An Original Investigation into the Neuropsychological Foundations of Emotion Regulation and Their Implications for Counselling with Nigerian Populations

Counselling interventions targeting emotion regulation would benefit from a theoretically grounded understanding of the neuropsychological processes underlying emotion regulation that can be interpreted within Nigerian cultural contexts, providing a bridge between neuroscience and culturally congruent counselling practice. This study conducted an original investigation into the neuropsychological foundations of emotion regulation and developed an original framework for translating neuropsychological findings into culturally appropriate counselling applications for Nigerian populations. A theoretical synthesis and empirical validation methodology was employed. Phase one conducted a systematic review of emotion regulation neuroscience from 2018 to 2024 (65 publications), mapping established neuropsychological mechanisms including prefrontal cortical modulation of amygdala reactivity, interoceptive awareness processes, and social regulation through the social engagement system. Phase two examined how cultural factors specific to Nigerian contexts, including collectivist emotional expression norms, religious meaning-making, shame-based emotional experience, and conflict trauma exposure, moderate neuropsychologically identified emotion regulation mechanisms. Phase three validated the theoretical synthesis through mixed-methods research with 45 adults from six ethnic communities, combining ecological momentary assessment of emotion regulation with functional measures and qualitative interviews. The original Neuropsychological-Cultural Emotion Regulation Model for Nigeria proposes six practice principles: somatic awareness cultivation, top-down cognitive reappraisal enhancement, social co-regulation facilitation, meaning-based regulation support, shame-sensitive regulation intervention, and trauma-sensitive nervous system stabilisation. Each principle bridges neuroscientific evidence with Nigerian cultural application. Expert review confirmed original interdisciplinary contribution.

Keywords: emotion regulation, neuropsychology, Nigerian counselling, cultural neuroscience, original framework