Common and distinct neurofunctional signatures of dynamic naturalistic emotion regulation strategies

Abstract

Abstract Adaptive emotion regulation is essential for mental health. Reappraisal and acceptance are effective yet cognitively distinct emotion regulation strategies. A key unanswered question is whether their neural implementations are supported by common overarching or distinct neurofunctional processes, especially under dynamic, naturalistic conditions that mirror real-life scenarios. Here, we combined naturalistic fMRI with multivariate predictive modeling to develop neurofunctional signatures that accurately and comprehensively characterize negative affect and its regulation via acceptance and reappraisal in dynamic, immersive contexts ( n  = 59). These signatures demonstrated process-specificity and generalizability across cohorts, cultures, and modalities ( n  = 33, 358, 45, and 33, respectively). Emotion regulation strategies were encoded in distributed, distinguishable neural representations, with shared contributions from the default mode network and strategy-specific contributions from the amygdala, somatomotor and attention (acceptance), and the frontoparietal control (reappraisal) networks. The neuromarkers precisely identified strategy-specific ER impairments in male cannabis users (n healthy_controls  = 48, n cannabis_users  = 49), underscoring their potential clinical translational relevance. Collectively, these findings demonstrate shared and distinct neural signatures of reappraisal and acceptance, highlight the critical role of whole-brain integration in emotion regulation, and provide comprehensive, clinically relevant brain models of emotion regulation and dysregulation in naturalistic contexts.