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Objective The aim of this preregistered, secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial (NCT02717429) was to compare the impact of 4-week mindfulness-based training and adaptive cognitive training, with a waitlist control condition, on processing speed and working memory in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Method Sixty-one PwMS were randomized to mindfulness-based training (MBT), adaptive computerized cognitive training (aCT), or a waitlist (WL) control group and completed the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests at pre- and posttraining. Training-related changes on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) were the primary outcomes of interest. Baseline cognitive status was examined as a moderator of treatment gains. Practice time, change in aCT game difficulty, and rate of change in state awareness across MBT were assessed as correlates of cognitive gains. Findings Compared with aCT and WL, mindfulness training significantly improved processing speed (ηp² = .14). Baseline cognitive status did not moderate change in processing speed (ηp² = .005) or working memory (ηp² = .014). Practice time and change in game difficulty were not significantly correlated with cognitive gains (all ps > .49). In the MBT group, rate of change in awareness was significantly associated with improvement in working memory (ρ = .52, p = .04). Conclusions In PwMS, 4 weeks of mindfulness meditation training improved processing speed above and beyond aCT and WL. More rapid change in awareness during mindfulness training may be associated with greater gains in working memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Dispositional mindfulness is associated with lower levels of perceived stress, with increased emotional regulation and cognitive control proposed as mechanisms underlying these stress-buffering effects of mindfulness. Within aging, these controlled processes represent paradoxically divergent trajectories such that older adults exhibit reduced cognitive control capacities, while emotional regulation abilities are well maintained, and at times enhanced. Our study seeks to examine the role of emotional regulation and cognitive control as possible mediators of the association between mindfulness and perceived stress. In addition, we examined age-related differences in the observed associations among mindfulness, stress, and controlled regulatory behavior. Fifty older adults and fifty young adults were recruited for the study and completed self-report measures assessing mindfulness disposition, perceived stress, and emotional regulation. In addition, computerized measures of cognitive control assessing working memory, inhibitory control, and set-shifting were also administered. We hypothesized a negative correlation between mindfulness disposition and perceived stress such that participants reporting higher levels of dispositional mindfulness would report lower stress. In addition, we hypothesized increased difficulties in emotion regulation and lower cognitive control to mediate this relationship. Corroborating previous literature, results revealed that mindfulness disposition and perceived stress were negatively correlated in both groups. However, emotion regulation, but not cognitive control, was found to mediate the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress in both groups. Age group was not found to moderate the observed effects. Our findings reveal the role of enhanced emotional regulation abilities as a potential factor associated with the stress-reducing capacity of dispositional mindfulness.

Objective In clinical trials, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves symptoms in psychiatric disorders involving dysregulated mood and impulse control, yet it is unclear whether in healthy adults, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation affects mood, impulse control, and the brain systems supporting these processes. Accordingly, this study tested the hypotheses that eciosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid supplementation reduces negative affect and impulsive behaviors in healthy adults and that these changes correspond to alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems, which support affective and impulsive processes. Methods Healthy volunteers (N = 272) consuming 300 mg/d or less of EPA and DHA were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial. The participants received either capsules providing 1000 mg of EPA and 400 mg of DHA versus identical appearing soybean oil capsules per day for 18 weeks. Negative affect and impulsivity were measured by questionnaire and ecological momentary assessment, as well as functional alterations in corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain systems evoked by standardized functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks. Results There were no group by time interactions for any questionnaire or ecological momentary assessment measures of mood and impulsivity. Likewise, no group by time interactions were observed for functional magnetic resonance imaging responses evoked within corticolimbic and corticostriatal systems. Conclusions In healthy adults with low intake of omega-3 fatty acids, moderate-dose supplementation for 18 weeks did not alter affect or impulsive behaviors nor alter corticolimbic and corticostriatal brain functionality. Trial registration Trial number NCT00663871.

Background Cognitive reappraisal is a form of emotion regulation that alters emotional responding by changing the meaning of emotional stimuli. Reappraisal engages regions of the prefrontal cortex that support multiple functions, including visceral control functions implicated in regulating the immune system. Immune activity plays a role in the preclinical pathophysiology of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), an inflammatory condition that is highly comorbid with affective disorders characterized by problems with emotion regulation. Here, we tested whether prefrontal engagement by reappraisal would be associated with atherosclerotic CVD risk and whether this association would be mediated by inflammatory activity. Methods Community volunteers ( n = 157; 30–54 years of age; 80 women) without DSM-IV Axis-1 psychiatric diagnoses or cardiovascular or immune disorders performed a functional neuroimaging task involving the reappraisal of negative emotional stimuli. Carotid artery intima-media thickness and inter-adventitial diameter were measured by ultrasonography and used as markers of preclinical atherosclerosis. Also measured were circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory cytokine linked to CVD risk and prefrontal neural activity. Results Greater reappraisal-related engagement of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was associated with greater preclinical atherosclerosis and IL-6. Moreover, IL-6 mediated the association of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex engagement with preclinical atherosclerosis. These results were independent of age, sex, race, smoking status, and other known CVD risk factors. Conclusions The cognitive regulation of emotion might relate to CVD risk through a pathway involving the functional interplay between the anterior cingulate region of the prefrontal cortex and inflammatory activity.

Increasing age is characterized by greater positive affective states. However, there is mixed evidence on the implementation of emotion regulation strategies across the life span. To clarify the discrepancies in the literature, we examined the modulating influence of contextual factors in understanding emotion regulation strategy use in older and young adults. Forty-eight older adults and forty-nine young adults completed a retrospective survey inquiring about the use of emotion regulation strategies in emotion-eliciting situations experienced over the preceding 2 weeks. We used factor analysis to establish clusters of emotion regulation strategies, resulting in cognitive strategies, acceptance, and maladaptive strategies. Overall, we found context-dependent age-related differences in emotion regulation strategy use. Specifically, older adults reported greater use of acceptance than young adults in situations of moderate intensity and in situations that evoke anxiety and sadness. In addition, older adults reported using maladaptive strategies to a lesser extent in high- and moderate-intensity situations and in situations that elicit anxiety and sadness when compared with young adults. There were no age-related differences in the use of cognitive strategies across contexts. Older adults, compared to young adults, reported less use of maladaptive strategies and greater use of acceptance than young adults, which suggests that the enhanced emotional functioning observed later in life may be due to a shift in strategy implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: T2 hypointensity in the basal ganglia of patients with MS has been associated with clinical progression and cognitive decline. Our objectives were the following: 1) to compare signal in T2WI, R2 (ie, 1/T2), and R2* (ie, 1/T2*) relaxation rates and quantitative susceptibility mapping; and 2) to investigate the associations among MR imaging, clinical scores, and cognitive measures of inhibitory control linked to basal ganglia functioning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with MS underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests including the Flanker and Stroop tasks. 7T MR imaging included 3D gradient-echo and single-echo multishot spin-echo EPI. Quantitative susceptibility mapping images were calculated by using a Wiener filter deconvolution algorithm. T2WI signal was normalized to CSF. R2 and R2* were calculated by log-linear regression. Average MR imaging metrics for the globus pallidus, putamen, and caudate were computed from manually traced ROIs including the largest central part of each structure. RESULTS: Marked spatial variation was consistently visualized on quantitative susceptibility mapping and T2/T2*WI within each basal ganglia structure. MR imaging metrics correlated with each other for each basal ganglia structure individually. Notably, caudate and putamen quantitative susceptibility mapping metrics were similar, but the putamen R2 was larger than the caudate R2. This finding suggests that tissue features contribute differently to R2 and quantitative susceptibility mapping. Caudate and anterior putamen quantitative susceptibility mapping correlated with the Flanker but not Stroop measures; R2 did not correlate with inhibitory control measures. Putamen quantitative susceptibility mapping and caudate and putamen R2 correlated with the Expanded Disability Status Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that quantitative susceptibility mapping and R2 may be complementary indicators for basal ganglia tissue changes in MS. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that decreased performance of basal ganglia–reliant tasks involving inhibitory control is associated with increased quantitative susceptibility mapping. BG : basal ganglia EDSS : Expanded Disability Status Scale GP : globus pallidus QSM : quantitative susceptibility mapping R2 : relaxation rate (ie, 1/T2) R2* : relaxation rate (ie, 1/T2*)

Research shows that dispositional mindfulness is associated with metrics of overall well-being, with enhanced emotion regulation potentially underlying these salutary effects. However, the role of regulation strategy use remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined age-variant associations between dispositional mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies, and emotion dysregulation.Self-report data were collected from 50 older and 50 young adults on mindfulness, emotion dysregulation, and recent strategy use. For the current study, we examined if cognitive reappraisal, experiential suppression, and thought avoidance use mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation.Thought avoidance, but not reappraisal or suppression strategies, partially mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. Age group moderated the observed mediation, such that for young adults, lower mindfulness was associated with greater use of thought avoidance, and in turn with greater emotion dysregulation (e.g., difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior in the face of strong emotions).The current cross-sectional study suggests that reduced avoidance of thoughts may partially explain the relationship between trait mindfulness and enhanced emotion regulation, with this mediational pathway being stronger for young compared with older adults.