Exploring Emotion Regulation Mechanisms in Healthy Aging Based on EEG Multiband Functional Connectivity
摘要
Emotion regulation capacity presents complex changes during aging, and its neural mechanisms are unclear, especially lacking systematic studies from an electrophysiological brain network perspective. Based on the Leipzig Mind-Body-Emotion Interaction Study (LEMON) open dataset, this study included 160 healthy adults (52 older adults and 108 younger adults), combining resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) multifrequency functional connectivity (FC) analyses with data from the Emotion Regulation Inventory to explore the relationship between resting-state neural activity and emotion regulation strategies. The results showed that the FC strengths under delta, theta, alpha and gamma frequency bands were generally lower in the older group than in the younger group. Further partial correlation analyses revealed a significant negative correlation between the “denial” dimension of the COPE questionnaire and the Dorsal Attention, Control, Somatomotor, and Visual networks in the gamma band only, suggesting that the denial strategy may reflect a kind of automatization under the decline of brain integration, low-maturity coping style. The present study reveals specific associations between multifrequency resting-state brain networks and emotion regulation strategies in healthy aging, providing new perspectives for understanding the interaction between psychological functions and neural mechanisms during aging.