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A systems identification approach using Bayes factors to deconstruct the brain bases of emotion regulation

Nature Neuroscience (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cognitive reappraisal is fundamental to cognitive therapies and everyday emotion regulation. Analyses using Bayes factors and an axiomatic systems identification approach identified four reappraisal-related components encompassing distributed neural activity patterns across two independent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies (n = 182 and n = 176): (1) an anterior prefrontal system selectively involved in cognitive reappraisal; (2) a fronto-parietal-insular system engaged by both reappraisal and emotion generation, demonstrating a general role in appraisal; (3) a largely subcortical system activated during negative emotion generation but unaffected by reappraisal, including amygdala, hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray; and (4) a posterior cortical system of negative emotion-related regions downregulated by reappraisal. These systems covaried with individual differences in reappraisal success and were differentially related to neurotransmitter binding maps, implicating cannabinoid and serotonin systems in reappraisal. These findings challenge ‘limbic’-centric models of reappraisal and provide new systems-level targets for assessing and enhancing emotion regulation.

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Fig. 1: Overview of experimental paradigm and analysis pipeline.
Fig. 2: Consensus brain regions for reappraisal system components across both independent studies (see Methods for details on consensus maps).
Fig. 3: Consensus brain regions for emotion generation–related system components across both independent studies.
Fig. 4: Region of interest analysis on amygdala and PAG.
Fig. 5: Correlation of reappraisal success with average activation from each component system.
Fig. 6: Function annotation using Neurosynth topic maps.
Fig. 7: Neurochemical annotation of system component maps.

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Data availability

The single-subject univariate beta images for both datasets, which are sufficient to reproduce the main results, are available at NeuroVault (https://neurovault.org/collections/16266/). Persistent identifier: https://identifiers.org/neurovault.collection:16266. The Neurosynth dataset used in the present study is compiled on GitHub and can be found at https://github.com/canlab/Neuroimaging_Pattern_Masks/tree/master/neurosynth. The neurotransmitter receptor/transporter maps are also compiled on GitHub and are available at https://github.com/canlab/Neuroimaging_Pattern_Masks/tree/master/Atlases_and_parcellations/2022_Hansen_PET_tracer_maps. The system component maps are available for visualization and further analysis at https://github.com/canlab/Neuroimaging_Pattern_Masks/tree/master/Individual_study_maps/2024_Bo_EmotionRegulation_BayesFactor.

Code availability

MATLAB codes and toolboxes for analyses are available at https://github.com/canlab. Customized codes for Bayes factor and corresponding analysis are available at https://github.com/KeBo2018/KeBo2023_EmotionReg_BayesFactor.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Boyko and C. DuPont for assisting in data collection and scoring. We thank K. Månsson, H. J. Jung, B. Graul, B. Petro, R. Botvinik-Nezer, Z. Z. Miao, A. Dehghani and B. Kim for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. We also thank S. Shohan and D. Gantz for writing assistance. This work was funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01MH076136 (to T.D.W.) and NIH P01HL040962-25 (to P.J.G.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA

    Ke Bo, Mijin Kwon, Michael Sun & Tor D. Wager

  2. Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Thomas E. Kraynak

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Peter J. Gianaros

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  1. Ke Bo
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  2. Thomas E. Kraynak
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  3. Mijin Kwon
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  4. Michael Sun
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  6. Tor D. Wager
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Contributions

Conceptualization: K.B. and T.D.W. Methodology: K.B., M.K., M.S. and T.D.W. Formal analysis: K.B. and T.D.W. Investigation: K.B., P.J.G. and T.D.W. Participant recruitment: T.E.K. and P.J.G. Resources: P.J.G. and T.D.W. Data pre-processing: K.B., T.E.K. and P.J.G. Writing—original draft: K.B. and T.D.W. Writing—review and editing: K.B., T.E.K., M.K., M.S., P.J.G. and T.D.W. Funding support: P.J.G. and T.D.W.

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Correspondence to Peter J. Gianaros or Tor D. Wager.

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Bo, K., Kraynak, T.E., Kwon, M. et al. A systems identification approach using Bayes factors to deconstruct the brain bases of emotion regulation. Nat Neurosci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01605-7

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