Emotion regulation

Emotion regulation is a complex, multi-faceted process through which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions [1]. Biologically, it is mediated by the interaction between 'top-down' cortical regions, such as the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and 'bottom-up' subcortical structures like the amygdala and ventral striatum [2]. While deficits in emotion regulation are central to various psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, and personality disorders, the term refers to a broad physiological and psychological phenomenon rather than a discrete molecular entity such as a receptor or enzyme [3]. Consequently, 'emotion regulation' is not a therapeutic target in the pharmacological sense; instead, drugs are designed to target specific receptors (e.g., serotonin, GABA, or glutamate receptors) that modulate the neural circuits responsible for this process [1][4]. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204924/ [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22180527/ [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513280/ [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4134461/

Other names

Affect regulationEmotional self-regulationEmotional control

Not applicable; emotion regulation is a physiological and psychological process, not a molecular target.