51
|
Koen N, Fourie J, Terburg D, Stoop R, Morgan B, Stein D, van Honk J. Translational neuroscience of basolateral amygdala lesions: Studies of urbach-wiethe disease. J Neurosci Res 2016; 94:504-12. [DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- N. Koen
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
- Medical Research Council Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders; Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - J. Fourie
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
| | - D. Terburg
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
- Department of Psychology; Utrecht University; Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - R. Stoop
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry; Lausanne University and University Hospital; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - B. Morgan
- Department of Public Law; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development, DVC Research Office; University of Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
- Global Risk Governance Programme, Faculty of Law; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
| | - D.J. Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
- Medical Research Council Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders; Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - J. van Honk
- Department of Psychology; Utrecht University; Utrecht The Netherlands
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Department of Psychiatry; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
52
|
Hrybouski S, Aghamohammadi-Sereshki A, Madan CR, Shafer AT, Baron CA, Seres P, Beaulieu C, Olsen F, Malykhin NV. Amygdala subnuclei response and connectivity during emotional processing. Neuroimage 2016; 133:98-110. [PMID: 26926791 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The involvement of the human amygdala in emotion-related processing has been studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for many years. However, despite the amygdala being comprised of several subnuclei, most studies investigated the role of the entire amygdala in processing of emotions. Here we combined a novel anatomical tracing protocol with event-related high-resolution fMRI acquisition to study the responsiveness of the amygdala subnuclei to negative emotional stimuli and to examine intra-amygdala functional connectivity. The greatest sensitivity to the negative emotional stimuli was observed in the centromedial amygdala, where the hemodynamic response amplitude elicited by the negative emotional stimuli was greater and peaked later than for neutral stimuli. Connectivity patterns converge with extant findings in animals, such that the centromedial amygdala was more connected with the nuclei of the basal amygdala than with the lateral amygdala. Current findings provide evidence of functional specialization within the human amygdala.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stanislau Hrybouski
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada
| | | | - Christopher R Madan
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada; Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Andrea T Shafer
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Corey A Baron
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Peter Seres
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Christian Beaulieu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Fraser Olsen
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada
| | - Nikolai V Malykhin
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
53
|
Callaghan BL, Tottenham N. The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:163-76. [PMID: 26194419 PMCID: PMC4677125 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Revised: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Early experiences critically shape the structure and function of the brain. Perturbations in typical/species-expected early experiences are known to have profound neural effects, especially in regions important for emotional responding. Parental care is one species-expected stimulus that plays a fundamental role in the development of emotion neurocircuitry. Emerging evidence across species suggests that phasic variation in parental presence during the sensitive period of childhood affects the recruitment of emotional networks on a moment-to-moment basis. In addition, it appears that increasing independence from caregivers cues the termination of the sensitive period for environmental input into emotion network development. In this review, we examine how early parental care, the central nervous system, and behavior come together to form a 'neuro-environmental loop,' contributing to the formation of stable emotion regulation circuits. To achieve this end, we focus on the interaction of parental care and the developing amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) network-that is at the core of human emotional functioning. Using this model, we discuss how individual or group variations in parental independence, across chronic and brief timescales, might contribute to neural and emotional phenotypes that have implications for long-term mental health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
54
|
Diederich NJ, Goldman JG, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG. Failing as doorman and disc jockey at the same time: Amygdalar dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord 2015; 31:11-22. [PMID: 26650182 DOI: 10.1002/mds.26460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Revised: 09/20/2015] [Accepted: 09/23/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In Braak's model of ascending degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD), involvement of the amygdala occurs simultaneously with substantia nigra degeneration. However, the clinical manifestations of amygdalar involvement in PD have not been fully delineated. Considered a multitask manager, the amygdala is a densely connected "hub," coordinating and integrating tasks ranging from prompt, multisensorial emotion recognition to adequate emotional responses and emotional tuning of memories. Although phylogenetically predisposed to handle fear, the amygdala handles both aversive and positive emotional inputs. In PD, neuropathological and in vivo studies suggest primarily amygdalar hypofunction. However, as dopamine acts as an inverted U-shaped amygdalar modulator, medication-induced hyperactivity of the amygdala can occur. We propose that amygdalar (network) dysfunction contributes to reduced recognition of negative emotional face expressions, impaired theory of mind, reactive hypomimia, and impaired decision making. Similarly, impulse control disorders in predisposed individuals, hallucinations, anxiety, and panic attacks may be related to amygdalar dysfunction. When available, we discuss amygdala-independent trigger mechanisms of these symptoms. Although dopaminergic agents have mostly an activation effect on amygdalar function, adaptive and compensatory network changes may occur as well, but these have not been sufficiently explored. In conclusion, our model of amygdalar involvement brings together several elements of Parkinson's disease phenomenology heretofore left unexplained and provides a framework for testable hypotheses in patients during life and in autopsy analyses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nico J Diederich
- Department of Neurosciences, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.,Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Campus Esch-Belval, Esch-s.-Alzette, Luxembourg.,Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Jennifer G Goldman
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Glenn T Stebbins
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Christopher G Goetz
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| |
Collapse
|
55
|
Prager EM, Bergstrom HC, Wynn GH, Braga MFM. The basolateral amygdala γ-aminobutyric acidergic system in health and disease. J Neurosci Res 2015; 94:548-67. [PMID: 26586374 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Revised: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The brain comprises an excitatory/inhibitory neuronal network that maintains a finely tuned balance of activity critical for normal functioning. Excitatory activity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a brain region that plays a central role in emotion and motivational processing, is tightly regulated by a relatively small population of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitory neurons. Disruption in GABAergic inhibition in the BLA can occur when there is a loss of local GABAergic interneurons, an alteration in GABAA receptor activation, or a dysregulation of mechanisms that modulate BLA GABAergic inhibition. Disruptions in GABAergic control of the BLA emerge during development, in aging populations, or after trauma, ultimately resulting in hyperexcitability. BLA hyperexcitability manifests behaviorally as an increase in anxiety, emotional dysregulation, or development of seizure activity. This Review discusses the anatomy, development, and physiology of the GABAergic system in the BLA and circuits that modulate GABAergic inhibition, including the dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, and cholinergic systems. We highlight how alterations in various neurotransmitter receptors, including the acid-sensing ion channel 1a, cannabinoid receptor 1, and glutamate receptor subtypes, expressed on BLA interneurons, modulate GABAergic transmission and how defects of these systems affect inhibitory tonus within the BLA. Finally, we discuss alterations in the BLA GABAergic system in neurodevelopmental (autism/fragile X syndrome) and neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's disease) diseases and after the development of epilepsy, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury. A more complete understanding of the intrinsic excitatory/inhibitory circuit balance of the amygdala and how imbalances in inhibitory control contribute to excessive BLA excitability will guide the development of novel therapeutic approaches in neuropsychiatric diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric M Prager
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Genetics, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services, University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Gary H Wynn
- Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.,Department of Psychiatry, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.,Program in Neuroscience, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Maria F M Braga
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Genetics, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services, University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.,Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.,Department of Psychiatry, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.,Program in Neuroscience, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
| |
Collapse
|
56
|
Kanat M, Heinrichs M, Mader I, van Elst LT, Domes G. Oxytocin Modulates Amygdala Reactivity to Masked Fearful Eyes. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:2632-8. [PMID: 25881796 PMCID: PMC4569954 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2015.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Revised: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala reveals enhanced reactivity to fearful eye whites, even when they are backwardly masked by a neutral face and therefore processed with limited visual awareness. In our fMRI study, we investigated whether this effect is indeed associated with fear detection within the eyes of the neutral face mask, or more generally, with reactivity to any salient increase in eye white area. In addition, we examined whether a single dose of intranasal oxytocin would modulate amygdala responses to masked fearful eye whites via a double-blind, placebo-controlled pharmacological protocol. We found that increased amygdala responses to salient changes within a face's eye region occurred specifically for masked fearful eyes but not for similar increases in white area as induced by nonsocial control stimuli. Administration of oxytocin attenuated amygdala responses to masked fearful eye whites. Our results suggest that the amygdala is particularly tuned to potential threat signals from the eye region. The dampening effects of oxytocin on early amygdala reactivity may reflect reduced vigilance for facial threat cues at a preconscious level. Future studies may investigate whether this early modulation accounts for the beneficial effects of oxytocin on social cognition in anxiety-related disorders, as suggested by previous studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Kanat
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Irina Mader
- Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Department of Neuroradiology, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany,Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Strasse 8, Freiburg D-79104, Germany, Tel: +49 761 203 3035, Fax: +49 761 203 3023, E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
57
|
Marsh AA. Understanding amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions through the lens of psychopathy and altruism. J Neurosci Res 2015; 94:513-25. [PMID: 26366635 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Revised: 08/24/2015] [Accepted: 08/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Because the face is the central focus of human social interactions, emotional facial expressions provide a unique window into the emotional lives of others. They play a particularly important role in fostering empathy, which entails understanding and responding to others' emotions, especially distress-related emotions such as fear. This Review considers how fearful facial as well as vocal and postural expressions are interpreted, with an emphasis on the role of the amygdala. The amygdala may be best known for its role in the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear, but it also supports the perception and recognition of others' fear. Various explanations have been supplied for the amygdala's role in interpreting and responding to fearful expressions. They include theories that amygdala responses to fearful expressions 1) reflect heightened vigilance in response to uncertain danger, 2) promote heightened attention to the eye region of faces, 3) represent a response to an unconditioned aversive stimulus, or 4) reflect the generation of an empathic fear response. Among these, only empathic fear explains why amygdala lesions would impair fear recognition across modalities. Supporting the possibility of a link between fundamental empathic processes and amygdala responses to fear is evidence that impaired fear recognition in psychopathic individuals results from amygdala dysfunction, whereas enhanced fear recognition in altruistic individuals results from enhanced amygdala function. Empathic concern and caring behaviors may be fostered by sensitivity to signs of acute distress in others, which relies on intact functioning of the amygdala.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abigail A Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
| |
Collapse
|
58
|
Van den Stock J, Hortensius R, Sinke C, Goebel R, de Gelder B. Personality traits predict brain activation and connectivity when witnessing a violent conflict. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13779. [PMID: 26337369 PMCID: PMC4559660 DOI: 10.1038/srep13779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2015] [Accepted: 08/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
As observers we excel in decoding the emotional signals telling us that a social interaction is turning violent. The neural substrate and its modulation by personality traits remain ill understood. We performed an fMRI experiment in which participants watched videos displaying a violent conflict between two people. Observers’ attention was directed to either the aggressor or the victim. Focusing on the aggressor (vs. focusing on the victim) activated the superior temporal sulcus (STS), extra-striate body area (EBA), occipital poles and centro-medial amygdala (CMA). Stronger instantaneous connectivity occurred between these and the EBA, insula, and the red nucleus. When focusing on the victim, basolateral amygdala (BLA) activation was related to trait empathy and showed increased connectivity with the insula and red nucleus. STS activation was associated with trait aggression and increased connectivity with the hypothalamus. The findings reveal that focusing on the aggressor of a violent conflict triggers more activation in categorical (EBA) and emotion (CMA, STS) areas. This is associated with increased instantaneous connectivity among emotion areas (CMA-insula) and between categorical and emotion (EBA-STS) areas. When the focus is on the victim, personality traits (aggression/empathy) modulate activity in emotion areas (respectively STS and postcentral gyrus/ BLA), along with connectivity in the emotional diencephalon (hypothalamus) and early visual areas (occipital pole).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- Laboratory for Translational Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ruud Hortensius
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Charlotte Sinke
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry &Mental Health, University of Cape Town, J-Block, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry &Mental Health, University of Cape Town, J-Block, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
59
|
Mei S, Xu J, Carroll KM, Potenza MN. Self-reported impulsivity is negatively correlated with amygdalar volumes in cocaine dependence. Psychiatry Res 2015; 233:212-7. [PMID: 26187551 PMCID: PMC4536101 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2014] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although impulsivity has been associated with cocaine dependence and other addictive behaviors, the biological factors underlying impulsivity have yet to be precisely determined. This study aimed to examine relationships between impulsivity and volumes of the amygdala and hippocampus in cocaine-dependent and healthy comparison individuals. The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) was used to assess impulsivity. FreeSurfer was used to assess amygdalar and hippocampal volumes from high-resolution structural magnetic resonance images. Relative to healthy comparison subjects, cocaine-dependent individuals scored higher on all three subscales of BIS-11 but did not differ from healthy comparison subjects in amygdalar or hippocampal volumes. Cocaine-dependent individuals showed significant negative correlations between amygdalar volumes and scores on the BIS-11 Attentional subscale, and this relationship differed significantly from the non-significant relationship in healthy comparison subjects. As individual differences in amygdalar structure may contribute to the high impulsivity observed in cocaine-dependent individuals, the findings suggest that future studies should assess the extent to which therapies that target impulsivity in cocaine dependence may operate through the amygdala or alter its structure or function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Songli Mei
- School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, China,Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Jiansong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States.
| | - Kathleen M. Carroll
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| | - Marc N. Potenza
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States,Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, United States
| |
Collapse
|
60
|
Jabbi M, Chen Q, Turner N, Kohn P, White M, Kippenhan JS, Dickinson D, Kolachana B, Mattay V, Weinberger DR, Berman KF. Variation in the Williams syndrome GTF2I gene and anxiety proneness interactively affect prefrontal cortical response to aversive stimuli. Transl Psychiatry 2015; 5:e622. [PMID: 26285132 PMCID: PMC4564573 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.98] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2015] [Revised: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing the molecular mechanisms underlying the heritability of complex behavioral traits such as human anxiety remains a challenging endeavor for behavioral neuroscience. Copy-number variation (CNV) in the general transcription factor gene, GTF2I, located in the 7q11.23 chromosomal region that is hemideleted in Williams syndrome and duplicated in the 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7), is associated with gene-dose-dependent anxiety in mouse models and in both Williams syndrome and Dup7. Because of this recent preclinical and clinical identification of a genetic influence on anxiety, we examined whether sequence variation in GTF2I, specifically the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs2527367, interacts with trait and state anxiety to collectively impact neural response to anxiety-laden social stimuli. Two hundred and sixty healthy adults completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire Harm Avoidance (HA) subscale, a trait measure of anxiety proneness, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while matching aversive (fearful or angry) facial identity. We found an interaction between GTF2I allelic variations and HA that affects brain response: in individuals homozygous for the major allele, there was no correlation between HA and whole-brain response to aversive cues, whereas in heterozygotes and individuals homozygous for the minor allele, there was a positive correlation between HA sub-scores and a selective dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) responsivity during the processing of aversive stimuli. These results demonstrate that sequence variation in the GTF2I gene influences the relationship between trait anxiety and brain response to aversive social cues in healthy individuals, supporting a role for this neurogenetic mechanism in anxiety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Jabbi
- Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, B10, Room 3C113, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. E-mail: or
| | - Q Chen
- The Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - N Turner
- Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - P Kohn
- Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - M White
- The Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J S Kippenhan
- Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - D Dickinson
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - B Kolachana
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - V Mattay
- The Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - D R Weinberger
- The Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, MD, USA,Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genomic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - K F Berman
- Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, B10, Room 3C113, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. E-mail: or
| |
Collapse
|
61
|
Abstract
AbstractWe emphasize the importance of a neuroevolutionary perspective in moving beyond the cognition-emotion dichotomy. Cognitive behavior depends on cortical structures firmly rooted in the emotional brain from which they have evolved. As such, there cannot be cognition without emotion. Endocrine regulation of amygdala connectivity, a neural “switch” between impulsivity and deliberation, further underscores the phylogenetic impossibility of a cognition-emotion dichotomy.
Collapse
|
62
|
Koelsch S, Jacobs AM, Menninghaus W, Liebal K, Klann-Delius G, von Scheve C, Gebauer G. The quartet theory of human emotions: An integrative and neurofunctional model. Phys Life Rev 2015; 13:1-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2015.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2015] [Revised: 03/15/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
63
|
Strawn JR, Hamm L, Fitzgerald DA, Fitzgerald KD, Monk CS, Phan KL. Neurostructural abnormalities in pediatric anxiety disorders. J Anxiety Disord 2015; 32:81-8. [PMID: 25890287 PMCID: PMC4439332 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Revised: 02/01/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Functional neuroimaging studies have consistently demonstrated abnormalities in fear and threat processing systems in youth with anxiety disorders; however, the structural neuroanatomy of these systems in children and adolescents remains largely unknown. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), gray matter volumes were compared between 38 medication-free patients with anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder; social phobia; separation anxiety disorder, mean age: 14.4±3 years) and 27 comparison subjects (mean age: 14.8±4 years). Compared to healthy subjects, youth with anxiety disorders had larger gray matter volumes in the dorsal anterior cingulate and had decreased gray matter volumes in the inferior frontal gyrus (ventrolateral prefrontal cortex), postcentral gyrus, and cuneus/precuneus. These data suggest the presence of structural differences in regions previously implicated in the processing and regulation of fear in pediatric patients with anxiety disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey R. Strawn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio,Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Lisa Hamm
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | | | | | | | - K. Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago,Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
| |
Collapse
|
64
|
Choe DE, Shaw DS, Forbes EE. Maladaptive social information processing in childhood predicts young men's atypical amygdala reactivity to threat. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2015; 56:549-57. [PMID: 25142952 PMCID: PMC4336639 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maladaptive social information processing, such as hostile attributional bias and aggressive response generation, is associated with childhood maladjustment. Although social information processing problems are correlated with heightened physiological responses to social threat, few studies have examined their associations with neural threat circuitry, specifically amygdala activation to social threat. METHODS A cohort of 310 boys participated in an ongoing longitudinal study and completed questionnaires and laboratory tasks assessing their social and cognitive characteristics the boys were between 10 and 12 years of age. At age 20, 178 of these young men underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging and a social threat task. At age 22, adult criminal arrest records and self-reports of impulsiveness were obtained. RESULTS Path models indicated that maladaptive social information-processing at ages 10 and 11 predicted increased left amygdala reactivity to fear faces, an ambiguous threat, at age 20 while accounting for childhood antisocial behavior, empathy, IQ, and socioeconomic status. Exploratory analyses indicated that aggressive response generation - the tendency to respond to threat with reactive aggression - predicted left amygdala reactivity to fear faces and was concurrently associated with empathy, antisocial behavior, and hostile attributional bias, whereas hostile attributional bias correlated with IQ. Although unrelated to social information-processing problems, bilateral amygdala reactivity to anger faces at age 20 was unexpectedly predicted by low IQ at age 11. Amygdala activation did not mediate associations between social information processing and number of criminal arrests, but both impulsiveness at age 22 and arrests were correlated with right amygdala reactivity to anger facial expressions at age 20. CONCLUSIONS Childhood social information processing and IQ predicted young men's amygdala response to threat a decade later, which suggests that childhood social-cognitive characteristics are associated with the development of neural threat processing and adult adjustment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Erika E. Forbes
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
65
|
Yoder KJ, Porges EC, Decety J. Amygdala subnuclei connectivity in response to violence reveals unique influences of individual differences in psychopathic traits in a nonforensic sample. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:1417-28. [PMID: 25557777 PMCID: PMC4837469 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2014] [Revised: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 11/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Atypical amygdala function and connectivity have reliably been associated with psychopathy. However, the amygdala is not a unitary structure. To examine how psychopathic traits in a nonforensic sample are linked to amygdala response to violence, this study used probabilistic tractography to classify amygdala subnuclei based on anatomical projections to and from amygdala subnuclei in a group of 43 male participants. The segmentation identified the basolateral complex (BLA; lateral, basal, and accessory basal subnuclei) and the central subnucleus (CE), which were used as seeds in a functional connectivity analysis to identify differences in neuronal coupling specific to observed violence. While a full amygdala seed showed significant connectivity only to right middle occipital gyrus, subnuclei seeds revealed unique connectivity patterns. BLA showed enhanced coupling with anterior cingulate and prefrontal regions, while CE showed increased connectivity with the brainstem, but reduced connectivity with superior parietal and precentral gyrus. Further, psychopathic personality factors were related to specific patterns of connectivity. Fearless Dominance scores on the psychopathic personality inventory predicted increased coupling between the BLA seed and sensory integration cortices, and increased connectivity between the CE seed and posterior insula. Conversely, Self-Centered Impulsivity scores were negatively correlated with coupling between BLA and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and Coldheartedness scores predicted increased functional connectivity between BLA and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how subnuclei segmentations reveal important functional connectivity differences that are otherwise inaccessible. Such an approach yields a better understanding of amygdala dysfunction in psychopathy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keith J. Yoder
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
| | - Eric C. Porges
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral NeuroscienceUniversity of Chicago MedicineChicagoIllinois
| |
Collapse
|
66
|
Klumpers F, Morgan B, Terburg D, Stein DJ, van Honk J. Impaired acquisition of classically conditioned fear-potentiated startle reflexes in humans with focal bilateral basolateral amygdala damage. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:1161-8. [PMID: 25552573 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2014] [Accepted: 12/24/2014] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on studies in rodents, the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is considered a key site for experience-dependent neural plasticity underlying the acquisition of conditioned fear responses. In humans, very few studies exist of subjects with selective amygdala lesions and those studies have only implicated the amygdala more broadly leaving the role of amygdala sub-regions underexplored. We tested a rare sample of subjects (N = 4) with unprecedented focal bilateral BLA lesions due to a genetic condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease. In a classical delay fear conditioning experiment, these subjects showed impaired acquisition of conditioned fear relative to a group of matched control subjects (N = 10) as measured by fear-potentiation of the defensive eye-blink startle reflex. After the experiment, the BLA-damaged cases showed normal declarative memory of the conditioned association. Our findings provide new evidence that the human BLA is essential to drive fast classically conditioned defensive reflexes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Floris Klumpers
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands,
| | - Barak Morgan
- Department of Human Biology, MRC Medical Imaging Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 7700 Cape Town, South Africa
| | - David Terburg
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, 7925 Cape Town, South Africa, and
| | - Dan J Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, 7925 Cape Town, South Africa, and
| | - Jack van Honk
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, 7925 Cape Town, South Africa, and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
67
|
Geiger MJ, Neufang S, Stein DJ, Domschke K. Arousal and the attentional network in panic disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol 2014; 29:599-603. [PMID: 25311787 DOI: 10.1002/hup.2436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2014] [Revised: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Although a great deal of information about the neurobiology of panic disorder is now available, there is a need for an updated etiological model integrating recent findings on the neurobiology of the arousal system and its relationship with higher cortical functions in panic disorder. The current mini-review presents psychophysiological, molecular biological/genetic and functional neuroimaging evidence for dysfunction in major arousal systems of the brain. Such dysfunction may influence the development of panic disorder by precipitating autonomic bodily symptoms and at the same time increasing vigilance to these sensations by modulating cortical attentional networks. A multilevel model of arousal, attention and anxiety-including the norepinephrine, orexin, neuropeptide S and caffeine-related adenosine systems-may be useful in integrating a range of data available on the pathogenesis of panic disorder.
Collapse
|
68
|
Fox AS, Kalin NH. A translational neuroscience approach to understanding the development of social anxiety disorder and its pathophysiology. Am J Psychiatry 2014; 171:1162-73. [PMID: 25157566 PMCID: PMC4342310 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.14040449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
This review brings together recent research from molecular, neural circuit, animal model, and human studies to help understand the neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder is common and debilitating, and it often leads to further psychopathology. Numerous studies have demonstrated that extremely behaviorally inhibited and temperamentally anxious young children are at marked risk of developing social anxiety disorder. Recent work in human and nonhuman primates has identified a distributed brain network that underlies early-life anxiety including the central nucleus of the amygdala, the anterior hippocampus, and the orbitofrontal cortex. Studies in nonhuman primates have demonstrated that alterations in this circuit are trait-like in that they are stable over time and across contexts. Notably, the components of this circuit are differentially influenced by heritable and environmental factors, and specific lesion studies have demonstrated a causal role for multiple components of the circuit. Molecular studies in rodents and primates point to disrupted neurodevelopmental and neuroplastic processes within critical components of the early-life dispositional anxiety neural circuit. The possibility of identifying an early-life at-risk phenotype, along with an understanding of its neurobiology, provides an unusual opportunity to conceptualize novel preventive intervention strategies aimed at reducing the suffering of anxious children and preventing them from developing further psychopathology.
Collapse
|
69
|
Goetz SM, Tang L, Thomason ME, Diamond MP, Hariri AR, Carré JM. Testosterone rapidly increases neural reactivity to threat in healthy men: a novel two-step pharmacological challenge paradigm. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 76:324-31. [PMID: 24576686 PMCID: PMC9552187 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2013] [Revised: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research suggests that testosterone (T) plays a key role in shaping competitive and aggressive behavior in humans, possibly by modulating threat-related neural circuitry. However, this research has been limited by the use of T augmentation that fails to account for baseline differences and has been conducted exclusively in women. Thus, the extent to which normal physiologic concentrations of T affect threat-related brain function in men remains unknown. METHODS In the current study, we use a novel two-step pharmacologic challenge protocol to overcome these limitations and to evaluate causal modulation of threat- and aggression-related neural circuits by T in healthy young men (n = 16). First, we controlled for baseline differences in T through administration of a gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist. Once a common baseline was established across participants, we then administered T to within the normal physiologic range. During this second step of the protocol we acquired functional neuroimaging data to examine the impact of T augmentation on neural circuitry supporting threat and aggression. RESULTS Gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonism successfully reduced circulating concentrations of T and brought subjects to a common baseline. Administration of T rapidly increased circulating T concentrations and was associated with heightened reactivity of the amygdala, hypothalamus, and periaqueductal grey to angry facial expressions. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide novel causal evidence that T rapidly potentiates the response of neural circuits mediating threat processing and aggressive behavior in men.
Collapse
|
70
|
Abstract
Music is a universal feature of human societies, partly owing to its power to evoke strong emotions and influence moods. During the past decade, the investigation of the neural correlates of music-evoked emotions has been invaluable for the understanding of human emotion. Functional neuroimaging studies on music and emotion show that music can modulate activity in brain structures that are known to be crucially involved in emotion, such as the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. The potential of music to modulate activity in these structures has important implications for the use of music in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders.
Collapse
|
71
|
Wang S, Tsuchiya N, New J, Hurlemann R, Adolphs R. Preferential attention to animals and people is independent of the amygdala. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:371-80. [PMID: 24795434 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is thought to play a critical role in detecting salient stimuli. Several studies have taken ecological approaches to investigating such saliency, and argue for domain-specific effects for processing certain natural stimulus categories, in particular faces and animals. Linking this to the amygdala, neurons in the human amygdala have been found to respond strongly to faces and also to animals. However, the amygdala's necessary role for such category-specific effects at the behavioral level remains untested. Here we tested four rare patients with bilateral amygdala lesions on an established change-detection protocol. Consistent with prior published studies, healthy controls showed reliably faster and more accurate detection of people and animals, as compared with artifacts and plants. So did all four amygdala patients: there were no differences in phenomenal change blindness, in behavioral reaction time to detect changes or in eye-tracking measures. The findings provide decisive evidence against a critical participation of the amygdala in rapid initial processing of attention to animate stimuli, suggesting that the necessary neural substrates for this phenomenon arise either in other subcortical structures (such as the pulvinar) or within the cortex itself.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Wang
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Joshua New
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Rene Hurlemann
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| | - Ralph Adolphs
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076, Japan, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA, Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027, USA, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
72
|
Chekroud AM, Everett JAC, Bridge H, Hewstone M. A review of neuroimaging studies of race-related prejudice: does amygdala response reflect threat? Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:179. [PMID: 24734016 PMCID: PMC3973920 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Prejudice is an enduring and pervasive aspect of human cognition. An emergent trend in modern psychology has focused on understanding how cognition is linked to neural function, leading researchers to investigate the neural correlates of prejudice. Research in this area using racial group memberships has quickly highlighted the amygdala as a neural structure of importance. In this article, we offer a critical review of social neuroscientific studies of the amygdala in race-related prejudice. Rather than the dominant interpretation that amygdala activity reflects a racial or outgroup bias per se, we argue that the observed pattern of sensitivity in this literature is best considered in terms of potential threat. More specifically, we argue that negative culturally-learned associations between black males and potential threat better explain the observed pattern of amygdala activity. Finally, we consider future directions for the field and offer specific experiments and predictions to directly address unanswered questions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam M Chekroud
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK ; Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Oxford, UK
| | - Jim A C Everett
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
| | - Holly Bridge
- Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Oxford, UK
| | - Miles Hewstone
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
73
|
Hermans EJ, Battaglia FP, Atsak P, de Voogd LD, Fernández G, Roozendaal B. How the amygdala affects emotional memory by altering brain network properties. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2014; 112:2-16. [PMID: 24583373 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2013] [Revised: 02/17/2014] [Accepted: 02/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala has long been known to play a key role in supporting memory for emotionally arousing experiences. For example, classical fear conditioning depends on neural plasticity within this anterior medial temporal lobe region. Beneficial effects of emotional arousal on memory, however, are not restricted to simple associative learning. Our recollection of emotional experiences often includes rich representations of, e.g., spatiotemporal context, visceral states, and stimulus-response associations. Critically, such memory features are known to bear heavily on regions elsewhere in the brain. These observations led to the modulation account of amygdala function, which postulates that amygdala activation enhances memory consolidation by facilitating neural plasticity and information storage processes in its target regions. Rodent work in past decades has identified the most important brain regions and neurochemical processes involved in these modulatory actions, and neuropsychological and neuroimaging work in humans has produced a large body of convergent data. Importantly, recent methodological developments make it increasingly realistic to monitor neural interactions underlying such modulatory effects as they unfold. For instance, functional connectivity network modeling in humans has demonstrated how information exchanges between the amygdala and specific target regions occur within the context of large-scale neural network interactions. Furthermore, electrophysiological and optogenetic techniques in rodents are beginning to make it possible to quantify and even manipulate such interactions with millisecond precision. In this paper we will discuss that these developments will likely lead to an updated view of the amygdala as a critical nexus within large-scale networks supporting different aspects of memory processing for emotionally arousing experiences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erno J Hermans
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands.
| | - Francesco P Battaglia
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands; Departments for Neuroinformatics and Neurophysiology, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6525 AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Piray Atsak
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands
| | - Lycia D de Voogd
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands
| | - Guillén Fernández
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands
| | - Benno Roozendaal
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, 6525 EZ, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
74
|
Van den Stock J, Vandenbulcke M, Sinke CBA, de Gelder B. Affective scenes influence fear perception of individual body expressions. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:492-502. [PMID: 23097235 PMCID: PMC6869608 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2012] [Revised: 07/26/2012] [Accepted: 08/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In natural viewing conditions, different stimulus categories such as people, objects, and natural scenes carry relevant affective information that is usually processed simultaneously. But these different signals may not always have the same affective meaning. Using body-scene compound stimuli, we investigated how the brain processes fearful signals conveyed by either a body in the foreground or scenes in the background and the interaction between foreground body and background scene. The results showed that left and right extrastriate body areas (EBA) responded more to fearful than to neutral bodies. More interestingly, a threatening background scene compared to a neutral one showed increased activity in bilateral EBA and right-posterior parahippocampal place area (PPA) and decreased activity in right retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and left-anterior PPA. The emotional scene effect in EBA was only present when the foreground body was neutral and not when the body posture expressed fear (significant emotion-by-category interaction effect), consistent with behavioral ratings. The results provide evidence for emotional influence of the background scene on the processing of body expressions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Division of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
75
|
Brown VM, LaBar KS, Haswell CC, Gold AL, McCarthy G, Morey RA. Altered resting-state functional connectivity of basolateral and centromedial amygdala complexes in posttraumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:351-9. [PMID: 23929546 PMCID: PMC3870774 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2013] [Revised: 07/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala is a major structure that orchestrates defensive reactions to environmental threats and is implicated in hypervigilance and symptoms of heightened arousal in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The basolateral and centromedial amygdala (CMA) complexes are functionally heterogeneous, with distinct roles in learning and expressing fear behaviors. PTSD differences in amygdala-complex function and functional connectivity with cortical and subcortical structures remain unclear. Recent military veterans with PTSD (n=20) and matched trauma-exposed controls (n=22) underwent a resting-state fMRI scan to measure task-free synchronous blood-oxygen level dependent activity. Whole-brain voxel-wise functional connectivity of basolateral and CMA seeds was compared between groups. The PTSD group had stronger functional connectivity of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) complex with the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and dorsal ACC than the trauma-exposed control group (p<0.05; corrected). The trauma-exposed control group had stronger functional connectivity of the BLA complex with the left inferior frontal gyrus than the PTSD group (p<0.05; corrected). The CMA complex lacked connectivity differences between groups. We found PTSD modulates BLA complex connectivity with prefrontal cortical targets implicated in cognitive control of emotional information, which are central to explanations of core PTSD symptoms. PTSD differences in resting-state connectivity of BLA complex could be biasing processes in target regions that support behaviors central to prevailing laboratory models of PTSD such as associative fear learning. Further research is needed to investigate how differences in functional connectivity of amygdala complexes affect target regions that govern behavior, cognition, and affect in PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa M Brown
- Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA, Durham, NC, USA,Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kevin S LaBar
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Courtney C Haswell
- Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA, Durham, NC, USA,Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Andrea L Gold
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mid-Atlantic MIRECC WorkgroupBeall,Shannon KBAVan Voorhees,ElizabethPhDMarx,Christine EMDCalhoun,Patrick SPhDFairbank,John APhDGreen,Kimberly TMSTupler,Larry APhDWeiner,Richard DMD, PhDBeckham,Jean CPhDBrancu,MiraPhDHoerle,Jeffrey MMSPender,MaryPhD, PhDKudler,HaroldMDSwinkels,Cynthia MPhDNieuwsma,Jason APhDRunnals,Jennifer JPhDYoussef,Nagy AMDMcDonald,Scott DPhDDavison,RitaBAYoash-Gantz,RuthPhDTaber,Katherine HPhDHurley,RobinMD
| | - Gregory McCarthy
- Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA, Durham, NC, USA,Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rajendra A Morey
- Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA, Durham, NC, USA,Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Box 2737, Hock Plaza, Durham, NC 27710, USA, Tel: +1 919 286 0411 ext. 6425, Fax: +1 919 416 5912, E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
76
|
de Gelder B, Terburg D, Morgan B, Hortensius R, Stein DJ, van Honk J. The role of human basolateral amygdala in ambiguous social threat perception. Cortex 2013; 52:28-34. [PMID: 24607266 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2013.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2013] [Revised: 10/14/2013] [Accepted: 12/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the amygdala (AMG) plays a role in how affective signals are processed. Animal research has allowed this role to be better understood and has assigned to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) an important role in threat perception. Here we show that, when passively exposed to bodily threat signals during a facial expressions recognition task, humans with bilateral BLA damage but with a functional central-medial amygdala (CMA) have a profound deficit in ignoring task-irrelevant bodily threat signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands; Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven University, Belgium.
| | - David Terburg
- Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Barak Morgan
- MRC Medical Imaging Research Unit, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ruud Hortensius
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
| | - Dan J Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jack van Honk
- Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
77
|
Acute effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a dual 5-HT reuptake and PDE4 inhibitor, in the human amygdala and its connection to the hypothalamus. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:2708-16. [PMID: 23903032 PMCID: PMC3828542 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2013] [Revised: 07/22/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The South African endemic plant Sceletium tortuosum has a long history of traditional use as a masticatory and medicine by San and Khoikhoi people and subsequently by European colonial farmers as a psychotropic in tincture form. Over the past decade, the plant has attracted increasing attention for its possible applications in promoting a sense of wellbeing and relieving stress in healthy individuals and for treating clinical anxiety and depression. The pharmacological actions of a standardized extract of the plant (Zembrin) have been reported to be dual PDE4 inhibition and 5-HT reuptake inhibition, a combination that has been argued to offer potential therapeutic advantages. Here we tested the acute effects of Zembrin administration in a pharmaco-fMRI study focused on anxiety-related activity in the amygdala and its connected neurocircuitry. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, 16 healthy participants were scanned during performance in a perceptual-load and an emotion-matching task. Amygdala reactivity to fearful faces under low perceptual load conditions was attenuated after a single 25 mg dose of Zembrin. Follow-up connectivity analysis on the emotion-matching task showed that amygdala-hypothalamus coupling was also reduced. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the attenuating effects of S. tortuosum on the threat circuitry of the human brain and provide supporting evidence that the dual 5-HT reuptake inhibition and PDE4 inhibition of this extract might have anxiolytic potential by attenuating subcortical threat responsivity.
Collapse
|
78
|
Pannekoek JN, van der Werff SJ, Stein DJ, van der Wee NJ. Advances in the neuroimaging of panic disorder. Hum Psychopharmacol 2013; 28:608-11. [PMID: 24038132 DOI: 10.1002/hup.2349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/01/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Models of the neuroanatomy of panic disorder (PD) have relied on both animal work on fear and on clinical data from neuroimaging. Early work hypothesised a network of brain regions involved in fear processing (e.g. the amygdala), but more recent work has also pointed to the involvement of other cortical areas and other brain circuitry (e.g. the insula and anterior cingulate cortex). Studies investigating functional and structural brain connectivity in PD may ultimately shed light on the extent to which the neuroanatomy of PD is localised versus distributed, and on how current treatments alter this neuroanatomy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justine Nienke Pannekoek
- Department of Psychiatry; Leiden University Medical Centre; Leiden The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition; Leiden University; The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
| | - Steven J.A. van der Werff
- Department of Psychiatry; Leiden University Medical Centre; Leiden The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition; Leiden University; The Netherlands
| | - Dan J. Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health; University of Cape Town; Cape Town South Africa
| | - Nic J.A. van der Wee
- Department of Psychiatry; Leiden University Medical Centre; Leiden The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition; Leiden University; The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
79
|
Enhanced visual cortical activation for emotional stimuli is preserved in patients with unilateral amygdala resection. J Neurosci 2013; 33:11023-31. [PMID: 23825407 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0401-13.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotionally arousing pictures induce increased activation of visual pathways relative to emotionally neutral images. A predominant model for the preferential processing and attention to emotional stimuli posits that the amygdala modulates sensory pathways through its projections to visual cortices. However, recent behavioral studies have found intact perceptual facilitation of emotional stimuli in individuals with amygdala damage. To determine the importance of the amygdala to modulations in visual processing, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine visual cortical blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in response to emotionally salient and neutral images in a sample of human patients with unilateral medial temporal lobe resection that included the amygdala. Adults with right (n = 13) or left (n = 5) medial temporal lobe resections were compared with demographically matched healthy control participants (n = 16). In the control participants, both aversive and erotic images produced robust BOLD signal increases in bilateral primary and secondary visual cortices relative to neutral images. Similarly, all patients with amygdala resections showed enhanced visual cortical activations to erotic images both ipsilateral and contralateral to the lesion site. All but one of the amygdala resection patients showed similar enhancements to aversive stimuli and there were no significant group differences in visual cortex BOLD responses in patients compared with controls for either aversive or erotic images. Our results indicate that neither the right nor left amygdala is necessary for the heightened visual cortex BOLD responses observed during emotional stimulus presentation. These data challenge an amygdalo-centric model of emotional modulation and suggest that non-amygdalar processes contribute to the emotional modulation of sensory pathways.
Collapse
|
80
|
Van den Stock J, Vandenbulcke M, Sinke CBA, Goebel R, de Gelder B. How affective information from faces and scenes interacts in the brain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:1481-8. [PMID: 23956081 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial expression perception can be influenced by the natural visual context in which the face is perceived. We performed an fMRI experiment presenting participants with fearful or neutral faces against threatening or neutral background scenes. Triangles and scrambled scenes served as control stimuli. The results showed that the valence of the background influences face selective activity in the right anterior parahippocampal place area (PPA) and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) with higher activation for neutral backgrounds compared to threatening backgrounds (controlled for isolated background effects) and that this effect correlated with trait empathy in the sgACC. In addition, the left fusiform gyrus (FG) responds to the affective congruence between face and background scene. The results show that valence of the background modulates face processing and support the hypothesis that empathic processing in sgACC is inhibited when affective information is present in the background. In addition, the findings reveal a pattern of complex scene perception showing a gradient of functional specialization along the posterior-anterior axis: from sensitivity to the affective content of scenes (extrastriate body area: EBA and posterior PPA), over scene emotion-face emotion interaction (left FG) via category-scene interaction (anterior PPA) to scene-category-personality interaction (sgACC).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Vandenbulcke
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Charlotte B A Sinke
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands Department of Neurosciences, Division of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Brain and Emotion Laboratory Leuven (BELL), Old Age Psychiatry, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
81
|
Terburg D, van Honk J. Approach–Avoidance versus Dominance–Submissiveness: A Multilevel Neural Framework on How Testosterone Promotes Social Status. EMOTION REVIEW 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073913477510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Approach–avoidance generally describes appetitive motivation and fear of punishment. In a social context approach motivation is, however, also expressed as social aggression and dominance. We therefore link approach–avoidance to dominance–submissiveness, and provide a neural framework that describes how the steroid hormone testosterone shifts reflexive as well as deliberate behaviors towards dominance and promotion of social status. Testosterone inhibits acute fear at the level of the basolateral amygdala and hypothalamus and promotes reactive dominance through upregulation of vasopressin gene expression in the central-medial amygdala. Finally, the hormone can, depending on social context and prenatal hormone exposure, promote both pro- and antisocial behaviors and decisions through its effects on prefrontal–amygdala interactions. All these effects of testosterone, however, serve to increase and maintain social status.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David Terburg
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jack van Honk
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
82
|
Feinstein JS. Lesion studies of human emotion and feeling. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2013; 23:304-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2012.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2012] [Revised: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 12/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
83
|
Roy AK, Fudge JL, Kelly C, Perry JS, Daniele T, Carlisi C, Benson B, Castellanos FX, Milham MP, Pine DS, Ernst M. Intrinsic functional connectivity of amygdala-based networks in adolescent generalized anxiety disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2013; 52:290-299.e2. [PMID: 23452685 PMCID: PMC3760686 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Revised: 11/30/2012] [Accepted: 12/18/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) typically begins during adolescence and can persist into adulthood. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this disorder remain unclear. Recent evidence from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) studies in adults suggests disruptions in amygdala-based circuitry; the present study examines this issue in adolescents with GAD. METHOD Resting state fMRI scans were obtained from 15 adolescents with GAD and 20 adolescents without anxiety who were group matched on age, sex, scanner, and intelligence. Functional connectivity of the centromedial, basolateral, and superficial amygdala subdivisions was compared between groups. We also assessed the relationship between amygdala network dysfunction and anxiety severity. RESULTS Adolescents with GAD exhibited disruptions in amygdala-based intrinsic functional connectivity networks that included regions in medial prefrontal cortex, insula, and cerebellum. Positive correlations between anxiety severity scores and amygdala functional connectivity with insula and superior temporal gyrus were also observed within the GAD group. There was some evidence of greater overlap (less differentiation of connectivity patterns) of the right basolateral and centromedial amygdala networks in the adolescents with, relative to those without, GAD. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that adolescents with GAD manifest alterations in amygdala circuits involved in emotion processing, similar to findings in adults. In addition, disruptions were observed in amygdala-based networks involved in fear processing and the coding of interoceptive states.
Collapse
|
84
|
Abstract
Contemporary economic models hold that instrumental and impulsive behaviors underlie human social decision making. The amygdala is assumed to be involved in social-economic behavior, but its role in human behavior is poorly understood. Rodent research suggests that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) subserves instrumental behaviors and regulates the central-medial amygdala, which subserves impulsive behaviors. The human amygdala, however, typically is investigated as a single unit. If these rodent data could be translated to humans, selective dysfunction of the human BLA might constrain instrumental social-economic decisions and result in more impulsive social-economic choice behavior. Here we show that humans with selective BLA damage and a functional central-medial amygdala invest nearly 100% more money in unfamiliar others in a trust game than do healthy controls. We furthermore show that this generosity is not caused by risk-taking deviations in nonsocial contexts. Moreover, these BLA-damaged subjects do not expect higher returns or perceive people as more trustworthy, implying that their generous investments are not instrumental in nature. These findings suggest that the human BLA is essential for instrumental behaviors in social-economic interactions.
Collapse
|
85
|
de Gelder B, Hortensius R, Tamietto M. Attention and awareness each influence amygdala activity for dynamic bodily expressions-a short review. Front Integr Neurosci 2012; 6:54. [PMID: 22876223 PMCID: PMC3410411 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2012.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2012] [Accepted: 07/16/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala (AMG) has long been viewed as the gateway to sensory processing of emotions and is also known to play an important role at the interface between cognition and emotion. However, the debate continues on whether AMG activation is independent of attentional demands. Recently, researchers started exploring AMG functions using dynamic stimuli rather than the traditional pictures of facial expressions. Our present goal is to review some recent studies using dynamic stimuli to investigate AMG activation and discuss the impact of different viewing conditions, including oddball detection, explicit or implicit recognition, variable cognitive task load, and non-conscious perception. In the second part, we sketch a dynamic dual route perspective of affective perception and discuss the implications for AMG activity. We sketch a dynamic dual route perspective of affective perception. We argue that this allows for multiple AMG involvement in separate networks and at different times in the processing streams. Attention has a different impact on these separate but interacting networks. Route I is engaged in early emotion processing, is partly supported by AMG activity, and is possibly independent of attention, whereas activity related to late emotion processing is influenced by attention. Route II is a cortical-based network that underlies body recognition and action representation. The end result of route I and II is reflexive and voluntary behavior, respectively. We conclude that using dynamic emotion stimuli and a dynamic dual route model of affective perception can provide new insights into the varieties of AMG activation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice de Gelder
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Tilburg University Tilburg, Netherlands
| | | | | |
Collapse
|