Expectation Effects on Emotional Processing in Late Life

Understanding the mechanisms of expectation effects in the affective system is vital, given high placebo rates in antidepressants. Evidence has consistently confirmed that expectations can influence our emotional experience. Recently, a crucial role of prefrontal top-down regulation and cognitive capacity was shown in verbally instructed expectation effects within the affective system. Empirical findings systematically point to a positivity effect in emotionally healthy aging, linked to prefrontal functioning. It is unclear whether the effects and mechanisms of positive expectations on emotional processing might also change throughout the lifespan. Hence, the investigators' goal is to explore the neurobehavioral mechanisms underlying positive expectation effects in healthy aging. Healthy older adults (N=55; 50% female) will be invited to a cross-over (positive expectation vs. no expectations induced) fMRI experiment during which they will perform an emotional interference task that manipulates cognitive resources. The investigators hypothesize that older adults demonstrate a resource-dependent positivity effect and that this effect will be further enhanced through the induction of positive expectations. Additionally, it is expected that these result are related to participants' general cognitive control ability and to be reflected on the corresponding neural correlates in prefrontal-limbic networks.