Psychological well-being modulates neural synchrony during naturalistic fMRI

Klamer et al., 2024, published in Neuropsychologia:

​Psychological well-being (PWB) encompasses self-acceptance, purpose in life, personal growth, positive relationships, and autonomy, and is closely linked to both physical and mental health. Previous research using resting-state fMRI and static images has pointed to brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), insula, and thalamus as being associated with PWB. However, findings across studies have been inconsistent, lacking in both strength and direction, leaving a clear model of PWB’s impact on brain function undefined. Naturalistic stimuli, such as audiovisual films offer a more realistic representation of everyday experiences and may evoke neural responses that are better suited to studying PWB. This study uses fMRI data from the Naturalistic Neuroimaging Database to investigate how varying levels of PWB influence neural synchrony in response to an audiovisual film. Results show that higher PWB levels are linked to increased neural synchrony in the bilateral OFC and left PCC, while lower PWB levels are associated with increased synchrony in the right temporoparietal junction and left superior parietal lobule, areas involved in narrative processing. Taken together, this research confirms the validity of several regions in association with PWB and suggests that varying levels of PWB produce differences in the processing of a narrative during complex audiovisual processing.

​Image citation: Li, 2021