Implicit, But Not Explicit, Emotion Regulation Relieves Unpleasant Neural Responses Evoked by High-Intensity Negative Images / 神经科学通报·英文版

Evidence suggests that explicit reappraisal has limited regulatory effects on high-intensity emotions, mainly due to the depletion of cognitive resources occupied by the high-intensity emotional stimulus itself. The implicit form of reappraisal has proved to be resource-saving and therefore might be an ideal strategy to achieve the desired regulatory effect in high-intensity situations. In this study, we explored the regulatory effect of explicit and implicit reappraisal when participants encountered low- and high-intensity negative images. The subjective emotional rating indicated that both explicit and implicit reappraisal down-regulated negative experiences, irrespective of intensity. However, the amplitude of the parietal late positive potential (LPP; a neural index of experienced emotional intensity) showed that only implicit reappraisal had significant regulatory effects in the high-intensity context, though both explicit and implicit reappraisal successfully reduced the emotional neural responses elicited by low-intensity negative images. Meanwhile, implicit reappraisal led to a smaller frontal LPP amplitude (an index of cognitive cost) compared to explicit reappraisal, indicating that the implementation of implicit reappraisal consumes limited cognitive control resources. Furthermore, we found a prolonged effect of implicit emotion regulation introduced by training procedures. Taken together, these findings not only reveal that implicit reappraisal is suitable to relieve high-intensity negative experiences as well as neural responses, but also highlight the potential benefit of trained implicit regulation in clinical populations whose frontal control resources are limited.

The mediating role of emotion regulation strategies between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To study the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).@*METHODS@#Convenience cluster sampling was performed to select 435 eligible children with ADHD from 10 211 students in 10 elementary schools in Kashgar of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. SNAP-IV Assessment Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents, and Conners Parent Symptoms Questionnaire were used to obtain relevant information. The Spearman correlation analysis and the moderated mediation method were used for data analysis.@*RESULTS@#For the children with ADHD, the score of cognitive reappraisal was negatively correlated with the scores of symptoms and anxiety problems (rs=-0.254 and -0.270 respectively, P<0.001), and the score of symptoms was positively correlated with the score of anxiety problems (rs=0.329, P<0.001). The analysis of mediating effect showed that cognitive reappraisal played a partial mediating role between symptoms and anxiety problems, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.008-0.027, and the mediating effect accounted for 16.10% of the total effect. In addition, sex played a regulatory role in this mediation model (P<0.001).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Cognitive reappraisal plays a mediating role between symptoms and anxiety problems in children with ADHD, while sex regulates the relationship of symptoms with cognitive reappraisal and anxiety problems in these children.

Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on Chinese people: Exposure, post-traumatic stress symptom, and emotion regulation

Objective: To examine the effects of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) exposure, expressive suppression/cognitive reappraisal, and demographic variables on post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTS) among Chinese. Methods: Participants were recruited by social media through WeChat and 6 049 Chinese (aged from 17 to 63 years; median=24) from 31 provinces were included in the study. PTS symptoms, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal were assessed after the outbreak of COVID-19. A regression mixture analysis was conducted in Mplus 7. Results: A regression mixture model identified three latent classes that were primarily distinguished by differential effects of COVID- 19 exposures on PTS symptoms: (1) Class 1 (mildly PTS symptoms, 80.9%), (2) Class 2 (moderate PTS symptoms, 13.0%), and (3) Class 3 (high PTS symptoms, 6.1%). The results demonstrated that the young, women and people with responsibilities and concerns for others were more vulnerable to PTS symptoms; and they had more expression inhibition and less cognitive reappraisal in three latent classes. Conclusions: The findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid to vulnerable groups such as the young, women and people with responsibilities and concerns for others. Therapies to encourage emotional expression and increase cognitive reappraisal may also be helpful for trauma survivors.

Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on Chinese people: Exposure, post-traumatic stress symptom, and emotion regulation

Objective: To examine the effects of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) exposure, expressive suppression/cognitive reappraisal, and demographic variables on post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTS) among Chinese. Methods: Participants were recruited by social media through WeChat and 6 049 Chinese (aged from 17 to 63 years; median=24) from 31 provinces were included in the study. PTS symptoms, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal were assessed after the outbreak of COVID-19. A regression mixture analysis was conducted in Mplus 7. Results: A regression mixture model identified three latent classes that were primarily distinguished by differential effects of COVID- 19 exposures on PTS symptoms: (1) Class 1 (mildly PTS symptoms, 80.9%), (2) Class 2 (moderate PTS symptoms, 13.0%), and (3) Class 3 (high PTS symptoms, 6.1%). The results demonstrated that the young, women and people with responsibilities and concerns for others were more vulnerable to PTS symptoms; and they had more expression inhibition and less cognitive reappraisal in three latent classes. Conclusions: The findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid to vulnerable groups such as the young, women and people with responsibilities and concerns for others. Therapies to encourage emotional expression and increase cognitive reappraisal may also be helpful for trauma survivors.

Electroencephalogram characteristics under successful cognitive reappraisal in emotion regulation / 生物医学工程学杂志

Cognitive reappraisal is an important strategy for emotion regulation. Studies show that even healthy people may not be able to implement this strategy successfully, but the underlying neural mechanism behind the behavioral observation of success or failure of reappraisal is unclear. In this paper, 28 healthy college students participated in an experiment of emotional regulation with the cognitive reappraisal strategy. They were asked to complete the cognitive psychological questionnaires before the experiment. Their behavioral scores and scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were collected simultaneously during the experiment. We divided all the subjects into two groups, according to the statistical test of valence scores. Then we analyzed their questionnaires, early event-related potential (ERP) components N200, P200, and late positive potential (LPP), and calculated the correlation between the valence score and the amplitude of LPP. The results showed that, in both groups, compared with negative-watching, the reappraisal induced larger N200 and P200 components and there were two modulation patterns ("increase" and "decrease") of the reappraisal effect on the amplitude of early LPP (300-1 000 ms after stimulus onset). Moreover, correlation analysis showed that significant positive correlation between two differences in the successful group, i.e., the greater difference in the valence scoresin between reappraisal and negative-watching, the greater difference in the amplitude of early LPP between reappraisal and negative-watching; but no such effect was found in the failure group. These results indicated that, whether reappraisal was successful or not, no significant effect on early ERP components was found; and there were different patterns of the reappraisal effect on early LPP. The difference between successful and failure groups was mainly reflected in early LPP, that is, the EEG characteristics and behavioral scores of successful group were significantly positively correlated. Furthermore, the small sample analysis showed that this correlation only existed in the pattern of "increase". In the future, more research of this modulation mode is necessary in order to find more stable EEG characteristics under successful cognitive reappraisal in emotion regulation.

Stress and emotion regulation in resident doctors at a tertiary care hospital of North India

Background: The stress of medical training stems from academic pressure, exhausting work hours and striving for perfectionist standards. The demanding nature also requires involvement with emotionally draining aspects of life (human suffering, death, sexuality and fear). This may impair quality of life of medical students and influence patient care. As a consequence, post graduate medical students can experience an alarming amount of stress-associated anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. Chronic stress is also known to influence memory, learning and especially problem-solving abilities which require flexible thinking. The study was carried out to evaluate the relationship of stress to cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression in post graduate medical students. Methods: 150 post graduate medical students participated in the study. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Professional Life Stress Questionnaire were administered on each participant. Data collected was kept confidential. Results were tabulated and statistically analysed.Results: Out of 150 participants, 85 (56.67%) experienced stress. 65 (43.33%) participants had stress in the moderate range, 20 (13.33%) participants had stress in the problematic area for whom remedial action was required. 52% showed high cognitive reappraisal, while 54% showed emotional suppression.Conclusions: The correlation between stress, cognitive reappraisal and between stress, emotion suppression showed weak strengths.

Premenstrual syndrome and its association with emotional dysregulation: a comparison between medical and non medical students

Background: Premenstrual syndrome is a disorder of menstrual cycle that encompasses varied symptoms ranging from physical, emotional to psychological. Depression and anxiety were considered to be two of the most severely disabling, amongst the varied emotional symptoms, as found by Gotts et al. This study was to find if the stressful life of medicos further dampened their ability to regulate their emotions during PMS.Methods: This was a comparative cross sectional study was carried out between July and October 2018. Female students of first three years studying on Govt. Kilpauk Medical College and JBAS College, Teynamet, were recruited for the study after obtaining written informed consent.Results: The mean PMS score among medicos is 93.791 and the mean PMS score among non-medicos is 88.473. Since the mean score of both the groups is higher than the cut off for PMS as per the PMS Scale, there is occurrence of PMS in both the groups. Further comparing the PMS scores of case and control, the case group consisting of medicos had a higher prevalence compared to the non-medicos.Conclusions: Since there is significant prevalence of PMS among medicos, early diagnosis is crucial. The people with PMS can be given cognitive behavioural therapy. Advising women with PMS to take vitamin B6 can also help in managing this abnormal mood regulatory menstrual disease. Pyridoxine is known to provide great results in the treatment of PMS.

The moderating effect of emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between emotional experiences and physical health of college students / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the role of college students' emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between emotion experiences and physical health.Method A total of 2 000 college students from a college in Hebei Province were tested randomly with the depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21),the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) and the EuroQoL five-dimension questionnaire(EQ-5D).Results (1) Depression,anxiety and stress and expression suppression of male students (1(0,5),1(0,6),2(0,7),16.61±5.34,respectively) were higher than those of females(0(0,2),1(0,3),1(0,4),15.68±5.l0,respectively) (Z=-6.162,-3.108,-2.846,t=3.814,P＜0.01);and cognitive reappraisal,visual analogue scales (EQ-VAS) and EQ-5D value indexes(EQ-5D) of male students(27.74±7.56,81.17 ± 18.29,0.94 ± 0.15,respectively)were lower than those of females (28.69 ± 6.34,84.23 ± 16.43,0.96 ± 0.11,respectively) (t=-2.967,-3.812,-3.837,P＜0.01).(2) The scores of depression,anxiety and stress were positively correlated with expression suppression (r=0.096,0.080,0.066,P＜0.01),and negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal(r=-0.176,-0.160,-0.174,P＜0.01) and EQ-VAS (r=-0.410,-0.437,-0.422,P＜0.01).(3) Cognitive reappraisal played a moderating role in the effect of stress on physical health (R2 =0.191,P＜0.01);and expression inhibition exerted a positive moderating role in that of depression on physical health (R2 =0.163,P＜0.01).Conclusion College students' emotion regulation strategies play a moderating role in the effect of emotional state on physical health.

Executive functions and Cognitive Reappraisal ability: the relationship in children / Funciones ejecutivas y regulación de la emoción: evidencia de su relación en niños

Resumen La habilidad de reevaluación cognitiva (HRC) es una estrategia de regulación emocional que implica resignificar un evento para cambiar su efecto emocional. En los niños, esta habilidad permite disminuir experiencias emocionales negativas y se ha mostrado como un factor de protección frente a la ansiedad y depresión. Sin embargo, aún resta conocer los factores que contribuyen a explicar las diferencias individuales en esta habilidad. Uno de estos factores son las funciones ejecutivas, ya que contribuyen al control cognitivo de la emoción. El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar el rol de las funciones ejecutivas en la HRC. Se evaluaron 100 niños de 9 a 12 años (M = 10.49; DS = 1.10) en memoria de trabajo, flexibilidad cognitiva espontánea, inhibición y HRC mediante la tarea de amplitud oral (Batería AWMA), prueba de fluidez verbal semántica (Batería ENI) y la tarea de identificación de reevaluaciones cognitivas (TIRC) elaborada para este estudio. Los datos se analizaron mediante regresión lineal múltiple. Los resultados mostraron que las funciones ejecutivas predecían la HRC, es decir, los niños que tuvieron mejor desempeño en funcionamiento ejecutivo mostraron mayor HRC. Se espera que estos resultados permitan profundizar el conocimiento de los procesos implicados en el control cognitivo de la emoción.

Abstract The Cognitive Reappraisal Ability (CRA) is an emotional regulation strategy that involves giving a new meaning to an event in order to change the emotional response. In children, this skill helps reduce negative emotional experiences and has proven to be a protective factor against anxiety and depression. However, there's still the need to understand the factors that may influence on the individual differences in the CRA. One of these factors is executive functions, since they contribute to the cognitive control of emotion. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of executive functions in the CRA. We evaluated 100 children whose ages ranged from 9 to 12 years (M=10,49; DS=1,10) on their working memory capacity, spontaneous cognitive flexibility, inhibition and CRA using a Verbal Span Task (AWMA) , Verbal Fluency Task (ENI Battery) and a Cognitive Reappraisal Task CRT, which was designed for this research. Data set was analyzed by linear regression analysis. The results showed executive functions preceded CRA, i.e. children who performed better in executive functioning showed higher CRA. It is expected that these results permit a deeper understanding of the processes involved in cognitive control of emotion.

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies in subjects with panic disorder / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate cognitive strategies of emotion regulation in subjects with panic disorder (PD).Methods Subjects were 51 patients with PD and 54 healthy controls individually matched by age,sex and educational level.Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) were obtained from both panic and control group.Twenty-three panic disorder patients and 22 healthy controls completed a validated passive cognitive reappraisal task.Results (1) PD group scored significantly lower on the strategies of positive focus (4.4± 1.3 vs 5.4±1.3),positive reappraisal (4.9±2.0 vs 6.5±2.0) and putting into perspective (4.8±1.8 vs 6.2±1.9),and significantly higher on the strategies of catastrophizing (7.1 ±2.0 vs 4.5± 1.8) and rumination (6.8±2.2 vs 3.9± 1.9)than control group (P＜0.05).(2) In cognitive reappraisal task,significant picture type × group interactions were found in both valence and arousal 9-point scales (P＜0.05).Conclusion PD patients show obvious impairment of emotion regulation,and cognitive reappraisal defect may play an important role in it.