title: Neural indicators of emotion regulation via acceptance vs reappraisal in remitted major depressive disorder.
abstract: Mood disorders are characterized by impaired emotion regulation abilities, reflected in alterations in frontolimbic brain functioning during regulation. However, little is known about differences in brain function when comparing regulatory strategies. Reappraisal and emotional acceptance are effective in downregulating negative affect, and are components of effective depression psychotherapies. Investigating neural mechanisms of reappraisal vs emotional acceptance in remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) may yield novel mechanistic insights into depression risk and prevention. Thirty-seven individuals (18 rMDD, 19 controls) were assessed during a functional magnetic resonance imaging task requiring reappraisal, emotional acceptance or no explicit regulation while viewing sad images. Lower negative affect was reported following reappraisal than acceptance, and was lower following acceptance than no explicit regulation. In controls, the acceptance > reappraisal contrast revealed greater activation in left insular cortex and right prefrontal gyrus, and less activation in several other prefrontal regions. Compared with controls, the rMDD group had greater paracingulate and right midfrontal gyrus (BA 8) activation during reappraisal relative to acceptance. Compared with reappraisal, acceptance is associated with activation in regions linked to somatic and emotion awareness, although this activation is associated with less reduction in negative affect. Additionally, a history of MDD moderated these effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA, moria.smoski@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Moria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Smoski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shian-Ling
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Keng
authors.affiliation: Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Jie Lisa
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA, and.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minkel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA, and Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriel S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Dichter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: acceptance; emotion regulation; mindfulness; reappraisal; remitted major depression