Dynamics of emotion-transition networks link brain network variability and affective symptoms

Emotion dynamics are closely linked to psychological health. Although inertia and variability have been linked to affective symptoms, relatively few studies have examined how emotional states are structurally organized and transition from one state to another. Using ecological momentary assessment data from 210 participants, the present study constructed Markov chain models to characterize the dynamic structure of emotion-transition networks and their associations with affective symptoms, defined here as depressive and anxiety symptoms. In a subsample of 44 participants with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, we further examined whether temporal variability within three core networks—the default mode network, salience network, and frontoparietal control network—was linked to emotion dynamics and affective symptoms. The results showed that depressive and anxiety symptoms exhibited highly similar association patterns. Both were associated with a reduced tendency to maintain or return to a low-negative-affect state and with lower overall connectivity within the negative-affect transition network. Greater temporal variability in the salience network was also associated with a reduced tendency to maintain low negative affect. Mediation analyses identified significant indirect associations between salience network variability and both depressive and anxiety symptoms through this reduced stability of low negative affect. These findings indicate that individual differences in salience network variability are associated with the organization of daily emotional states and affective symptoms. Overall, this study highlights the associations among brain network variability, affective symptoms, and emotional stability in everyday life. This study investigates the dynamic organization and temporal transitions of daily emotional states and examines their neural correlates using brain imaging data. It shows that reduced tendency to maintain or return to low negative affect is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and may involve temporal variability in the salience network.