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A cognitive neuroscience hypothesis of mood and depression.
Open accessAbstract
Although mood has a direct impact on mental and physical health, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying mood regulation is limited. Here, I propose that there is a direct reciprocal relation between the cortical activation of associations and mood regulation, whereby positive mood promotes associative processing, and associative processing promotes positive mood. This relation might stem from an evolutionary pressure for learning and predicting. Along these lines, one can think of mood as a reward mechanism that guides individuals to use their brains in the most productive manner. The proposed framework has many implications, most notably for diagnosing and treating mood disorders such as depression; for elucidating the role of inhibition in the regulation of mood; for contextualizing adult hippocampal neurogenesis; and for a general, non-invasive improvement of well-being.
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“rumination is associated with decreases in the likelihood of new reward-based learning, weakens instrumental action, and engagement of potentially rewarding social networks41–43 [contextual learning consequences].”
From AN OPEN TRIAL OF EMOTION REGULATION THERAPY FOR GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AND COOCCURRING DEPRESSION: Research Article: An Open Trial of Emotion Regulation Therapy (2015) · cites this paper as [41]
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“Research is clear that there are several reasons why one could develop depression, such as faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability and stressful life events (Burns et al., 2002; Bar, 2009).”
From A Systematic Review of “Helicopter Parenting” and Its Relationship With Anxiety and Depression (2022) · cites this paper as Bar, 2009
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“Depressive rumination is one strategy common to distress disorders that narrows associative processing and in turn, decreases the likelihood of new reward-based learning and obfuscates focusing on purposeful action (Bar, 2009).”
From Emotion Regulation Therapy: A Mechanism-Targeted Treatment for Disorders of Distress (2017) · cites this paper as Bar, 2009
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bar, M.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bar, Moshe
- ORCID
- Bar, Moshe
- Venue
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-11
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 456-463
- ISSN
- 1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2767460
- OpenAlex
- W2167247432
- Cited by
- 152
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 0.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS050615)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- mood regulation, depression, positive mood, associative processing, cortical activation, reward processing, inhibition, hippocampal neurogenesis, well-being, mood disorders
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Association, Cognition, Depression, Humans, Neurosciences
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