Controllability of structural brain networks and the waxing and waning of negative affect in daily life
The waxing and waning of negative affect in daily life is normative, reflecting an adaptive capacity to respond flexibly to changing circumstances. Here, we provide insight into facets of brain structure that may enable negative affect variability in daily life. We use diffusion spectrum imaging data from 95 young adults (Mage = 20.19 years, SDage = 1.80; 56 women) to construct structural connectivity networks that map white matter fiber connections between 200 cortical and 14 sub-cortical regions. We apply network control theory to these structural networks to estimate the degree to which each brain region’s pattern of structural connectivity facilitates the spread of activity to other brain systems (i.e., the region’s average controllability). We examine how the average controllability of functional brain systems relates to negative affect variability, computed by taking the standard deviation of negative affect self-reports collected via smartphone-based experience-sampling twice per day over 28 days as participants went about their daily lives. We find that high average controllability of the cingulo-insular system is associated with increased negative affect variability. Our results highlight the role brain structure plays in affective dynamics as observed in the context of daily life.