Amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex activations during emotional Stroop and self-negativity appraisal are associated with trait resilience

Psychological resilience refers to our ability to adapt to stressful situations. It stems from a balanced interplay between cognitive control, which includes regulating our emotional responses, and emotional appraisal, defined as the act of assessing our emotional experiences. In this study, cognitive control under emotional interference was assessed with an affective priming Stroop task, emotional appraisal was measured via a self-negativity rating task, and neural responses were recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between negative emotional appraisal and resilience, highlighting the complex interplay between cognitive control and resilience. Furthermore, self-negativity ratings were significantly associated with Stroop task performance, as reflected in distinct activation patterns in the ventral anterior cingulate gyrus and amygdala. Specifically, participants with higher Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) scores showed greater left amygdala activation during negative emotion appraisal, suggesting efficient emotional regulation and cognitive control. These findings demonstrate a link between neural activity, self-negativity ratings, and resilience. The observed neural patterns support the hypothesis that resilience is associated with efficient cognitive control and adaptive emotional appraisal, highlighting the importance of integrating cognitive and emotional mechanisms in resilience research.