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Abstract

Humans regulate emotions quite naturally. Cognitive techniques for emotion regulation, in particular, range from the control of attention to emotional stimuli to the cognitive change of the meaning of these stimuli. We have investigated the neural underpinnings of these two exemplar techniques with fMRI and EEG, as well as their consequences on peripheral physiological measures. In addition to striking similarities, the techniques also show a number of specific effects, including the relative contribution of certain parts of the neural control networks in orbitofrontal and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices. Because of the importance of emotion regulation for the respective symptomatology, we also studied patients with depression and bipolar disorder. In addition, to better understand the role of emotion regulation deficits in the etiology of affective disorders, we also tested healthy populations at risk to develop bipolar disorder. These results show very specific impairments that can be characterized as vulnerability markers for affective disorders. Importantly, the exacerbated amygdala activity under emotion regulation in patients and at risk participants was also related to habitual emotion regulation. The data raise the question of how malleable emotion regulation is and if early diagnostic and training could improve future health care.