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D'Agostini M, Burger AM, Jelinčić V, von Leupoldt A, Van Diest I. Effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on P300 magnitudes and salivary alpha-amylase during an auditory oddball task. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108646. [PMID: 37481230 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive neurostimulation technique that is thought to modulate noradrenergic activity. Previous studies have demonstrated inconsistent effects of taVNS on noradrenergic activity, which is possibly due to insufficient statistical power, suboptimal stimulation parameter settings, and data collection procedures. In this preregistered within-subject experiment, 44 healthy participants received taVNS and sham (earlobe) stimulation during two separate experimental sessions. Stimulation intensity was individually calibrated to the maximum level below pain. During each session, participants received the stimulation continuously ten minutes before an auditory novelty oddball task till the end of the experimental session. The P3b component of the event-related potential served as a marker of phasic noradrenergic activity, whereas P3a magnitude was explored as an index of dopaminergic activity. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) was measured as an index of tonic noradrenergic activity before and at the end of the stimulation. The taVNS and sham conditions did not differ in P3a or P3b magnitudes, nor sAA secretion. These findings call into question whether taVNS, administered continuously at high, nonpainful stimulation intensities, reliably augments noradrenergic activity via the vagus nerve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina D'Agostini
- Health Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102/3726, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Andreas M Burger
- Health Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102/3726, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Valentina Jelinčić
- Health Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102/3726, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Andreas von Leupoldt
- Health Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102/3726, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Ilse Van Diest
- Health Psychology Research Group, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102/3726, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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Warren CV, Kroll CF, Kopp B. Dopaminergic and norepinephrinergic modulation of endogenous event-related potentials: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105221. [PMID: 37150485 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Event-related potentials (ERPs) represent the cortical processing of sensory, motor or cognitive functions invoked by particular events or stimuli. A current theory posits that the catecholaminergic neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) modulate a number of endogenous ERPs during various cognitive processes. This manuscript aims to evaluate a leading neurotransmitter hypothesis with a systematic overview and meta-analysis of pharmacologic DA and NE manipulation of specific ERPs in healthy subjects during executive function. Specifically, the frontally-distributed P3a, N2, and Ne/ERN (or error-related negativity) are supposedly modulated primarily by DA, whereas the parietally-distributed P3b is thought to be modulated by NE. Based on preceding research, we refer to this distinction between frontally-distributed DA-sensitive and parietally-distributed NE-sensitive ERP components as the Extended Neurobiological Polich (ENP) hypothesis. Our systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that this distinction is too simplistic and many factors interact with DA and NE to influence these specific ERPs. These may include genetic factors, the specific cognitive processes engaged, or elements of study design, i.e. session or sequence effects or data-analysis strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire V Warren
- Charlotte Fresenius Hochschule, Alte Rabenstraße 32, 20148 Hamburg, Germany; Professorship for Clinical Psychology, Helmut-Schmidt University/ Bundeswehr University Hamburg, Holstenhofweg 85, 22043 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Charlotte F Kroll
- Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6. P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, MD, 6200, The Netherlands
| | - Bruno Kopp
- Clinic für Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Chassignolle M, Jovanovic L, Schmidt-Mutter C, Behr G, Giersch A, Coull JT. Dopamine Precursor Depletion in Healthy Volunteers Impairs Processing of Duration but Not Temporal Order. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:946-963. [PMID: 33656394 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Studies in animals and humans have implicated the neurotransmitter dopamine in duration processing. However, very few studies have examined dopamine's involvement in other forms of temporal processing such as temporal order judgments. In a randomized within-subject placebo-controlled design, we used acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion (APTD) to reduce availability of the dopamine precursors tyrosine and phenylalanine in healthy human volunteers. As compared to a nutritionally balanced drink, APTD significantly impaired the ability to accurately reproduce interval duration in a temporal reproduction task. In addition, and confirming previous findings, the direction of error differed as a function of individual differences in underlying dopamine function. Specifically, APTD caused participants with low baseline dopamine precursor availability to overestimate the elapse of time, whereas those with high dopamine availability underestimated time. In contrast to these effects on duration processing, there were no significant effects of APTD on the accuracy of discriminating the temporal order of visual stimuli. This pattern of results does not simply represent an effect of APTD on motor, rather than perceptual, measures of timing because APTD had no effect on participants' ability to use temporal cues to speed RT. Our results demonstrate, for the first time in healthy volunteers, a dopaminergic dissociation in judging metrical (duration) versus ordinal (temporal order) aspects of time.
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Boonstra EA, van Schouwenburg MR, Seth AK, Bauer M, Zantvoord JB, Kemper EM, Lansink CS, Slagter HA. Conscious perception and the modulatory role of dopamine: no effect of the dopamine D2 agonist cabergoline on visual masking, the attentional blink, and probabilistic discrimination. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:2855-2872. [PMID: 32621073 PMCID: PMC7501106 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05579-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Conscious perception is thought to depend on global amplification of sensory input. In recent years, striatal dopamine has been proposed to be involved in gating information and conscious access, due to its modulatory influence on thalamocortical connectivity. OBJECTIVES Since much of the evidence that implicates striatal dopamine is correlational, we conducted a double-blind crossover pharmacological study in which we administered cabergoline-a dopamine D2 agonist-and placebo to 30 healthy participants. Under both conditions, we subjected participants to several well-established experimental conscious-perception paradigms, such as backward masking and the attentional blink task. RESULTS We found no evidence in support of an effect of cabergoline on conscious perception: key behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) findings associated with each of these tasks were unaffected by cabergoline. CONCLUSIONS Our results cast doubt on a causal role for dopamine in visual perception. It remains an open possibility that dopamine has causal effects in other tasks, perhaps where perceptual uncertainty is more prominent.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A Boonstra
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA) Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - M R van Schouwenburg
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - A K Seth
- Department of Informatics Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Azrieli Programme on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, Toronto, Canada
| | - M Bauer
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - J B Zantvoord
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The Bascule, Academic Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - E M Kemper
- Department of Pharmacy, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - C S Lansink
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - H A Slagter
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA) Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Burger A, Van der Does W, Brosschot J, Verkuil B. From ear to eye? No effect of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation on human pupil dilation: A report of three studies. Biol Psychol 2020; 152:107863. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Warren CM, Tona KD, Ouwerkerk L, van Paridon J, Poletiek F, van Steenbergen H, Bosch JA, Nieuwenhuis S. The neuromodulatory and hormonal effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation as evidenced by salivary alpha amylase, salivary cortisol, pupil diameter, and the P3 event-related potential. Brain Stimul 2018; 12:635-642. [PMID: 30591360 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a new, non-invasive technique being investigated as an intervention for a variety of clinical disorders, including epilepsy and depression. It is thought to exert its therapeutic effect by increasing central norepinephrine (NE) activity, but the evidence supporting this notion is limited. OBJECTIVE In order to test for an impact of tVNS on psychophysiological and hormonal indices of noradrenergic function, we applied tVNS in concert with assessment of salivary alpha amylase (SAA) and cortisol, pupil size, and electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings. METHODS Across three experiments, we applied real and sham tVNS to 61 healthy participants while they performed a set of simple stimulus-discrimination tasks. Before and after the task, as well as during one break, participants provided saliva samples and had their pupil size recorded. EEG was recorded throughout the task. The target for tVNS was the cymba conchae, which is heavily innervated by the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. Sham stimulation was applied to the ear lobe. RESULTS P3 amplitude was not affected by tVNS (Experiment 1A: N = 24; Experiment 1B: N = 20; Bayes factor supporting null model = 4.53), nor was pupil size (Experiment 2: N = 16; interaction of treatment and time: p = .79). However, tVNS increased SAA (Experiments 1A and 2: N = 25) and attenuated the decline of salivary cortisol compared to sham (Experiment 2: N = 17), as indicated by significant interactions involving treatment and time (p = .023 and p = .040, respectively). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that tVNS modulates hormonal indices but not psychophysiological indices of noradrenergic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Warren
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300, RC, Netherlands.
| | - K D Tona
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300, RC, Netherlands
| | - L Ouwerkerk
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands
| | - J van Paridon
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6525, XD, Netherlands
| | - F Poletiek
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, 6525, XD, Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300, RC, Netherlands
| | - J A Bosch
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1018, XA, Netherlands; Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, 68167, Germany
| | - S Nieuwenhuis
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, 2333, AK, Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, 2300, RC, Netherlands
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Ribeiro MJ, Castelo-Branco M. Age-related differences in event-related potentials and pupillary responses in cued reaction time tasks. Neurobiol Aging 2018; 73:177-189. [PMID: 30366291 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in the noradrenergic system are associated with age-related cognitive decline, yet how healthy aging influences the functional properties of this arousal system is still poorly understood. We addressed this question in humans using pupillometry, a well-established indicator of activity levels in the locus coeruleus (LC), the main noradrenergic center in the brain. We recorded the pupillogram and the electroencephalogram of 36 young and 39 older adults, while they were engaged in cued reaction time tasks known to elicit LC responses in monkeys. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed significant group differences. Older adults showed higher cortical activation during preparatory processes reflected in enhanced cue-evoked frontocentral ERPs and reduced parietal ERPs at the time of the motor response. In contrast, the amplitude of the task-related pupillary responses did not show a significant group effect. Our findings suggest that aging-related changes in cortical processing during motor preparation and execution, as documented by electroencephalogram, are not accompanied by changes in the amplitude of activation of the LC, as documented by pupillography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J Ribeiro
- CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Visual Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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Jepma M, Brown SBRE, Murphy PR, Koelewijn SC, de Vries B, van den Maagdenberg AM, Nieuwenhuis S. Noradrenergic and Cholinergic Modulation of Belief Updating. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1803-1820. [PMID: 30063180 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
To make optimal predictions in a dynamic environment, the impact of new observations on existing beliefs-that is, the learning rate-should be guided by ongoing estimates of change and uncertainty. Theoretical work has proposed specific computational roles for various neuromodulatory systems in the control of learning rate, but empirical evidence is still sparse. The aim of the current research was to examine the role of the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems in learning rate regulation. First, we replicated our recent findings that the centroparietal P3 component of the EEG-an index of phasic catecholamine release in the cortex-predicts trial-to-trial variability in learning rate and mediates the effects of surprise and belief uncertainty on learning rate (Study 1, n = 17). Second, we found that pharmacological suppression of either norepinephrine or acetylcholine activity produced baseline-dependent effects on learning rate following nonobvious changes in an outcome-generating process (Study 1). Third, we identified two genes, coding for α2A receptor sensitivity (ADRA2A) and norepinephrine reuptake (NET), as promising targets for future research on the genetic basis of individual differences in learning rate (Study 2, n = 137). Our findings suggest a role for the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems in belief updating and underline the importance of studying interactions between different neuromodulatory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Peter R Murphy
- Leiden University.,University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
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Noradrenaline Modulates Visual Perception and Late Visually Evoked Activity. Curr Biol 2018; 28:2239-2249.e6. [PMID: 29983318 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2017] [Revised: 03/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
An identical sensory stimulus may or may not be incorporated into perceptual experience, depending on the behavioral and cognitive state of the organism. What determines whether a sensory stimulus will be perceived? While different behavioral and cognitive states may share a similar profile of electrophysiology, metabolism, and early sensory responses, neuromodulation is often different and therefore may constitute a key mechanism enabling perceptual awareness. Specifically, noradrenaline improves sensory responses, correlates with orienting toward behaviorally relevant stimuli, and is markedly reduced during sleep, while experience is largely "disconnected" from external events. Despite correlative evidence hinting at a relationship between noradrenaline and perception, causal evidence remains absent. Here, we pharmacologically down- and upregulated noradrenaline signaling in healthy volunteers using clonidine and reboxetine in double-blind placebo-controlled experiments, testing the effects on perceptual abilities and visually evoked electroencephalography (EEG) and fMRI responses. We found that detection sensitivity, discrimination accuracy, and subjective visibility change in accordance with noradrenaline (NE) levels, whereas decision bias (criterion) is not affected. Similarly, noradrenaline increases the consistency of EEG visually evoked potentials, while lower noradrenaline levels delay response components around 200 ms. Furthermore, blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activations in high-order visual cortex selectively vary along with noradrenaline signaling. Taken together, these results point to noradrenaline as a key factor causally linking visual awareness to external world events. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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A locus coeruleus-norepinephrine account of individual differences in working memory capacity and attention control. Psychon Bull Rev 2017; 24:1282-1311. [DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1220-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Brown SBRE, van der Wee NJA, van Noorden MS, Giltay EJ, Nieuwenhuis S. Noradrenergic and cholinergic modulation of late ERP responses to deviant stimuli. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:1620-31. [PMID: 26352794 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have proposed several hypotheses about the neuromodulator systems involved in generating P3 components of the ERP. To test some of these hypotheses, we conducted a randomized placebo-controlled crossover study in which we investigated how the late positive ERP response to deviant stimuli is modulated by (a) clonidine, an α2 agonist that attenuates baseline noradrenergic activity; and (b) scopolamine, a muscarinic antagonist of acetylcholine receptors. We collected EEG data from 18 healthy volunteers during the performance of an auditory oddball task with several active and passive task conditions. We then used temporospatial principal component analysis (PCA) to decompose the ERP waveforms. The PCA revealed two distinct late positive ERP components: the classic parietal P300 and the frontal novelty P3. Statistical analysis of the temporospatial factor scores indicated that in most conditions the amplitude of the classic P300 was increased by clonidine and scopolamine. In contrast, the amplitude of the novelty P3 was decreased by both drugs. The similar pattern of results for clonidine and scopolamine probably reflects the strong interactions between the noradrenergic and cholinergic systems. The results, in combination with previous pharmacological studies, suggest a critical role for both neuromodulator systems in the generation of the P300 and the novelty P3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen B R E Brown
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nic J A van der Wee
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Erik J Giltay
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sander Nieuwenhuis
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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