Introduction

1. Less Alpha/ More Activity Psychological Well-Being r(82) = -.255, p <.05 More Alpha/ Less Activity Alpha Activity During Pre-Picture Epoch Activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicts psychological well-being and emotion regulation: A source localization study Catherine J. Norris, Carien M. van Reekum, Larry L. Greischar, Regina C. Lapate, Alexander J. Shackman, Brenton W. McMenamin, & Richard J. Davidson Department of Psychology and Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, University of Wisconsin – Madison Results: Whole Brain Analysis Results: Picture Task EEG Introduction In order to investigate the relationship between Psychological Well-Being (PWB) and neural activation at rest, we first conducted a whole brain correlation between estimated alpha activity during the pre-picture epoch and PWB. Individuals with higher PWB exhibited greater activation of the VMPFC during the pre-picture epoch. VMPFC activation during the picture presentation correlated with PWB regardless of picture valence. However, participants who showed greater VMPFC activation during the viewing of negative pictures also exhibited decreased reactivity to negative pictures and better regulation of negative affect, as demonstrated by startle eyeblink magnitude (top panel) and EMG activation over corrugator supercilii (bottom panel). The primary goal of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) investigation is to study the relationship between health and well-being over the course of life. In the current study, we examined dimensions of psychological well-being and source localization estimates of EEG recorded at the scalp to better understand the patterns of neural activity associated with healthy emotional functioning. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) has been implicated in the successful regulation of negative affect. When individuals are asked to actively down-regulate their negative emotional responses, researchers have reported an increase in VMPFC activation (Ochsner et al., 2002, 2004) and a decrease in amygdala activation (Schaefer et al., 2002). Furthermore, Urry et al. (2006) found that VMPFC and amygdala activation were inversely correlated, suggesting that the VMPFC plays a critical role in down- regulating negative affect. We sought to examine whether psychological well-being is associated with increased VMPFC activation both at baseline and in response to negative emotional stimuli. This pattern of activity would suggest that individuals with greater psychological well-being are both better prepared and more successful at regulating their affect. Blink Magnitude (z-scored) Notably, no other region exhibited a significant relationship between PWB and neural activation. This finding suggests that individuals high in PWB are more prepared to regulate their affect. Next, we conducted correlations between activation in the VMPFC and specific dimensions of Psychological Well-Being in order to investigate the dimensions of PWB that most strongly contribute to this relationship. The two dimensions of PWB that correlated with activation of the VMPFC at rest were Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance. r(68) =.361, p <.01 r(49) =.515, p <.001 Method Corrugator Activity • Participants: 84 (43 female) individuals from MIDUS ranging in age from 37 – 82 • Data: • 1. Picture Task EEG. Participants completed an emotion modulated startle task in which they viewed a series of negative, neutral, and positive pictures. Eyeblink startle was measured in response to 50 ms 105 dB probes presented both during and after the pictures (Figure 1a). High density EEG (using a 128-channel Geodesics Sensor Net) and EMG over corrugator supercilii were collected continuously. • 2. Baseline EEG. 12 minutes of resting baseline EEG activity was also collected (half eyes open/closed; half pre-/post-task). • 3. Self-report measures. Participants completed multiple questionnaires both as part of the current project (e.g., PANAS, DPAS, STAIX) as well as part of a self-administered questionnaire at a different time (e.g., Psychological Well-Being [Ryff, 1989], COPE). • Data Processing: • ICA was used to remove eye blinks, eye movements, and HR; remaining artifact was hand-scored • Spectral frequency was determined for each of 7 2-s bins • Alpha activity (8-13 Hz) was localized using LORETA-Key • LORETA-Key solution coefficients were averaged across bins (Figure 1b) and baseline corrected • Correlations were conducted between self-report measures and log transformed LORETA-Key estimates of alpha activity r(80) = -.25, p <.05 r(80) = -.254, p <.05 Conclusions A stepwise regression including all dimensions of PWB indicated that Environmental Mastery was the strongest predictor of activation in the VMPFC at rest. Thus, individuals who are competent in managing their environment and have a sense of control over the external world exhibit greater VMPFC activation at rest. Individuals high in Psychological Well-Being exhibit greater activation of the VMPFC at rest, suggesting that they are more prepared to regulate their affect. Importantly, the dimension of PWB that is most critical for this relationship is Environmental Mastery, or the ability to take control of one’s environment. In addition, greater VMPFC activation during the viewing of negative pictures is associated with decreased reactivity to and increased recovery from negative stimuli, as indexed by psychophysiological indices including startle eyeblink and corrugator EMG. This finding is consistent with existing fMRI data suggesting that the VMPFC is involved in successful emotion regulation. Results: Anatomical ROI Analysis In order to examine the structural specificity of the relationship between PWB and activation in the PFC, we conducted correlations between activation in a series of anatomically-based ROIs and PWB. These correlations suggest that Psychological Well-Being is associated with greater activation of the VMPFC, but not necessarily the ACC. In addition, this relationship does not appear to be lateralized. (a) References Figure 1. Two views of the trial structure for the emotion modulated startle task. Panel (a) illustrates that startle probes were presented both during picture presentation (2.5 s post-picture onset; labeled “probe c”) as well as after picture offset (both 0.5 and 2 s post-picture offset, labeled “probe a”). Panel (b) indicates the four epochs for which LORETA-Key source estimates of task-related EEG and corrugator EMG were examined. Coffey, C. E., Wilkinson, W. E., Parashos, I. A., Soady, S. A. R., Sullivan, R. J., Patterson, L. J., Figiel, G. S., Webb, M. C., Spritzer, C. E., & Djang, W. T. (1992). Quantitative cerebral anatomy of the aging human brain: A cross-sectional study using magnetic resonance imaging. Neurology, 42, 527-536. Ochsner, K. N., Bunge, S. A., Gross, J. J., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2002). Rethinking feelings: An fMRI study of the cognitive regulation of emotion. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 1215-1299. Ochsner, K. N., Ray, R. D., Robertson, E. R., Cooper, J. C., Chopra, S., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Gross, J. J. (2004). For better or for worse: Neural systems supporting the cognitive down- and up-regulation of negative emotion. Neuroimage, 23, 483-499. Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness if everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081. Schaefer, S.M., Jackson, D.C., Davidson, R.J., Aguirre, G.K., Kimberg, D.Y., & Thompson- Schill, S.L. (2002). Modulation of amygdalar activity by the conscious regulation of negative emotion. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 913-921. Urry, H. L., van Reekum, C. M., Johnstone, T., Kalin, N. H., Thurow, M. E., Schaefer, H. S., Jackson, C. A., Frye, C. J., Greischar, L. L., Alexander, A. L., & Davidson, R. J. (2006). Amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are inversely coupled during regulation of negative affect and predict the diurnal pattern of cortisol secretion among older adults. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 4415-4425. (b) Correspondence may be addressed to: norris1@wisc.edu