Emotional well-being depends on the ability to adaptively cope with various emotional challenges. Most studies have investigated the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation strategies deployed relatively later in the timing of processing that leads to full emotional experiences. However, less is known about strategies that are engaged in earlier stages of emotion processing, such as those involving attentional deployment. We investigated the neural mechanisms associated with self-guided Focused Attention (FA) in mitigating subjective negative emotional experiences. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were recorded while participants viewed a series of composite negative and neutral images with distinguishable foreground (FG) and background (BG) areas. Participants were instructed to focus either on the FG or BG components of the images, and then rated their emotional experiences. Behavioral results showed that FA was successful in decreasing emotional ratings for negative images viewed in BG Focus condition. At the neural level, the BG Focus was associated with increased activity in regions typically implicated in top-down executive control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and lateral parietal cortex) and decreased activity in regions linked to affective processing (amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex). Dissociable brain activity linked to FA also was identified in visual cortices, including between the parahippocampal and fusiform gyri, showing increased versus decreased activity, respectively, during the BG Focus. These findings complement the evidence from prior FA studies with recollected emotional memories as internal stimuli and further demonstrate the effectiveness of self-guided FA in mitigating negative emotional experiences associated with processing of external unpleasant stimuli.

情绪健康取决于适应性地应对各种情绪挑战的能力。大多数研究调查了情绪调节策略在导致完整情绪体验的处理时间相对较晚的神经机制。然而，对参与情绪处理早期阶段的策略知之甚少，例如涉及注意力部署的策略。我们研究了与自我引导的聚焦注意力 (FA)相关的神经机制减轻主观的负面情绪体验。当参与者观看一系列具有可区分前景 (FG) 和背景 (BG) 区域的复合负片和中性图像时，记录了功能性磁共振成像 (fMRI) 数据。参与者被要求专注于图像的 FG 或 BG 成分，然后对他们的情感体验进行评分。行为结果表明，FA 成功降低了在 BG Focus 条件下查看的负面图像的情绪评级。在神经层面，BG Focus 与通常涉及自上而下执行控制的区域（背外侧前额叶皮层和外侧顶叶皮层）的活动增加以及与情感处理相关的区域（杏仁核和腹外侧前额叶皮层）的活动减少有关。在视觉皮层中也发现了与 FA 相关的可分离大脑活动，包括在海马旁回和梭状回之间，分别显示在 BG Focus 期间活动增加与减少。这些发现补充了先前 FA 研究的证据，将回忆的情绪记忆作为内部刺激，并进一步证明了自我引导的 FA 在减轻与处理外部不愉快刺激相关的负面情绪体验方面的有效性。