Interactions between the emotional and executive brain systems

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The neurocircuitry that underlies executive function processes and emotional and motivational processes are known to be distinct in the brain. However, there are brain regions that show overlap in function between the two cognitive systems. Brain regions that exist in both systems are interesting mainly for studies on how one system affects the other. Examples of such cross-modal functions are emotional regulation strategies such as emotional suppression [1] and emotional reappraisal, [1] [2] the effect of mood on cognitive tasks, [3] and the effect of emotional stimulation of cognitive tasks. [4]

Contents

A variety of methods can be used to examine the relationship between executive function and emotion, including behavioural studies, functional brain activity, and neuroanatomy. Some of the most prominent results are listed here.

Behavioural studies

Mood affects style of information processing

A large body of research has looked at the effects of positive or negative mood manipulations on performance in tasks of executive function. In most cases, positive mood inductions impair executive function, whereas negative mood has little effect. Overall, the best supported explanation for the observed effects is that mood affects processing style, with positive mood facilitating more heuristic methods of solving problems, and negative mood facilitating more algorithmic methods. Research in this area is incomplete, as negative mood inductions are less thoroughly studied. [5]

Effects of mood on working memory and planning

In word span tasks, positive mood caused greater deficits in complex tasks compared to simpler tasks, where negative mood had no effect. In a Tower of London planning task, positive mood caused poorer planning performance compared to neutral mood. Researchers in both cases suggested that lack of effect could be explained by insufficient mood manipulation methods. [5]

Effects of mood on fluency and creativity

In word fluency tasks, one study has shown that positive mood results in better fluency over negative mood, while another has shown that negative mood results in higher word production. A third study did not find any effect of either mood manipulation. However, there is some evidence that positive mood can result in increased performance in some tasks requiring creative thinking. No evidence of negative mood on creative thinking is available. [5]

Effects of mood on inhibition and switching

In the Stroop task, a near significant trend was found for Stroop costs in positive mood conditions. In two tasks of switching, it was found that positive mood results in impaired switching compared to a neutral condition. Little evidence is found for the effect of negative mood. [5]

Interpretation

Taken together positive mood impairs tasks of working memory, planning, word production, inhibition and switching, and facilitates word fluency. Negative mood impairs fluency, but facilitates planning tasks, word production, and has not shown any effect for tasks of working memory, creativity, inhibition, or switching. The results, while incomplete, would be consistent with the interpretation that mood influences style of processing. [5]

Prefrontal cortex regions involved in emotional regulation

Some of the more significant cortical areas involved in emotional regulation include the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.

Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC)

The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) is a subdivision of the prefrontal cortex. Its involvement in modulating existing behavior and emotional output given contextual demands has been studied extensively using cognitive reappraisal studies and emotion-attention tasks. Cognitive reappraisal studies indicate the vlFPC's role in reinterpreting stimuli, and reducing or augmenting responses. Studies using emotion-attention tasks demonstrate the vlFPC's function in ignoring emotional distractions while the brain is engaged in performing other tasks. [6]

Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a subdivision of the prefrontal cortex. It encodes expected outcomes, both positive and negative, and signals when the expected outcomes do not occur. The mPFC, mediated by the amygdala, is also involved in the extinction and modulation of conditioned responses, including emotional ones, and the augmentation of emotional states. The function of the mPFC in higher order emotional processing is still unclear. [6]

Dorsal prefrontal cortex

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) are implicated in the enhancement of representations of stimuli relevant to current decisions, behaviors or tasks. These areas also play a role in modulating emotions and dealing with emotional distractions during demanding tasks, and are also implicated in facilitating decision/resolve perceptual or conflict making by augmenting representations of stimuli relevant to decision or behavior. The dmPFC's role in human emotional regulation decision making (decision conflict perspective – levels of indecision) e.g. Picking between similar items, acting in novel situations. There is also evidence of an inverse relationship between activation in the dPFC areas and activation in emotionally activated brain areas. [6]

Ventral and dorsal streams

Ventral stream

The ventral stream primarily involves the vlPFC and mPFC. Signals of expected outcomes trigger the mPFC to update stimulus associations through exchanges with the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens. When a response change is needed, the mPFC interacts with the vlPFC. Then, the vlPFC modulates the emotional response to stimuli through interactions with the dorsal striatum. Preliminary findings indicate that the vlPFC may also modulate activity in the nucleus accumbens, temporal cortex, anterior insula and amygdala. [6]

Dorsal stream

The dorsal stream activates by the presence of response conflict. The dmPFC relays information on past reinforcement to the dlPFC, which initiates selective attention. dlPFC influences action and emotion by weighing the importance of competing goals/representations in the temporal cortex. Representations opposite to what the stimulus originally elicited are rendered more salient and compete with the original representations. These competitions influence the modulation of activity in the amygdala and the mPFC. [6]

Adolescent development

An imbalance between the relative influence between the emotional and executive systems is posited to be responsible for the heightened levels of risk-taking and emotionality observed in adolescents. Specifically, dopamine-rich regions related to motivation, including the ventral striatum which has been shown to represent the appetitive value of a stimulus, show increased signaling in adolescent years. This is suggested to be indicative of maturation in this region. In contrast, it is known that regions of the brain known to be involved with modulation of emotional effect on executive function, including the vlPFC, as well as the entire ventrolateral frontostriatal network, do not fully mature until late adolescence to early adulthood. Recent research has shown that adolescents are less capable of inhibiting responses to pre-potent stimuli. Additionally, the ventral striatum and frontolateral prefrontal cortex showed patterns of activity that are more connected with each other during adolescence than early adulthood. While it is accepted that adolescents are less able to inhibit responding to tempting stimuli, it is unclear the specific neural mechanism that modulates this phenomenon. [7]

Other research

The emotional-oddball paradigm is a variation on the traditional oddball paradigm used in neuroscience. Studies show emotionally enhanced memory during trials depicting negative imagery when people participate in visual, simultaneous attention-emotional tasks. [8] Emotional arousal has also been shown to cause augmentation in memory, and enhanced processing and information consolidation when paired with stimuli. This effect has been explained by the arousal-biased competition (ABC) model, which postulates that bottom-up sensory preference to arousing stimuli and top-down relevance to current activity or goal pursuit both influence how priority is determined for an event. [9] More simply, if an event is paired with a particularly emotionally arousing stimulus, it will be more salient to processing and have greater resources devoted to it.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amygdala</span> Each of two small structures deep within the temporal lobe of complex vertebrates

The amygdala is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown to perform a primary role in the processing of memory, decision making, and emotional responses, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system. The term "amygdala" was first introduced by Karl Friedrich Burdach in 1822.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limbic system</span> Set of brain structures involved in emotion and motivation

The limbic system, also known as the paleomammalian cortex, is a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the medial temporal lobe of the cerebrum primarily in the forebrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arousal</span> State of being awoken

Arousal is the physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the brain, which mediates wakefulness, the autonomic nervous system, and the endocrine system, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure and a condition of sensory alertness, desire, mobility, and readiness to respond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prefrontal cortex</span> Part of the brain responsible for personality, decision-making, and social behavior

In mammalian brain anatomy, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) covers the front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The PFC contains the Brodmann areas BA8, BA9, BA10, BA11, BA12, BA13, BA14, BA24, BA25, BA32, BA44, BA45, BA46, and BA47.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somatic marker hypothesis</span> Hypothesis that emotional processes guide or bias decision-making

The somatic marker hypothesis, formulated by Antonio Damasio and associated researchers, proposes that emotional processes guide behavior, particularly decision-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affective neuroscience</span> Study of the neural mechanisms of emotion

Affective neuroscience is the study of how the brain processes emotions. This field combines neuroscience with the psychological study of personality, emotion, and mood. The basis of emotions and what emotions are remains an issue of debate within the field of affective neuroscience.

Reduced affect display, sometimes referred to as emotional blunting or emotional numbing, is a condition of reduced emotional reactivity in an individual. It manifests as a failure to express feelings either verbally or nonverbally, especially when talking about issues that would normally be expected to engage the emotions. Expressive gestures are rare and there is little animation in facial expression or vocal inflection. Reduced affect can be symptomatic of autism, schizophrenia, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, depersonalization disorder, schizoid personality disorder or brain damage. It may also be a side effect of certain medications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive functions</span> Cognitive processes necessary for control of behavior

In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. Executive functions include basic cognitive processes such as attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Higher-order executive functions require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include planning and fluid intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reward system</span> Group of neural structures responsible for motivation and desire

The reward system is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience, associative learning, and positively-valenced emotions, particularly ones involving pleasure as a core component. Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior, also known as approach behavior, and consummatory behavior. A rewarding stimulus has been described as "any stimulus, object, event, activity, or situation that has the potential to make us approach and consume it is by definition a reward". In operant conditioning, rewarding stimuli function as positive reinforcers; however, the converse statement also holds true: positive reinforcers are rewarding.

Hot cognition is a hypothesis on motivated reasoning in which a person's thinking is influenced by their emotional state. Put simply, hot cognition is cognition coloured by emotion. Hot cognition contrasts with cold cognition, which implies cognitive processing of information that is independent of emotional involvement. Hot cognition is proposed to be associated with cognitive and physiological arousal, in which a person is more responsive to environmental factors. As it is automatic, rapid and led by emotion, hot cognition may consequently cause biased decision making. Hot cognition may arise, with varying degrees of strength, in politics, religion, and other sociopolitical contexts because of moral issues, which are inevitably tied to emotion. Hot cognition was initially proposed in 1963 by Robert P. Abelson. The idea became popular in the 1960s and the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventromedial prefrontal cortex</span> Body part

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is a part of the prefrontal cortex in the mammalian brain. The ventral medial prefrontal is located in the frontal lobe at the bottom of the cerebral hemispheres and is implicated in the processing of risk and fear, as it is critical in the regulation of amygdala activity in humans. It also plays a role in the inhibition of emotional responses, and in the process of decision-making and self-control. It is also involved in the cognitive evaluation of morality.

Memory and trauma is the deleterious effects that physical or psychological trauma has on memory.

Emotional self-regulation or emotion regulation is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as well as the ability to delay spontaneous reactions as needed. It can also be defined as extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions. Emotional self-regulation belongs to the broader set of emotion regulation processes, which includes both the regulation of one's own feelings and the regulation of other people's feelings.

Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inhibitory control</span> Cognitive process

Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process – and, more specifically, an executive function – that permits an individual to inhibit their impulses and natural, habitual, or dominant behavioral responses to stimuli in order to select a more appropriate behavior that is consistent with completing their goals. Self-control is an important aspect of inhibitory control. For example, successfully suppressing the natural behavioral response to eat cake when one is craving it while dieting requires the use of inhibitory control.

Emotional lateralization is the asymmetrical representation of emotional control and processing in the brain. There is evidence for the lateralization of other brain functions as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanisms of mindfulness meditation</span>

Mindfulness has been defined in modern psychological terms as "paying attention to relevant aspects of experience in a nonjudgmental manner", and maintaining attention on present moment experience with an attitude of openness and acceptance. Meditation is a platform used to achieve mindfulness. Both practices, mindfulness and meditation, have been "directly inspired from the Buddhist tradition" and have been widely promoted by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have a positive impact on several psychiatric problems such as depression and therefore has formed the basis of mindfulness programs such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based pain management. The applications of mindfulness meditation are well established, however the mechanisms that underlie this practice are yet to be fully understood. Many tests and studies on soldiers with PTSD have shown tremendous positive results in decreasing stress levels and being able to cope with problems of the past, paving the way for more tests and studies to normalize and accept mindful based meditation and research, not only for soldiers with PTSD, but numerous mental inabilities or disabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep and emotions</span> Overview about sleep and emotions

Emotions play a key role in overall mental health, and sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining the optimal homeostasis of emotional functioning. Deficient sleep, both in the form of sleep deprivation and restriction, adversely impacts emotion generation, emotion regulation, and emotional expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biology of bipolar disorder</span> Biological Study Of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder characterized by periods of elevated and depressed mood. The cause and mechanism of bipolar disorder is not yet known, and the study of its biological origins is ongoing. Although no single gene causes the disorder, a number of genes are linked to increase risk of the disorder, and various gene environment interactions may play a role in predisposing individuals to developing bipolar disorder. Neuroimaging and postmortem studies have found abnormalities in a variety of brain regions, and most commonly implicated regions include the ventral prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Dysfunction in emotional circuits located in these regions have been hypothesized as a mechanism for bipolar disorder. A number of lines of evidence suggests abnormalities in neurotransmission, intracellular signalling, and cellular functioning as possibly playing a role in bipolar disorder.

Affect labeling is an implicit emotional regulation strategy that can be simply described as "putting feelings into words". Specifically, it refers to the idea that explicitly labeling one's, typically negative, emotional state results in a reduction of the conscious experience, physiological response, and/or behavior resulting from that emotional state. For example, writing about a negative experience in one's journal may improve one's mood. Some other examples of affect labeling include discussing one's feelings with a therapist, complaining to friends about a negative experience, posting one's feelings on social media or acknowledging the scary aspects of a situation.

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