Programm

Emotion regulation (ER) is crucial for psychological well-being, influencing daily life, relationships, and mental health. Deficits in ER contribute to disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. Understanding its neural mechanisms can inform effective interventions to enhance emotional resilience.

This symposium features leading researchers and early career scientists exploring interconnected dimensions of ER:

1. Carmen Morawetz studies interpersonal emotion regulation strategies using fMRI, revealing a tendency to seek social support during intense emotions, which activates the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex, indicating the neural basis of effective strategies.

2. Birgit Derntl investigates hormonal influences on ER in women, finding that estradiol levels affect brain connectivity, including the effects of oral contraception on ER network connectivity, contributing critical insights into women’s mental health and ER.

3. Katharina Foerster explores ruminative ER in young depression patients. Ruminative ER is correlated with increased amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activity but diminished connectivity between these regions, indicating regulation challenges.

4. Philipp Kanske presents a training program that boosts positive emotions, like care and concern, to mitigate stress spread. Participants reported enhanced positive social affect when faced with others’ distress and increased cortical thickness in the anterior insular cortex, suggesting benefits for clinical groups under interpersonal stress.

5. Luca Lasogga examines how tDCS brain stimulation reduces aggressive and impulsive behavior by enhancing prefrontal area functionality. Several studies across patient groups were conducted to assess tDCS's effectiveness in controlling aggressive and impulsive responses, noting various influencing factors from methodology to individual differences factors.