Neural correlations between cognitive deficits and emotion regulation strategies: understanding emotion dysregulation in depression from the perspective of cognitive control and cognitive biases

Abstract

The link between cognitive function and emotion regulation may be helpful in better understanding the onset, maintenance, and treatment for depression. However, it remains unclear whether there are neural correlates between emotion dysregulation and cognitive deficits in depression. To address this question, we first review the neural representations of emotion dysregulation and cognitive deficits in depression (including deficits in cognitive control and cognitive biases). Based on the comparisons of neural representations of emotion dysregulation versus cognitive deficits, we propose an accessible and reasonable link between emotion dysregulation, cognitive control, and cognitive biases in depression. Specifically, cognitive control serves the whole process of emotion regulation, whereas cognitive biases are engaged in emotion regulation processes at different stages. Moreover, the abnormal implementation of different emotion regulation strategies in depression is consistently affected by cognitive control, which is involved in the dorsolateral, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate cortex. Besides, the relationship between different emotion regulation strategies and cognitive biases in depression may be distinct: the orbitofrontal cortex contributes to the association between ineffective reappraisal and negative interpretation bias, while the subgenual prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex underline the tendency of depressed individuals to ruminate and overly engage in self-referential bias. This review sheds light on the relationship between cognitive deficits and emotion dysregulation in depression and identifies directions in need of future attention.

Age‐related positive emotional reactivity decline associated with the anterior insula based resting‐state functional connectivity

“…The ventral striatum, including the nucleus accumbens, is implicated in affective and motivational processing (Delgado, 2007). The insula, along with the striatum, is implicated in the regulation of emotions and subjective emotional states (Chen et al, 2018; Wei et al, 2022). Our findings further illustrate that the AI, along with the striatum, is involved in the integration of sensory, interoceptive, and emotional information to create a conscious evaluation of affective reactivity (Nanda et al, 2020).…”

Aberrant positive affect dynamics in individuals with subthreshold depression: Evidence from laboratory and real-world assessments

“…However, despite researchers linking high emotional inertia to inappropriate use of dampening (i.e., emotion dysregulation), it is unclear whether this resistance to altered emotional states is a proactive or reactive process. Recent studies have pointed out that emotion dysregulation is related to cognitive bias, which suggests a need to examine the nature of high emotional inertia ( Gao, Yan & Yuan, 2022 ).…”

Suprachiasmatic nucleus functional connectivity related to insomnia symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder

“…This implies that the worse the sleep quality, the more serious the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Sleep is thought to play a critical role in brain development and function ( 34 – 36 ), and insomnia can lead to cognitive decline and a range of physical symptoms ( 37 , 38 ), and cognitive control is present throughout the emotional regulation process ( 39 ). In the current research, adolescents with MDD with high insomnia showed more severe depression, more physical symptoms, reduced cognitive function, and feelings of hopelessness.…”