The causal role of the bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortices on emotion regulation of social feedback

Abstract

The ventrolateral prefrontal cortices (VLPFC) are crucial regions involved in voluntary emotion regulation. However, the lateralization of the VLPFC in downregulating negative emotions remains unclear; and whether the causal role of the VLPFC is generalizable to upregulating positive emotions is unexplored. This study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to examine the causal relationship between the left/right VLPFC and social emotion reappraisal. One hundred and twenty participants were randomly assigned to either active (left and right VLPFC groups, n = 40/40) or sham (vertex, n = 40) TMS groups. Participants were instructed to passively receive social feedback or use reappraisal strategies to positively regulate their emotions. While the subjective emotional rating showed that the bilateral VLPFC facilitated the reappraisal success, the electrophysiological measure of the late positive potential (LPP) demonstrated a more critical role of the right VLPFC on social pain relief (decreased LPP amplitudes) and social reward magnification (enhanced LPP amplitudes). In addition, the influence of emotion regulation on social evaluation was found to be mediated by the memory of social feedback, indicating the importance of memory in social behavioral shaping. These findings suggest clinical protocols for the rehabilitation of emotion‐regulatory function in patients with affective and social disorders.

Abstract

Previous studies of our lab have revealed that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortices (VLPFC) are crucial regions involved in voluntary emotion regulation. However, the lateralization of the VLPFC (left or right) as well as the generalizability of its critical role to upregulating positive emotions is largely unclear. To answer these questions, this study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) together with event‐related potential techniques to examine the causal relationship between the left/right VLPFC and emotion regulation. It was found that the right VLPFC, compared to its right counterpart, significantly facilitated downregulating negative and upregulating positive emotions.