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Aging and Emotion Regulation: An Examination of the Role of Resting-State Amygdala Connectivity

Whitmoyer, Patrick
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1481905507612424

Abstract Details

2017, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Older adults tend to report experiencing greater emotional well-being than young adults. This shift in emotional well-being appears to be attributable to shifts in motivation to regulate emotions. Although several studies have reported age differences in activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala during the process of emotion regulation, it is unclear how functional changes in the brain at rest relate to age-related shifts in emotion regulation. The current study examined how age differences in resting state connectivity between the amygdala and the PFC relate to age differences in emotion dysregulation and emotion regulation strategy use. Twenty older adults and 20 young adults completed an fMRI scan and self-report measures of emotion dysregulation and emotion regulation strategy use. Resting state connectivity analyses were conducted utilizing the bilateral amygdalae as seeds. We found that young adults exhibited greater connectivity between the left amygdala and the left dorsal lateral PFC (dlPFC) than older adults. Further, resting state amygdala-dlPFC connectivity was positively associated with emotion dysregulation and use of experiential suppression. Our findings provide some evidence that age-related shifts in emotion regulation may be related to intrinsic shifts in the functional architecture of the brain. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs and behavioral measures of emotion regulation to improve our understanding of the mechanisms and directionality of the relationship between age differences in resting state activity and emotion regulation.
Ruchika Prakash, PhD (Advisor)
Beauchaine Theodore, PhD (Committee Member)
Ahn Woo-Young, PhD (Committee Member)
63 p.
Clinical Psychology; Psychology
emotion regulation; aging; resting-state connectivity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Whitmoyer, P. (2017). Aging and Emotion Regulation: An Examination of the Role of Resting-State Amygdala Connectivity [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1481905507612424

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Whitmoyer, Patrick. Aging and Emotion Regulation: An Examination of the Role of Resting-State Amygdala Connectivity. 2017. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1481905507612424.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Whitmoyer, Patrick. "Aging and Emotion Regulation: An Examination of the Role of Resting-State Amygdala Connectivity." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1481905507612424

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1481905507612424
290
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.