{
  "abstract": "Age-related differences in affect are well established, but their neural mechanisms remain unclear. In a preregistered replication of Puccetti et al. (2021) and extension, we examined age, affect, left-amygdala negative persistence, and amygdala–ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) task-based connectivity using MIDUS 3 daily diary and fMRI data. Older age predicted higher positive and lower negative affect in the daily diary sample ( N = 1,168; ps < .001). In the primary diary + fMRI sample ( N = 81; ages 48–95, 61.7% female, 82.7% White), greater persistence predicted higher raw negative affect (β = 0.278, 95% CI [0.012, 0.544], p = .020); associations with positive and log-transformed negative affect were nonsignificant ( ps ≥ .063). Older age predicted lower persistence in the final fMRI sample ( N = 127; β = −0.00260, 95% CI [−0.00504, −0.00016], p = .018), but this association was weaker in the primary diary + fMRI sample ( p = .200), with no evidence of mediation. Greater anterior vmPFC connectivity predicted lower raw negative affect (β = −0.106, 95% CI [−0.223, 0.012], p = .039) and log-transformed negative affect ( p = .014). In MIDUS Refresher 1, affect estimates were directionally similar but nonsignificant ( N = 48; ps ≥ .081), whereas the age–persistence estimate reversed direction. These findings provide partial support for amygdala persistence and task-based connectivity as neural correlates of daily affect, while highlighting variability in the magnitude and replicability of fMRI–behavior associations.\n\nPublic Significance Statement: Among middle-aged and older adults, lingering brain responses to negative images and communication between emotion-related brain regions were associated with negative feelings in daily life. However, the findings did not establish why emotional experience differs with age, and evidence from a second sample was inconclusive. Larger studies are needed to determine how reliably these brain measures relate to everyday emotional well-being.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Adam Turnbull",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1629-562X"
    },
    {
      "name": "Meishan Ai"
    },
    {
      "name": "James J. Gross"
    },
    {
      "name": "Feng Vankee-Lin"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/59y7nk7d5p1mr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.14.759196",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1.full",
  "id": "59y7nk7d5p1mr",
  "issns": [
    "2692-8205"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223031345",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13738373",
  "pmid": "42995751",
  "published": "2026-10-14",
  "publisher": "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Preprints",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/59y7nk7d5p1mr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:49Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.14.759196",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:22Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13738373",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Amygdala Persistence in Aging: Replication and Extension of Puccetti et al. (2021)",
  "title_text": "Amygdala Persistence in Aging: Replication and Extension of Puccetti et al. (2021)",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/59y7nk7d5p1mr",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}