Multivariate Patterns of Posterior Cortical Activity Differentiate Forms of Emotional Distancing
Open accessAbstract
Distancing is an effective tactic for emotion regulation, which can take several forms depending on the type(s) of psychological distance being manipulated to modify affect. We recently proposed a neurocognitive model of emotional distancing, but it is unknown how its specific forms are instantiated in the brain. Here, we presented healthy young adults (N = 34) with aversive pictures during functional magnetic resonance imaging to directly compare behavioral performance and brain activity across spatial, temporal, and objective forms of distancing. We found emotion regulation performance to be largely comparable across these forms. A conjunction analysis of activity associated with these forms yielded a high degree of overlap, encompassing regions of the default mode and frontoparietal networks as predicted by our model. A multivariate pattern classification further revealed distributed patches of posterior cortical activation that discriminated each form from one another. These findings not only confirm aspects of our overarching model but also elucidate a novel role for cortical regions in and around the parietal lobe in selectively supporting spatial, temporal, and social cognitive processes to distance oneself from an emotional encounter. These regions may provide new targets for brain-based interventions for emotion dysregulation.
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There is a paucity of empirical research examining neuro-cognitive accounts of decentering.
“However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining these neuro-cognitive accounts21,30.”
From Decentering as a core component in the psychological treatment and prevention of youth anxiety and depression: a narrative review and insight report (2021) · cites this paper as [30]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says the neural correlates of component processes in different forms of emotional distancing remain relatively unknown and that no studies had directly compared those forms. This supports a research gap concerning distancing, but the source does not establish a broader paucity of empirical research on neurocognitive accounts of decentering. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFew have explored the neuro-cognitive processes that mediate the impact of decentering based techniques on negative emotional states.
“However, few have explored the neuro-cognitive processes that mediate the impact of decentering based techniques on negative emotional states29,30.”
From Decentering as a core component in the psychological treatment and prevention of youth anxiety and depression: a narrative review and insight report (2021) · cites this paper as [30]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says that the neural correlates of processes contributing to different forms of emotional distancing remain relatively unknown. This supports the claim for distancing techniques used to regulate negative emotion, but the paper does not establish the same research gap for decentering-based techniques generally. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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- Authors
- Powers, J. P., Graner, J. L., & LaBar, K. S.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- LaBar, Kevin S
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2019-12-09
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 2766-2776
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- PMC
- PMC7197066
- OpenAlex
- W2996360192
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 1.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research (DGE-1644868)
- National Institutes of Health (R01 MH113238)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Keywords
- emotional distancing, emotion regulation, psychological distance, social distancing, default mode network, frontoparietal network, posterior cortex, parietal lobe, multivariate pattern classification, emotional dysregulation
- MeSH terms
- Emotional Regulation, Adolescent, Adult, Cerebral Cortex, Emotions, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Photic Stimulation, Psychomotor Performance, Random Allocation, Multivariate Analysis, Young Adult
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