The role of frontal-subcortical connectivity in the relation between coping styles and reactivity and downregulation of negative emotion

Xiaoqin Wang; Scott D Blain; Dongtao Wei; Wenjing Yang; Junyi Yang; Kaixiang Zhuang; Li He; Colin G DeYoung; Jiang Qiu

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105631

The role of frontal-subcortical connectivity in the relation between coping styles and reactivity and downregulation of negative emotion

Brain Cogn. 2020 Dec:146:105631. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105631. Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Authors

Xiaoqin Wang¹, Scott D Blain², Dongtao Wei¹, Wenjing Yang¹, Junyi Yang³, Kaixiang Zhuang¹, Li He¹, Colin G DeYoung⁴, Jiang Qiu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Department of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
² Psychology Department, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, MN, USA.
³ Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Department of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; School of Education Science, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang 464000, China.
⁴ Psychology Department, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, MN, USA. Electronic address: cdeyoung@umn.edu.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Department of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: qiuj318@swu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33120205
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105631

Abstract

Coping styles (CS) reflect individuals' habitual use of strategies for coping with negative events in daily life. Although research into coping has not reached consistent agreement about classifying coping strategies as either inherently adaptive or maladaptive, the influence of maladaptive CS on mental health is noticeable. CS might also be related to emotion regulation and associated brain systems. Participants (N = 165) completed measurements of CS, trait emotions including trait anxiety, depressive symptoms and happiness and then performed an emotion regulation task, in conjunction with functional MRI. Individual differences in maladaptive CS use were associated with higher trait negative emotionality and higher state reactivity of negative emotion. Concurrent bilateral amygdala-right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) connectivity during passive negative stimulus processing mediated the relation between maladaptive CS and negative emotion ratings. Psychophysiological interaction analyses showed that maladaptive and adaptive CS were linked to patterns of frontal-subcortical connectivity during state emotion regulation. These results suggest that maladaptive CS might be related to negative emotion processing and weaker spontaneous regulation and indicate that maladaptive CS is a risk factor in individual mental health.

Keywords: Amygdala; Emotion regulation; Generalized psychophysiological interaction; Maladaptive coping styles; Prefrontal cortex.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological*
Amygdala* / diagnostic imaging
Amygdala* / physiology
Down-Regulation
Emotions*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging