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. 2009 Mar 1;65(5):361-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.10.019. Epub 2008 Dec 5.

Coping with emotions past: the neural bases of regulating affect associated with negative autobiographical memories

Ethan Kross  1 , Matthew Davidson, Jochen Weber, Kevin Ochsner
Affiliations

Coping with emotions past: the neural bases of regulating affect associated with negative autobiographical memories

Ethan Kross et al. Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Although the ability to adaptively reflect on negative autobiographical experiences without ruminating is critical to mental health, to our knowledge no research has directly examined the neural systems underlying this process.

Methods: Sixteen participants were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as they focused on negative autobiographical memories using cognitive strategies designed to facilitate (feel strategy) versus undermine (analyze and accept strategies) rumination.

Results: Two key findings were obtained. First, consistent with prior emotion regulation research using image-based stimuli, left prefrontal activity was observed during the implementation of all three strategies. Second, activity in a network of regions involved in self-referential processing and emotion, including subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, was highest in response to the feel strategy and lowest for the accept strategy. This pattern of activation mirrored participants' self-reports of negative affect when engaging in each strategy.

Conclusions: These findings shed light on the brain regions that distinguish adaptive versus maladaptive forms of reflecting on negative autobiographical memories and offer a novel, ecologically valid route to exploring the neural bases of emotion regulation using fMRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regions of lPFC active for each strategy relative to baseline. Bar graphs illustrate parameter estimates of signal intensity for each strategy versus baseline. Error bars represent SEM. AC, accept; AN, analyze; FE, feel; lPFC, left prefrontal cortex.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of strategy condition on brain activity and negative affect. (A) Regions of mPFC and sgACC displaying a significant linear effect of strategy condition. Bar graphs illustrate parameter estimates of signal intensity for each strategy versus baseline. (B) Self-report negative affect as a function of strategy condition. Error bars represent SEM. AC, accept; AN, analyze; FE, feel; mPFC, medial prefrontal cortex; sgACC, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex.
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