Social Threat and Aging: Neural Mechanisms of Emotion Regulation

描述（由申请人提供）：情绪调节对社会行为至关重要，因为社会互动可能是相当大的压力的来源。特别是，情绪调节对于应对社会威胁至关重要，社会威胁被定义为对自尊或社会地位的威胁。这种威胁可能在个人晚年生活中尤其突出，因为个人要应对地位的丧失和与老年有关的负面刻板印象。我们将运用行为学方法结合功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和弥散张量成像（DTI）研究老年人情绪调节系统如何应对社会威胁。此外，我们将调查挑战或促进该系统运行的因素。综上所述，提出的5项神经影像学研究将实现3个具体目标。首先，他们将研究老年人的情绪调节系统对社会威胁的反应。情绪调节系统依赖于大脑中产生情绪的区域（如杏仁核）和控制情绪表达和体验的区域（如前额皮质）之间的相互作用。我们将研究情绪调节系统在个人层面的威胁（个人威胁）和个体作为群体记忆的威胁（刻板印象威胁）下是如何运作的。其次，本研究还将探讨执行控制资源如何调节老年人对社会威胁引发的情绪的调节能力。虽然健康老年人在情绪水平上的调节能力一般较好，但有证据表明，他们通过积极地下调负面情绪来维持自己的情绪健康。这种持续的情绪调节策略对执行控制资源造成了负担，而执行控制依赖于额顶叶网络，而众所周知，额顶叶网络会随着年龄的增长而衰退。我们将探讨执行资源的个体差异如何调节老年人情绪调节系统的运作。最后，本研究将探讨社会支持如何增强老年人对社会威胁的情绪调节反应。理论观点认为，随着年龄的增长，亲密的人际关系变得越来越重要。在其他方法中，我们将通过配偶或伴侣在刻板印象威胁条件下提供鼓励和身体接触来研究社会支持的作用。综上所述，这些研究将阐明老年人情绪调节的神经机制以及他们如何应对社会威胁。考虑到情绪调节依赖于执行控制网络，而执行控制网络已知会随着年龄的增长而受损，这项研究对理解健康衰老过程中认知和情绪处理之间的相互作用以及阿尔茨海默病风险个体的相互作用具有直接意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Emotion regulation is critical for social behavior because social interactions can be the source of considerable stress. In particular, emotion regulation is essential for responding to social threat, which is defined as threats to self-esteem or social status. Such threats may be particularly salient in later life as individuals deal with loss of status and the negative stereotypes associated with old age. We will use behavioral methods in combination with functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate how older adults' emotion regulation system cope with social threat. Additionally, we will investigate factors that either challenge or facilitate the operation of this system. Taken together, the proposed 5 neuroimaging studies will achieve 3 specific aims. First, they will investigate how older adults' emotion regulation system responds to social threat. The emotion regulation system depends on the interplay between brain regions involved in generating emotions, such as the amygdala, and regions that exert control over emotional expression and experience, such as the prefrontal cortex. We will examine how the emotional regulation system operates in condition of threat to the individual at personal level (personal threat) and threat to the individual as a memory of a group (stereotype threat). Second, the proposed studies will also investigate how executive control resources modulate older adults' ability to regulate emotions elicited by social threat. Although healthy elderly are normally well adjusted at the emotional level, there is evidence that they maintain their emotional well-being by actively down-regulating negative emotions. This continuous emotion regulation strategy is taxing for executive control resources, which depend on frontoparietal networks that are known to decline with age. We will investigate how individual differences in executive resources modulate the operation of the emotional regulation system in older adults. Finally, the proposed studies will investigate how older adults' emotion regulation responses to social threat are enhanced by social support. Theoretical views suggest that close interpersonal relationships become increasingly important with age. Among other methods, we will study the role of social support by having a spouse or partner provide encouragement and physical contact under conditions of stereotype threat. Taken together, the studies proposed will clarify neural mechanisms of emotional regulation in older adults and how they respond to social threat. Given that emotion regulation depends on executive control networks that are known to be impaired by aging, this research has direct implications for understanding the interaction between cognitive and emotional processing in healthy aging, as well as in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Taken together, the studies proposed will clarify neural mechanisms of emotion regulation in older adults and how they respond to social threat. Given that emotion regulation depends on executive control networks that are known to be impaired by aging, this research has direct implications for understanding the interaction between cognitive and emotional processing in healthy aging, as well as in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results will also contribute to the understanding of how social factors may contribute to geriatric depression.