Neural mechanisms of emotion-focused interventions: A meta-analytic review of fMRI studies

IF 4.5 2区医学 Q1 NEUROIMAGING

NeuroImage Pub Date : 2025-09-15 DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121469

Yanlin Li , Geng Li , Yang Liu , Chengzhen Liu , Antao Chen

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Abstract

Emotion-focused interventions are emerging as promising tools to improve emotional functioning across clinical and nonclinical populations, yet their underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) using Seed-based d Mapping (SDM) of 20 task-based fMRI studies (N = 620) to quantify bidirectional activation changes associated with emotion-focused interventions. Results showed small-to-moderate improvements in emotional task performance (Hedges’ g = 0.29) and self-reported affective outcomes (g = 0.54). Meta-analytic neuroimaging revealed increased activation in the right caudate and decreased activation in the right insula and left inferior frontal gyrus. Moderator analyses identified intervention type, emotional content, and delivery format as key modulators of these neural effects. Notably, reduced insula activity predicted better emotional outcomes, while right caudate activation increased with age. These findings are consistent with a dual-pathway model of neural plasticity—one marked by frontostriatal engagement (right caudate) and another by dampened salience and semantic-control responses (right insula, left inferior frontal gyrus). The results offer mechanistic insights into how emotion-focused training recalibrates regulatory networks and inform the development of targeted interventions.

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情绪聚焦干预的神经机制：功能磁共振研究的荟萃分析综述。

以情绪为中心的干预措施正在成为改善临床和非临床人群情绪功能的有前途的工具，但其潜在的神经机制尚不清楚。我们使用基于种子的d映射（SDM）对20项基于任务的fMRI研究（N = 620）进行了基于坐标的meta分析（CBMA），以量化与情绪聚焦干预相关的双向激活变化。结果显示情绪任务表现（赫奇斯的g = 0.29）和自我报告的情感结果（g = 0.54）有小到中度的改善。综合神经影像分析显示，右侧尾状核的激活增加，而右侧脑岛和左侧额下回的激活减少。调节分析确定干预类型、情绪内容和传递格式是这些神经效应的关键调节因子。值得注意的是，脑岛活动的减少预示着更好的情绪结果，而右尾状核的激活随着年龄的增长而增加。这些发现与神经可塑性的双通路模型一致——一个以额纹状体参与（右侧尾状体）为标志，另一个以显著性和语义控制反应（右侧脑岛，左侧额下回）受到抑制为标志。研究结果提供了以情绪为中心的训练如何重新校准调节网络的机制见解，并告知有针对性干预措施的发展。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

NeuroImage 医学-核医学

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

10.50%

发文量

809

审稿时长

63 days

期刊介绍： NeuroImage, a Journal of Brain Function provides a vehicle for communicating important advances in acquiring, analyzing, and modelling neuroimaging data and in applying these techniques to the study of structure-function and brain-behavior relationships. Though the emphasis is on the macroscopic level of human brain organization, meso-and microscopic neuroimaging across all species will be considered if informative for understanding the aforementioned relationships.