Executive and semantic processes in reappraisal of negative stimuli: insights from a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies

Abstract

Neuroimaging investigations have identified the neural correlates of reappraisal in executive areas. These findings have been interpreted as evidence for recruitment of controlled processes, at the expense of automatic processes when responding to emotional stimuli. However, activation of semantic areas has also been reported. The aim of the present work was to address the issue of the importance of semantic areas in emotion regulation by comparing recruitment of executive and semantic neural substrates in studies investigating different reappraisal strategies. With this aim, we reviewed neuroimaging studies on reappraisal and we classified them in two main categories: reappraisal of stimuli (RS) and reappraisal via perspective taking (RPT). We applied a coordinate-based meta-analysis to summarize the results of fMRI studies on different reappraisal strategies. Our results showed that reappraisal, when considered regardless of the specific instruction used in the studies, involved both executive and semantic areas of the brain. When considering different reappraisal strategies separately, in contrast, we found areas associated with executive function to be prominently recruited by RS, even if also semantic areas were activated. Instead, in RPT the most important clusters of brain activity were found in parietal and temporal semantic areas, without significant clusters in executive areas. These results indicate that modulation of activity in semantic areas may constitute an important aspect of emotion regulation in reappraisal, suggesting that semantic processes may be more important to understand the mechanism of emotion regulation than previously thought.

Changing views of emotion regulation and neurobiological models of the mechanism of action of psychotherapy

“…As it is apparent from Fig. 2, tasks of explicit emotion regulation recruit not only the dorsal prefrontal areas that are typically associated with executive function, but also the temporal and parietal lobes (Messina, Bianco, Sambin, & Viviani, 2015). These findings, which are not predicted by dual-process models of emotion regulation, suggest the involvement of areas of the semantic system in effortful regulation.…”

Post-concussive complaints after mild traumatic brain injury associated with altered brain networks during working memory performance

“…In the present study, we demonstrated lower activation within the medial prefrontal cortex during high WM load in mTBI patients compared to healthy controls. This region is important with respect to executive functioning, but also with regard to emotion regulation (Euston et al 2012; Messina et al 2015). Furthermore, the medial prefrontal cortex is a core area of the DMN and an important relay station in the interaction between the DMN and other (executive) brain networks (Buckner et al 2008; Seeley et al 2007).…”

Cognitive deficits in bipolar disorders: Implications for emotion

“…A large body of work has focused on the neural underpinnings of reappraisal, most commonly using experimental designs in which participants are asked to view emotionally-relevant stimuli and to engage in emotion regulation or as a control condition, to simply view the stimulus. In a meta-analysis of 48 studies, reappraisal was consistently associated the frontoparietal network, including activation of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), and deactivation of the amygdala (Buhle et al, 2014; Messina, Bianco, Sambin, & Viviani, 2015). Emotion distancing, a form of reappraisal in which people try to distance themselves from negative emotions by thinking of the stimulus as far away, long ago, or less relevant to them, also has been found across seven studies to activate the frontoparietal network (Belden, Pagliaccio, Murphy, Luby, & Barch, 2015; Lewis, Todd, & Honsberger, 2007).…”