Reliving positive and negative interpersonal events activates a common set of neural networks for emotional processing

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we asked the participants to recall both positive and negative interpersonal events, as well as a relatively neutral one, during fMRI, and compared their evoked brain activities. Our results delineated a neural system that exhibited differential response patterns within the same set of networks for positive emotions elicited by a joyful event with a good friend and negative emotions elicited by the breakup event with their ex-partner. The findings corroborated the constructed theories of emotion, which propose that emotions are constructed through a set of processes, including categorization, abstraction, and interpretation, by simulating interoceptive representations. In society, some individuals are more vulnerable to social rejection, and their psychological difficulties are multifaceted. Our study sheds light on the developmental course of these difficulties and paves the way for further evaluation.