A systematic review of fMRI studies on PFC dysfunction during cognitive reappraisal in mood and anxiety disorders

Sammanfattning

Mood and anxiety disorders are prevalent in today’s society, underscoring the urgent need for more research into effective methods to ease their symptoms and understand their origins. This systematic review focuses on the impact of cognitive reappraisal strategies on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in individuals with mood and anxiety disorders, expanding on the discoveries from Picó-Pérez and colleagues' (2017) meta-analysis. The review is based on 14 studies of patients with the most common mood and anxiety disorders: depression, social anxiety and general anxiety. Our results revealed that areas dlPFC, vlPFC, dmPFC, OFC, ACC and PCG showed differences in activation. Five of the studies showed more activation in the PFC in patients compared to controls, three showed less activation, one showed both more and less, and the last group of five articles had no difference between groups. Despite finding these differences in activation between patients and controls in areas like the dlPFC, dmPFC, and vlPFC, we still had some difficulties reaching strong conclusions due to the major inconsistencies in the results. Various methodological differences, including the use of different stimuli, reappraisal techniques such as downregulation and upregulation, varying reappraisal conditions, task instructions, and patient backgrounds, contribute to this challenge. Given the complexities involved, it is clear that more research is necessary to enhance our understanding of this intricate subject.