Comparing the neural basis of emotion regulation : a coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on expressive suppression and distancing

Abstract

Different emotion regulation strategies lead to different consequences. For instance, cognitive reappraisal and distancing have repeatedly been shown to be adaptive while expressive suppression results remain inconsistent. With this, extensive research has sought to examine the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in laboratory settings to understand the underlying neural mechanisms of different strategies. To date, several meta-analyses have focused on comparing the neural basis of cognitive reappraisal and acceptance, but no meta-analyses have systematically examined the common and specific neural regions that underlie distancing and expressive suppression. This study examines the neural correlates of distancing and expressive suppression by meta-analyzing fMRI studies involving healthy individuals. The 28 studies compared the functional neural activity during the use of expressive suppression or distancing when exposed to the negative stimuli. The results demonstrated significantly higher activation of the median cingulate upon using expressive suppression and superior frontal gyrus upon using distancing. Additionally, the supplementary motor area and bilateral inferior frontal gyri common regions were significantly involved in both distancing and expressive suppression. Meta-analytic functional connectivity and co-activation analysis maps indicated a positive association between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the bilateral insula, suggesting the involvement of the salience network during negative emotion processing using these two strategies. This meta-analysis confirmed previous findings with updated studies and provided novel quantitative results on the neural basis of distancing and expressive suppression. This provides potential targets for interventions to enhance adaptive emotion regulation in clinical populations.