Prefrontal recruitment during social rejection predicts greater subsequent self-regulatory imbalance and impairment: neural and longitudinal evidence

Abstract

Social rejection impairs self-regulation, yet the neural mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. The right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) facilitates self-regulation and plays a robust role in regulating the distress of social rejection. However, recruiting this region’s inhibitory function during social rejection may come at a self-regulatory cost. As supported by prominent theories of self-regulation, we hypothesized that greater rVLPFC recruitment during rejection would predict a subsequent self-regulatory imbalance that favored reflexive impulses (i.e., cravings), which would then impair self-regulation. Supporting our hypotheses, rVLPFC activation during social rejection was associated with greater subsequent nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation and lesser functional connectivity between the NAcc and rVLPFC to appetitive cues. Over seven days, the effect of daily felt rejection on daily self-regulatory impairment was exacerbated among participants who showed a stronger rVLPFC response to social rejection. This interactive effect was mirrored in the effect of daily felt rejection on heightened daily alcohol cravings. Our findings suggest that social rejection likely impairs self-regulation by recruiting the rVLPFC, which then tips the regulatory balance towards reward-based impulses.

Neuromodulation can reduce aggressive behavior elicited by violent video games

“…Although previous research has shown that the rVLPFC is involved in self-control and emotion regulation (Aron & Poldrack, 2005;Berkman et al, 2009;Chester & DeWall, 2014;Chikazoe et al, 2009;Cohen et al, 2013;Ernst et al, 2002;Kim & Hamann, 2007;Lieberman et al, 2007;McClure et al, 2004;Wager et al, 2008; see also Boggio et al, 2016), only a few studies have used noninvasive brain stimulation techniques to study the role of the prefrontal cortex in setting aggression levels (for a review, see Boggio et al, 2016). In one study, angered participants who received tDCS to modulate hemispheric asymmetry in frontal cortical activity (anode over left and cathode over right prefrontal cortex) were more aggressive than participants who received sham stimulation (Hortensius, Schutter, & Harmon-Jones, 2011).…”

“…In particular, the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) has been implicated in various forms of self-control, including motor control (Chikazoe et al, 2009), risk-taking behavior (Ernst et al, 2002, control over immediate temptations (McClure, Laibson, Loewenstein, & Cohen, 2004), and emotional control (Kim, & Hamann, 2007;Wager, Davidson, Hughes, Lindquist, & Ochsner, 2008). Overall, the rVLPFC is wellknown as a fundamental brain region for cognitive and emotional control in general (Berkman, Burklund, & Lieberman, 2009;Boggio, Rêgo, Marques, & Costa, 2016;Chester & DeWall, 2014;Cohen, Berkman, & Lieberman, 2013;Lieberman et al, 2007), and for response inhibition in particular (Aron & Poldrack, 2005). Previous research has shown that stimulating the rVLPFC can reduce the aggression caused by social exclusion .…”

How do negative emotions impair self-control? A neural model of negative urgency

“…However, this relationship between the lateral prefrontal cortex and effective self-control appears to flip for regulatory situations characterized by negative affect. Indeed, greater lateral prefrontal activity during a socially painful event predicted impaired self-control both soon after the event and during the following week (Chester & DeWall, 2014). The question remains: why would greater inhibitory brain activity predict worse self-control?…”

“…Negative urgency is a facet of impulsivity that predicts problematic outcomes (e.g., intimate partner violence, substance abuse) above-and-beyond other features of impulsivity, such as sensation-seeking (e.g., Derefinko, DeWall, Metze, Walsh, & Lynam, 2011; Settles et al, 2013). Based on previous findings linking excessive inhibitory brain activity during negatively-valenced emotional situations to self-control failure (Chester & DeWall, 2014), we expected that negative urgency would be associated with an excessive (and not insufficient) recruitment of the lateral prefrontal cortex during negative-valenced instances of inhibitory effort. Further, we predicted that such exaggerated activity in these prefrontal regions would predict self-control failure.…”

Romantic Breakup Distress, Betrayal and Heartbreak: A Review

“…In a more recent study, the right ventral prefrontal cortex was also activated following social rejection [26]. The authors suggested that this activation led to a subsequent self-regulatory imbalance that led to reflexive impulses like daily cravings for alcohol.…”