Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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The ability to voluntarily self-regulate negative emotion is essential to a healthy psyche. Indeed, a chronic incapacity to suppress negative emotion might be a key factor in the genesis of depression and anxiety. Regarding the neural underpinnings of emotional self-regulation, a recent functional neuroimaging study carried out by our group has revealed that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex are involved in voluntary suppression of sexual arousal. As few things are known, still, with respect to the neural substrate underlying volitional self-regulation of basic emotions, here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural circuitry associated with the voluntary suppression of sadness. ⋯ These results confirm the key role played by the DLPFC in emotional self-regulation. They also indicate that the right DLPFC and right OFC are components of a neural circuit implicated in voluntary suppression of sadness.