Mindfulness meditation enhances interbrain synchrony of adolescents when experiencing different emotions simultaneously.

Mindfulness is considered to benefit social behavior and interpersonal communication. However, the underlying neural mechanism has not been fully examined. This study aimed to explore how mindfulness practice affected the interbrain synchrony within adolescent peer dyads when sharing emotional experience together by using the electroencephalograph hyperscanning approach. Thirty adolescent dyads were randomly assigned to a mindfulness group or a non-mindfulness group. Mindfulness group performed a 20-min mindfulness exercise. Non-mindfulness group were instructed to rest. Simultaneously, electroencephalograph was recorded when they completed a picture-processing task. Phase-locking-value in the gamma band was used to calculate adolescent dyads' brain-to-brain synchrony. Results showed that greater interbrain synchrony in the frontal region was observed when viewing different emotional stimuli together after the mindfulness than before the mindfulness in the mindfulness group. However, there was no significant difference in the interbrain synchrony in the non-mindfulness group. Moreover, greater interbrain synchrony was observed in the mindfulness group than in the non-mindfulness group after mindfulness or rest in the frontal region. However, there was no significant difference between the mindfulness and non-mindfulness group before mindfulness or rest. The findings are discussed in light of the broader theoretical questions of how mindfulness may promote interpersonal functioning from a psychophysiological perspective.

Parental involvement affects parent-adolescents brain-to-brain synchrony when experiencing different emotions together: An EEG-based hyperscanning study.

Parental involvement (PI) is a broad and multifaceted construct, which refers to the parental demonstration of interest in their child, caring, and warmth (Davis et al., 2021). Parental involvement affects parent-adolescent's relationship and communication. However, there was little research to examine the underlying neural mechanism. The present study aimed to explore how parental involvement is associated with the brain-to-brain synchronous activation between parent-adolescent dyads when sharing emotional experience together by using the electroencephalograph (EEG) hyperscanning. EEG was recorded simultaneously in a sample of 26 parent-adolescent dyads (Mparents'age=43.312, SD=5.468; Madolescents' age=12.077, SD=1.412) when completing the picture processing task. Phase locking values (PLVs) in beta band and gamma band were used to compare the differences in the parent-adolescent dyads' induced brain-to-brain synchrony between the high parental involvement group (HPI) and the low parental involvement group (LPI). Results showed that greater beta brain-to-brain synchrony was observed in the HPIs than in the LPIs when experiencing positive emotions together in the central region. However, there was no significant difference between the HPIs and the LPIs in the negative and neutral condition. Moreover, greater gamma brain-to-brain synchrony was observed when viewing negative emotional stimuli together than viewing positive emotional stimuli together in the LPIs in the central region. However, there was no significant difference between different emotional conditions in the HPIs. Findings of the present study provide neuroscientific evidence that parental involvement may strengthen parent-adolescent's emotional interaction and communication.

The role of mindfulness on theta inter-brain synchrony during cooperation feedback processing: An EEG-based hyperscanning study

Mindfulness appears to improve empathy and understanding in relationships, which are necessary for successful cooperation. However, the impact of mindfulness on cooperation has not been fully studied. This study used hyperscanning technique to examine the effect of mindfulness on the inter-brain synchrony of interacting individuals during the cooperative tasks. Forty-one dyads were randomly assigned to a mindfulness group or a non-mindfulness group. Dyads of the mindfulness group performed a short mindfulness exercise following a 15-minute mindfulness audio guidance. Dyads of the non-mindfulness group were instructed to rest quietly with their eyes closed. Then, simultaneously and continuously EEG was recorded from all dyads when they completed a computer-based cooperative game task. Reaction times (RTs) and success rates were used to indicate the behavioral performance, and phase locking value (PLV) was used to indicate the inter-brain synchrony. The results showed that (1) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony during the cooperative computer game tasks was observed in the mindfulness group than in the non-mindfulness group; (2) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony was observed in the successful cooperation conditions as compared to those in the failure cooperation conditions; (3) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony was observed at the frontal region as compared to those at the parietal-occipital region in the successful cooperation condition. The results expand the neural basis of the effects of mindfulness on cooperation feedback processing. (AU)

Age differences in interbrain synchronization during peer cooperation: an EEG hyperscanning study.

Healthy peer relationships could provide emotional and social support for adolescents experiencing dramatic physical and environmental changes. Examining age differences in cognitive neural processing during peer interaction provides insight into adolescent interpersonal contact and "social brain" development. The present study compared the age differences between adolescents and adults by examining the behavior and interbrain synchronization of pairs in a cooperative computer game task. 32 pairs of adolescents and 31 pairs of adults were recruited as participants. The reaction times and interbrain synchronization of the participants were measured. The results revealed that interbrain synchronization activation following the onset of the "ready signal" was primarily detected in low-frequency bands such as delta and theta. Adolescent pairs' interbrain synchronization activations were significantly higher than those of adult pairs in the anterior and central brain regions, such as the frontal, frontal-central, and parietal lobes. Correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between occipital region interbrain synchronization and behavioral performance. The findings provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence for the characteristics of adolescent interpersonal cognitive processing and point to the significance of low-frequency interbrain synchronization in interpersonal coordination.

The role of mindfulness on theta inter-brain synchrony during cooperation feedback processing: An EEG-based hyperscanning study.

Mindfulness appears to improve empathy and understanding in relationships, which are necessary for successful cooperation. However, the impact of mindfulness on cooperation has not been fully studied. This study used hyperscanning technique to examine the effect of mindfulness on the inter-brain synchrony of interacting individuals during the cooperative tasks. Forty-one dyads were randomly assigned to a mindfulness group or a non-mindfulness group. Dyads of the mindfulness group performed a short mindfulness exercise following a 15-minute mindfulness audio guidance. Dyads of the non-mindfulness group were instructed to rest quietly with their eyes closed. Then, simultaneously and continuously EEG was recorded from all dyads when they completed a computer-based cooperative game task. Reaction times (RTs) and success rates were used to indicate the behavioral performance, and phase locking value (PLV) was used to indicate the inter-brain synchrony. The results showed that (1) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony during the cooperative computer game tasks was observed in the mindfulness group than in the non-mindfulness group; (2) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony was observed in the successful cooperation conditions as compared to those in the failure cooperation conditions; (3) Greater theta inter-brain synchrony was observed at the frontal region as compared to those at the parietal-occipital region in the successful cooperation condition. The results expand the neural basis of the effects of mindfulness on cooperation feedback processing.

Effects of mindfulness and fatigue on emotional processing: an event-related potentials study.

Fatigue is a common experience in everyday life. People who experience fatigue will have more intense negative emotions, and at the same time, their positive emotions will decrease, impairing the individual's emotional processing ability. In previous research, mindfulness meditation reduces the intensity of negative emotional stimuli. However, if individuals continue to be affected by negative emotions when they are fatigued, it is unclear whether mindfulness can buffer the negative association between fatigue and emotions. This study examined whether mindfulness meditation affects the association between fatigue and emotions, using event-related potentials (ERPs). One hundred and forty-five participants completed the experiment. They were randomly assigned to the Mindfulness or Non-mindfulness group; and they were presented with positive, neutral, or negative pictures in an emotional processing task before and after mindfulness or rest. Late positive potential (LPP) is an important indicator of emotional stimuli perceived by individuals, and positive or negative pictures can induce an increase in LPP amplitude more than neutral pictures. Our findings suggest that fatigue significantly affected individuals' LPP amplitudes in the early, mid, and late windows in the Non-mindfulness group, specifically, the more fatigued individuals had lower LPP amplitudes, but not in the Mindfulness group. These results suggest that in a state of fatigue, mindful individuals are able to maintain responsiveness to emotional stimuli by maintaining LPP amplitude. Our study has demonstrated that mindfulness meditation, to some extent, offsets the negative association of fatigue with the neural activation of emotions.

Links between social avoidance and frontal alpha asymmetry during processing emotional facial stimuli: An exploratory study.

Individuals who are socially avoidant actively remove themselves from opportunities for social interaction and have a strong desire for solitude. Although social avoidance is associated with a host of adjustment difficulties, its neural substrates remain under-explored. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study to compare electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) scores during processing emotional facial stimuli in socially avoidant and non-withdrawn comparison individuals. From an original sample of N = 384 undergraduate students, 25 avoidant and 27 comparison individuals were identified. For this subset of participants, EEG modulations and self-reported experience ratings during a picture processing task were assessed. Among the results, the socially avoidant group's ratings of positive stimuli were significantly lower than the non-withdrawn comparison group. The socially avoidant group also had significantly lower FAA scores in response to positive stimuli than the comparison group. Further, asymmetry scores of the comparison group in the positive conditions were higher than in the negative and neutral conditions. However, there were no significant differences between these three conditions in the socially avoidant group. Our results suggest that socially avoidant individuals may eschew interpersonal relationships because of a relatively greater right hemisphere cortical activity, which may contribute to a withdrawal motivation when confronted with negative emotional stimuli in social contexts.

Relations between family cohesion and adolescent-parent's neural synchrony in response to emotional stimulations.

BACKGROUND: The interaction between parent and adolescent is more challenging than in other age periods. Family cohesion seriously impacts parent-adolescent emotional interactions. However, the underlying neural mechanism has not been fully examined. This study examined the differences in the neural synchrony in response to emotional film clips between high and low family cohesion adolescent-parent dyads by using the electroencephalograph (EEG) hyperscanning. RESULTS: Simultaneously electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded while 15 low family cohesion parent-adolescent dyads (LFCs)and 14 high family cohesion parent-adolescent dyads (HFCs)received different emotional induction when viewing film clips. Interbrain phase-locking-value (PLV) in gamma band was used to calculate parent-adolescent dyads' interbrain synchrony. Results showed that higher gamma interbrain synchrony was observed in the HFCs than the LFCs in the positive conditions. However, there was no significant difference between the HFCs and LFCs in other conditions. Also, the HFCs had significantly higher gamma interbrain synchrony in the positive conditions than in the negative conditions. CONCLUSION: Interbrain synchrony may represent an underlying neural mechanism of the parent-adolescent emotional bonding, which is the core of family cohesion.

Adolescent social anxiety undermines adolescent-parent interbrain synchrony during emotional processing: A hyperscanning study.

Social anxiety severely impacts adolescents' social interactions with others; however, the underlying neural mechanism has not been revealed. This study examined how adolescent's social anxiety level influences the interbrain synchrony within adolescent-parent dyads during emotional processing by using electroencephalograph (EEG) hyperscanning. A sample of 25 adolescent-parent dyads completed the picture processing task. Adolescents' ages ranged from 10 to 14 years old. The results showed that (1) at parietal areas, greater gamma interbrain synchrony was observed in the high social anxiety adolescent-parent dyads (HSAs) than the low social anxiety adolescent-parent dyads (LSAs) in the positive conditions. However, greater gamma interbrain synchrony of the picture processing task was observed in the LSAs than the HSAs in the negative conditions. (2) Compared with the neutral condition, LSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization in the negative condition than in the neutral condition at central and parietal areas. However, HSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization in the positive condition than in the negative condition at parietal areas. (3) HSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization at parietal areas than in the central areas in positive conditions. The results provide neurological evidence that the way parent and adolescent process different emotions in the same emotional episode could be affected by the adolescent's anxiety level.

Adolescent social anxiety undermines adolescent-parent interbrain synchrony during emotional processing: A hyperscanning study

Social anxiety severely impacts adolescents’ social interactions with others; however, the underlying neural mechanism has not been revealed. This study examined how adolescent's social anxiety level influences the interbrain synchrony within adolescent-parent dyads during emotional processing by using electroencephalograph (EEG) hyperscanning. A sample of 25 adolescent-parent dyads completed the picture processing task. Adolescents’ ages ranged from 10 to 14 years old. The results showed that (1) at parietal areas, greater gamma interbrain synchrony was observed in the high social anxiety adolescent-parent dyads (HSAs) than the low social anxiety adolescent-parent dyads (LSAs) in the positive conditions. However, greater gamma interbrain synchrony of the picture processing task was observed in the LSAs than the HSAs in the negative conditions. (2) Compared with the neutral condition, LSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization in the negative condition than in the neutral condition at central and parietal areas. However, HSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization in the positive condition than in the negative condition at parietal areas. (3) HSAs induced greater interbrain synchronization at parietal areas than in the central areas in positive conditions. The results provide neurological evidence that the way parent and adolescent process different emotions in the same emotional episode could be affected by the adolescent's anxiety level. (AU)

Differences in Emotional Conflict Processing between High and Low Mindfulness Adolescents: An ERP Study.

Mindfulness is a state of concentration that allows individuals to focus on their feelings and thoughts without judgment. However, little is known regarding the underlying neural processes of mindfulness. This study used ERPs to investigate the differences between high and low trait mindfulness adolescents during emotional conflict processing. Nineteen low mindfulness adolescents (LMSs) and sixteen high mindfulness adolescent (HMSs) individuals were asked to complete a face Stroop task. The task superimposed emotional words on emotional faces to generate congruent (CC) and incongruent (IC) conditions. Continuous electroencephalogram data were recorded during the face Stroop task. Results revealed that for N450, the interaction of congruency and group was significant. The incongruent trials evoked a larger N450 than the congruent trials in the HMSs, whereas there were no significant differences between the two conditions in the LMSs. There were significant main effects of congruency for SP (slow potential). The incongruent trials evoked a larger SP than the congruent trials. The results suggest that mindfulness may only affect early conflict monitoring rather than later conflict resolution. The findings expand the neural basis of the effect of mindfulness on inhibitory control.

The Immediate and Lasting Effect of Emotion Regulation in Adolescents: An ERP Study.

The immediate effect is an important index of the outcomes of emotion regulation. However, in daily life, whether the effect of emotion regulation lasts and the lasting mechanism have been examined less. The present research focused on the relationships between the immediate and lasting effect of the emotion regulation of adolescents. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from 51 adolescents (31 boys and 20 girls, Mage = 12.82) during online emotion regulation using the Reactivity and Regulation-Image Task (phase 1) and re-presentation of emotional stimuli after a period of time (phase 2). Event-related potentials (ERPs) related to emotion regulation, such as N2, P3, and the late positive potential (LPP), were examined in the two phases. The results showed that: (1) In both of the two phases, in negative emotion conditions, the amplitudes of P3 and LPP 300-600 of no-regulation conditions were significantly higher than those in reappraisal conditions. However, there was no significant difference under neutral conditions; (2) The amplitudes of P3, N2, and LPP 300-600 during emotion regulation in phase 1 positively predicted the amplitudes of P3, N2, and LPP300-600 in phase 2 in different experimental conditions. Results from the regression analysis implied that the immediate effect of online emotion regulation may predict the lasting effect when adolescents face the same emotions again. In addition, our findings provide neurological evidence that the use of cognitive reappraisal could effectively help adolescents to reduce the recruitment of cognitive resources when they regulate negative emotions and when they face those negative emotions again.

The relationship between habitual use and real-time emotion regulation strategies in adolescents: Evidence from frontal EEG asymmetry.

Past research on emotion regulation has shown that cognitive reappraisal is a healthier and more effective emotion regulation strategy than expressive suppression. However, there are few studies in this field that combine real-time emotion regulation with the use of habitual emotion regulation strategies to observe the patterns of brain activity, and fewer studies focusing on adolescents. Frontal electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry reflects the difference between brain activation in left and right frontal areas and is widely viewed as an effective biomarker of emotional reactivity and regulation. The present study investigated the asymmetry of the frontal EEG activity during adolescents' emotional regulation, and explored its relationship with adolescents' habitual use of emotional regulation strategies. Habitual use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression was measured with the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ). EEG was recorded from 54 adolescents (24 boys & 30 girls, Mage = 12.59), during the Reactivity and Regulation-Image Task. Results showed that adolescents who used cognitive reappraisal strategies more habitually exhibited greater left frontal asymmetry during real-time enhancement or reduction of negative emotions. In contrast, no significant correlation was found between habitual use of suppression and frontal alpha asymmetry. The results provide neurological evidence that, for adolescents, the use of habitual emotion regulation strategies may affect real-time emotion regulation, adolescents who use cognitive reappraisal more frequently are more capable or more prone to recruit appropriate brain regions in situations that need to regulate negative emotions. This reinforces the importance of the formation and use of correct emotion regulation habits for adolescents.

Differences in Reward Sensitivity between High and Low Problematic Smartphone Use Adolescents: An ERP Study.

BACKGROUND: Problematic smartphone use is highly prevalent in adolescent populations compared to other age groups (e.g., adults and young children). Previous studies suggested that higher levels of reward sensitivity were associated with problematic smartphone use. Therefore, the current study investigated the neural processing of monetary and social reward and punishment feedbacks between high and low problematic smartphone use adolescents. METHODS: 46 adolescents participated in the current study and they were categorized into two groups based on their level of problematic smartphone use: those who obtained low scores on the measure of problematic smartphone use were categorized as Low Problematic Smartphone Use (LPSU), and those who obtained high scores on the measure of problematic smartphone use were categorized as High Problematic Smartphone Use (HPSU). Electrocortical activities were recorded during the processing of monetary and social reward and punishment feedback. RESULTS: (1) LPSUs evoked larger P3 in the social punishment condition than in the monetary punishment condition. HPSUs evoked larger P3 in the social reward condition than in the monetary condition. (2) The feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitudes in the reward condition were significantly larger than those in the punishment condition. (3) HPSUs induced larger reward positivity in social feedback conditions than in monetary feedback conditions, while there were no significant differences between the two types of conditions in the LPSUs. DISCUSSION: The results provide neural underpinning evidence that high sensitivity to social rewards may be related to problematic smartphone use in adolescence.

Differences in frontal EEG asymmetry during emotion regulation between high and low mindfulness adolescents.

The present study examined the differences in frontal EEG asymmetry during emotion regulation between participants who had different levels of trait mindfulness. EEG recordings were taken from 23 high mindfulness adolescents (Mage = 12.34) and 22 low mindfulness adolescents (Mage = 12.53) during the Reactivity and Regulation-Image Task. The results showed that (1) high mindfulness adolescents had greater left (relative to right) asymmetry than low mindfulness adolescents in down-regulation and up-regulation conditions; however, there was no significant difference in the non-regulation condition; (2) In the up-regulating condition, adolescents showed greater right (relative to left) asymmetry for negative stimuli compared to neutral stimuli; however, there was no significant difference in down-regulation and non-regulation conditions. The results provide neurological evidence that trait mindfulness was highly related to the regulation of emotions and affects how emotions are processed.

Neural underpinnings of the relationships between sensation seeking and emotion regulation in adolescents.

There is little neurological evidence linking sensation seeking and emotion regulation in adolescence, which is characterised as an emotionally fluctuant period. The present study examined the relationship between sensation seeking and emotion regulation in adolescents. Electroencephalograms were recorded from 22 high sensation-seeking adolescents (HSSs, Mage  = 12.36) and 24 low sensation-seeking adolescents (LSSs, Mage  = 12.84) during the reactivity and regulation-image task. Group differences in event-related brain potentials (ERPs) associated with the regulation of negative and neutral stimuli were analysed. The results showed that (a) the P2 of HSSs were larger than LSSs during emotion regulation; (b) in down-regulation conditions, the LPP in all time windows were smaller than no-regulation in LSSs. However, there was no significant difference in HSSs; (c) the LPP 300-600 and LPP 1000-1500 of down-regulation were smaller in LSSs than HSSs; (d) for LPP 600-1000, HSSs induced larger LPP than LSSs in the negative down-regulation and negative no-regulation conditions. The results provide neurological evidence that higher sensation seeking is related to the high reactivity to emotional stimuli and poor cognitive control during the regulation of emotions.

Subcultural Differences in Processing Social and Non-social Positive Emotions Between Han and Uygur Chinese: An ERP Study.

While previous studies have shown that East-West cultural differences exist in processing different emotional stimuli, potential subcultural differences within a large cultural group are not well understood. In this study, we examined subcultural differences in the event-related potential (ERP) modulations in the brain, during processing social positive and non-social positive stimuli among 21 Han Chinese and 21 Uygur Chinese. Results showed that the magnitudes of P2, N2, and late positive potential (LPP) were larger in Uygur Chinese than in Han Chinese. For social positive stimuli, the P2 and LPP 300-600 were larger in Uygur Chinese than in Han Chinese. However, there was no significant difference in non-social positive stimuli. These results indicated that social positive emotions were more prioritized in emotional processing among Uygur Chinese than Han Chinese. These findings contribute to the growing literature on subcultural differences in processing different types of positive stimuli.

Neurophysiological evidences of the transient effects of mindfulness induction on emotional processing in children: An ERP study.

Mindfulness has been shown to improve mental health through adaptive responses during emotional processing. Although the benefits of mindfulness and the corresponding neural correlates have been demonstrated in adults, little is known about the impact of mindfulness on pre-adolescent children. The present study examined the influence of mindfulness induction on electrocortical responses during emotional processing in pre-adolescent children. Electroencephalograms were recorded from 35 pre-adolescent children; 18 children (Mage = 10.44 years) were randomly assigned to a mindfulness induction group and 17 children were randomly assigned to a control group (Mage = 9.88 years). Group differences in event-related brain potentials (ERPs) associated with the processing of positive, negative and neutral stimuli were analysed. The P1, N2 and late positive potentials (LPPs) were compared between the mindfulness induction group and the control group. The amplitude of the P1 was smaller in the mindfulness induction group compared to the control group under both the negative and neutral conditions. For both groups, the amplitude of the N2 was larger during the presentation of negative stimuli compared to both positive and neutral stimuli. Additionally, the LPP 600-1000 and LPP 1000-1500 were smaller in the mindfulness induction group than in the control group. The presented findings suggest that the impacts of mindfulness during emotional processing are reflected by both bottom-up (evidenced by the early ERP components) and top-down (evidenced by the later ERP components) processes. These results indicate that mindfulness modulates emotional responses in pre-adolescent children and thus has important implications in training and clinical practices.

Age-Related Differences in the Late Positive Potential during Emotion Regulation between Adolescents and Adults.

The late positive potential (LPP) has been well documented in predicting the effect of emotion regulation in previous developmental literature. However, few studies have examined age-related changes in emotion regulation from adolescence to adulthood using this biomarker. To test this, Reactivity and Regulation-Image Task was used to test 18 young adolescents and 22 adults to examine the modulation of LPP during emotion regulation. Results revealed that (a) on the behavioral level, adults reported higher intensity of emotional experience than adolescents when they were asked to use up-regulation. Down-regulation showed no age effect for self-reported rating; (b) adolescents showed higher amplitudes of LPP than adults when using different regulatory strategies in all windows; (c) In late time window, regulation effect was larger when using up-regulation strategy than down-regulation strategy for adolescents, while the difference between the two strategies was negligible for adults. (d) In early time window, reactivity effect was larger in negative conditions than in positive conditions for adolescents, while the difference between the two conditions was again negligible for adults. Differences in the amplitudes and time courses of LPP during emotion regulation between adolescents and adults suggested that age-related changes in emotion regulation may occur during adolescence.

Prefer feeling bad? Subcultural differences in emotional preferences between Han Chinese and Mongolian Chinese.

As a multi-ethnic country that is comprised of diverse cultural systems, there has been little research on the subcultural differences in emotional preferences in China. Also, little attention has been paid to examine how explicit and implicit attitudes towards emotions influence emotional preferences interactively. In this study, we manipulated explicit attitudes towards emotions among Han (N = 62) and Mongolian Chinese individuals (N = 70). We assessed participants' implicit attitudes towards emotions to explore their contributions to emotional preferences. (a) Han Chinese had lower preferences for pleasant emotions than Mongolian Chinese after inducing contra-hedonic attitudes towards emotions, and (b) after priming contra-hedonic attitudes towards emotions, the more Han Chinese participants evaluated pleasant emotions as negative implicitly, the less they preferred to engage in pleasant emotional activities. These findings contribute to the growing literature of subcultural differences and demonstrate that explicit and implicit attitudes towards emotions interactively influence individuals' emotional preferences between different subculture groups.