The neural bases of expressive suppression: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging studies
Expressive suppression refers to the inhibition of emotion-expressive behavior (e.g., facial expressions of emotion). Although it is a commonly used emotion regulation strategy with well-documented consequences for well-being, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. In this systematic revie...
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| Published in: | Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews Vol. 138; no. 104708; p. 104708 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
Elsevier Ltd
01-07-2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Expressive suppression refers to the inhibition of emotion-expressive behavior (e.g., facial expressions of emotion). Although it is a commonly used emotion regulation strategy with well-documented consequences for well-being, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. In this systematic review, we for the first time synthesize functional neuroimaging studies on the neural bases of expressive suppression in non-clinical populations. The 12 studies included in this review contrasted the use of expressive suppression to simply watching emotional stimuli. Results showed that expressive suppression consistently increased activation of frontoparietal regions, especially the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices and inferior parietal cortex, but decreased activation in temporo-occipital areas. Results regarding the involvement of the insula and amygdala were inconsistent with studies showing increased, decreased, or no changes in activation. These mixed findings underscore the importance of distinguishing expressive suppression from other forms of suppression and highlight the need to pay more attention to experimental design and neuroimaging data analysis procedures. We discuss these conceptual and methodological issues and provide suggestions for future research.
•We synthetize fMRI studies on the neural bases of expressive suppression in non-clinical populations.•Expressive suppression increased activation in cognitive control regions (lateral prefrontal and inferior parietal cortex).•Involvement of emotion-generative regions (amygdala and insula) in expressive suppression remains inconclusive.•Mixed results stem from conceptual and methodological issues that need to be addressed in future research. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 ObjectType-Undefined-4 |
| ISSN: | 0149-7634 1873-7528 1873-7528 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104708 |