Frontocortical activity and emotional experience in the context of daily life events

Understanding the neurobiological basis of emotional experience in the context of daily life events is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of emotion and emotion regulation, as well as for developing novel interventions for emotion-related disorders. Frontocortical brain regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), are thought to contribute to emotional processing and regulation and have been proposed as potential biomarkers of individual emotional well-being. However, how these regions relate to emotional experience across daily event contexts remains poorly understood. By integrating fMRI and ecological momentary assessment (EMA), the present study investigated whether, and how, frontocortical activity measured in the laboratory is associated with positive and negative emotional experience in the presence and absence of relevant daily events. Multilevel analyses revealed that individual differences in frontocortical activity were significantly associated with positive, but not negative, emotional experience. Specifically, individuals with heightened frontocortical activity exhibited significantly elevated baseline positive mood in the absence of positive events, compared to those with low frontocortical activity. These findings offer novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying emotional dynamics and well-being in real-world settings.