title: Frontal EEG and emotion regulation: electrocortical activity in response to emotional film clips is associated with reduced mood induction and attention interference effects.
abstract: Frontal EEG activity is thought to reflect affective dispositions, but may also reflect the emotional demands of a specific context combined with the capability to regulate emotions in that context. The present study examined this hypothesis by testing whether frontal EEG activity during mood inductions versus a resting baseline predicted emotion regulation. EEG was recorded while participants (N=66, 40 females) received a fearful, sad, or neutral mood induction. Emotion regulation was measured following the mood inductions as self-reported change in negative mood and as attention interference in a task with mood-congruent emotional distracters. Greater frontal EEG activity during the mood inductions versus baseline was associated with more effective emotion regulation: less post-induction sadness and anxiety and reduced mood-congruent attention interference effects. Effects did not differ between the left and right hemispheres. Results support the hypothesis that frontal EEG activity reflects both emotional context and emotion-regulatory capabilities.
authors.affiliation: Hunter College, The City University of New York, United States. tracy.dennis@hunter.cuny.edu
authors.forename: Tracy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.forename: Beylul
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004585:Electrooculography / Q000379:methods; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009040:Motion Pictures; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult