Greater resting frontal alpha asymmetry associated with higher emotional expressive flexibility

ABSTRACT

Emotional expressive flexibility (EEF) is an important social ability that has prompted scholars to examine its benefits to human mental health. However, the neural underpinnings of individual differences in the EEF remain unclear. In neuroscience, frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is regarded as a sensitive indicator of certain emotional modalities and affective styles. To the best of our knowledge, no study has linked FAA with EEF to examine whether FAA could be a potential neural indicator of EEF. In the present study, 47 participants (M_age= 22.38 years, 55.3% women) underwent a resting electroencephalogram and completed the flexible regulation of emotional expression scale (FREE). The results revealed that after controlling for gender, resting FAA scores positively predicted EEF, with relative left frontal activity associated with higher EEF. Additionally, this prediction was reflected in both the enhancement and suppression dimensions of EEF. Furthermore, individuals with relative left frontal activity reported greater enhancement and EEF than individuals with relative right frontal activity. The present study indicated that FAA may be a neural marker of EEF. In the future, more empirical studies are needed to provide causal evidence that the improvement in FAA can enhance EEF.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional expressive flexibility
• frontal alpha asymmetry
• resting-state EEG
• neural index

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the editor, Prof. Gina Grimshaw, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful and constructive comments on this previous version of manuscript.

Data availability statement

Data is available and can be requested from the corresponding author if needed.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province [grant number 2022SJYB0112], the Talent Introduction Scientific Research Found in Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications [grant number NYY221021], the Programs of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Hangzhou [grant number Z22JC084], and the Key Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province [grant number 2023SJZD030].