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Neural mechanisms of negative emotionality and cognitive control: The role of frontal midline theta.

Overview

Authors: Collin D Teich1, Eric Rawls1, Kara L Stevens1,2, Steven S S Kang3, Nicholas D Davenport1,2, Scott R Sponheim1,2,4, Melissa A Polusny1,2,5, Craig A Marquardt1,2,6
ORCID iDs: Collin D Teich, Kara L Stevens, Melissa A Polusny, Craig A Marquardt
  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
  2. Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN USA
  3. School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO USA
  4. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN USA
  5. Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN USA
  6. Minneapolis VA Medical Center, One Veterans Drive (B68-2), Minneapolis, MN 55417 USA
Institutions: University of Minnesota (United States); Minneapolis VA Health Care System (United States); University of Missouri–Kansas City (United States); Minneapolis VA Medical Center (United States)
Journal: Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, volume 26, issue 4, pages 1538-1555
Dates: received 3 June 2025; accepted 28 February 2026; published online 14 April 2026; in print 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0 · PMID 41981381 · PMCID PMC13385006 · OpenAlex W7154321369
Open access: hybrid, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: code on request
Categories: EEG (modality), human (organism), cognitive (subfield)
Methods: Connectivity, Statistics, Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Preprocessing, Spectral & time-frequency, Machine learning, Physiology & signal measures
Keywords: Cognitive control, Decision-making, Frontal midline theta, Personality, Electroencephalography, Military
MeSH: Cognition*, Emotions*, Executive Function*, Frontal Lobe*, Personality*, Theta Rhythm*, Adolescent, Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Electroencephalography, Female, Humans, Inhibition, Psychological, Male, Military Personnel, Young Adult (* major topic)
Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies (Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience), according to OpenAlex
Funding: NCCIH NIH HHS (UH3 AT009651, UH3AT009651); National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (UH3AT009651)
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 120 references in the paper

Abstract

Early adulthood is characterized by the emergence of many forms of psychopathology as well as the development of cognitive abilities necessary for adaptive functioning (e.g., cognitive control). This study investigated brain responses that mediate the relationship between the ability to inhibit unwanted behavior—a core function of cognitive control—and personality characteristics associated with the development of psychopathology. Using a Go/No-Go task, we examined how theta and alpha frequency activity (3–8 and 10–20 Hz, respectively) within electroencephalography (EEG) recorded over middle frontal regions of the scalp (i.e., frontal midline theta [FMT]) may be sensitive to the effects of personality traits of Emotionality, Constraint, and Absorption, traits with well-studied connections to psychopathology and psychopathology risk factors, on behavioral responses reflecting cognitive control. Young adult United States Army National Guard recruits (n = 106) completed a Go/No-Go task that varied in difficulty across three blocks to magnify cognitive demands. FMT (electrode FCz) and behavioral performance varied as a function of the task demands, and FMT was associated with negative emotionality (NEM) and absorption. Desynchronization of alpha frequencies was evident at occipital electrodes (PO7, PO8) and related to task block difficulty. A mediation analysis revealed that FMT explained (mediated) the association between heightened NEM and worse performance on the Go/No-Go task. No such effects were evident for alpha desynchronization. Findings are consistent with FMT during control of behavioral responses being a mechanism by which a propensity toward experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, and stress (i.e., NEM) compromises cognitive control and self-regulation.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper says that its authors' code is available on request: it was not published with the paper, so there is nothing to verify.

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Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

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Versions

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Version 1, 29 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 8 authors, 6 keywords, 16 MeSH terms, 2 funders, 113 references.

Cite

This paper

Teich, C. D., Rawls, E., Stevens, K. L., Kang, S. S. S., Davenport, N. D., Sponheim, S. R., Polusny, M. A., & Marquardt, C. A. (2026). Neural mechanisms of negative emotionality and cognitive control: The role of frontal midline theta. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 26(4), 1538-1555. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0

BibTeX

@article{teich2026neural,
author = {Teich, Collin D and Rawls, Eric and Stevens, Kara L and Kang, Steven S S and Davenport, Nicholas D and Sponheim, Scott R and Polusny, Melissa A and Marquardt, Craig A},
title = {{Neural mechanisms of negative emotionality and cognitive control: The role of frontal midline theta}},
journal = {Cognitive, affective \& behavioral neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = apr,
volume = {26},
number = {4},
pages = {1538--1555},
publisher = {Springer Science+Business Media},
issn = {1530-7026},
doi = {10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0},
pmid = {41981381},
pmcid = {PMC13385006}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Teich, Collin D
AU - Rawls, Eric
AU - Stevens, Kara L
AU - Kang, Steven S S
AU - Davenport, Nicholas D
AU - Sponheim, Scott R
AU - Polusny, Melissa A
AU - Marquardt, Craig A
TI - Neural mechanisms of negative emotionality and cognitive control: The role of frontal midline theta
T2 - Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
J2 - Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/04/14
VL - 26
IS - 4
SP - 1538
EP - 1555
SN - 1530-7026
PB - Springer Science+Business Media
DO - 10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-026-01434-0
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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