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Brain Sciences
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Brain Mechanisms of Hot and Cold Executive Function in Healthy...
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Brain Mechanisms of Hot and Cold Executive Function in Healthy and Clinical Populations

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2026 | Viewed by 457

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sandra Carvalho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Basic Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Interests: translational neuroscience; neuropsychology; neuroplasticity; executive functioning; emotional regulation; neuromodulation; clinical trials; EEG/ERP’s
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Executive function (EF) is the collection of cognitive processes that are required for goal-oriented behavior. Over the last several decades, EF has been theoretically divided into two complementary domains: cold EF, which includes logical, decontextualized reasoning, and hot EF, which includes affective and motivational processing. This division has advanced our understanding of EF processes in both healthy and clinical populations, such as individuals with ADHD, OCD, schizophrenia, mood disorders, or conditions with frontal lobe damage. Despite progress in identifying the brain circuits engaged, many questions remain regarding how these systems develop, interact, and guide adaptive or dysfunctional behavior.

The goal of this Special Issue is to publish research on the neural underpinnings, development, and functional consequences of hot and cold EF across different populations. We particularly welcome submissions using multimodal methods (e.g., EEG, fMRI, TMS/tES, lesion mapping, amok others), transdiagnostic perspectives, or studies of emotion–cognition interactions. Submission types include original research, reviews, meta-analyses, and theoretical or methodological papers within cognitive neuroscience and relevant clinical fields.

Dr. Sandra Carvalho
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • executive function
  • hot executive function
  • cold executive function
  • cognitive control
  • emotion
  • cognition interaction
  • emotion regulation
  • transdiagnostic mechanisms

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 1915 KB  
Article
From Cortex to Cardiac Response: tDCS of the Prefrontal Cortex Improves Autonomic Markers of Emotion Regulation
by Catarina Gomes Coelho, Jorge Leite, Raquel Pinto, Paulo P. P. Machado and Sandra Carvalho
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(9), 898; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15090898 - 22 Aug 2025
Viewed by 302
Abstract
Background: Emotion regulation (ER) plays a vital role in mental health, spanning mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is one of the most common ER strategies and depends on prefrontal brain areas, but its success varies, and its neural basis is [...] Read more.
Background: Emotion regulation (ER) plays a vital role in mental health, spanning mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is one of the most common ER strategies and depends on prefrontal brain areas, but its success varies, and its neural basis is not fully clear. Interest is growing in using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to support ER, yet most studies have focused only on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and used simple tasks. Objective: This study explored whether tDCS applied to either the dlPFC or the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) could shape autonomic responses during CR while people watched emotionally engaging film clips. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to receive either active or sham tDCS over the dlPFC or vmPFC. While stimulated, they used CR strategies (positive reappraisal, fictional reappraisal, or distancing) to manage their reactions to negative film scenes. Heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC), and respiratory rate (RR) were tracked throughout as physiological indicators. Results: Active dlPFC tDCS combined with CR led to significantly greater reductions in HR toward the end of emotional exposure, compared to sham or non-CR conditions. dlPFC stimulation also lowered HR even without explicit CR, pointing to possible effects on automatic regulation. vmPFC effects were inconsistent, and no reliable effects were observed for SC or RR. Conclusions: These results suggest that tDCS effects on autonomic ER depend on the brain region and timing. dlPFC stimulation may strengthen both intentional and automatic emotion regulation, especially when combined with reappraisal, highlighting the value of realistic emotional tasks in neuromodulation studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Mechanisms of Hot and Cold Executive Function in Healthy and Clinical Populations)
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