Emotion, regulation and wellbeing
People’s emotional experiences play crucial role in shaping their wellbeing. Positive emotions, such as happiness and joy, can strengthen mental health. In contrast, negative emotions, such as anxiety and anger, can undermine our wellbeing. In addition, our abilities in regulating our own emotions are crucial in maintaining wellbeing. Strong emotion-regulation skills are essential for maintaining balance, coping with challenges, and protecting long-term wellbeing. In our research, we try to understand the antecedents of negative emotions and elucidate the mechanisms of emotion regulation.
Relevant Papers
Yoo, H. J., Thayer, J., Greening, S., Lee, T.-H., Ponzio, A., Min, J., Sakaki, M., Nga, L., Mather, M. and Koenig, J. (2018). Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old – Evidence from two independent samples. Brain Structure and Function, 223, 727-737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1519-7 Request PDF Article
Izaki, T., Himichi, T., & Sakaki, M. (2024). Cardiac cycle modulates social pain. Biological Psychology, 192, 108853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108853 OSF Link
Koenig, J., Abler, B., Agartz, I., Åkerstedt, T., Andreassen, O. A., Anthony, M., Bär, K.-J., Bertsch, K., Brown, R. C., Brunner, R., Carnevali, L., Critchley, H. D., Cullen, K. R., de Geus, E. J.C., de la Cruz Monte de Oca, F., Dziobek, I., Ferger, M. D., Fischer, H., Flor, H., Gaebler, M., Gianaros, P. J., Giummarra, M. J., Greening, S. G., Guendelman, S., Heathers, J. A. J., Herpertz, S. C., Hu, M. X., Jentschke, S., Kaess, M., Kaufmann, T., Klimes-Dougan, B., Koelsch, S., Krauch, M., Kumral, D., Lamers, F., Lee, T.-H., Lekander, M., Lin, F., Lotze, M., Makovac, E., Mancini, M., Mancke, F., Månsson, K. N. T., Manuck, S. B., Mather, M., Meeten, F., Min, J., Mueller, B., Muench, V., Nees, F., Nga, L., Nilsonne, G., Ordonez Acuna, D., Osnes, B., Ottaviani, C., Penninx, B. W.J.H., Ponzio, A., Poudel, G. R., Reinelt, J., Ren, P., Sakaki, M., Schumann, A., Sørensen, L., Specht, K., Straub, J., Tamm, S., Thai, M., Thayer, J. F., Ubani, B., van der Mee, D. J., van Velzen, L. S., Ventura-Bort, C., Villringer, A., Watson, D. R., Wei, L., Wendt, J., Westlund Schreiner, M., Westlye, L. T., Weymar, M., Winkelmann, T., Wu, G.-R., Yoo, H. J. & Quintana, D. S. (2021). Cortical thickness and resting state cardiac function across the lifespan: a cross-sectional pooled mega analysis. Psychophysiology, 38, e13688. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.13688 OSF Link Request PDF Article
Egbuniwe, I., van Reekum, C., & Sakaki, M. (2025). Heart rate variability is associated with the level of poverty in adolescents in Nigeria. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 214, 113201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2025.113201 OSF Link Request PDF Article
Tupitsa, E., Egbuniwe, I., Lloyd, W. K., Puertollano, M., Macdonald, B., Joanknecht, K., Sakaki, M., & van Reekum, C. M. (2023). Heart rate variability covaries with amygdala functional connectivity during voluntary emotion regulation. NeuroImage, 274, 120136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120136 Request PDF Article
Ohtani, K., Tamura, A., Sakaki, M. , Murayama, K., Ishikawa, S.-i., Ishii, R., Nakazato, N., Suzuki, T. & Tanaka, A. (2022) Parental perception matters: reciprocal relations between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and parental perceptions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(1), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000632 Request PDF Article
