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The role of engagement and arousal in emotion regulation: an EEG study

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Abstract

Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression are well-studied strategies of emotion regulation (ER). However, the results on their physiological basis are controversial. While in some studies, ER was accompanied by the inhibition of the nervous system, others suggested that ER even might increase arousal and engagement. We calculated the inter-subject correlation (ISC) and indices of engagement, valence and arousal of EEG during suppression, reappraisal, or natural watching of neutral and negative videos. First, both suppression and reappraisal provoked a higher ISC in comparison with watching negative or neutral videos. We consider this as a marker of engagement to the task and feedback processing required for ER. Second, the engagement index was lower during ER compared to watching negative videos in central electrodes, whereas both strategies provoked a higher engagement in frontal electrodes. Third, the arousal index of EEG was higher during all negative conditions; therefore, regulation required a certain level of arousal. In summary, different EEG measures seem to be sensitive to different aspects of ER.

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All the raw EEG, ratings and personality scales were uploaded to https://disk.yandex.com/d/H1aoRgOMj9SlSA.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported only by the Russian Science Foundation (project 22-48-08002, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-48-08002/). The recordings and analysis were carried out using the Automated system of non-invasive brain stimulation with the possibility of synchronous registration of brain activity and registration of eye movements and HPC Facilities at HSE University.

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VK: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Original Draft, Funding acquisition; IN: Formal analysis, Writing—Review and Editing; GH—Investigation; IJ—Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review and Editing, Funding acquisition. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and approved the submitted version.

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Correspondence to Vladimir Kosonogov.

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Communicated by Melvyn A. Goodale.

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Kosonogov, V., Ntoumanis, I., Hajiyeva, G. et al. The role of engagement and arousal in emotion regulation: an EEG study. Exp Brain Res 242, 179–193 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06741-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06741-3

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