rarely investigated among brain-damaged individuals. Thus, we aimed to examine the REAPPself ability of brain-damaged patients and healthy controls considering structural atrophies and gray matter intensities, respectively. Twenty patients with well-defined cortex lesions due to an acquired circumscribed tumor or cyst and 23 healthy controls performed a REAPPself task, in which they had to either observe negative stimuli or decrease emotional responding by REAPPself. Next, they rated the impact of negative arousal and valence. REAPPself ability scores were calculated by subtracting the negative picture ratings after applying REAPPself from the ratings of the observing condition. The scores of the patients were included in a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) analysis to identify deficit related areas (ROI). Then, a ROI group-wise comparison was performed. Additionally, a whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) analysis was run, in which healthy participant's REAPPself ability scores were correlated with gray matter intensities. Results showed that (1) regions in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), comprising the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA9) and the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA32), were associated with patient's impaired down-regulation of arousal, (2) a lesion in the depicted ROI occasioned significant REAPPself impairments, (3) REAPPself ability of controls was linked with increased gray matter intensities in the ROI regions. Our findings show for the first time that the neural integrity and the structural volume of right SFG regions (BA9/32) might be indispensable for REAPPself. Implications for neurofeedback research are discussed.