Rethinking Feelings: An fMRI Study of the Cognitive Regulation of Emotion

The ability to cognitively regulate emotional responses to aversive events is important for mental and physical health. Little is known, however, about neural bases of the cognitive control of emotion. The present study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural systems use...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cognitive neuroscience 2002-11, Vol.14 (8), p.1215-1229
Main Authors: Ochsner, Kevin N., Bunge, Silvia A., Gross, James J., Gabrieli, John D. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Amygdala - physiology
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition - physiology
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Female
Frontal Lobe - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Personality. Affectivity
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
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Summary:The ability to cognitively regulate emotional responses to aversive events is important for mental and physical health. Little is known, however, about neural bases of the cognitive control of emotion. The present study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural systems used to reappraise highly negative scenes in unemotional terms. Reappraisal of highly negative scenes reduced subjective experience of negative affect. Neural correlates of reappraisal were increased activation of the lateral and medial prefrontal regions and decreased activation of the amygdala and medial orbito-frontal cortex. These findings support the hypothesis that prefrontal cortex is involved in constructing reappraisal strategies that can modulate activity in multiple emotion-processing systems.
ISSN:0898-929X
1530-8898
DOI:10.1162/089892902760807212