Summary: Brassen et al. (2012)

Brassen et al. (2012)  noted that there is a deficit in information about the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the relationship between age-related declines in the ability to undo regrettable situations and a reduction in engagement with these situations. They used a sequential risk-tasking task combined with a multimodal psychophysiological approach to investigate responsiveness to regret in young, aged emotionally successful and aged late-life depressed participants. Brassen et al. (2012) found that aged emotionally successful participants showed a reduction in responsiveness to regret that was paralleled by a corresponding neurobiological change in emotion regulation (autonomic and frontostriatal). They suggest that the ability to disengage from regretful events is critical for resilience of emotional health into old age.