The role of mesocorticolimbic networks for emotional adaptation and well-being in the second half of life

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Depression in later life is common and can have devastating consequences. On the other hand, findings on large data sets report an increase of emotional well-being from middle age onwards. Resilience research has now started to identify protective factors against mood disorders in middle and late life. Mesocorticolimbic networks seem to be crucial here given their involvement not only in late-life depression but also healthy emotional aging. For instance, mesocorticolimbic circuits modulate the processing of regretful experiences such as missed opportunities. Regret sensitivity and brooding are risk factors for depression, particularly in later life, while a reduced regret responsiveness has been related to successful aging. So far, it is unclear whether the “healthy” way to deal with regret indeed gradually changes across the lifespan, whether there are critical time-windows for such changes and how this is related to the functional and structural integrity of mesocorticolimbic neurocircuits. In our project, we can address these questions by making use of the unique opportunity to study a large-scale epidemiological dataset of 1000 participants between the age of 45 and 74 who undergo a multimodal imaging assessment and perform an established paradigm on missed opportunities and regret processing. In three work packages we investigate age-profiles in well-being, regret-responsiveness and mesocorticolimbic function/structure and their interactions. Findings will be incorporated to develop a prediction model of individual well-being across aging. The predictive value of this model can be directly tested in an independent data set. Our project can provide fundamentally new insights into behavioral and neural modulators of emotional health in the second half of life. Highlighting critical time-windows and risk-profiles may pave the way for individually tailored cognitive-behavioral prevention programs to modulate regulation of emotions.