Similar neural networks for anger and pride in older adults

Abstract

There has been a significant amount of research on the neural mechanisms underlying "basic emotions" but relatively less research on complex social emotions like pride, embarrassment, guilt, or shame. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related differences in the neural basis of processing anger, joy, pride, and embarrassment, and possible association with well-being measurements, such as depression, anxiety and stress. Twenty-four younger and twenty-five older adults underwent functional imaging while viewing videos of four emotions and indicating the emotion expressed. Using multivariate analysis (Partial Least Squares), we found that older adults engaged a similar network for both anger and pride, while younger adults recruited two separate networks for positive vs. negative emotions, regardless of whether the emotion was basic or social. Furthermore, older adults with higher stress scores and younger adults with higher depression scores, as measured by the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), activated a similar brain network during recognition of embarrassment. These findings suggest that both pride and anger are emotionally salient and require similar cognitive and attentional resources in older adults, while younger adults’ neural activity is modulated by the valence, rather than the social content of stimuli. Our results also highlight the importance of considering age when studying the neural basis of complex, self-conscious, emotions and their association with well-being measurements.