Neural Underpinnings of Implicit Reappraisal: How Preceding Descriptions Influence Emotional Responses to Videos

Abstract

Emotion regulation is an essential part of everyday life, and deficits in regulatory behaviors can have harmful effects on one’s mental, physical, and social well-being. Existing models of emotion regulation propose different cognitive strategies for the various stages of the unfolding emotional response, commonly focusing on explicit cognitive reappraisal. However, markedly less research focuses on implicit cognitive reappraisal, defined as modification of an emotional response that is not deliberate and/or occurs outside of one’s conscious awareness. Previous research has suggested a network of brain regions implicated in explicit reappraisal, including regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, and a limited body of research has suggested that implicit reappraisal relies on similar neural mechanisms. The proposed study sought to add to the implicit reappraisal literature by collecting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data during the viewing of negative video stimuli that have been preceded by a neutral, negative, or positive description. This approach was novel in that it utilized 7 Tesla MRI technology, video stimuli as opposed to static images, and focused solely on implicit processes. Results suggest that regions of the left prefrontal cortex were significantly more activated when viewing stimuli that were preceded by a negative prompt compared to viewing stimuli preceded by both positive and neutral prompts, however, positive and neutral conditions were not significantly different from each other. These data suggest that negative affective stimuli may cause differential responses in the left prefrontal cortex such that positive and neutral prompts may reduce activity while negative prompts may exacerbate activity. Investigation into implicit reappraisal will further our overall understanding of emotion regulation and could provide valuable insight as to how these strategies could be used to address deficits in emotional processes.