Associations between mental wellbeing and fMRI neural bases underlying responses to positive emotion in a twin sample

Abstract

Background Although mental wellbeing has been linked with positive health outcomes, including longevity and improved emotional and cognitive functioning, studies examining the underlying neural mechanisms of both subjective and psychological wellbeing have been sparse. We assessed whether both forms of wellbeing are associated with neural activity engaged during positive and negative emotion processing and the extent to which this association is driven by genetics or environment. Methods We assessed mental wellbeing in 230 healthy adult monozygotic and dizygotic twins using a previously validated questionnaire (COMPAS-W) and undertook functional magnetic resonance imaging during a facial emotion viewing task. We used linear mixed models to analyse the association between COMPAS-W scores and emotion-elicited neural activation. Univariate twin modelling was used to evaluate heritability of each brain region. Multivariate twin modelling was used to compare twin pairs to assess the contributions of genetic and environmental factors to this association. Results Higher levels of wellbeing were associated with greater neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, localised in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), in response to positive emotional expressions of happiness. Univariate twin modelling showed activity in the IFG to have 20% heritability. Multivariate twin modelling suggested that the association between wellbeing and positive emotion-elicited neural activity was driven by common variance from unique environment (r = 0.208) rather than shared genetics. Conclusions Higher mental wellbeing may have a basis in greater engagement of prefrontal neural regions in response to positive emotion, and this association may be modifiable by unique life experiences.

Corticolimbic structural connectivity encapsulates real-world emotional reactivity and happiness

“…This form of preferential association between happiness and potentiated response to positive events over negative ones is further supported by neuroimaging evidence from fMRI research, which reported increased amygdala reactivity to positive but not negative stimuli as a function of trait happiness ( Cunningham and Kirkland, 2013 ). A similar pattern of association was found between self-reported well-being and inferior frontal gyrus reactivity to positive stimuli ( Park et al. , 2021 ).…”

TWIN-10: protocol for a 10-year longitudinal twin study of the neuroscience of mental well-being and resilience

“…Finally, using multivariate twin modelling, we have been able to confirm the role of shared genetics and environmental factors in each of the phenotypic associations. For instance, we found evidence to suggest that the links between well-being and variables including EEG resting state (ABD interaction36) depression and anxiety symptoms32 and cognitive inhibition34 were mostly genetically driven, whereas the links between well-being and variables including emotion-related neural activity38 and pons volume37 were mostly environmentally driven. Together, these results identify for the first time how genetics versus life experience can modulate the links between neural markers and well-being.…”

“… 34 We also observed faster behavioural response times to happy faces in individuals with high well-being, while those with higher depression and anxiety symptoms displayed slower reaction times. 35 On a neural level, we reported associations between higher well-being and an electroencephalography (EEG) resting-state profile of high alpha and delta and low beta (ABD) power, 36 a reduced pons grey matter volume localised to the locus coeruleus, 37 increased fMRI activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus in response to happy faces during an emotional faces task, 38 and decreased insula activation during a sustained attention continuous performance task. 39 Finally, in terms of genetics, we confirmed a polygenic score of well-being to be predictive of COMPAS-W scores, and derived nine subthreshold candidate genes from a genome-wide association study analysis of the COMPAS-W scores.…”

“…As our sample consisted of twin participants, we used twin modelling methods to determine heritability estimates of: (1) total COMPAS-W well-being (48%, with h 2 ranging from 24% to 43% for the six subscales3); (2) cognitive and emotional functioning (ranging from 19% to 55% for cognitive processes and from 23% to 37% for emotion processes34 35); (3) EEG frequency bands (ranging from 54% to 91% for the alpha, beta, theta and delta bands, and 37% for the ABD interaction36); (4) pons structural volume (at 20%37); and (5) fMRI activation (20% in the inferior frontal gyrus in response to happy emotional faces, and 15%–18% in bilateral insula during sustained attention38 39). Finally, using multivariate twin modelling, we have been able to confirm the role of shared genetics and environmental factors in each of the phenotypic associations.…”

Predicting wellbeing over one year using sociodemographic factors, personality, health behaviours, cognition, and life events

“…These cognitive functions have also been associated with mental wellbeing when assessed using performance measures like reaction time and accuracy 65 , 66 . The ability to quickly process and recognize emotional stimuli, especially happy facial expressions, has been associated with higher wellbeing using emotion processing tasks evaluated at the behavioural and neural fMRI level 67 , 68 . Better facial processing is linked to higher empathy 69 , and may facilitate supportive social interactions which bolster support resources and subsequently wellbeing.…”