Positive Appraisal in the Regulation of Stress (PARS): A neuroaffective model

Experiencing and cultivating positive emotions in the midst of stress is a powerful stress regulation strategy. We propose a novel neuroaffective model of how people use positive emotions to regulate their stress. In this model, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum (VS) generate positive appraisals of the environment and of the self. During stress, these regions generate the initial positive appraisals of some stressor elements, and when people initially appraise a stressor element as negative, these regions coordinate with the cognitive reappraisal system to change the meaning of that negative element to be more positive.