151
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LeDoux J, Daw ND. Surviving threats: neural circuit and computational implications of a new taxonomy of defensive behaviour. Nat Rev Neurosci 2018; 19:269-282. [PMID: 29593300 DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2018.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Research on defensive behaviour in mammals has in recent years focused on elicited reactions; however, organisms also make active choices when responding to danger. We propose a hierarchical taxonomy of defensive behaviour on the basis of known psychological processes. Included are three categories of reactions (reflexes, fixed reactions and habits) and three categories of goal-directed actions (direct action-outcome behaviours and actions based on implicit or explicit forecasting of outcomes). We then use this taxonomy to guide a summary of findings regarding the underlying neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, NY, USA.,Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatry Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Nathaniel D Daw
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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152
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Silston
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
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153
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Abstract
The natural world presents a myriad of dangers that can threaten an organism's survival. This diversity of threats is matched by a set of universal and species specific defensive behaviors which are often subsumed under the emotions of fear and anxiety. A major issue in the field of affective science, however, is that these emotions are often conflated and scientists fail to reflect the ecological conditions that gave rise to them. I attempt to clarify these semantic issues by describing the link between ethologically defined defensive strategies and fear. This in turn, provides a clearer differentiation between fears, the contexts that evoke them and how they are organized within defensive survival circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation and Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, HSS 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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154
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Qi S, Hassabis D, Sun J, Guo F, Daw N, Mobbs D. How cognitive and reactive fear circuits optimize escape decisions in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:3186-3191. [PMID: 29507207 PMCID: PMC5866541 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1712314115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which an organism flees from an approaching threat, is an ecological metric of cost-benefit functions of escape decisions. We adapted the FID paradigm to investigate how fast- or slow-attacking "virtual predators" constrain escape decisions. We show that rapid escape decisions rely on "reactive fear" circuits in the periaqueductal gray and midcingulate cortex (MCC), while protracted escape decisions, defined by larger buffer zones, were associated with "cognitive fear" circuits, which include posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, circuits implicated in more complex information processing, cognitive avoidance strategies, and behavioral flexibility. Using a Bayesian decision-making model, we further show that optimization of escape decisions under rapid flight were localized to the MCC, a region involved in adaptive motor control, while the hippocampus is implicated in optimizing decisions that update and control slower escape initiation. These results demonstrate an unexplored link between defensive survival circuits and their role in adaptive escape decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Qi
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106;
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY 10027
| | | | - Jiayin Sun
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY 10027
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Heilongjiang 150001, China
| | - Fangjian Guo
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Nathaniel Daw
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106;
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155
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Fox BM, Becker BK, Loria AS, Hyndman KA, Jin C, Clark H, Johns R, Yanagisawa M, Pollock DM, Pollock JS. Acute Pressor Response to Psychosocial Stress Is Dependent on Endothelium-Derived Endothelin-1. J Am Heart Assoc 2018; 7:JAHA.117.007863. [PMID: 29453306 PMCID: PMC5850198 DOI: 10.1161/jaha.117.007863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Background Acute psychosocial stress provokes increases in circulating endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) levels in humans and animal models. However, key questions about the physiological function and cellular source of stress‐induced ET‐1 remain unanswered. We hypothesized that endothelium‐derived ET‐1 contributes to the acute pressor response to stress via activation of the endothelin A receptor. Methods and Results Adult male vascular endothelium‐specific ET‐1 knockout mice and control mice that were homozygous for the floxed allele were exposed to acute psychosocial stress in the form of cage switch stress (CSS), with blood pressure measured by telemetry. An acute pressor response was elicited by CSS in both genotypes; however, this response was significantly blunted in vascular endothelium‐specific ET‐1 knockout mice compared with control mice that were homozygous for the floxed allele. In mice pretreated for 3 days with the endothelin A antagonist, ABT‐627, or the dual endothelin A/B receptor antagonist, A‐182086, the pressor response to CSS was similar between genotypes. CSS significantly increased plasma ET‐1 levels in control mice that were homozygous for the floxed allele. CSS failed to elicit an increase in plasma ET‐1 in vascular endothelium‐specific ET‐1 knockout mice. Telemetry frequency domain analyses suggested similar autonomic responses to stress between genotypes, and isolated resistance arteries demonstrated similar sensitivity to α1‐adrenergic receptor‐mediated vasoconstriction. Conclusions These findings specify that acute stress‐induced activation of endothelium‐derived ET‐1 and subsequent endothelin A receptor activation is a novel mediator of the blood pressure response to acute psychosocial stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M Fox
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
| | - Bryan K Becker
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
| | - Analia S Loria
- Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
| | - Kelly A Hyndman
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
| | - Chunhua Jin
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
| | | | - Robin Johns
- College of Nursing, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Masashi Yanagisawa
- International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, Japan
| | - David M Pollock
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL.,Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
| | - Jennifer S Pollock
- Cardio-Renal Physiology and Medicine Section, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL .,Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
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156
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Abstract
The future harbours the potential for myriad threats to the fitness of organisms, and many species prepare accordingly based on indicators of hazards. Here, we distinguish between defensive responses on the basis of sensed cues and those based on autocues generated by mental simulations of the future in humans. Whereas sensed threat cues usually induce specific responses with reference to particular features of the environment or generalized responses to protect against diffuse threats, autocues generated by mental simulations of the future enable strategic preparation for hazards that may not require an immediate response. The overlap of these mechanisms makes defence effective and versatile, yet can manifest as contemporary anxiety disorders in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beyon Miloyan
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA and School of Psychology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Federation University, Australia
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157
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Ponsi G, Panasiti MS, Rizza G, Aglioti SM. Thermal facial reactivity patterns predict social categorization bias triggered by unconscious and conscious emotional stimuli. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0908. [PMID: 28855358 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Members of highly social species decode, interpret, and react to the emotion of a conspecific depending on whether the other belongs to the same (ingroup) or different (outgroup) social group. While studies indicate that consciously perceived emotional stimuli drive social categorization, information about how implicit emotional stimuli and specific physiological signatures affect social categorization is lacking. We addressed this issue by exploring whether subliminal and supraliminal affective priming can influence the categorization of neutral faces as ingroup versus outgroup. Functional infrared thermal imaging was used to investigate whether the effect of affective priming on the categorization decision was moderated by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). During the subliminal condition, we found that stronger SNS activation after positive or negative affective primes induced ingroup and outgroup face categorization, respectively. The exact opposite pattern (i.e. outgroup after positive and ingroup after negative primes) was observed in the supraliminal condition. We also found that misattribution effects were stronger in people with low emotional awareness, suggesting that this trait moderates how one recognizes SNS signals and employs them for unrelated decisions. Our results allow the remarkable implication that low-level affective reactions coupled with sympathetic activation may bias social categorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Ponsi
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Via dei Marsi, 78-00185 Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306-00142 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Via dei Marsi, 78-00185 Rome, Italy .,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306-00142 Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia Rizza
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Via dei Marsi, 78-00185 Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306-00142 Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'Sapienza', Via dei Marsi, 78-00185 Rome, Italy .,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina, 306-00142 Rome, Italy
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158
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Cheng Y, Baas M, De Dreu CK. Creative responses to imminent threats: The role of threat direction and perceived effectiveness. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2017.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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159
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Horovitz O, Lindenfeld I, Melamed M, Shechner T. Developmental effects of stimulus gender and the social context in which it appears on threat detection. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 36:452-466. [PMID: 29266313 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
This study used a hands-free eye-tracking visual search (VS) task to examine possible developmental differences in target detection. Thirty-two young adults and 27 youth were asked to detect a fearful face (male or female) among a crowd of either neutral or happy faces. Fearful male faces were detected faster than fearful female faces, but only by young adults and only when displayed among neutral faces. Additionally, young adults had shorter scanpath lengths prior to the target detection. Finally, a strong negative correlation emerged between age and detection speed for a male target in a neutral crowd. Using this age-matched VS task, the study found age differences in the way individuals detect a threat in a social-related contextual environment, pointing to subtle differences in the emotion-attention interplay during the course of development. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Visual search of threat detection is critical for survival, specifically regarding expressive faces. Visual search efficiency is affected by both stimulus-driven and higher goal-directed processes. Stimuli and contextual features affect threat speed detection. What does this study add? A novel task was designed to examine age-related differences in visual search. Specific stimuli gender and contextual features yielded age-related differences in threat detection. The study further demonstrates the subtle developmental differences in attention-emotion interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omer Horovitz
- Psychology Department and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel.,Psychology Department, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Irit Lindenfeld
- Psychology Department and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Maya Melamed
- Psychology Department and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Tomer Shechner
- Psychology Department and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
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160
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How Human Amygdala and Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis May Drive Distinct Defensive Responses. J Neurosci 2017; 37:9645-9656. [PMID: 28893930 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3830-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to adaptively regulate responses to the proximity of potential danger is critical to survival and imbalance in this system may contribute to psychopathology. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is implicated in defensive responding during uncertain threat anticipation whereas the amygdala may drive responding upon more acute danger. This functional dissociation between the BNST and amygdala is however controversial, and human evidence scarce. Here we used data from two independent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies [n = 108 males and n = 70 (45 females)] to probe how coordination between the BNST and amygdala may regulate responses during shock anticipation and actual shock confrontation. In a subset of participants from Sample 2 (n = 48) we demonstrate that anticipation and confrontation evoke bradycardic and tachycardic responses, respectively. Further, we show that in each sample when going from shock anticipation to the moment of shock confrontation neural activity shifted from a region anatomically consistent with the BNST toward the amygdala. Comparisons of functional connectivity during threat processing showed overlapping yet also consistently divergent functional connectivity profiles for the BNST and amygdala. Finally, childhood maltreatment levels predicted amygdala, but not BNST, hyperactivity during shock anticipation. Our results support an evolutionary conserved, defensive distance-dependent dynamic balance between BNST and amygdala activity. Shifts in this balance may enable shifts in defensive reactions via the demonstrated differential functional connectivity. Our results indicate that early life stress may tip the neural balance toward acute threat responding and via that route predispose for affective disorder.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Previously proposed differential contributions of the BNST and amygdala to fear and anxiety have been recently debated. Despite the significance of understanding their contributions to defensive reactions, there is a paucity of human studies that directly compared these regions on activity and connectivity during threat processing. We show strong evidence for a dissociable role of the BNST and amygdala in threat processing by demonstrating in two large participant samples that they show a distinct temporal signature of threat responding as well as a discriminable pattern of functional connections and differential sensitivity to early life threat.
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161
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Lueken U, Kuhn M, Yang Y, Straube B, Kircher T, Wittchen HU, Pfleiderer B, Arolt V, Wittmann A, Ströhle A, Weber H, Reif A, Domschke K, Deckert J, Lonsdorf TB. Modulation of defensive reactivity by GLRB allelic variation: converging evidence from an intermediate phenotype approach. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1227. [PMID: 28872638 PMCID: PMC5639239 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Revised: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Representing a phylogenetically old and very basic mechanism of inhibitory neurotransmission, glycine receptors have been implicated in the modulation of behavioral components underlying defensive responding toward threat. As one of the first findings being confirmed by genome-wide association studies for the phenotype of panic disorder and agoraphobia, allelic variation in a gene coding for the glycine receptor beta subunit (GLRB) has recently been associated with increased neural fear network activation and enhanced acoustic startle reflexes. On the basis of two independent healthy control samples, we here aimed to further explore the functional significance of the GLRB genotype (rs7688285) by employing an intermediate phenotype approach. We focused on the phenotype of defensive system reactivity across the levels of brain function, structure, and physiology. Converging evidence across both samples was found for increased neurofunctional activation in the (anterior) insular cortex in GLRB risk allele carriers and altered fear conditioning as a function of genotype. The robustness of GLRB effects is demonstrated by consistent findings across different experimental fear conditioning paradigms and recording sites. Altogether, findings provide translational evidence for glycine neurotransmission as a modulator of the brain's evolutionary old dynamic defensive system and provide further support for a strong, biologically plausible candidate intermediate phenotype of defensive reactivity. As such, glycine-dependent neurotransmission may open up new avenues for mechanistic research on the etiopathogenesis of fear and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Lueken
- Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - M Kuhn
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Y Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Phillips-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - B Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Phillips-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - T Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Phillips-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - H-U Wittchen
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - B Pfleiderer
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - V Arolt
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - A Wittmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - A Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - H Weber
- Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - A Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - K Domschke
- Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - J Deckert
- Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - T B Lonsdorf
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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162
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Feusner J, Deshpande R, Strober M. A translational neuroscience approach to body image disturbance and its remediation in anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:1014-1017. [PMID: 28755487 PMCID: PMC5752143 DOI: 10.1002/eat.22742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Deviant perception of the body is a fundamental component of anorexia nervosa. Here we offer a potential mechanistic explanation that involves perturbations within the visual system and the brain circuits that modulate perceptual organization. Based on the model proposed, we also suggest a mechanistic strategy for altering neuronal activity in the visual system to normalize perception of the body, and set out a strategy for empirically testing its clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Feusner
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles
| | - Rangaprakash Deshpande
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles
| | - Michael Strober
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles
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163
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Previous Institutionalization Is Followed by Broader Amygdala-Hippocampal-PFC Network Connectivity during Aversive Learning in Human Development. J Neurosci 2017; 36:6420-30. [PMID: 27307231 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0038-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Early institutional care can be profoundly stressful for the human infant, and, as such, can lead to significant alterations in brain development. In animal models, similar variants of early adversity have been shown to modify amygdala-hippocampal-prefrontal cortex development and associated aversive learning. The current study examined this rearing aberration in human development. Eighty-nine children and adolescents who were either previously institutionalized (PI youth; N = 46; 33 females and 13 males; age range, 7-16 years) or were raised by their biological parents from birth (N = 43; 22 females and 21 males; age range, 7-16 years) completed an aversive-learning paradigm while undergoing functional neuroimaging, wherein visual cues were paired with either an aversive sound (CS+) or no sound (CS-). For the PI youth, better aversive learning was associated with higher concurrent trait anxiety. Both groups showed robust learning and amygdala activation for CS+ versus CS- trials. However, PI youth also exhibited broader recruitment of several regions and increased hippocampal connectivity with prefrontal cortex. Stronger connectivity between the hippocampus and ventromedial PFC predicted significant improvements in future anxiety (measured 2 years later), and this was particularly true within the PI group. These results suggest that for humans as well as for other species, early adversity alters the neurobiology of aversive learning by engaging a broader prefrontal-subcortical circuit than same-aged peers. These differences are interpreted as ontogenetic adaptations and potential sources of resilience. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Prior institutionalization is a significant form of early adversity. While nonhuman animal research suggests that early adversity alters aversive learning and associated neurocircuitry, no prior work has examined this in humans. Here, we show that youth who experienced prior institutionalization, but not comparison youth, recruit the hippocampus during aversive learning. Among youth who experienced prior institutionalization, individual differences in aversive learning were associated with worse current anxiety. However, connectivity between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex prospectively predicted significant improvements in anxiety 2 years following scanning for previously institutionalized youth. Among youth who experienced prior institutionalization, age-atypical engagement of a distributed set of brain regions during aversive learning may serve a protective function.
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164
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Esperidião-Antonio V, Majeski-Colombo M, Toledo-Monteverde D, Moraes-Martins G, Fernandes JJ, Bauchiglioni de Assis M, Montenegro S, Siqueira-Batista R. Neurobiology of emotions: an update. Int Rev Psychiatry 2017; 29:293-307. [PMID: 28540750 DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2017.1285983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The 'nature' of emotions is one of the archaic themes of Western thought, thematized in different cultural manifestations - such as art, science, philosophy, myths and religion -, since Ancient times. In the last decades, the advances in neurosciences have permitted the construction of hypotheses that explain emotions, especially through the studies involving the limbic system. To present an updated discussion about the neurobiology of processes relating to emotions - focusing (1) on the main neural structures that relate to emotions, (2) the paths and circuits of greater relevance, (3) the implicated neurotransmitters, (4) the connections that possess neurovegetative control and (5) the discussion about the main emotions - is the objective of this present article.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marilia Majeski-Colombo
- b Curso de Graduação em Medicina , Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos (UNIFESO) , Teresopolis , Brazil
| | - Diana Toledo-Monteverde
- b Curso de Graduação em Medicina , Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos (UNIFESO) , Teresopolis , Brazil
| | - Glaciele Moraes-Martins
- b Curso de Graduação em Medicina , Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos (UNIFESO) , Teresopolis , Brazil
| | - Juliana José Fernandes
- b Curso de Graduação em Medicina , Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos (UNIFESO) , Teresopolis , Brazil
| | | | - Stefânia Montenegro
- c Núcleo de Estudos em Ciências Médicas , Faculdade Dinâmica do Vale do Piranga (FADIP) , Ponte Nova , Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Siqueira-Batista
- c Núcleo de Estudos em Ciências Médicas , Faculdade Dinâmica do Vale do Piranga (FADIP) , Ponte Nova , Brazil.,d Departamento de Medicina e Enfermagem , Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) , Viçosa , Brazil.,e Postgraduate Program of Bioethics, Ethics and Public Health (PPGBIOS) , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
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165
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Heightened extended amygdala metabolism following threat characterizes the early phenotypic risk to develop anxiety-related psychopathology. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22:724-732. [PMID: 27573879 PMCID: PMC5332536 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2015] [Revised: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Children with an anxious temperament are prone to heightened shyness and behavioral inhibition (BI). When chronic and extreme, this anxious, inhibited phenotype is an important early-life risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders, depression and co-morbid substance abuse. Individuals with extreme anxious temperament often show persistent distress in the absence of immediate threat and this contextually inappropriate anxiety predicts future symptom development. Despite its clear clinical relevance, the neural circuitry governing the maladaptive persistence of anxiety remains unclear. Here, we used a well-established nonhuman primate model of childhood temperament and high-resolution 18fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging to understand the neural systems governing persistent anxiety and to clarify their relevance to early-life phenotypic risk. We focused on BI, a core component of anxious temperament, because it affords the moment-by-moment temporal resolution needed to assess contextually appropriate and inappropriate anxiety. From a pool of 109 peri-adolescent rhesus monkeys, we formed groups characterized by high or low levels of BI, as indexed by freezing in response to an unfamiliar human intruder's profile. The high-BI group showed consistently elevated signs of anxiety and wariness across >2 years of assessments. At the time of brain imaging, 1.5 years after initial phenotyping, the high-BI group showed persistently elevated freezing during a 30-min 'recovery' period following an encounter with the intruder-more than an order of magnitude greater than the low-BI group-and this was associated with increased metabolism in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, a key component of the central extended amygdala. These observations provide a neurobiological framework for understanding the early phenotypic risk to develop anxiety-related psychopathology, for accelerating the development of improved interventions, and for understanding the origins of childhood temperament.
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166
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Kim DJ, Lee AS, Yttredahl AA, Gómez-Rodríguez R, Anderson BJ. Repeated threat (without direct harm) alters metabolic capacity in select regions that drive defensive behavior. Neuroscience 2017; 353:106-118. [PMID: 28433648 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2016] [Revised: 04/07/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
To understand the behavioral consequences of intermittent anticipatory stress resulting from threats without accompanying physiological challenges, we developed a semi-naturalistic rodent housing and foraging environment that can include threats that are unpredictable in timing. Behavior is automatically recorded while rats forage for food or water. Over three weeks, the threats have been shown to elicit risk assessment behaviors, increase defensive burying and increase adrenal gland weight. To identify brain regions activated by this manipulation, we measured cytochrome c oxidase (COX), which is tightly coupled to neural activity. Adolescent male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to control (CT) or unpredictable threat/stress (ST) housing conditions consisting of two tub cages, one with food and another with water, separated by a tunnel. Over three weeks (P31-P52), the ST group received randomly timed (probability of 0.25), simultaneous presentations of ferret odor, an abrupt light, and sound at the center of the tunnel. The ST group had consistently fewer tunnel crossings than the CT group, but similar body weights. Group differences in COX activity were detected in regions implicated in the control of defensive burying. There was an increase in COX activity in the hypothalamic premammillary dorsal nucleus (PMD) and lateral septum (LS), whereas a decrease was observed in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) and CA3 region of the hippocampus. There were no significant differences in the anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, striatum or motor cortex. The sites with changes in metabolic capacity are candidates for the sites of plasticity that may underlie the behavioral adaptations to intermittent threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Kim
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States; Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States
| | - A S Lee
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States
| | - A A Yttredahl
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States; Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States
| | - R Gómez-Rodríguez
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States
| | - B J Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States; Graduate Program in Integrative Neuroscience, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5230, United States.
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167
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Manley H, Beattie S, Roberts R, Lawrence GP, Hardy L. The benefit of punishment sensitivity on motor performance under pressure. J Pers 2017; 86:339-352. [PMID: 28388840 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2016] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Humans are often required to perform demanding cognitive and motor tasks under pressure. However, in such environments there is considerable interindividual variability in the ability to successfully execute actions. Here, we consider how individual differences in self-reported sensitivity to punishment influence skilled motor performance under pressure and whether this relationship is moderated by the temporal detection of threat. METHOD Across two studies, 160 UK participants (Study 1: N = 80, Mage = 21.6, 52 males; Study 2: N = 80, Mage = 24.95, 45 males) performed a precision-grip task and received either early or late warning of an upcoming stressful manipulation involving social evaluation and performance-dependent incentives. RESULTS In both studies, we report an interaction where punishment sensitivity was adaptive for motor performance only when threats were detected early and there was opportunity to prepare for the upcoming stressor. Further, our results suggest that the benefits of punishment sensitivity are likely underpinned by the effective use of cognitive strategies. CONCLUSION Heightened sensitivity to punishment is adaptive for performance under pressure, provided threats are detected early and effective cognitive strategies are implemented.
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168
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Niermann HCM, Figner B, Roelofs K. Individual differences in defensive stress-responses: the potential relevance for psychopathology. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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169
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A Rapid Subcortical Amygdala Route for Faces Irrespective of Spatial Frequency and Emotion. J Neurosci 2017; 37:3864-3874. [PMID: 28283563 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3525-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 01/29/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There is significant controversy over the existence and function of a direct subcortical visual pathway to the amygdala. It is thought that this pathway rapidly transmits low spatial frequency information to the amygdala independently of the cortex, and yet the directionality of this function has never been determined. We used magnetoencephalography to measure neural activity while human participants discriminated the gender of neutral and fearful faces filtered for low or high spatial frequencies. We applied dynamic causal modeling to demonstrate that the most likely underlying neural network consisted of a pulvinar-amygdala connection that was uninfluenced by spatial frequency or emotion, and a cortical-amygdala connection that conveyed high spatial frequencies. Crucially, data-driven neural simulations revealed a clear temporal advantage of the subcortical connection over the cortical connection in influencing amygdala activity. Thus, our findings support the existence of a rapid subcortical pathway that is nonselective in terms of the spatial frequency or emotional content of faces. We propose that that the "coarseness" of the subcortical route may be better reframed as "generalized."SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The human amygdala coordinates how we respond to biologically relevant stimuli, such as threat or reward. It has been postulated that the amygdala first receives visual input via a rapid subcortical route that conveys "coarse" information, namely, low spatial frequencies. For the first time, the present paper provides direction-specific evidence from computational modeling that the subcortical route plays a generalized role in visual processing by rapidly transmitting raw, unfiltered information directly to the amygdala. This calls into question a widely held assumption across human and animal research that fear responses are produced faster by low spatial frequencies. Our proposed mechanism suggests organisms quickly generate fear responses to a wide range of visual properties, heavily implicating future research on anxiety-prevention strategies.
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170
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Abstract
Emotional states of consciousness, or what are typically called emotional feelings, are traditionally viewed as being innately programmed in subcortical areas of the brain, and are often treated as different from cognitive states of consciousness, such as those related to the perception of external stimuli. We argue that conscious experiences, regardless of their content, arise from one system in the brain. In this view, what differs in emotional and nonemotional states are the kinds of inputs that are processed by a general cortical network of cognition, a network essential for conscious experiences. Although subcortical circuits are not directly responsible for conscious feelings, they provide nonconscious inputs that coalesce with other kinds of neural signals in the cognitive assembly of conscious emotional experiences. In building the case for this proposal, we defend a modified version of what is known as the higher-order theory of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003;
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962
| | - Richard Brown
- Philosophy Program, LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York, Long Island City, NY 10017
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171
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Bulley A, Henry JD, Suddendorf T. Thinking about threats: Memory and prospection in human threat management. Conscious Cogn 2017; 49:53-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 09/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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172
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Fitzgerald JM, MacNamara A, Kennedy AE, Rabinak CA, Rauch SA, Liberzon I, Phan KL. Individual differences in cognitive reappraisal use and emotion regulatory brain function in combat-exposed veterans with and without PTSD. Depress Anxiety 2017; 34:79-88. [PMID: 27559724 PMCID: PMC5222751 DOI: 10.1002/da.22551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit marked deficits in emotion regulation. Past research has demonstrated underengagement of the prefrontal cortex during regulation of negative affect in those with PTSD, but has been unable to find evidence of impaired downregulation of the amygdala. One possibility is that there exists variability in amygdala reactivity that cuts across diagnostic status and which can be characterized using a continuous measure of individual differences. In healthy/nontraumatized volunteers, individual variability in amygdala engagement during emotion processing and regulation has been shown to relate to habitual use of regulation strategies. METHODS The current study examined whether self-reported use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression regulation strategies correlated with brain activation during cognitive reappraisal in combat-exposed veterans with (n = 28) and without PTSD (combat-exposed controls, CEC; n = 20). RESULTS Results showed that greater self-reported use of cognitive reappraisal was associated with less activation in the right amygdala during volitional attempts to attenuate negative affect using reappraisal, irrespective of PTSD diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS This finding is in line with prior work and extends evidence of an association between habitual use of regulation strategies and amygdala engagement during emotion regulation to a trauma-exposed sample of individuals both with and without PTSD. Furthermore, by providing evidence of individual differences in regulation-related amygdala response in a traumatized sample, this result may increase understanding of the neural mechanisms that support variability in symptom manifestation observed across individuals with PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Annmarie MacNamara
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Amy E. Kennedy
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA,Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Christine A. Rabinak
- Wayne State University, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Pharmacy Practice, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Sheila A.M. Rauch
- Emory University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Atlanta, GA, USA and Atlanta VA Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Israel Liberzon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - K. Luan Phan
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA,University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA,Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
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173
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Shackman AJ, Tromp DPM, Stockbridge MD, Kaplan CM, Tillman RM, Fox AS. Dispositional negativity: An integrative psychological and neurobiological perspective. Psychol Bull 2016; 142:1275-1314. [PMID: 27732016 PMCID: PMC5118170 DOI: 10.1037/bul0000073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Dispositional negativity-the propensity to experience and express more frequent, intense, or enduring negative affect-is a fundamental dimension of childhood temperament and adult personality. Elevated levels of dispositional negativity can have profound consequences for health, wealth, and happiness, drawing the attention of clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. Here, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of the psychological and neurobiological processes linking stable individual differences in dispositional negativity to momentary emotional states. Self-report data suggest that 3 key pathways-increased stressor reactivity, tonic increases in negative affect, and increased stressor exposure-explain most of the heightened negative affect that characterizes individuals with a more negative disposition. Of these 3 pathways, tonically elevated, indiscriminate negative affect appears to be most central to daily life and most relevant to the development of psychopathology. New behavioral and biological data provide insights into the neural systems underlying these 3 pathways and motivate the hypothesis that seemingly "tonic" increases in negative affect may actually reflect increased reactivity to stressors that are remote, uncertain, or diffuse. Research focused on humans, monkeys, and rodents suggests that this indiscriminate negative affect reflects trait-like variation in the activity and connectivity of several key brain regions, including the central extended amygdala and parts of the prefrontal cortex. Collectively, these observations provide an integrative psychobiological framework for understanding the dynamic cascade of processes that bind emotional traits to emotional states and, ultimately, to emotional disorders and other kinds of adverse outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J. Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Do P. M. Tromp
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Melissa D. Stockbridge
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Claire M. Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Rachael M. Tillman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Andrew S. Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
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174
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Bergstrom HC. The neurocircuitry of remote cued fear memory. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:409-417. [PMID: 27693699 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2016] [Revised: 09/25/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Memories of threatening, fear-evoking events can persist even over a lifetime. While fear memory is widely considered to be a highly persistent and durable form of memory, its circuits are not. This article reviews the dynamic temporal representation of remote fear memory in the brain, at the level of local circuits and distributed networks. Data from the study of Pavlovian cued fear conditioning suggests memory retrieval remains amygdala-dependent, even over protracted time scales, all the while interconnected cortical and subcortical circuits are newly recruited and progressively reorganized. A deeper understanding into how the neurocircuitry of cued fear memory reorganizes with the passage of time will advance our ongoing search for the elusive physical changes representing fear memories in the brain. Considering that persistent, pathological fear memories are a hallmark feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the behavioral and circuit-level study of remote cued fear memory retrieval adds a key element towards a systems understanding of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadley C Bergstrom
- Department of Psychological Science, Program in Neuroscience and Behavior, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, United States.
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175
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Shackman AJ, Fox AS. Contributions of the Central Extended Amygdala to Fear and Anxiety. J Neurosci 2016; 36:8050-63. [PMID: 27488625 PMCID: PMC4971357 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0982-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
It is widely thought that phasic and sustained responses to threat reflect dissociable circuits centered on the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), the two major subdivisions of the central extended amygdala. Early versions of this hypothesis remain highly influential and have been incorporated into the National Institute of Mental Health Research Research Domain Criteria framework. However, new observations encourage a different perspective. Anatomical studies show that the Ce and BST form a tightly interconnected unit, where different kinds of threat-relevant information can be integrated and used to assemble states of fear and anxiety. Imaging studies in humans and monkeys show that the Ce and BST exhibit similar functional profiles. Both regions are sensitive to a range of aversive challenges, including uncertain or temporally remote threat; both covary with concurrent signs and symptoms of fear and anxiety; both show phasic responses to short-lived threat; and both show heightened activity during sustained exposure to diffusely threatening contexts. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that both regions can control the expression of fear and anxiety during sustained exposure to diffuse threat. These observations compel a reconsideration of the central extended amygdala's contributions to fear and anxiety and its role in neuropsychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, and Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, and
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology and California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616
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176
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Abstract
A few seconds of survival processing, during which people assess the relevance of information to a survival situation, produces particularly good retention. One interpretation of this benefit is that our memory systems are optimized to process and retain fitness-relevant information. Such a “tuning” may exist, in part, because our memory systems were shaped by natural selection, using a fitness-based criterion. However, recent research suggests that traditional mnemonic processes, such as elaborative processing, may play an important role in producing the empirical benefit. Boundary conditions have been demonstrated as well, leading some to dismiss evolutionary interpretations of the phenomenon. In this article, we discuss the current state of the evolutionary account and provide a general framework for evaluating evolutionary and purportedly nonevolutionary interpretations of mnemonic phenomena. We suggest that survival processing effects are best viewed within the context of a general survival optimization system, designed by nature to help organisms deal with survival challenges. An important component of survival optimization is the ability to simulate activities that help to prevent or escape from future threats which, in turn, depends in an important way on accurate retrospective remembering of survival-relevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Josefa N. S. Pandeirada
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro
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177
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Riskind JH, Sagliano L, Trojano L, Conson M. Dysfunctional Freezing Responses to Approaching Stimuli in Persons with a Looming Cognitive Style for Physical Threats. Front Psychol 2016; 7:521. [PMID: 27148129 PMCID: PMC4835712 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Immobilizing freezing responses are associated with anxiety and may be etiologically related to several anxiety disorders. Although recent studies have sought to investigate the underlying mechanisms in freezing responses that are so problematic in many forms of anxiety, cognitive factors related to anxiety have not been investigated. This study was designed to investigate the potential moderating role of a well-documented cognitive vulnerability to anxiety, the Looming Cognitive Style (i.e., LCS; Riskind et al., 2000), which assesses the extent to which individuals tend to routinely interpret ambiguous threats (e.g., physical or social threats) in a biased manner as approaching. We assessed participants' Reaction Times (RTs) when they made judgments about images of animals that differed in threat valence (threat or neutral) and motion direction (approach or recede). As expected, LCS for concerns about the approach of physical dangers appeared to moderate freeze reactions. Individuals who were high on this LCS factor tended to generally exhibit a freeze-response (slower RTs) and this was independent of the threat valence or motion direction of the animals. These general freezing reactions were in stark contrast to those of individuals who were low on the LCS factor for concerns about the approach of physical dangers. These participants tended to exhibit more selective and functional freezing responses that occurred only to threatening animals with approach motion; they did not exhibit freezing to neutral stimuli or any stimuli with receding motion. These findings did not appear to be explicable by a general slowing of RTs for the participants with high LCS. Moreover, the LCS factor for concerns about social threats (such as rejection or embarrassment) was not related to differences in freezing; there was also no additional relationship of freezing to behavioral inhibition scores on the Behavioral Inhibition System and the Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS). It may prove fruitful to further explore cognitive factors related to anxiety to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors are associated with anxiety-related freezing responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- John H Riskind
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Laura Sagliano
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples Caserta, Italy
| | - Luigi Trojano
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples Caserta, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Conson
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples Caserta, Italy
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178
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Marstaller L, Burianová H, Reutens DC. Dynamic competition between large-scale functional networks differentiates fear conditioning and extinction in humans. Neuroimage 2016; 134:314-319. [PMID: 27079532 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The high evolutionary value of learning when to respond to threats or when to inhibit previously learned associations after changing threat contingencies is reflected in dedicated networks in the animal and human brain. Recent evidence further suggests that adaptive learning may be dependent on the dynamic interaction of meta-stable functional brain networks. However, it is still unclear which functional brain networks compete with each other to facilitate associative learning and how changes in threat contingencies affect this competition. The aim of this study was to assess the dynamic competition between large-scale networks related to associative learning in the human brain by combining a repeated differential conditioning and extinction paradigm with independent component analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. The results (i) identify three task-related networks involved in initial and sustained conditioning as well as extinction, and demonstrate that (ii) the two main networks that underlie sustained conditioning and extinction are anti-correlated with each other and (iii) the dynamic competition between these two networks is modulated in response to changes in associative contingencies. These findings provide novel evidence for the view that dynamic competition between large-scale functional networks differentiates fear conditioning from extinction learning in the healthy brain and suggest that dysfunctional network dynamics might contribute to learning-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Marstaller
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; ARC Science of Learning Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Hana Burianová
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - David C Reutens
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; ARC Science of Learning Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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179
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Diamond DM, Zoladz PR. Dysfunctional or hyperfunctional? The amygdala in posttraumatic stress disorder is the bull in the evolutionary China shop. J Neurosci Res 2015; 94:437-44. [PMID: 26511328 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2015] [Revised: 09/26/2015] [Accepted: 10/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Our motivation in writing this Review arose not only from the great value in contributing to this special issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research but also from the desire to express our opinion that the description of the amygdala as "dysfunctional" in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might not be appropriate. We acknowledge that excessive activation of the amygdala contributes to the cluster of PTSD symptoms, including hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and impaired sleep, that underlies the devastating mental and physical outcomes in trauma victims. The issue that we address is whether the symptoms of PTSD represent an impaired (dysfunctional) or sensitized (hyperfunctional) amygdala status. We propose that the amygdala in PTSD is hyperfunctional rather than dysfunctional in recognition of the fact that the individual has already survived one life-threatening attack and that another may be forthcoming. We therefore consider PTSD to be a state in which the amygdala is functioning optimally if the goal is to ensure a person's survival. The misery caused by a hyperfunctional amygdala in PTSD is the cost of inheriting an evolutionarily primitive mechanism that considers survival more important than the quality of one's life.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Diamond
- Medical Research Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Tampa, Florida.,Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.,Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.,Center for Preclinical and Clinical Research on PTSD, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
| | - Phillip R Zoladz
- Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio
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180
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Exploring the Structure of Human Defensive Responses from Judgments of Threat Scenarios. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0133682. [PMID: 26296201 PMCID: PMC4546605 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
How humans react to threats is a topic of broad theoretical importance, and also relevant for understanding anxiety disorders. Many animal threat reactions exhibit a common structure, a finding supported by human evaluations of written threat scenarios that parallel patterns of rodent defensive behavior to actual threats. Yet the factors that underlie these shared behavioral patterns remain unclear. Dimensional accounts rooted in Darwin’s conception of antithesis explain many defensive behaviors. Across species, it is also clear that defensive reactions depend on specific situational factors, a feature long emphasized by psychological appraisal theories. Our study sought to extend prior investigations of human judgments of threat to a broader set of threats, including natural disasters, threats from animals, and psychological (as opposed to physical) threats. Our goal was to test whether dimensional and specific patterns of threat evaluation replicate across different threat classes. 85 healthy adult subjects selected descriptions of defensive behaviors that indicated how they would react to 29 threatening scenarios. Scenarios differed with respect to ten factors, e.g., perceived dangerousness or escapability. Across scenarios, we correlated these factor ratings with the pattern of defensive behaviors subjects endorsed. A decision tree hierarchically organized these correlation patterns to successfully predict each scenario’s most common reaction, both for the original sample of subjects and a separate replication group (n = 22). At the top of the decision tree, degree of dangerousness interacted with threat type (physical or psychological) to predict dimensional approach/avoidance behavior. Subordinate nodes represented specific defensive responses evoked by particular contexts. Our ecological approach emphasizes the interplay of situational factors in evoking a broad range of threat reactions. Future studies could test predictions made by our results to help understand pathological threat processing, such as seen in anxiety disorders, and could begin to test underlying neural mechanisms.
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181
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Mobbs D, Kim JJ. Neuroethological studies of fear, anxiety, and risky decision-making in rodents and humans. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015; 5:8-15. [PMID: 29984261 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Prey are relentlessly faced with a series of survival problems to solve. One enduring problem is predation, where the prey's answers rely on the complex interaction between actions cultivated during its life course and defense reactions passed down by descendants. To understand the proximate neural responses to analogous threats, affective neuroscientists have favored well-controlled associative learning paradigms, yet researchers are now creating semi-realistic environments that examine the dynamic flow of decision-making and escape calculations that mimic the prey's real world choices. In the context of research from the field of ethology and behavioral ecology, we review some of the recent literature in rodent and human neuroscience and discuss how these studies have the potential to provide new insights into the behavioral expression, computations, and the neural circuits that underlie healthy and pathological fear and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Mobbs
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. U.S.A
| | - Jeansok J Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195. U.S.A
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