Effective Connectivity of the Bilateral Amygdala, Dorsomedial Prefrontal, and Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortices: Feasibility of Positive Social Emotion Regulation Models for Real-Time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Effective connectivity based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows assessing directions of interaction between brain regions. For real-time fMRI, we compared models of positive social emotion regulation based on a network involving the bilateral amygdala, dorsomedial prefrontal, and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex. The top-down regulation model implied modulation of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex exerted onto other regions, while the bottom-up model implied the inverse modulation. The validity of model calculations was tested using the data from three healthy volunteers who imagined positive interactions with people in presented photos (stimuli). We confirmed the dominance of the top-down model and evaluated the number and duration of iterations required for model estimations. The study shows the applicability of the four-node effective connectivity models for regulation of positive social emotions using real-time fMRI, e.g ., for neurofeedback applications.