| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 921087 | Biological Psychology | 2012 | 5 Pages |
Recent studies of emotion regulation have reported that frequent use of reappraisal is associated with greater experience of positive emotions and increased sense of well-being, which, in turn, have been observed in individuals with greater left-sided prefrontal cortical activity. We hypothesized that frequent use of reappraisal would be correlated with greater left-sided biases of metabolic activity in prefrontal regions as well as in subcortical structures to which the former are interconnected. Twenty male volunteers were scanned at rest with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Self-reported emotion regulation style and an emotional regulation task were administered outside the scanner. Results revealed that frequent reappraisers showed greater left-sided biases of metabolic activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal and caudate regions. Regulation successes in increasing emotions were associated with left-sided metabolic asymmetry in the anterior cingulate. Findings suggest that asymmetric metabolism in prefrontal and subcortical regions are associated with emotion regulation style and also with regulation success.
► We correlate brain metabolic asymmetry with emotion regulation styles and success. ► Reappraisal was associated with left-sided metabolism in the DLPFC and caudate. ► Suppression was associated with right-sided metabolism in the VLPFC and insula. ► Regulation success was associated with asymmetry in the anterior cingulate.
