Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Enhances Cognitive Control During Emotion Regulation

Emotion Regulation: Current Status and Future Prospects

“…One 17 EMOTION REGULATION growth point in this area includes the use of converging methods to identify the causal role played by particular regions of this network. For example, in one study, Feeser and colleagues (Feeser, Prehn, Kazzer, Mungee, & Bajbouj, 2014) found that transcranial direct current stimulation to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhanced participants' ability to engage in reappraisal. Other studies have examined the impact of brain damage on emotion regulation (Anderson, Barrash, Bechara, & Tranel, 2006;Salas, Gross, Rafal, Vinas-Guasch, & Turnbull, 2013).…”

Exploring prefrontal cortex functions in healthy humans by transcranial electrical stimulation

“…Beyond perceptual and evaluative emotionassociated information processing, the DLPFC seems also to be involved in emotion regulation. In a task in which the participants are instructed to downregulate or upregulate emotional responses to the presentation of negative or neutral pictures, anodal tDCS of the right DLPFC improves the amount of intended emotion regulation [76] . Finally, anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC combined with left frontopolar cathodal tDCS applied in the re-consolidation phase of a fear-conditioning paradigm improves fear memories, which is in accord with an involvement of the prefrontal cortices in fear memory consolidation [77] .…”

The modulating effects of brain stimulation on emotion regulation and decision-making

“…According to a study of tDCS's effects on the cognitive regulation of negative emotions using reappraisal instructions [52], anodal tDCS of the right DLPFC (F4 of the 10-20 international system) with cathode over the left supraorbital region during down regulation decreased skin conductance responses (SCR) and emotional arousal ratings when compared to a sham stimulation. However, anodal tDCS of the same region during up regulation increased arousal ratings and SCR [20]. These results reflect that the sympathetic nervous systems involved in arousal is modulated by stimulating the DLPFC.…”

“…These studies show that, depending on the stimulated brain regions, anodal tDCS influences arousal during emotion regulation [20], regulation of negative emotions in situations characterized by social exclusion [63,64], mathematics anxiety [67], emotional reactions to pain stimuli [62], negative affect for negative pictures [59], negative affect for negative stimuli [56], and momentary ruminative self-referent thoughts [76].…”