The Neural Bases of Distraction and Reappraisal
Name
McRae-2010-The Neural Bases of Distraction and Reappraisal.pdf
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411.93 KB
Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
McRae, Kateri
Hughes, Brent
Chopra, Sita
Gabrieli, John D. E.
Gross, James J.
Ochsner, Kevin N.
Date Issued
February 2010
Journal
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Publisher
MIT Press
Citation
McRae, Kateri et al. “The Neural Bases of Distraction and Reappraisal.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 22.2 (2010): 248-262.© 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Distraction and reappraisal are two commonly used forms of cognitive emotion regulation. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that each one depends upon interactions between pFC, interpreted as implementing cognitive control, and limbic regions, interpreted as mediating emotional responses. However, no study has directly compared distraction with reappraisal, and it remains unclear whether they draw upon different neural mechanisms and have different emotional consequences. The present fMRI study compared distraction and reappraisal and found both similarities and differences between the two forms of emotion regulation. Both resulted in decreased negative affect, decreased activation in the amygdala, and increased activation in prefrontal and cingulate regions. Relative to distraction, reappraisal led to greater decreases in negative affect and to greater increases in a network of regions associated with processing affective meaning (medial prefrontal and anterior temporal cortices). Relative to reappraisal, distraction led to greater decreases in amygdala activation and to greater increases in activation in prefrontal and parietal regions. Taken together, these data suggest that distraction and reappraisal differentially engage neural systems involved in attentional deployment and cognitive reframing and have different emotional consequences.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2009.21243
