Positive Emotion Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility: An fMRI Study

Wang, Yanmei; Chen, Jie; Yue, Zhenzhu · 2017 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01832

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Summary

This study investigates how emotional states influence cognitive flexibility, specifically focusing on the neural mechanisms underlying task switching. While previous research suggested that positive emotion might enhance cognitive flexibility, findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to uncontrolled arousal levels. The authors hypothesized that moderate positive emotion, characterized by low approach motivation, would reduce switch costs and facilitate task switching by modulating conflict-related activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The researchers employed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with 19 undergraduate participants. Using a task-switching paradigm, participants viewed emotional pictures (positive, negative, or neutral) selected from the International Affective Picture System to induce specific mood states while controlling for arousal. Following picture presentation, participants performed a digit discrimination task, judging whether a target digit of a specific color was odd or even. The task involved blocks of trials where the target color remained constant (repeat trials) or changed to a new color (switch trials). Switch costs were measured by the increase in reaction times (RTs) during switch trials compared to repeat trials. fMRI data were acquired using a 1.5 Tesla scanner, and statistical analysis was conducted using SPM to examine the interaction between emotion valence and trial type. Behavioral results demonstrated that switch costs were significantly reduced in the positive emotional condition and increased in the negative condition compared to the neutral baseline. Specifically, no significant difference in RTs was observed between switch and repeat trials under positive emotion, whereas significant switch costs persisted in neutral and negative conditions. Neuroimaging data revealed that task switching generally activated the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Crucially, the interaction between emotion and trial type showed that dACC activation during switch trials was significantly decreased in the positive condition and increased in the negative condition relative to the neutral condition. No significant differences in dACC activation were found among emotional conditions during repeat trials. The findings indicate that positive emotion facilitates cognitive flexibility by reducing the neural conflict associated with task switching, as evidenced by decreased dACC activation. Conversely, negative emotion impairs flexibility by increasing conflict-related neural activity. This study clarifies previous inconsistencies by controlling for arousal and provides evidence that the ACC’s role in conflict monitoring is modulated by emotional valence. The results support the view that positive affective states can optimize cognitive control processes, thereby enhancing performance in tasks requiring rapid switching between goals.

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• executive function