Examining the Role of Lateral Parietal Cortex in Emotional Distancing Using TMS.
Abstract
We recently proposed a neurocognitive model of distancing-an emotion regulation tactic-with
a focus on the lateral parietal cortex. Although this brain area has been implicated
in both cognitive control and self-projection processes during distancing, fMRI work
suggests that these processes may be dissociable here. This preregistered (NCT03698591)
study tested the contribution of left temporoparietal junction (TPJ) to distancing
using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. We hypothesized that inhibiting
left TPJ would decrease the efficiency of distancing but not distraction, another
regulation tactic with similar cognitive control requirements, thus implicating this
region in the self-projection processes unique to distancing. Active and sham continuous
theta burst stimulation (cTBS) were applied to 30 healthy adults in a single-session
crossover design. Tactic efficiency was measured using online reports of valence and
effort. The stimulation target was established from the group TPJ fMRI activation
peak in an independent sample using the same distancing task, and anatomical MRI scans
were used for individual targeting. Analyses employed both repeated-measures ANOVA
and analytic procedures tailored to crossover designs. Irrespective of cTBS, distancing
led to greater decreases in negative valence over time relative to distraction, and
distancing effort decreased over time while distraction effort remained stable. Exploratory
analyses also revealed that active cTBS made distancing more effortful, but not distraction.
Thus, left TPJ seems to support self-projection processes in distancing, and these
processes may be facilitated by repeated use. These findings help to clarify the role
of lateral parietal cortex in distancing and inform applications of distancing and
distraction.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Continuous theta burst stimulationEmotion regulation
Psychological distance
Reappraisal
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21631Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.3758/s13415-020-00821-5Publication Info
Powers, John P; Davis, Simon W; Neacsiu, Andrada D; Beynel, Lysianne; Appelbaum, Lawrence
G; & LaBar, Kevin S (2020). Examining the Role of Lateral Parietal Cortex in Emotional Distancing Using TMS. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 20(5). pp. 1090-1102. 10.3758/s13415-020-00821-5. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21631.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Lawrence Gregory Appelbaum
Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Greg Appelbaum is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences in the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Appelbaum's research
interests primarily concern the brain mechanisms underlying visual cognition, how
these capabilities differ among individuals, and how they can be improved through
behavioral, neurofeedback, and neuromodulation interventions. Within the field of
cognitive neuroscience, his research has addressed visual pe
Simon Wilton Davis
Assistant Professor in Neurology
My research centers around the use of structural and functional imaging measures to
study the shifts in network architecture in the aging brain. I am specifically interested
in changes in how changes in structural and functional connectivity associated with
aging impact the semantic retrieval of word or fact knowledge. Currently this involves
asking why older adults have particular difficulty in certain kinds of semantic retrieval,
despite the fact that vocabularies and knowledge stores typic
Kevin S. LaBar
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
My research focuses on understanding how emotional events modulate cognitive processes
in the human brain. We aim to identify brain regions that encode the emotional properties
of sensory stimuli, and to show how these regions interact with neural systems supporting
social cognition, executive control, and learning and memory. To achieve this goal,
we use a variety of cognitive neuroscience techniques in human subject populations.
These include psychophysiological monitoring, functional magnetic
Andrada Delia Neacsiu
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
I am a clinical psychologist with a primary interest in outpatient interventions for
difficulties managing emotional experiences that interfere with well-being. As a clinician,
I specialize in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) for adults who report a variety of mental health problems, including personality,
mood, anxiety, eating, trauma, stress-related, adjustment, and impulse control disorders.
My approach to psychotherapy includes working collaborativ
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