Relationship between emotional experience and resilience: an fMRI study in fire-fighters.
Resilience refers to the capacity to cope effectively in stressful situations or adversity. It may involve the ability to experience emotions matching the demands of environmental circumstances. The brain mechanisms underlying resilience remain unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship between the neural basis of emotional experience and resilience. Thirty-six fire-fighters were included. They performed an fMRI script-driven paradigm comprising relaxing and trauma-related scripts to evaluate the cerebral substrate of emotional experience (p<0.05, FDR-corrected). Correlations were examined between fMRI activations and the resilience DRS15 scale (p<0.05). Resilience was positively correlated with the right amygdala and left orbitofrontal activations when performing the contrast of trauma vs. relaxing script. The present study provides neural data on the mechanisms underlying resilience and their relationship with emotional reactivity, suggesting that appropriate emotional response in stressful situations is essential for coping with aversive events in daily life.
Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone UMR 7289, Aix-Marseille Université & CNRS, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille, France. manreynaud@yahoo.fr
Emmanuelle
E
Reynaud
Eric
E
Guedj
Marc
M
Souville
Marion
M
Trousselard
Xavier
X
Zendjidjian
Myriam
M
El Khoury-Malhame
Eric
E
Fakra
Bruno
B
Nazarian
Olivier
O
Blin
Frédéric
F
Canini
Stephanie
S
Khalfa
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000098:blood supply; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D061388:Firefighters / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen