Amygdala Persistence in Aging: Replication and Extension of Puccetti et al. (2021)
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.
Public 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.
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BibTeX
@misc{turnbull2026amygdala,
title = {{Amygdala Persistence in Aging: Replication and Extension of Puccetti et al. (2021)}},
author = {Adam Turnbull and Meishan Ai and James J. Gross and Feng Vankee-Lin},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.14.759196},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Amygdala Persistence in Aging: Replication and Extension of Puccetti et al. (2021)
AU - Adam Turnbull
AU - Meishan Ai
AU - James J. Gross
AU - Feng Vankee-Lin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.14.759196
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.759196v1
AB - 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. Public 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.
SN - 2692-8205
ER -