Neurostimulation Enhanced Cognitive Restructuring for Transdiagnostic Emotional Dysregulation: A Component Analysis

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Emotional dysregulation constitutes a serious public health problem and novel approaches are needed to effectively address it transdiagnostically. Despite rapid advancements in affective and cognitive neuroscience, there have been few attempts to translate basic findings into novel interventions. In addition, the relevance of different nodes in the emotion regulation network to psychopathology and to successful reduction of emotional arousal is not yet fully understood. Noninvasive neurostimulation, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), is a powerful tool with which dysfunction can be alleviated temporarily, by modulating neural activation. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to examine immediate neural and behavioral changes following neuromodulation enhanced emotion regulation training for transdiagnostic adults who report difficulties calming down when upset. The central hypothesis is that neurostimulation enhances the acquisition of emotion regulation skills and leads to remediated neural function in the emotion regulation network. Our long-term goal is to develop novel interventions that harness neuroscientific findings to advance behavioral treatments. The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the unique neural and behavioral effects of a one-session training combining cognitive restructuring (CR), an emotion regulation skill, with excitatory rTMS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). The secondary aim is to identify key changes in the emotion regulation neural network following the combined intervention versus each of the components alone. The third aim is to explore personalized biomarkers for response to emotion regulation training. To achieve these aims, 240 rTMS naïve, community adults who meet criteria for affective or stress DSM-5 disorders (excluding if co-occurring anorexia, alcohol and substance use, bipolar I, or psychotic disorders) and who self-report high emotional dysregulation and low use of CR will participate in brain imaging while undergoing an emotional regulation task. Participants will be randomly assigned to CR training (groups 1 & 2) or to psychoeducation about emotions (group 3; aimed to control for nonspecific factors). Participants will be reminded of recent stressors and will undergo real (groups 1 & 3) or sham (group 2) high frequency rTMS, targeted using fMRI results. Participants who learned CR will practice this skill during rTMS in a one-time session, and physiological arousal will be monitored throughout the emotion induction and regulation practice. Following this training, participants will undergo another functional scan and an exit interview to assess for immediate neural and behavioral changes. Bio- behavioral measures of emotion regulation will be assessed at a one week and a one month follow up visit. If successful, our line of research will provide key mechanistic information to develop a novel transdiagnostic treatment for affective and stress disorders.