# Emotion Regulation in the Preadolescent Brain and the Role of Individual Temperamental Differences

## TL;DR

This study explores how preadolescents regulate emotions, finding that better self-regulation is linked to faster conflict resolution and distinct brain connectivity patterns.

## Contribution

The study reveals how individual differences in self-regulation traits correlate with neural connectivity patterns during emotional conflict resolution in preadolescents.

## Key findings

- Preadolescents with stronger self-regulation resolved emotional conflict faster and showed reduced connectivity between cognitive-emotional brain regions.
- Those with weaker self-regulation exhibited heightened connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior insula during negative emotional processing.
- The findings highlight the importance of neurobiological and temperamental factors in emotion regulation during preadolescence.

## Abstract

This study investigated the association between emotion regulation, brain maturation, and self‐regulation traits in preadolescents, a developmental stage marked by substantial brain changes. An imbalance between hyperactive subcortical regions and an immature prefrontal cortex often leads to emotional instability and increased risk‐taking behaviors.

We conducted an event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study on preadolescents (N = 23; 10 females; mean age = 10.5 ± 1.3 years) using an emotional color flanker task to examine whole‐brain activation and seed‐based functional connectivity. Additionally, we assessed temperament traits to explore the relationship between neural correlates of emotional conflict resolution and self‐regulation abilities.

Negative emotions impaired cognitive processing, particularly during conflict resolution. Preadolescents with stronger self‐regulation were quicker at resolving conflict under negative emotional conditions and showed reduced functional connectivity between cognitive‐emotional regions when processing negative versus neutral stimuli. Conversely, those with weaker self‐regulation showed heightened connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior insula when processing negative words.

Our findings underscore the role of individual differences in brain connectivity and temperamental traits in emotion regulation during preadolescence. Enhanced self‐regulation is linked to more efficient emotion processing and distinct neural connectivity patterns, highlighting the importance of incorporating neurobiological and temperamental factors in developmental studies of emotion regulation.

Here, we examined the link between emotion regulation in the brain and individual self‐regulation traits in preadolescence by using a color flanker task in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) setting. Results revealed that preadolescents with better self‐regulation were faster to resolve conflict in a negative emotional situation (better emotion regulation) and exhibited lower functional brain connectivity between cognitive‐emotional areas (anterior insula and medial prefrontal cortex) when processing negative vs. neutral stimuli than those with poorer self‐regulation. These findings underline the role of individual cerebral and temperamental differences in emotion regulation in preadolescence.