The effects of rational and irrational beliefs on brain response to emotional scenarios: An fMRI study

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the neural correlates of adopting rational versus irrational beliefs in response to emotionally stressful scenarios, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Grounded in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), we explored how endorsing rational or irrational beliefs modulates brain activity while evaluating hypothetical stressful situations. Methods: Seventy-five participants (48 females, aged 19–35) were randomly assigned to a rational or irrational belief group. Participants underwent fMRI while imagining emotionally stressful scenarios and endorsing corresponding beliefs. Results: We found that a rational way of approaching a given emotionally stressful scenario was associated with significantly higher activity in the right cuneus, superior temporal gyrus, and insula compared to the irrational thinking group. Discussions: The current result suggests that participants adopting a rational approach toward the unpleasant scenarios were able to generate better mental representations of the scenes, likely because rational thinking allows for improved regulation of the unpleasant arousal that these emotionally stressful scenarios could trigger. Interventions targeting irrational beliefs and promoting rational thinking, such as REBT, promise to improve emotional functioning and facilitate a more adaptive approach to negative scenarios.