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Metz S, Mengering L, Lipka R, Rosada C, Otte C, Heekeren H, Wingenfeld K. The effects of yohimbine and hydrocortisone on selective attention to fearful faces: An fMRI study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107031. [PMID: 38581746 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Selective attention to salient emotional information can enable an advantage in the face of danger. The present study aims to investigate the influence of the stress neuromodulators, norepinephrine and cortisol, on selective attention processes to fearful faces and its neuronal activation. METHODS AND MATERIALS We used a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. 167 healthy men between 18 and 35 years (mean [SD] age: 25.23 [4.24] years) participated in the study. Participants received either: (A) yohimbine (n= 41), (B) hydrocortisone (n = 41), (C) yohimbine and hydrocortisone (n = 42) or (D) placebo only (n= 43) and participated in a dot-probe task with fearful and neutral faces in an fMRI scanner. RESULTS We found an attentional bias toward fearful faces across all groups and related neuronal activation in the left cuneus. We did not find any differences between experimental treatment groups in selective attention and its neuronal activation. DISCUSSION Our results provide evidence that fearful faces lead to an attentional bias with related neuronal activation in the left cuneus. We did not replicate formerly reported activation in the amygdala, intraparietal sulcus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and thalamus. Suitability of the dot-probe task for fMRI studies and insignificant treatment effects are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Metz
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Medical Psychology, Luisenstraße 57, Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Leon Mengering
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, Berlin 12203, Germany
| | - Renée Lipka
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, Berlin 12203, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Catarina Rosada
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, Berlin 12203, Germany
| | - Christian Otte
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, Berlin 12203, Germany
| | - Hauke Heekeren
- Universität Hamburg, Mittelweg 177, Hamburg 20148, Germany
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, Berlin 12203, Germany.
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Kitt ER, Zacharek SJ, Odriozola P, Nardini C, Hommel G, Martino A, Anderson T, Spencer H, Broussard A, Dean J, Marin CE, Silverman WK, Lebowitz ER, Gee DG. Responding to threat: Associations between neural reactivity to and behavioral avoidance of threat in pediatric anxiety. J Affect Disord 2024; 351:818-826. [PMID: 38290579 PMCID: PMC10981528 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite broad recognition of the central role of avoidance in anxiety, a lack of specificity in its operationalization has hindered progress in understanding this clinically significant construct. The current study uses a multimodal approach to investigate how specific measures of avoidance relate to neural reactivity to threat in youth with anxiety disorders. METHODS Children with anxiety disorders (ages 6-12 years; n = 65 for primary analyses) completed laboratory task- and clinician-based measures of avoidance, as well as a functional magnetic resonance imaging task probing neural reactivity to threat. Primary analyses examined the ventral anterior insula (vAI), amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). RESULTS Significant but distinct patterns of association with task- versus clinician-based measures of avoidance emerged. Clinician-rated avoidance was negatively associated with right and left vAI reactivity to threat, whereas laboratory-based avoidance was positively associated with right vAI reactivity to threat. Moreover, left vAI-right amygdala and bilateral vmPFC-right amygdala functional connectivity were negatively associated with clinician-rated avoidance but not laboratory-based avoidance. LIMITATIONS These results should be considered in the context of the restricted range of our treatment-seeking sample, which limits the ability to draw conclusions about these associations across children with a broader range of symptomatology. In addition, the limited racial and ethnic diversity of our sample may limit the generalizability of findings. CONCLUSION These findings mark an important step towards bridging neural findings and behavioral patterns using a multimodal approach. Advancing understanding of behavioral avoidance in pediatric anxiety may guide future treatment optimization by identifying individual-specific targets for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Grace Hommel
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Alyssa Martino
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Tess Anderson
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Hannah Spencer
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | | | - Janice Dean
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Carla E Marin
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | | | - Eli R Lebowitz
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America.
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Liu H, Zhang Q, Elhai JD, Montag C, Yang H. Attentional bias to threat is modulated by stimulus content: an fNIRS study. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 17:1308457. [PMID: 38273882 PMCID: PMC10808614 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1308457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
People are evolutionarily predisposed to associate threat relevant stimuli with fear or aversiveness and show an attentional bias toward threat. Attentional bias modification (ABM) has been shown to reduce threat biases, while quantitative reviews assessing the effectiveness of bias modification yielded inconsistent results. The current study examined the relationship between the training effect of attentional bias to threat and the type of threatening stimuli. Twenty-two participants performed a modified dot-probe task while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging. Results indicated that there was a strong pattern of attentional avoidance among individuals in an animal but not human threat condition. Furthermore, findings from fNIRS confirmed that the influence from type of threatening stimulus would be modulated by cortical activation patterns, especially in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortices (vlPFC) and angular gyrus. Overall, these results suggest that stimulus-specific may play a major role in personalization of specific psychological interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hejun Liu
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Qihan Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jon D. Elhai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Haibo Yang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
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4
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Sylvester CM, Luby JL, Pine DS. Novel mechanism-based treatments for pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:262-275. [PMID: 37608220 PMCID: PMC10700626 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01709-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders are common, can be highly impairing, and can persist despite the best available treatments. Here, we review research into novel treatments for childhood anxiety and depressive disorders designed to target underlying cognitive, emotional, and neural circuit mechanisms. We highlight three novel treatments lying along a continuum relating to clinical impact of the disorder and the intensity of clinical management required. We review cognitive training, which involves the lowest risk and may be applicable for problems with mild to moderate impact; psychotherapy, which includes a higher level of clinical involvement and may be sufficient for problems with moderate impact; and brain stimulation, which has the highest potential risks and is therefore most appropriate for problems with high impact. For each treatment, we review the specific underlying cognitive, emotional, and brain circuit mechanisms that are being targeted, whether treatments modify those underlying mechanisms, and efficacy in reducing symptoms. We conclude by highlighting future directions, including the importance of work that leverages developmental windows of high brain plasticity to time interventions to the specific epochs in childhood that have the largest and most enduring life-long impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad M Sylvester
- Washington University Department of Psychiatry, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Washington University Department of Radiology, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Joan L Luby
- Washington University Department of Psychiatry, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development Branch, St. Louis, MO, USA
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De Asis-Cruz J, Kim JH, Krishnamurthy D, Lopez C, Kapse K, Andescavage N, Vezina G, Limperopoulos C. Examining the relationship between fetal cortical thickness, gestational age, and maternal psychological distress. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 63:101282. [PMID: 37515833 PMCID: PMC10407290 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101282] [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: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
In utero exposure to maternal stress, anxiety, and depression has been associated with reduced cortical thickness (CT), and CT changes, in turn, to adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes. Here, we investigated global and regional (G/RCT) changes associated with fetal exposure to maternal psychological distress in 265 brain MRI studies from 177 healthy fetuses of low-risk pregnant women. GCT was measured from cortical gray matter (CGM) voxels; RCT was estimated from 82 cortical regions. GCT and RCT in 87% of regions strongly correlated with GA. Fetal exposure was most strongly associated with RCT in the parahippocampal region, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and supramarginal gyrus suggesting that cortical alterations commonly associated with prenatal exposure could emerge in-utero. However, we note that while regional fetal brain involvement conformed to patterns observed in newborns and children exposed to prenatal maternal psychological distress, the reported associations did not survive multiple comparisons correction. This could be because the effects are more subtle in this early developmental window or because majority of the pregnant women in our study did not experience high levels of maternal distress. It is our hope that the current findings will spur future hypothesis-driven studies that include a full spectrum of maternal mental health scores.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jung-Hoon Kim
- Developing Brain Institute, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Catherine Lopez
- Developing Brain Institute, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kushal Kapse
- Developing Brain Institute, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Nickie Andescavage
- Developing Brain Institute, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA; Division of Neonatology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Gilbert Vezina
- Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Catherine Limperopoulos
- Developing Brain Institute, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA; Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children's National, Washington, DC, USA.
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Zhang Y, Ye Q, He H, Jin R, Peng W. Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Attention Bias Towards Pain: Evidence From a Drift-Diffusion Model and Event-Related Potentials. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2023; 24:1307-1320. [PMID: 36921747 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
Abstract
Although combining computational modeling with event-related potentials (ERPs) can precisely characterize neurocognitive processes involved in attention bias, it has yet to be applied in the context of pain. Here, a hierarchical drift-diffusion model (DDM) along with ERPs was used to characterize the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying attention bias towards pain. A spatial cueing paradigm was adopted, in which the locations of targets were either validly or invalidly predicted by spatial cues related to pain or nonpain signals. DDM-derived nondecision time was shorter for targets validly cued by pain signals than by nonpain signals, thus indicating speeded attention engagement towards pain; drift rate was slower for targets invalidly cued by pain signals than by nonpain signals, reflecting slower attention disengagement from pain. The facilitated engagement towards pain was partially mediated by the enhanced lateralization of cue-evoked N1 amplitudes, which relate to the bottom-up, stimulus-driven processes of detecting threatening signals. On the other hand, the retarded disengagement from pain was partially mediated by the enhanced target-evoked anterior N2 amplitudes, which relate to the top-down, goal-driven processes of conflict monitoring and behavior regulating. These results demonstrated that engagement and disengagement components of pain-related attention bias are governed by distinct neurocognitive mechanisms. However, it remains possible that the findings are not pain-specific, but rather, are related to threat or aversiveness in general. This deserves to be further examined by adding a control stimulus modality. PERSPECTIVE: This study characterized the neurocognitive processes involved in attention bias towards pain through combining a hierarchical DDM and ERPs. Our results revealed distinctive neurocognitive mechanisms underlying engagement and disengagement components of attention bias. Future studies are warranted to examine whether our findings are pain-specific or not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhua Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qian Ye
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hao He
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Richu Jin
- Research Institute of Trustworthy Autonomous Systems, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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Jahn N, Sinke C, Kayali Ö, Krug S, Leichter E, Peschel S, Müller T, Burak A, Krüger THC, Kahl KG, Heitland I. Neural correlates of the attention training technique as used in metacognitive therapy – A randomized sham-controlled fMRI study in healthy volunteers. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1084022. [PMID: 36993887 PMCID: PMC10040584 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1084022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionThe Attention Training Technique (ATT) developed as part of metacognitive therapy is a psychotherapeutic treatment method used to enhance top-down attentional flexibility and control. This study investigated potential neurocognitive changes due to ATT and its underlying neural mechanisms using pre-to-post functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Materials and methodsFifty-four healthy participants were subjected to a randomized, sham-controlled attention training and evaluated using a neurocognitive test battery that partly took place in an fMRI environment. Participants received two doses ATT or sham ATT daily for 1 week. On day eight, all subjects completed the neurocognitive test battery again.ResultsAfter the training, the ATT group showed a significant improvement in reaction times regarding attentional disengagement compared to the sham ATT group. fMRI data showed decreased levels of activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) when comparing the ATT group to the sham ATT group during attentional disengagement post intervention. No ATT > sham ATT effects were found regarding selective auditory attention, working memory performance and inhibitory control.DiscussionThese findings putatively indicate that ATT facilitates faster attention allocation and increased attentional flexibility in healthy subjects. The fMRI results suggest this ATT-dependent improvement is accompanied by reduced ACC activity, indicating a more flexible attentional state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Jahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Özlem Kayali
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Svenja Krug
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Erik Leichter
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Stephanie Peschel
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Torben Müller
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Alev Burak
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Tillmann H. C. Krüger
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
| | - Kai G. Kahl
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Ivo Heitland
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- *Correspondence: Ivo Heitland,
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Attentional bias to threat and gray matter volume morphology in high anxious individuals. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:600-609. [PMID: 34755317 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00968-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In a sample of highly anxious individuals, the relationship between gray matter volume brain morphology and attentional bias to threat was assessed. Participants performed a dot-probe task of attentional bias to threat and gray matter volume was acquired from whole brain structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. The results replicate previous findings in unselected samples that elevated attentional bias to threat is linked to greater gray matter volume in the middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus. In addition, we provide novel evidence that elevated attentional bias to threat is associated with greater gray matter volume in the inferior frontal gyrus, insula, cerebellum, and other distributed regions. Lastly, exploratory analyses provide initial evidence that distinct subregions of the right posterior parietal cortex may contribute to attentional bias in a sex-specific manner. Our results illuminate how differences in gray matter volume morphology relate to attentional bias to threat in anxious individuals. This knowledge could inform neurocognitive models of anxiety-related attentional bias to threat.
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Carlson JM, Fang L, Koster EH, Andrzejewski JA, Gilbertson H, Elwell KA, Zuidema TR. Neuroplastic changes in anterior cingulate cortex gray matter volume and functional connectivity following attention bias modification in high trait anxious individuals. Biol Psychol 2022; 172:108353. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Ferrera D, Peláez I, Martín-Buro MC, Carpio A, De Lahoz ME, Barjola P, Mercado F. Neural correlates of the attentional bias towards pain-related faces in fibromyalgia patients: An ERP study using a dot-probe task. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108141. [PMID: 34995568 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the major cognitive deficits in fibromyalgia has been linked to the hypervigilance phenomenon. It is mainly reflected as a negative bias for allocating attentional resources towards both threatening and pain-related information. Although the interest in its study has recently grown, the neural temporal dynamics of the attentional bias in fibromyalgia still remains an open question. METHOD Fifty participants (25 fibromyalgia patients and 25 healthy control subjects) performed a dot-probe task. Two types of facial expressions (pain-related and neutral) were employed as signal stimuli. Then, as a target stimulus, a single dot replaced the location of one of these two faces. Event-related potentials (ERP) in response to facial expressions and target stimulation (i.e., dot) were recorded. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy measures in the experimental task were collected as behavioural outcomes. RESULTS Temporal dynamics of brain electrical activity were analysed on two ERP components (P2 and N2a) sensitive to the facial expressions meaning. Pain-related faces elicited higher frontal P2 amplitudes than neutral faces for the whole sample. Interestingly, an interaction effect between group and facial expressions was also found showing that pain-related faces elicited enhanced P2 amplitudes (at fronto-central regions, in this case) compared to neutral faces only when the group of patients was considered. Furthermore, higher P2 amplitudes were observed in response to pain-related faces in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy control participants. Additionally, a shorter latency of P2 (at centro-parietal regions) was also detected for pain-related facial expressions compared to neutral faces. Regarding the amplitude of N2a, it was lower for patients as compared to the control group. Non-relevant effects of the target stimulation on the ERPs were found. However, patients with fibromyalgia exhibited slower RT to locate the single dot for incongruent trials as compared to congruent and neutral trials. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest the presence of an attentional bias in fibromyalgia that it would be followed by a deficit in the allocation of attentional resources to further process pain-related information. Altogether the current results suggest that attentional biases in fibromyalgia might be explained by automatic attentional mechanisms, which seem to be accompanied by an alteration of more strategic or controlled attentional components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain; Clinical Foundation of the Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
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Jenness JL, Peverill M, Miller AB, Heleniak C, Robertson MM, Sambrook KA, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Alterations in neural circuits underlying emotion regulation following child maltreatment: a mechanism underlying trauma-related psychopathology. Psychol Med 2021; 51:1880-1889. [PMID: 32252835 PMCID: PMC7541399 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291720000641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disruptions in neural circuits underlying emotion regulation (ER) may be a mechanism linking child maltreatment with psychopathology. We examined the associations of maltreatment with neural responses during passive viewing of negative emotional stimuli and attempts to modulate emotional responses. We investigated whether the influence of maltreatment on neural activation during ER differed across development and whether alterations in brain function mediated the association between maltreatment and a latent general psychopathology ('p') factor. METHODS Youth aged 8-16 years with (n = 79) and without (n = 72) exposure to maltreatment completed an ER task assessing neural responses during passive viewing of negative and neutral images and effortful attempts to regulate emotional responses to negative stimuli. P-factor scores were defined by a bi-factor model encompassing internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. RESULTS Maltreated youth had greater activation in left amygdala and salience processing regions and reduced activation in multiple regions involved in cognitive control (bilateral superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) when viewing negative v. neutral images than youth without maltreatment exposure. Reduced neural recruitment in cognitive control regions mediated the association of maltreatment with p-factor in whole-brain analysis. Maltreated youth exhibited increasing recruitment with age in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during reappraisal while control participants exhibited decreasing recruitment with age. Findings were similar after adjusting for co-occurring neglect. CONCLUSIONS Child maltreatment influences the development of regions associated with salience processing and cognitive control during ER in ways that contribute to psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Jenness
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Matthew Peverill
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adam Bryant Miller
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Madeline M Robertson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kelly A Sambrook
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Margaret A Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Zacharek SJ, Kribakaran S, Kitt ER, Gee DG. Leveraging big data to map neurodevelopmental trajectories in pediatric anxiety. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 50:100974. [PMID: 34147988 PMCID: PMC8225701 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric condition among youth, with symptoms commonly emerging prior to or during adolescence. Delineating neurodevelopmental trajectories associated with anxiety disorders is important for understanding the pathophysiology of pediatric anxiety and for early risk identification. While a growing literature has yielded valuable insights into the nature of brain structure and function in pediatric anxiety, progress has been limited by inconsistent findings and challenges common to neuroimaging research. In this review, we first discuss these challenges and the promise of ‘big data’ to map neurodevelopmental trajectories in pediatric anxiety. Next, we review evidence of age-related differences in neural structure and function among anxious youth, with a focus on anxiety-relevant processes such as threat and safety learning. We then highlight large-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that assess anxiety and are well positioned to inform our understanding of neurodevelopment in pediatric anxiety. Finally, we detail relevant challenges of ‘big data’ and propose future directions through which large publicly available datasets can advance knowledge of deviations from normative brain development in anxiety. Leveraging ‘big data’ will be essential for continued progress in understanding the neurobiology of pediatric anxiety, with implications for identifying markers of risk and novel treatment targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadie J Zacharek
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States; Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
| | - Sahana Kribakaran
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
| | - Elizabeth R Kitt
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States.
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Torrence RD, Troup LJ, Rojas DC, Carlson JM. Enhanced contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in occipitotemporal scalp regions underlie attentional bias to fearful faces. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 165:84-91. [PMID: 33892017 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Attending toward fearful faces and other threatening stimuli increase the chance of survival. The dot-probe task is a commonly used measure of spatial attention. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been found to be a reliable measure of attentional bias. The dot-probe literature suggests that posterior contralateral N170 amplitudes are more enhanced by fearful faces compared to ipsilateral amplitudes. However, ERP methods remove non-phase locked frequencies, which provides additional information about neural activity. Specifically, theta oscillations (5-7 Hz) have been linked to attentional processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between posterior contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in the dot-probe task. A modified dot-probe task was used with fear and neutral facial expressions and EEG data was recorded from 33 electrodes. The ERP and time-frequency data were extracted from the P7 and P8 electrodes (left and right occipitotemporal regions). This study found enhanced N170 amplitude and theta oscillations in the electrodes posterior contralateral to the fearful face. Contralateral N170 amplitudes and theta oscillations were related such that greater N170 amplitudes were associated with greater theta oscillations. The results indicated that increased contralateral N170 and theta oscillations are related to each other and underlie attentional bias to fearful faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Torrence
- Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd st., Chicago, IL 60655, United States of America.
| | - Lucy J Troup
- Division of Psychology, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street, Paisley PA1 2BE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Donald C Rojas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Behavioral Science Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of America
| | - Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, New Science Facility, Marquette, MI, 49855, United States of America
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14
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Addabbo M, Licht V, Turati C. Past and present experiences with maternal touch affect infants' attention toward emotional faces. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 63:101558. [PMID: 33831802 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Maternal touch is considered crucial in regulating infants' internal states when facing unknown or distressing situations. Here, we explored the effects of maternal touch on 7-month-old infants' preferences towards emotions. Infants' looking times were measured through a two-trial preferential looking paradigm, while infants observed dynamic videos of happy and angry facial expressions. During the observation, half of the infants received an affective touch (i.e., stroke), while the other half received a non-affective stimulation (i.e., fingertip squeeze) from their mother. Further, we assessed the frequency of maternal touch in the mother-infant dyad through The Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch Scale (PICTS). Our results have shown that infants' attention to angry and happy facial expressions varied as a function of both present and past experiences with maternal touch. Specifically, in the affective touch condition, as the frequency of previous maternal affective tactile care increased (PICTS), the avoidance of angry faces decreased. Conversely, in the non-affective touch condition, as the frequency of previous maternal affective tactile care increased (PICTS), the avoidance of angry faces increased as well. Thus, past experience with maternal affective touch is a crucial predictor of the regulatory effects that actual maternal touch exerts on infants' visual exploration of emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Addabbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126 Milano, Italy.
| | - Victoria Licht
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Chiara Turati
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1 (U6), 20126 Milano, Italy
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15
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Fitzgerald KD, Schroder HS, Marsh R. Cognitive Control in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive and Anxiety Disorders: Brain-Behavioral Targets for Early Intervention. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:697-706. [PMID: 33454049 PMCID: PMC8353584 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The DSM provides distinct criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and various types of anxiety disorders, but phenomenological overlap, high rates of comorbidity, and early onset suggest common underlying mechanisms. This notion is further supported by use of the same treatments-cognitive behavioral therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication-for managing both OCD and non-OCD anxiety disorders in clinical settings. While early intervention with these gold standard treatments is recommended for pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders, young patients often remain symptomatic even after treatment. To guide the development of novel, mechanistically targeted treatments to better resolve OCD and anxiety symptoms, the identification of neural circuits underlying psychological constructs with relevance across disorders has been recommended. One construct that may be relevant for understanding pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders is cognitive control, given the difficulty that young patients experience in dismissing obsessions, compulsions, and worry despite recognition that these symptoms are excessive and unreasonable. In this review, we examine findings from a growing body of literature implicating brain-behavioral markers of cognitive control in pediatric OCD and anxiety disorders, including before and after treatment. We conclude by suggesting that interventions designed to enhance the functioning of the task control circuits underlying cognitive control may facilitate brain maturation to help affected youth overcome symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate D Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
| | - Hans S Schroder
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Rachel Marsh
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York
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16
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Carlson JM. A systematic review of event-related potentials as outcome measures of attention bias modification. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13801. [PMID: 33682161 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Attention bias modification (ABM) was initially developed with the goal of reducing attentional bias to threat-and subsequently anxious symptoms-in individuals with heightened anxiety. Although controversial, ABM appears to be generally effective in achieving this goal. Yet, the primary outcome measure of ABM (i.e., the reaction time-based differences score) has poor reliability and temporal resolution, which limits the inferences that can be drawn. In contrast, event-related potentials (ERPs) have superior reliability as well as temporal resolution and may therefore be better outcome measures of ABM. In this review, I systematically assess the research using ERPs as outcome measures in ABM protocols. I focus on the extent to which the ERPs modified by ABM represent earlier or later stages of information processing. In addition, I explore the extent to which ABM produces near and/or far transfer of learning effects on ERP measures. The reviewed literature suggests that ERPs are promising outcome measures of ABM. ABM modulates the effects of affective stimuli on posterior visually evoked ERPs (i.e., P1) as well as ERPs at anterior electrodes (i.e., P2, N2, and ERN). Based on the state of the field, several directions for future research are identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA
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17
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Strawn JR, Lu L, Peris T, Levine A, Walkup JT. Research Review: Pediatric anxiety disorders - what have we learnt in the last 10 years? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2021; 62:114-139. [PMID: 32500537 PMCID: PMC7718323 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders first emerge during the critical developmental periods of childhood and adolescence. This review synthesizes recent findings on the prevalence, risk factors, and course of the anxiety disorders; and their neurobiology and treatment. METHODS For this review, searches were conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, and clinicaltrials.gov. Findings related to the epidemiology, neurobiology, risk factors, and treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders were then summarized. FINDINGS Anxiety disorders are high prevalence, and early-onset conditions associated with multiple risk factors including early inhibited temperament, environment stress, and structural and functional abnormalities in the prefrontal-amygdala circuitry as well as the default mode and salience networks. The anxiety disorders are effectively treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). CONCLUSIONS Anxiety disorders are high prevalence, early-onset conditions associated with a distinct neurobiological fingerprint, and are consistently responsive to treatment. Questions remain regarding who is at risk of developing anxiety disorders as well as the way in which neurobiology predicts treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey R. Strawn
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Lu Lu
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio,Huaxi MR Research Center, Dept. of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Tara Peris
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, California
| | - Amir Levine
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
| | - John T. Walkup
- Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
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18
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Weissman DG, Jenness JL, Colich NL, Miller AB, Sambrook KA, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Altered Neural Processing of Threat-Related Information in Children and Adolescents Exposed to Violence: A Transdiagnostic Mechanism Contributing to the Emergence of Psychopathology. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020; 59:1274-1284. [PMID: 31473292 PMCID: PMC7048648 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.08.471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Exposure to violence in childhood is associated with increased risk for multiple forms of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. We evaluated how exposure to violence in early life influences neural responses to neutral and threat-related stimuli in childhood and adolescence, developmental variation in these associations, and whether these neural response patterns convey transdiagnostic risk for psychopathology over time. METHOD Participants were 149 youths (75 female and 74 male), aged 8 to 17 years (mean = 12.8, SD = 2.63), who had experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, or domestic violence (n = 76) or had never experienced violence (n = 73). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning while passively viewing fearful, neutral, and scrambled faces presented rapidly in a block design without specific attentional demands. Internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were assessed concurrently with the scan and 2 years later and were used to compute a transdiagnostic general psychopathology factor (p factor). RESULTS Exposure to violence was associated with reduced activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and frontal pole (1,985 voxels, peak x, y, z = 6, 4, 40) when viewing fearful (versus scrambled) faces, and reduced activation in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and superior frontal gyrus (1,970 voxels, peak x, y, z = 16, 64, 10) when viewing neutral faces, but not amygdala activation or connectivity. Lower dACC response to fearful faces predicted increase in the p factor 2 years later (B = -0.186, p = .031) and mediated the association of violence exposure with longitudinal increases in the p factor. CONCLUSION Reduced recruitment of the dACC-a region involved in salience processing, conflict monitoring, and cognitive control-in response to threat-related cues may convey increased transdiagnostic psychopathology risk in youths exposed to violence.
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19
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Tymofiyeva O, Zhou VX, Lee CM, Xu D, Hess CP, Yang TT. MRI Insights Into Adolescent Neurocircuitry-A Vision for the Future. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:237. [PMID: 32733218 PMCID: PMC7359264 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is the time of onset of many psychiatric disorders. Half of pediatric patients present with comorbid psychiatric disorders that complicate both their medical and psychiatric care. Currently, diagnosis and treatment decisions are based on symptoms. The field urgently needs brain-based diagnosis and personalized care. Neuroimaging can shed light on how aberrations in brain circuits might underlie psychiatric disorders and their development in adolescents. In this perspective article, we summarize recent MRI literature that provides insights into development of psychiatric disorders in adolescents. We specifically focus on studies of brain structural and functional connectivity. Ninety-six included studies demonstrate the potential of MRI to assess psychiatrically relevant constructs, diagnose psychiatric disorders, predict their development or predict response to treatment. Limitations of the included studies are discussed, and recommendations for future research are offered. We also present a vision for the role that neuroimaging may play in pediatrics and primary care in the future: a routine neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric imaging (NPPI) protocol for adolescent patients, which would include a 30-min brain scan, a quality control and safety read of the scan, followed by computer-based calculation of the structural and functional brain network metrics that can be compared to the normative data by the pediatrician. We also perform a cost-benefit analysis to support this vision and provide a roadmap of the steps required for this vision to be implemented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Tymofiyeva
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Vivian X Zhou
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Chuan-Mei Lee
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Clinical Excellence Research Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Duan Xu
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Christopher P Hess
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Tony T Yang
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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20
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Anxiety and Attentional Bias in Children with Specific Learning Disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 47:487-497. [PMID: 30043123 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-018-0458-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Children with specific learning disorders (SLDs) face a unique set of socio-emotional challenges as a result of their academic difficulties. Although a higher prevalence of anxiety in children with SLD is often reported, there is currently no research on cognitive mechanisms underlying this anxiety. One way to elucidate these mechanisms is to investigate attentional bias to threatening stimuli using a dot-probe paradigm. Our study compared children ages 9-16 with SLD (n = 48) to typically-developing (TD) controls (n = 33) on their attentional biases to stimuli related to general threats, reading, and stereotypes of SLD. We found a significant threat bias away from reading-related stimuli in the SLD, but not TD group. This attentional bias was not observed with the general threat and stereotype stimuli. Further, children with SLD reported greater anxiety compared to TD children. These results suggest that children with SLD experience greater anxiety, which may partially stem from reading specifically. The finding of avoidance rather than vigilance to reading stimuli indicates the use of more top-down attentional control. This work has important implications for therapeutic approaches to anxiety in children with SLD and highlights the need for attention to socio-emotional difficulties in this population. Future research is needed to further investigate the cognitive aspects of socio-emotional difficulties in children with SLD, as well as how this may impact academic outcomes.
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21
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Kryza-Lacombe M, Kiefer C, Schwartz KT, Strickland K, Wiggins JL. Attention shifting in the context of emotional faces: Disentangling neural mechanisms of irritability from anxiety. Depress Anxiety 2020; 37:645-656. [PMID: 32253797 PMCID: PMC8312255 DOI: 10.1002/da.23010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Irritability predicts concurrent and prospective psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. Anxiety commonly co-occurs with irritability, and such comorbidity complicates care. Understanding the mechanisms of comorbid traits is necessary to inform treatment decisions. This study aimed to disentangle neural mechanisms of irritability from anxiety in the context of attentional shifting toward and away from emotional faces in youths from treatment-seeking families. METHODS Youths (N = 45), mean age = 14.01 years (standard deviation = 1.89) completed a dot-probe task during functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition. Whole-brain activation analyses evaluated the effect of irritability on neural reactivity in the context of varying attentional shifting toward and away from emotional faces, both depending on and above and beyond anxiety (i.e., with anxiety as [a] a moderator and [b] a covariate, respectively). RESULTS Higher irritability levels related to distinct task-related patterns of cuneus activation, depending on comorbid anxiety levels. Increased irritability also related to distinct task-related patterns of parietal, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar activation, controlling for anxiety. Overall, youths with higher levels of irritability evinced more pronounced fluctuations in neural reactivity across task conditions. CONCLUSION The present study contributes to a literature delineating the unique and shared neural mechanisms of overlapping symptom dimensions, which will be necessary to ultimately build a brain- and behavior-based nosology that forms the basis for more targeted and effective treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Kryza-Lacombe
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California
| | - Cynthia Kiefer
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
| | - Karen T.G. Schwartz
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California
| | - Katie Strickland
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
| | - Jillian Lee Wiggins
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California,Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
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22
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Socioeconomic disadvantage, brain morphometry, and attentional bias to threat in middle childhood. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:309-326. [PMID: 30460484 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00670-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with higher rates of psychopathology as well as hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex structure. However, little is known about how variations in brain morphometry are associated with socio-emotional risks for mood disorders in children growing up in families experiencing low income. In the current study, using structural magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and gray matter volume in the hippocampus, amygdala, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in a sample of children (n = 34) in middle childhood. Using an affective dot probe paradigm, we examined the association between gray matter volume in these regions and attentional bias to threat, a risk marker for mood disorders including anxiety disorders. We found that lower income-to-needs ratio was associated with lower bilateral hippocampal and right amygdala volume, but not prefrontal cortex volumes. Moreover, lower attentional bias to threat was associated with greater left hippocampal volume. We provide evidence of a relationship between income-related variations in brain structure and attentional bias to threat, a risk for mood disorders. Therefore, these findings support an environment-morphometry-behavior relationship that contributes to the understanding of income-related mental health disparities in childhood.
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23
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Price RB, Beltz AM, Woody ML, Cummings L, Gilchrist D, Siegle GJ. Neural Connectivity Subtypes Predict Discrete Attentional Bias Profiles Among Heterogeneous Anxiety Patients. Clin Psychol Sci 2020; 8:491-505. [PMID: 33758682 PMCID: PMC7983837 DOI: 10.1177/2167702620906149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
On average, anxious patients show altered attention to threat-including early vigilance towards threat and later avoidance of threat-accompanied by altered functional connectivity across brain regions. However, substantial heterogeneity within clinical, neural, and attentional features of anxiety is overlooked in typical group-level comparisons. We used a well-validated method for data-driven parsing of neural connectivity to reveal connectivity-based subgroups among 60 adults with transdiagnostic anxiety. Subgroups were externally compared on attentional patterns derived from independent behavioral measures. Two subgroups emerged. Subgroup A (68% of patients) showed stronger executive network influences on sensory processing regions and a paradigmatic "vigilance-avoidance" pattern on external behavioral measures. Subgroup B was defined by a larger number of limbic influences on sensory regions and exhibited a more atypical and inconsistent attentional profile. Neural connectivity-based categorization revealed an atypical, limbic-driven pattern of connectivity in a subset of anxious patients that generalized to atypical patterns of selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca B. Price
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | | | - Mary L. Woody
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
| | - Logan Cummings
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University
| | | | - Greg J. Siegle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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24
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Andrzejewski JA, Carlson JM. Electrocortical responses associated with attention bias to fearful facial expressions and auditory distress signals. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 151:94-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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25
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Task MRI-Based Functional Brain Network of Anxiety. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2020; 1191:3-20. [PMID: 32002919 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-32-9705-0_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good tool for researchers to understand the biological mechanisms and pathophysiology of the brain due to the translational characteristics of MRI methods. For the psychiatric illness, this kind of mental disorders usually have minor alterations when compared to traditional neurological disorders. Therefore the functional study, such as functional connectivity, would play a significant role for understanding the pathophysiology of mental disorders. This chapter would focus on the discussion of task MRI-based functional network studies in anxiety. For social anxiety disorder, the limbic system, such as the temporal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus, would show alterations in the functional connectivity with frontal regions, such as anterior cingulate, prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices. PD has anterior cingulate cortex-amygdala alterations in fear conditioning, frontoparietal alterations in attention network task, and limbic-prefrontal alterations in emotional task. A similar amygdala-based aberrant functional connectivity in specific phobia is observed. The mesocorticolimbic and limbic-prefrontal functional alterations are found in generalized anxiety disorder. The major components of task MRI-based functional connectivity in anxiety include limbic and frontal regions which might play a vital role for the origination of anxiety under different scenarios and tasks.
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26
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Poon JA, Niehaus CE, Thompson JC, Chaplin TM. Adolescents' pubertal development: Links between testosterone, estradiol, and neural reward processing. Horm Behav 2019; 114:104504. [PMID: 30817913 PMCID: PMC7903811 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 02/20/2019] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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27
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Hansen A, Turpyn CC, Mauro K, Thompson JC, Chaplin TM. Adolescent Brain Response to Reward Is Associated with a Bias toward Immediate Reward. Dev Neuropsychol 2019; 44:417-428. [PMID: 31288587 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2019.1636798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
The current study examines associations between neural activation to the receipt of monetary reward in a rewarding game task and bias toward immediate reward measured in a behavioral delay discounting task among early adolescents (N = 58, 12-14 years). As expected, heightened brain activation in reward-related regions were correlated with higher bias toward immediate reward. This suggests that bias toward immediate reward in delay discounting tasks may be linked to heightened activation to reward in reward processing regions. This interplay between neural reward processing and bias toward immediate reward might explain the sharp increases in bias toward immediate reward that occur in early adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amysue Hansen
- a Psychology, George Mason University , Fairfax , USA
| | | | - Kelsey Mauro
- a Psychology, George Mason University , Fairfax , USA
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28
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Rosen D, Price RB, Silk JS. An integrative review of the vigilance-avoidance model in pediatric anxiety disorders: Are we looking in the wrong place? J Anxiety Disord 2019; 64:79-89. [PMID: 31051420 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Enduring cognitive models of anxiety posit that negative biases in information processing are implicated in the etiology, maintenance, and recurrence of anxiety disorders in youth and adults. Specifically, the vigilance-avoidance model of attention is an influential hypothesis proposed to explain anxious individuals' attentional patterns. The vigilance-avoidance model posits that anxious individuals, relative to nonanxious individuals, initially orient more quickly to threatening stimuli and then later avoid threatening stimuli. However, a large body of empirical research examining attentional mechanisms in anxious individuals uses paradigms that do not allow the measurement of the time course of attention. Furthermore, existing reviews that examine the time course of attention only include studies with adults. We systematically review in depth the literature that compares anxious and non-anxious children that takes advantage of research designs that allow the examination of the time course of attention. Across studies, there is not robust support for the vigilance-avoidance model in samples of anxious youth. Future research examining attention biases across time should employ tasks that more directly measure multiple stages of attention, in order to assess if vigilance-avoidance patterns emerge based on sample characteristics or task variables, and to inform intervention efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Rosen
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, USA.
| | - Rebecca B Price
- University of Pittsburgh Medical centre, Department of Psychiatry, USA
| | - Jennifer S Silk
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, USA; University of Pittsburgh Medical centre, Department of Psychiatry, USA
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29
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Morin EL, Howell BR, Meyer JS, Sanchez MM. Effects of early maternal care on adolescent attention bias to threat in nonhuman primates. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 38:100643. [PMID: 31170549 PMCID: PMC6969349 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention bias towards threat using dot-probe tasks has mainly been reported in adults with stress-related disorders such as PTSD and other anxiety disorders, in some cases associated with early life stress or traumatic experiences. Studies during adolescence are scarce and inconsistent, which highlights the need to increase our understanding of the developmental processes that predict attentional biases, given that this is a time of emergence of psychopathology. Here, we use a translational nonhuman primate model of early life stress in the form of infant maltreatment to examine its long-term impact on attentional biases during adolescence using the dot-probe task and identify interactions with early life risk factors, such as prenatal exposure to stress hormones and emotional/stress reactivity during infancy. Maltreated animals showed higher reaction times to social threat than animals that experienced competent maternal care, suggesting interference of negative valence stimuli on attentional control and cognitive processes. Higher emotional reactivity during infancy in Maltreated animals predicted attention bias towards threat, whereas higher levels of prenatal cortisol exposure was associated with bias away (avoidance of) threat in maltreated and control groups. Our findings suggest that different postnatal experiences and early biobehavioral mechanisms regulate the development of emotional attention biases during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyse L Morin
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| | - Brittany R Howell
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Insititute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
| | - Jerrold S Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, 441 Tobin Hall, Amherst, MA 01003, United States.
| | - Mar M Sanchez
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
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Butterfield RD, Siegle GJ, Lee KH, Ladouceur CD, Forbes EE, Dahl RE, Ryan ND, Sheeber L, Silk JS. Parental coping socialization is associated with healthy and anxious early-adolescents' neural and real-world response to threat. Dev Sci 2019; 22:e12812. [PMID: 30746855 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The ways parents socialize their adolescents to cope with anxiety (i.e., coping socialization) may be instrumental in the development of threat processing and coping responses. Coping socialization may be important for anxious adolescents, as they show altered neural threat processing and over reliance on disengaged coping (e.g., avoidance and distraction), which can maintain anxiety. We investigated whether coping socialization was associated with anxious and healthy adolescents' neural response to threat, and whether neural activation was associated with disengaged coping. Healthy and clinically anxious early adolescents (N = 120; M = 11.46 years; 71 girls) and a parent engaged in interactions designed to elicit adolescents' anxiety and parents' response to adolescents' anxiety. Parents' use of reframing and problem solving statements was coded to measure coping socialization. In a subsequent visit, we assessed adolescents' neural response to threat words during a neuroimaging task. Adolescents' disengaged coping was measured using ecological momentary assessment. Greater coping socialization was associated with lower anterior insula and perigenual cingulate activation in healthy adolescents and higher activation in anxious adolescents. Coping socialization was indirectly associated with less disengaged coping for anxious adolescents through neural activation. Findings suggest that associations between coping socialization and early adolescents' neural response to threat differ depending on clinical status and have implications for anxious adolescents' coping.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Greg J Siegle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Kyung Hwa Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Cecile D Ladouceur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Erika E Forbes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ronald E Dahl
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California
| | - Neal D Ryan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Jennifer S Silk
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Lange I, Goossens L, Bakker J, Michielse S, Marcelis M, Wichers M, van Os J, van Amelsvoort T, Schruers K. Functional neuroimaging of associative learning and generalization in specific phobia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 89:275-285. [PMID: 30266438 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Theoretical models have implicated classical fear conditioning, fear generalization, and extinction learning in the development of anxiety disorders. To date, it is largely unknown to what extent these mechanisms and the underlying neurobiology may be altered in specific phobia, a disorder characterized by focal fears. The current study systematically examined fear conditioning, fear generalization, extinction learning, and extinction recall in a sample of individuals with a specific phobia. METHODS Participants with a specific phobia (SP) of spiders (n = 46) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 48) underwent a 3-day fMRI cue-conditioning protocol, including a fear acquisition and a fear generalization phase (day 1), an extinction learning phase (day 2), and an extinction recall phase (day 3). Stimuli were phobia-irrelevant, as geometrical shapes served as conditioned threat (CS+) and safety stimuli (CS-), and an electrical shock as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Self-reported fear, US expectancy, and blood-oxygen-level dependent responses were measured. RESULTS Behavioral results only revealed enhanced CS+/CS-differentiation in fear scores during acquisition retention in SP. Some neural differences were observed during other task phases. During early fear acquisition, SP showed enhanced differential activation in the angular gyrus and lateral occipital cortex, and during extinction recall, more precuneus deactivation was found in SP compared to HC. There were no clear indications of altered neural fear generalization or extinction learning mechanisms in the SP group. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that spider phobia may be characterized by enhanced differential fear retention and altered brain activation patterns during fear acquisition and extinction recall. The findings provide insight into the nature of fear learning alterations in specific phobia, and how these may differ from those found in disorders characterized by broad anxious distress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Lange
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
| | - Liesbet Goossens
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Jindra Bakker
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Neurosciences, Center for Contextual Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stijn Michielse
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Machteld Marcelis
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Institute for Mental Health Care Eindhoven (GGzE), Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Marieke Wichers
- Department of Psychiatry, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jim van Os
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, King's Health Partners, London, England, United Kingdom; Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Therese van Amelsvoort
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Koen Schruers
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, EURON, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Faculty of Psychology, Center for Experimental and Learning Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Fu X, Pérez-Edgar K. Threat-related Attention Bias in Socioemotional Development: A Critical Review and Methodological Considerations. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2019; 51:31-57. [PMID: 32205901 PMCID: PMC7088448 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cross-sectional evidence suggests that attention bias to threat is linked to anxiety disorders and anxiety vulnerability in both children and adults. However, there is a lack of developmental evidence regarding the causal mechanisms through which attention bias to threat might convey risks for socioemotional problems, such as anxiety. Gaining insights into this question demands longitudinal research to track the complex interplay between threat-related attention and socioemotional functioning. Developing and implementing reliable and valid assessments tools is essential to this line of work. This review presents theoretical accounts and empirical evidence from behavioral, eye-tracking, and neural assessments of attention to discuss our current understanding of the development of normative threat-related attention in infancy, as well as maladaptive threat-related attention patterns that may be associated with the development of anxiety. This review highlights the importance of measuring threat-related attention using multiple attention paradigms at multiple levels of analysis. In order to understand if and how threat-related attention bias in real-life, social interactive contexts can predict socioemotional development outcomes, this review proposes that future research cannot solely rely on screen-based paradigms but needs to extend the assessment of threat-related attention to naturalistic settings. Mobile eye-tracking technology provides an effective tool for capturing threat-related attention processes in vivo as children navigate fear-eliciting environments and may help us uncover more proximal bio-psycho-behavioral markers of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxue Fu
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, United States
| | - Koraly Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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Price RB, Cummings L, Gilchrist D, Graur S, Banihashemi L, Kuo SS, Siegle GJ. Towards personalized, brain-based behavioral intervention for transdiagnostic anxiety: Transient neural responses to negative images predict outcomes following a targeted computer-based intervention. J Consult Clin Psychol 2019; 86:1031-1045. [PMID: 30507228 DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Clinical anxiety is prevalent, highly comorbid with other conditions, and associated with significant medical morbidity, disability, and public health burden. Excessive attentional deployment toward threat is a transdiagnostic dimension of anxiety seen at both initial and sustained stages of threat processing. However, group-level observations of these phenomena mask considerable within-group heterogeneity that has been linked to treatment outcomes, suggesting that a transdiagnostic, individual differences approach may capture critical, clinically relevant information. METHOD Seventy clinically anxious individuals were randomized to receive 8 sessions of attention bias modification (ABM; n = 41 included in analysis), a computer-based mechanistic intervention that specifically targets initial stages of threat processing, or a sham control (n = 21). Participants completed a mixed block/event-related functional MRI task optimized to discriminate transient from sustained neural responses to threat. RESULTS Larger transient responses across a wide range of cognitive-affective regions (e.g., ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala) predicted better clinical outcomes following ABM, in both a priori anatomical regions and whole-brain analyses; sustained responses did not. A spatial pattern recognition algorithm using transient threat responses successfully discriminated the top quartile of ABM responders with 68% accuracy. CONCLUSIONS Neural alterations occurring on the relatively transient timescale that is specifically targeted by ABM predict favorable clinical outcomes. Results inform how to expand on the initial promise of neurocognitive treatments like ABM by fine-tuning their clinical indications (e.g., through personalized mechanistic intervention relevant across diagnoses) and by increasing the range of mechanisms that can be targeted (e.g., through synergistic treatment combinations and/or novel neurocognitive training protocols designed to tackle identified predictors of nonresponse). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Logan Cummings
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University
| | | | - Simona Graur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
| | | | - Susan S Kuo
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
| | - Greg J Siegle
- Deparments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
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Ollendick TH, White SW, Richey J, Kim-Spoon J, Ryan SM, Wieckowski AT, Coffman MC, Elias R, Strege MV, Capriola-Hall NN, Smith M. Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Adolescents With Social Anxiety Disorder. Behav Ther 2019; 50:126-139. [PMID: 30661553 PMCID: PMC6347411 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) tends to emerge during the early teenage years and is particularly refractory to change even when standard evidence-based CBT treatments are delivered. Efforts have been made to develop novel, mechanistic-driven interventions for this disorder. In the present study, we examined Attention Bias Modification Treatment (ABMT) for youth with SAD. Participants were 58 adolescents (mean age = 14.29 years) who met diagnostic criteria for SAD and who were randomized to ABMT or a placebo control condition, Attention Control Training (ACT). We predicted that ABMT would result in greater changes in both threat biases and social anxiety symptoms. We also explored potential moderators of change including the severity of social anxiety symptoms, the level of threat bias at pretreatment, and the degree of temperament-defined attention control. Contrary to our hypotheses, changes in attention bias were not observed in either condition, changes in social anxiety symptoms and diagnosis were small, and significant differences were not observed between the ABMT and ACT conditions. Little support for the proposed moderators was obtained. Reasons for our failure to find support for ABMT and its potential moderators are explored and recommendations for changes in the ABMT paradigm are suggested.
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35
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Hornung J, Noack H, Kogler L, Derntl B. Exploring the fMRI based neural correlates of the dot probe task and its modulation by sex and body odor. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 99:87-96. [PMID: 30216766 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The dot probe task implicitly cues attention via emotional information, an effect which is especially pronounced for threat-related cues. However, several questions remain unexplored. The first one is whether chemosignals like the androgen-derivative androstadienone can influence such attentional biases. Second, few studies have addressed sex differences regarding attentional biases. Finally, the neural correlates of these potential behavioral effects based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are not known. In two experiments we aimed to answer these questions. A total of 159 healthy individuals (58 oral-contraceptive-users, 42 luteal women, 59 men) were tested. In experiment 1 (behavioral study) we examined attentional biases behaviorally, while in experiment 2 (fMRI study) the dot probe task was complemented by fMRI. Our results provide robust evidence that in healthy participants fearful but not angry or happy faces lead to a strong general attentional bias. Elucidating the neural basis of this effects points to an early processing advantage in bilateral thalamus for valid compared to invalid cued fear. However, this finding was limited to those participants with the strongest attentional biases and was not linked to behavioral measures. Furthermore, no consistent sex or group differences existed neither did the putative human chemosignal androstadienone reliably modulate attentional biases or change neural processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Hornung
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Hannes Noack
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Lead Graduate School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Lead Graduate School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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36
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Residual effects of cannabis use on attentional bias towards fearful faces. Neuropsychologia 2018; 119:482-488. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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37
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Liu P, Bai X, Pérez-Edgar KE. Integrating high-density ERP and fMRI measures of face-elicited brain activity in 9-12-year-old children: An ERP source localization study. Neuroimage 2018; 184:599-608. [PMID: 30268845 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Social information processing is a critical mechanism underlying children's socio-emotional development. Central to this process are patterns of activation associated with one of our most salient socioemotional cues, the face. In this study, we obtained fMRI activation and high-density ERP source data evoked by parallel face dot-probe tasks from 9-to-12-year-old children. We then integrated the two modalities of data to explore the neural spatial-temporal dynamics of children's face processing. Our results showed that the tomography of the ERP sources broadly corresponded with the fMRI activation evoked by the same facial stimuli. Further, we combined complementary information from fMRI and ERP by defining fMRI activation as functional ROIs and applying them to the ERP source data. Indices of ERP source activity were extracted from these ROIs at three a priori ERP peak latencies critical for face processing. We found distinct temporal patterns among the three time points across ROIs. The observed spatial-temporal profiles converge with a dual-system neural network model for face processing: a core system (including the occipito-temporal and parietal ROIs) supports the early visual analysis of facial features, and an extended system (including the paracentral, limbic, and prefrontal ROIs) processes the socio-emotional meaning gleaned and relayed by the core system. Our results for the first time illustrate the spatial validity of high-density source localization of ERP dot-probe data in children. By directly combining the two modalities of data, our findings provide a novel approach to understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of face processing. This approach can be applied in future research to investigate different research questions in various study populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Child Study Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Xiaoxiao Bai
- Social, Life, and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Koraly E Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, Child Study Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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Reed JL, Nugent AC, Furey ML, Szczepanik JE, Evans JW, Zarate CA. Ketamine normalizes brain activity during emotionally valenced attentional processing in depression. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 20:92-101. [PMID: 30094160 PMCID: PMC6070691 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Background An urgent need exists for faster-acting pharmacological treatments in major depressive disorder (MDD). The glutamatergic modulator ketamine has been shown to have rapid antidepressant effects, but much remains unknown about its mechanism of action. Functional MRI (fMRI) can be used to investigate how ketamine impacts brain activity during cognitive and emotional processing. Methods This double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of 33 unmedicated participants with MDD and 26 healthy controls (HCs) examined how ketamine affected fMRI activation during an attentional bias dot probe task with emotional face stimuli across multiple time points. A whole brain analysis was conducted to find regions with differential activation associated with group, drug session, or dot probe task-specific factors (emotional valence and congruency of stimuli). Results A drug session by group interaction was observed in several brain regions, such that ketamine had opposite effects on brain activation in MDD versus HC participants. Additionally, there was a similar finding related to emotional valence (a drug session by group by emotion interaction) in a large cluster in the anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortex. Conclusions The findings show a pattern of brain activity in MDD participants following ketamine infusion that is similar to activity observed in HCs after placebo. This suggests that ketamine may act as an antidepressant by normalizing brain function during emotionally valenced attentional processing. Clinical trial NCT#00088699: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00088699 The effects of ketamine versus placebo on brain activation were studied using fMRI. MDD and healthy participants were tested on an fMRI emotion-based attentional task. Ketamine had opposite effects on brain activity in MDD versus healthy participants. In MDD, brain activity post-ketamine was similar to healthy controls post-placebo. These findings suggest that ketamine may act by normalizing brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Reed
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
| | - Allison C Nugent
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
| | - Maura L Furey
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson and Johnson Inc., San Diego, CA, United States.
| | - Joanna E Szczepanik
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
| | - Jennifer W Evans
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
| | - Carlos A Zarate
- Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
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The dot-probe task to measure emotional attention: A suitable measure in comparative studies? Psychon Bull Rev 2018; 24:1686-1717. [PMID: 28092078 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1224-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
For social animals, attending to and recognizing the emotional expressions of other individuals is of crucial importance for their survival and likely has a deep evolutionary origin. Gaining insight into how emotional expressions evolved as adaptations over the course of evolution can be achieved by making direct cross-species comparisons. To that extent, experimental paradigms that are suitable for investigating emotional processing across species need to be developed and evaluated. The emotional dot-probe task, which measures attention allocation toward emotional stimuli, has this potential. The task is implicit, and subjects need minimal training to perform the task successfully. Findings in nonhuman primates, although scarce, show that they, like humans, have an attentional bias toward emotional stimuli. However, the wide literature on human studies has shown that different factors can have important moderating effects on the results. Due to the large heterogeneity of this literature, these moderating effects often remain unnoticed. We here review this literature and show that subject characteristics and differences in experimental designs affect the results of the dot-probe task. We conclude with specific recommendations regarding these issues that are particularly relevant to take into consideration when applying this paradigm to study animals.
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40
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Auday ES, Taber-Thomas BC, Pérez-Edgar KE. Neural correlates of attention bias to masked facial threat cues: Examining children at-risk for social anxiety disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 19:202-212. [PMID: 30023170 PMCID: PMC6050468 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Revised: 02/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Background Behavioral inhibition (BI) is an early-appearing temperament trait and a robust predictor of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Both BI and anxiety may have distinct patterns of emotion processing marked by heightened neural responses to threat cues. BI and anxious children display similar frontolimbic patterns when completing an emotion-face attention bias task with supraliminal presentation. Anxious children also show a distinct neural response to the same task with subliminal face presentations, probing stimulus-driven attention networks. We do not have parallel data available for BI children, limiting our understanding of underlying affective mechanisms potentially linking early BI to the later emergence of anxiety. Method We examined the neural response to subliminal threat presentation during an emotion-face masked dot-probe task in children oversampled for BI (N = 67; 30 BI, 9–12 yrs). Results Non-BI children displayed greater activation versus BI children in several regions in response to threat faces versus neutral faces, including striatum, prefrontal and temporal lobes. When comparing congruent and incongruent trials, which require attention disengagement, BI children showed greater activation than non-BI children in the cerebellum, which is implicated in rapidly coordinating information processing, aversive conditioning, and learning the precise timing of anticipatory responses. Conclusions Non-BI children may more readily engage rapid coordinated frontolimbic circuitry to salient stimuli, whereas BI children may preferentially engage subcortical circuitry, in response to limbic “alarms” triggered by subliminal threat cues. These data help reveal the extent to which temperamental risk shares similar neurocircuitry previously documented in anxious adolescents and young adults in response to masked threat. All children displayed amygdala activation in response to brief threat cues. Non-BI children displayed activation in striatum, PFC and temporal lobes. BI children showed greater activation in the cerebellum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eran S Auday
- The Pennsylvania State University, United States.
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41
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Waters AM, Cao Y, Kershaw R, Kerbler GM, Shum DHK, Zimmer-Gembeck MJ, Craske MG, Bradley BP, Mogg K, Pine DS, Cunnington R. Changes in neural activation underlying attention processing of emotional stimuli following treatment with positive search training in anxious children. J Anxiety Disord 2018; 55:22-30. [PMID: 29554643 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Prior research indicates that positive search training (PST) may be a promising home-based computerised treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. It explicitly trains anxious individuals in adaptive, goal-directed attention-search strategies to search for positive and calm information and ignore goal-irrelevant negative cues. Although PST reduces anxiety symptoms, its neural effects are unknown. The main aim of this study was to examine changes in neural activation associated with changes in attention processing of positive and negative stimuli from pre- to post-treatment with PST in children with anxiety disorders. Children's neural activation was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a visual-probe task indexing attention allocation to threat-neutral and positive-neutral pairs. Results showed pre- to post-treatment reductions in anxiety symptoms and neural reactivity to emotional faces (angry and happy faces, relative to neutral faces) within a broad neural network linking frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital regions. Changes in neural reactivity were highly inter-correlated across regions. Neural reactivity to the threat-bias contrast reduced from pre- to post-treatment in the mid/posterior cingulate cortex. Results are considered in relation to prior research linking anxiety disorders and treatment effects with functioning of a broad limbic-cortical network involved in emotion reactivity and regulation, and integrative functions linking emotion, memory, sensory and motor processes and attention control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M Waters
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Australia.
| | - Yuan Cao
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia
| | - Rachel Kershaw
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Australia
| | - Georg M Kerbler
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia
| | - David H K Shum
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Australia
| | - Melanie J Zimmer-Gembeck
- School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Australia
| | | | | | - Karin Mogg
- Psychology, University of Southampton, UK
| | | | - Ross Cunnington
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Australia
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Angelidis A, Hagenaars M, van Son D, van der Does W, Putman P. Do not look away! Spontaneous frontal EEG theta/beta ratio as a marker for cognitive control over attention to mild and high threat. Biol Psychol 2018. [PMID: 29518523 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low spontaneous EEG theta/beta ratio (TBR) is associated with greater executive control. Their role in regulation of attentional bias for stimuli of different threat-levels is unknown. OBJECTIVES To provide the first relations between frontal TBR, trait anxiety and attentional bias to mildly and highly threatening stimuli at different processing-stages. METHODS Seventy-four healthy volunteers completed spontaneous EEG measurement, a self-report trait anxiety questionnaire and a dot-probe task with stimuli of different threat-level and 200 and 500 ms cue-target delays. RESULTS Participants with high TBR directed attention towards mildly threatening and avoided highly threatening pictures. Moreover, the most resilient participants, (low TBR and low trait anxiety) showed attention towards highly threatening stimuli. There were no effects of delay. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm that executive control is crucial for the study of threat-related attentional bias and further support the notion that TBR is a marker of cognitive control over emotional information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelos Angelidis
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Muriel Hagenaars
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Dana van Son
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willem van der Does
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Putman
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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43
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Torrence RD, Troup LJ. Event-related potentials of attentional bias toward faces in the dot-probe task: A systematic review. Psychophysiology 2017; 55:e13051. [PMID: 29266532 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The dot-probe task is a common task to assess attentional bias toward different stimuli and how groups differ (e.g., attentional bias in anxiety disorders). However, measuring reaction time has been suggested to be unreliable. Neuroimaging methods such as fMRI were shown to be more reliable in assessing attentional bias, but fMRI has poor temporal resolution and therefore cannot assess timing of attention. ERPs have been used to examine the time course of attentional bias. Although ERP research may be more reliable than reaction time, there have been inconsistencies in the literature. This review systematically searched for articles that used the dot-probe task with facial expressions and measured neural correlates with ERP. We found that some of the inconsistencies might be the cause of methodological differences (e.g., timing of stimuli), differences in emotional expression, and/or sample differences (e.g., sex, age, etc.). Suggestions on how future research could address the issues presented in this review were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Torrence
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Lucy J Troup
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Aday J, Carlson JM. Structural MRI-based measures of neuroplasticity in an extended amygdala network as a target for attention bias modification treatment outcome. Med Hypotheses 2017; 109:6-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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45
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Thornton LC, Penner EA, Nolan ZT, Adalio CJ, Sinclair S, Meffert H, Hwang S, Blair RJR, White SF. The processing of animacy information is disrupted as a function of callous-unemotional traits in youth with disruptive behavior disorders. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 16:498-506. [PMID: 28971003 PMCID: PMC5609860 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Atypical amygdala responses to emotional stimuli have been consistently reported in youth with Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs; Conduct Disorder/Oppositional Defiant Disorder). However, responding to animacy stimuli has not been systematically investigated. Yet, the amygdala is known to be responsive to animacy stimuli and impairment in responsiveness to animacy information may have implications for social cognitive development. Twenty-nine youth with DBDs and 20 typically developing youth, matched for IQ, age (Mage = 14.45, SD = 2.05) and gender, completed a dot probe task during fMRI. Stimuli consisted of negative/faces, negative/objects, neutral/faces and neutral/objects images. Youth with DBDs, relative to typically developing youth, showed: i) reduced amygdala and lateral temporal cortex responses to faces relative to objects. Moreover, within the group of youth with DBDs, increasing callous-unemotional traits were associated with lesser amygdala responses to faces relative to objects. These data suggest that youth with DBDs, particularly those with high levels of CU traits exhibit dysfunction in animacy processing in the amygdala. This dysfunction may underpin the asociality reported in these youth. Animacy processing within the amygdala is a critical component of social cognition. Youth with DBDs had reduced responses to faces compared to objects in amygdala. CU traits were associated with reduced amygdala responses to faces. Youth with DBDs, particularly those with CU exhibit problems in animacy processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura C Thornton
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | | | - Zachary T Nolan
- Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States
| | | | - Stephen Sinclair
- National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Harma Meffert
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Soonjo Hwang
- Univeristy of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - R James R Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States.,National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Stuart F White
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
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46
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Turpyn CC, Poon JA, Ross CE, Thompson JC, Chaplin TM. Associations Between Parent Emotional Arousal and Regulation and Adolescents' Affective Brain Response. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2017; 27:3-18. [PMID: 29618853 DOI: 10.1111/sode.12263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Parents' emotional functioning represents a central mechanism in the caregiving environment's influence on adolescent affective brain function. However, a paucity of research has examined links between parental emotional arousal and regulation and adolescents' affective brain function. Thus, the present study examined associations between parents' self-rated negative emotion, parent emotion regulation difficulties, and adolescent brain responsivity to negative and positive emotional stimuli. Participants included 64 12-14 year-old adolescents (31 females) and their female primary caregivers. Adolescents viewed negative, positive, and neutral emotional stimuli during an fMRI scanning session. Region of interest analyses showed that higher parent negative emotion was related to adolescents' greater ACC and vmPFC response to both negatively- and positively-valenced emotional stimuli; whereas, parent negative emotion was related to adolescents' greater amygdala response to negative emotional stimuli only. Furthermore, parent emotion regulation moderated the association between parent negative emotion and adolescents' brain response to negative emotional stimuli, such that parents with high negative emotion and high emotion regulation difficulties had adolescents with the greatest affective brain response. Findings highlight the importance of considering both parent emotional arousal and regulation in understanding the family affective environment and its relation to adolescent emotion-related brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin C Turpyn
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Jennifer A Poon
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Corynne E Ross
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - James C Thompson
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Tara M Chaplin
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
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Waters AM, Candy EM, Candy SG. Attention bias to threat in mothers with emotional disorders predicts increased offspring anxiety symptoms: a joint cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Cogn Emot 2017; 32:892-903. [PMID: 28722537 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2017.1349650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
There is convincing evidence of the transmission of anxiety and depression from parents to children; however, mechanisms by which this vulnerability is passed on are unclear. Cognitive models and a small body of cross-sectional research suggest that parental attention biases (ABs) may be one mechanism involved in transmission. Longitudinal associations of maternal and offspring ABs with offspring symptoms have been scarcely studied. Forty-three mothers-child dyads were included. All children (7-12 years old) were diagnosis-free while 24 mothers had a lifetime emotional disorder (anxiety or depression) (high risk, HR) and 19 mothers had no psychiatric diagnoses (low risk, LR). This study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of maternal and child AB and child anxiety symptomology at initial and 12-month assessments. ABs were assessed using a visual-probe task with emotional faces. There was a significant cross-sectional but not longitudinal association of increased child anxiety symptoms with increased maternal threat AB for HR but not LR dyads. At the cross-sectional level, increases in HR but not LR offspring anxiety symptomology were associated with maternal threat AB. Larger longitudinal studies are required that examine the interplay between parent-child variables and include multiple time-points of assessment and measures of AB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M Waters
- a School of Applied Psychology , Griffith University , Mt Gravatt , Australia
| | - Elise M Candy
- a School of Applied Psychology , Griffith University , Mt Gravatt , Australia
| | - Steven G Candy
- b Scandy Statistical Modelling Pty Ltd , Blackmans Bay , Australia
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48
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van Hoof MJ, van den Bulk BG, Rombouts SARB, Rinne-Albers MAW, van der Wee NJA, van IJzendoorn MH, Vermeiren RRJM. Emotional face processing in adolescents with childhood sexual abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder, internalizing disorders and healthy controls. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2017; 264:52-59. [PMID: 28458084 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2016] [Revised: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marie-José van Hoof
- Curium-LUMC, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; YOEP (Yulius Onderwijs zorg Expertise Partners), Warmond, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Bianca G van den Bulk
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands
| | - Serge A R B Rombouts
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mirjam A W Rinne-Albers
- Curium-LUMC, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nic J A van der Wee
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Marinus H van IJzendoorn
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Family Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands; School of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Robert R J M Vermeiren
- Curium-LUMC, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; VU Medical Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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49
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with anxiety disorders exhibit a 'vigilance-avoidance' pattern of attention to threatening stimuli when threatening and neutral stimuli are presented simultaneously, a phenomenon referred to as 'threat bias'. Modifying threat bias through cognitive retraining during adolescence reduces symptoms of anxiety, and so elucidating neural mechanisms of threat bias during adolescence is of high importance. We explored neural mechanisms by testing whether threat bias in adolescents is associated with generalized or threat-specific differences in the neural processing of faces. METHOD Subjects were categorized into those with (n = 25) and without (n = 27) threat avoidance based on a dot-probe task at average age 12.9 years. Threat avoidance in this cohort has previously been shown to index threat bias. Brain response to individually presented angry and neutral faces was assessed in a separate session using functional magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS Adolescents with threat avoidance exhibited lower activity for both angry and neutral faces relative to controls in several regions in the occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes involved in early visual and facial processing. Results generalized to happy, sad, and fearful faces. Adolescents with a prior history of depression and/or an anxiety disorder had lower activity for all faces in these same regions. A subset of results replicated in an independent dataset. CONCLUSIONS Threat bias is associated with generalized, rather than threat-specific, differences in the neural processing of faces in adolescents. Findings may aid in the development of novel treatments for anxiety disorders that use attention training to modify threat bias.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steve E. Petersen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine
- Department of Psychology, Washington University School of Medicine
| | - Joan L. Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine
| | - Deanna M. Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine
- Department of Psychology, Washington University School of Medicine
- Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine
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50
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Lau JYF, Waters AM. Annual Research Review: An expanded account of information-processing mechanisms in risk for child and adolescent anxiety and depression. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:387-407. [PMID: 27966780 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety and depression occurring during childhood and adolescence are common and costly. While early-emerging anxiety and depression can arise through a complex interplay of 'distal' factors such as genetic and environmental influences, temperamental characteristics and brain circuitry, the more proximal mechanisms that transfer risks on symptoms are poorly delineated. Information-processing biases, which differentiate youth with and without anxiety and/or depression, could act as proximal mechanisms that mediate more distal risks on symptoms. This article reviews the literature on information-processing biases, their associations with anxiety and depression symptoms in youth and with other distal risk factors, to provide direction for further research. METHODS Based on strategic searches of the literature, we consider how youth with and without anxiety and/or depression vary in how they deploy attention to social-affective stimuli, discriminate between threat and safety cues, retain memories of negative events and appraise ambiguous information. We discuss how these information-processing biases are similarly or differentially expressed on anxiety and depression and whether these biases are linked to genetic and environmental factors, temperamental characteristics and patterns of brain circuitry functioning implicated in anxiety and depression. FINDINGS Biases in attention and appraisal characterise both youth anxiety and depression but with some differences in how these are expressed for each symptom type. Difficulties in threat-safety cue discrimination characterise anxiety and are understudied in depression, while biases in the retrieval of negative and overgeneral memories have been observed in depression but are understudied in anxiety. Information-processing biases have been studied in relation to some distal factors but not systematically, so relationships remain inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS Biases in attention, threat-safety cue discrimination, memory and appraisal may characterise anxiety and/or depression risk. We discuss future research directions that can more systematically test whether these biases act as proximal mechanisms that mediate other distal risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Y F Lau
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Allison M Waters
- School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Qld, Australia
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