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The aim of the present research was to develop and test the efficacy of a novel online contingent attention training (i.e., OCAT) to modify attention and interpretation biases, improve emotion regulation, and reduce emotional symptom levels in the face of major stressors. Two proof-of-principle studies were carried out. In study 1, 64 undergraduates who were about to start a major stressful period (i.e., final exams) were randomized to undergo 10 days of active OCAT or a sham-control training. Emotion regulation (habitual use of rumination and reappraisal) and symptom levels (depression and anxiety) were assessed before and after the intervention. In study 2, the same 2 × 2 mixed design was used with 58 individuals from the general population undergoing a major stressful situation (the lockdown period at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020). In both studies, the OCAT group showed significant improvements on attention towards negative information and interpretation biases in comparison to the sham-control group. Additionally, changes in cognitive biases transferred to reductions of participants' use of rumination and anxiety symptom levels. These results show preliminary evidence regarding the efficacy of the OCAT to target attention and interpretation biases as well as to improve emotion regulation processes and to buffer against the effects of major stressors.

Research suggests that self-esteem, individuals' expectancies regarding their ability to deal with future stressors and cognitive control are related and participate in the process of stress regulation. In the current study, 286 participants (51 men and 235 women; ranging from 18 to 89 years old; mean age = 27.53, SD = 10.64) completed online questionnaires to assess self-esteem, expectancy, cognitive control (assessed using measures of attentional and anxiety control), perceived stress, rumination, and symptoms of distress. Network analysis was used to obtain a comprehensive, data-driven view on the complex interplay between these variables. Our analysis shows that high self-esteem is related to more self-efficacy (a measure of expectancy). Self-efficacy, in turn, shows a strong association with more attentional and anxiety control, which are related to lower overall perceived stress during the past month. Moreover, higher perceived stress was related to more symptoms of distress via higher scores in rumination. This study is the first to provide a data-driven test of how individuals with low self-esteem and expectancy, and deficits in cognitive control processes may have difficulties in dealing with daily stressful situations., Author(s): Matias M. Pulopulos [sup.1] [sup.2] , Kristof Hoorelbeke [sup.1] , Sophie Vandenbroucke [sup.1] , Kim Van Durme [sup.1] [sup.3] , Jill M. Hooley [sup.4] , Rudi De Raedt [sup.1] [...]

The Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) is commonly used to measure people's general tendency to ruminate. In this study, we explored whether only few items from the RRS can be used to capture within-person variation in rumination in intensive longitudinal studies. Such a short RRS version would allow, for example, monitoring the development of rumination during clinical interventions. We measured rumination on five occasions, with at least one week in between. We used multilevel analyses to analyze the data at the within- and between-person level. Using only eight RRS items, we successfully modeled a reflective self-regulation and depressive brooding factor, similar to the two subfacets of rumination as distinguished by Treynor et al. (2003 (See CR28)). We also established convergent validity of depressive brooding at the within- and between-person level of analysis and convergent validity of reflection at the between-person level. We thus introduced a short form of the RRS that captures within-person variation in depressive brooding and reflection well. The short RRS is readily applicable in studies on within-person variation or change in rumination., Author(s): Annette Brose [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Rudi De Raedt [sup.4] , Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt [sup.4] [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.7468.d, 0000 0001 2248 7639, Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, [...]

The neurovisceral integration model proposes that information flows bidirectionally between the brain and the heart via the vagus nerve, indexed by vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV). Voluntary reduction in breathing rate (slow‐paced breathing, SPB, 5.5 Breathing Per Minute (BPM)) can enhance vmHRV. Additionally, prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate the excitability of the prefrontal region and influence the vagus nerve. However, research on the combination of SPB and prefrontal tDCS to increase vmHRV and other cardiac (heart rate (HR) and blood pressure) and peripheral (skin conductance) indices is scarce. We hypothesized that the combination of 20 min of SPB and prefrontal tDCS would have a greater effect than each intervention in isolation. Hence, 200 participants were divided into four groups: active tDCS with SPB, active tDCS with 15 BPM breathing, sham tDCS with SPB, and sham tDCS with 15 BPM breathing. Regardless of the tDCS condition, the 5.5 BPM group showed a significant increase in vmHRV over 20 minutes and significant decreases in HR at the first and second 5‐min epochs of the intervention. Regardless of breathing condition, the active tDCS group exhibited higher HR at the fourth 5‐min epoch of the intervention than the sham tDCS group. No other effects were observed. Overall, SPB is a robust technique for increasing vmHRV, whereas prefrontal tDCS may produce effects that counteract those of SPB. More research is necessary to test whether and how SPB and neuromodulation approaches can be combined to improve cardiac vagal tone. This study explored, for the first time, the temporal course of physical (slow‐paced breathing, SPB) and neuromodulation (prefrontal tDCS) interventions to enhance cardiac vagal tone. Through a well‐sampled between‐subjects sham‐controlled design, this study found that SPB has a very rapid impact on increasing vagally mediated HRV and decreasing HR and blood pressure. Prefrontal tDCS, on the contrary, has a slower effect, mainly increasing heart rate suggesting more sympathetic arousal. Unexpectedly, the combination did not yield beneficial results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) modulates the autonomic nervous system by activating deeper brain areas via top‐down pathway. However, effects on the nervous system are heterogeneous and may depend on the amount of current that penetrates. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the variable effects of tDCS on heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of the functional state of the autonomic nervous system. Using three prefrontal tDCS protocols (1.5, 3 mA and sham), we associated the simulated individual electric field (E‐field) magnitude in brain regions of interest with the HRV effects. This was a randomized, double‐blinded, sham‐controlled and within‐subject trial, in which healthy young‐adult participants received tDCS sessions separated by 2 weeks. The brain regions of interest were the dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC), anterior cingulate cortex, insula and amygdala. Overall, 37 participants were investigated, corresponding to a total of 111 tDCS sessions. The findings suggested that HRV, measured by root mean squared of successive differences (RMSSD) and high‐frequency HRV (HF‐HRV), were significantly increased by the 3.0 mA tDCS when compared to sham and 1.5 mA. No difference was found between sham and 1.5 mA. E‐field analysis showed that all brain regions of interest were associated with the HRV outcomes. However, this significance was associated with the protocol intensity, rather than inter‐individual brain structural variability. To conclude, our results suggest a dose‐dependent effect of tDCS for HRV. Therefore, further research is warranted to investigate the optimal current dose to modulate HRV. By dissecting the effects of different tDCS protocols on HRV and linking them to individual brain anatomy, we have uncovered a dose‐dependent relationship between tDCS dose and HRV modulation. These findings underscore the importance of optimizing tDCS for HRV modulation, advancing our understanding of neurostimulation's potential in autonomic nervous system regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]