Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic construct that encompasses rumination and worry, yet what precisely is shared between rumination and worry is unclear. To clarify this, we develop a meta-control account of RNT. Meta-control refers to the reinforcement and control of mental behavior via similar computations as reinforce and control motor behavior. We propose rumination and worry are coarse terms for failure in meta-control, just as tripping and falling are coarse terms for failure in motor control. We delineate four meta-control stages and risk factors increasing the chance of failure at each, including open-ended thoughts (stage 1), individual differences influencing subgoal execution (stage 2) and switching (stage 3), and challenges inherent to learning adaptive mental behavior (stage 4). Distinguishing these stages therefore elucidates diverse processes that lead to the same behavior of excessive RNT. Our account also subsumes prominent clinical accounts of RNT into a computational cognitive neuroscience framework.

中文翻译：

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从绊倒和跌倒到沉思和担忧：重复消极思维的元控制解释

重复消极思维（RNT）是一种跨诊断结构，包含沉思和担忧，但沉思和担忧之间到底有什么共同点尚不清楚。为了澄清这一点，我们开发了 RNT 的元控制帐户。元控制是指通过与强化和控制运动行为类似的计算来强化和控制心理行为。我们认为沉思和担心是元控制失败的粗略术语，就像绊倒和跌倒是运动控制失败的粗略术语一样。我们描绘了四个元控制阶段和增加每个阶段失败机会的风险因素，包括开放式思维（第一阶段）、影响子目标执行（第二阶段）和转换（第三阶段）的个体差异，以及学习适应性所固有的挑战心理行为（第四阶段）。因此，区分这些阶段可以阐明导致过量 RNT 相同行为的不同过程。我们的叙述还将 RNT 的著名临床叙述纳入计算认知神经科学框架中。