# Investigating the neural systems that support the beneficial effects of positive emotion on stress regulation

> **NIH NIH R15** · UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY) · 2020 · $446,914

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/ PROJECT SUMMARY
Stress can have profound deleterious effects on mental and physical health, but two processes can intervene
to mitigate stress. Experiencing positive emotions is a well-established stress regulator, protecting people from
psychopathology and promoting adaptive responses to stress. Cognitive reappraisal is an established,
adaptive emotion regulation strategy which involves changing one’s emotional response to stress by changing
the way that people interpret the stressors. This project will continue to integrate psychological and neural
models of positive emotions, stress, and emotion regulation to answer the question: “Which neural systems
support the beneficial effects of positive emotion on stress regulation?” We have updated our
neurocognitive model and now propose the incidental (unrelated to the stressor) positive emotion does NOT
further facilitate subsequent stress regulation, while integral (related to the stressor) positive emotion DOES
facilitate stress regulation, as measured by self-reported emotion, psychophysiology, and engagement of
emotional neural systems. Furthermore, we predict engagement of vmPFC and connectivity between vmPFC
and other regions of prefrontal cortex will be a neural mediator of the effect of integral positive emotion on
stress regulation. Our specific hypotheses build directly from our findings during the initial award period.
Specific Aim 1 is to test the hypothesis that incidental positive emotion, while having a direct effect on
emotion, does not facilitate cognitive reappraisal. Powerful virtual reality will induce positive emotion, and we
will test for the effects of incidental positive emotion on self-reported emotion and skin conductance level.
Specific Aim 2 is to test the hypothesis that integral positive emotion (spontaneous use of future-focused
cognition) will facilitate of cognitive reappraisal, measured by self-reported and neural measures of emotion.
Further, we predict that vmPFC activation and the connectivity between vmPFC and other prefrontal regions
will reflect facilitated reappraisal. Specific Aim 3 is to test the hypothesis that manipulating future-focused
cognition will engage vmPFC during reappraisal planning, and result in greater changes in emotion following
reappraisal implementation. Further, we hypothesize that the relationship between vmPFC during planning and
reappraisal success will be mediated by connectivity between vmPFC and other prefrontal regions during
reappraisal implementation. Our studies will be conducted in large part by undergraduate students, model
scientific collaboration across two undergraduate-focused universities and deepen our understanding of stress
and emotion regulation. The goals of this grant are to 1) significantly advance our knowledge of the neural
systems that support the effects of positive emotion on stress regulation, and 2) significantly strengthen the
research environment at our universities by training students in advan...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9965628
- **Project number:** 2R15MH106928-02A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY)
- **Principal Investigator:** Kateri McRae
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $446,914
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-05-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9965628

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9965628, Investigating the neural systems that support the beneficial effects of positive emotion on stress regulation (2R15MH106928-02A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9965628. Licensed CC0.

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