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Bramson B, Meijer S, van Nuland A, Toni I, Roelofs K. Anxious individuals shift emotion control from lateral frontal pole to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4880. [PMID: 37573436 PMCID: PMC10423291 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40666-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxious individuals consistently fail in controlling emotional behavior, leading to excessive avoidance, a trait that prevents learning through exposure. Although the origin of this failure is unclear, one candidate system involves control of emotional actions, coordinated through lateral frontopolar cortex (FPl) via amygdala and sensorimotor connections. Using structural, functional, and neurochemical evidence, we show how FPl-based emotional action control fails in highly-anxious individuals. Their FPl is overexcitable, as indexed by GABA/glutamate ratio at rest, and receives stronger amygdalofugal projections than non-anxious male participants. Yet, high-anxious individuals fail to recruit FPl during emotional action control, relying instead on dorsolateral and medial prefrontal areas. This functional anatomical shift is proportional to FPl excitability and amygdalofugal projections strength. The findings characterize circuit-level vulnerabilities in anxious individuals, showing that even mild emotional challenges can saturate FPl neural range, leading to a neural bottleneck in the control of emotional action tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob Bramson
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Behavioral Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Sjoerd Meijer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Annelies van Nuland
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioral Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Shunta M, Moriishi C, Ogishima H, Shimada H. The effect of distraction versus post-event processing on cortisol recovery in individuals with elevated social anxiety. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 11:100142. [PMID: 35757175 PMCID: PMC9216559 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Revised: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
There are preliminary findings that repetitive thinking on social situations (post-event processing; PEP) is associated with impaired cortisol recovery after experiencing social evaluative stressors. However, no studies have examined the effect of experimental manipulation of PEP on cortisol recovery among socially anxious individuals. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of distraction on cortisol recovery following a social-evaluative stressor in individuals with subclinical social anxiety symptoms. A total of 40 participants, who scored >30 on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, completed a standardized stress test (the Trier Social Stress Test; TSST). They were then randomized to complete either a 10-min distraction or PEP induction task. Subjective anxiety and salivary cortisol levels were assessed at −20, −10, 0, +10, +20, +30, +40, and +50 min, with respect to the TSST offset. Contrary to the hypothesis, no difference in cortisol recovery was observed between distraction induction and PEP induction. These findings suggest that short-term distraction induction may not be sufficient to promote cortisol recovery in individuals with elevated social anxiety. Effect of distraction on cortisol recovery was tested in individuals with elevated social anxiety. No effect of distraction on cortisol recovery in comparison to post-event processing induction. Short-term distraction induction may not be sufficient for individuals with social anxiety to promote cortisol recovery.
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von Dawans B, Trueg A, Voncken M, Dziobek I, Kirschbaum C, Domes G, Heinrichs M. Empathy Modulates the Effects of Acute Stress on Anxious Appearance and Social Behavior in Social Anxiety Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:875750. [PMID: 35911212 PMCID: PMC9326503 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.875750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients suffering from social anxiety disorder (SAD) fear social interaction and evaluation, which severely undermines their everyday life. There is evidence of increased prosocial behavior after acute social stress exposure in healthy individuals, which may be interpreted as stress-regulating "tend-and-befriend" behavior. In a randomized controlled trial, we measured empathic abilities in a first diagnostic session. In the following experimental session, we investigated how patients with SAD (n = 60) and healthy control participants (HC) (n = 52) respond to an acute social stressor (Trier Social Stress Test for groups) or a non-stressful control condition, and whether empathic abilities and acute social stress interact to modulate anxious appearance and social behavior in a social conversation test. Salivary cortisol, heart rate, and subjective stress response were repeatedly measured. The anxious appearance and social behavior of participants were rated by the conversation partner. SAD patients demonstrated stronger subjective stress responses while the biological responses did not differ from HC. Moreover, patients performed worse overall in the conversation task, which stress additionally undermined. Finally, we found that both emotional and cognitive empathy buffered the negative effects of acute stress on social behavior in SAD, but not in HC. Our data highlight the importance of empathic abilities for SAD during stressful situations and call for multimodal clinical diagnostics. This may help to differentiate clinical subtypes and offer better-tailored treatment for patients. General Scientific Summary: This study shows that high levels of cognitive and emotional empathy can buffer the negative effects of acute stress on social behavior in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Empathic abilities may be included as an additional diagnostic resource marker for SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernadette von Dawans
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Amalie Trueg
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marisol Voncken
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Clinical Psychology of Social Interaction, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Romero-Martínez Á, Sarrate-Costa C, Moya-Albiol L. A Systematic Review of the Role of Oxytocin, Cortisol, and Testosterone in Facial Emotional Processing. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:1334. [PMID: 34943249 PMCID: PMC8698823 DOI: 10.3390/biology10121334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
A topic of interest is the way decoding and interpreting facial emotional expressions can lead to mutual understanding. Facial emotional expression is a basic source of information that guarantees the functioning of other higher cognitive processes (e.g., empathy, cooperativity, prosociality, or decision-making, among others). In this regard, hormones such as oxytocin, cortisol, and/or testosterone have been found to be important in modifying facial emotion processing. In fact, brain structures that participate in facial emotion processing have been shown to be rich in receptors for these hormones. Nonetheless, much of this research has been based on correlational designs. In recent years, a growing number of researchers have tried to carry out controlled laboratory manipulation of these hormones by administering synthetic forms of these hormones. The main objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of studies that assess whether manipulation of these three hormones effectively promotes significant alterations in facial emotional processing. To carry out this review, PRISMA quality criteria for reviews were followed, using the following digital databases: PsycINFO, PubMed, Dialnet, Psicodoc, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library, and focusing on manuscripts with a robust research design (e.g., randomized, single- or double-blind, and/or placebo-controlled) to increase the value of this systematic review. An initial identification of 6340 abstracts and retrieval of 910 full texts led to the final inclusion of 101 papers that met all the inclusion criteria. Only about 18% of the manuscripts included reported a direct effect of hormone manipulation. In fact, emotional accuracy seemed to be enhanced after oxytocin increases, but it diminished when cortisol and/or testosterone increased. Nonetheless, when emotional valence and participants' gender were included, hormonal manipulation reached significance (in around 53% of the articles). In fact, these studies offered a heterogeneous pattern in the way these hormones altered speed processing, attention, and memory. This study reinforces the idea that these hormones are important, but not the main modulators of facial emotion processing. As our comprehension of hormonal effects on emotional processing improves, the potential to design good treatments to improve this ability will be greater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Romero-Martínez
- Department of Psychobiology, University of Valencia, Avenida Blasco Ibañez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain; (C.S.-C.); (L.M.-A.)
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Dapprich AL, Lange WG, von Borries AKL, Volman I, Figner B, Roelofs K. The role of psychopathic traits, social anxiety and cortisol in social approach avoidance tendencies. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 128:105207. [PMID: 33799172 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Social anxiety and psychopathy have conceptually been linked to nearly opposite emotional, behavioral and endocrinological endophenotypes, representing social fearfulness and fearlessness, respectively. Although such a dimensional view has theoretical and practical implications, no study has directly compared social anxiety and psychopathy in terms of emotional experiences, relevant hormones (i.e. cortisol, testosterone) and behavioral tendencies (i.e. social approach-avoidance). Therefore, the present study examined 1) whether self-reported social anxiety and psychopathic traits are indeed anticorrelated, and 2) whether social anxiety, psychopathic traits, cortisol, testosterone and their interplay are differentially linked to social approach-avoidance tendencies. In a well-powered study, a sample of 196 healthy female participants, we assessed self-reported emotional and behavioral tendencies of social fear (i.e. social anxiety and social avoidance) and psychopathic traits (i.e. Factor I [interpersonal-affective deficit] and Factor II [impulsive behavior]). Furthermore, hormone levels were assessed, and approach-avoidance tendencies towards emotional (angry, happy) facial expressions were measured by means of a joystick reaction time task. Results confirmed that self-reported emotional tendencies of social anxiety and psychopathy Factor I (interpersonal-affective deficit) correlated negatively, but self-reported behavioral tendencies (social avoidance and psychopathy Factor II [impulsive behavior]) correlated positively. Furthermore, Structural Equation Modelling demonstrated that participants with higher social anxiety and higher cortisol levels showed an avoidance tendency towards happy faces, while participants with higher psychopathic traits showed an approach tendency towards angry faces. In sum, the notion that social anxiety and psychopathic traits are opposing ends of one dimension was supported only in terms of self-reported emotional experiences, but a comparable relationship with regard to behavioral and endocrinological aspects is debatable. The current findings stress the necessity to study emotional, endocrinological and behavioral factors in unison in order to better understand the shared and distinctive mechanisms of social anxiety and psychopathic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L Dapprich
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Wolf-Gero Lange
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - A Katinka L von Borries
- Bergmannsheil und Kinderklinik Buer GmbH Klinik für Innere Medizin und Kardiologie, Clinic for internal medicine and cardiology, department Psychocardiology, Gelsenkirchen, Germany; Institute for Stressmedicine, ISM Rhein Ruhr, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
| | - Inge Volman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Great Britain
| | - Bernd Figner
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Chronic early trauma impairs emotion recognition and executive functions in youth; specifying biobehavioral precursors of risk and resilience. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 34:1339-1352. [PMID: 33779536 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to chronic early trauma carries lasting effects on children's well-being and adaptation. Guided by models on resilience, we assessed the interplay of biological, emotional, cognitive, and relational factors in shaping two regulatory outcomes in trauma-exposed youth: emotion recognition (ER) and executive functions (EF). A unique war-exposed cohort was followed from early childhood to early adolescence. At preadolescence (11-13 years), ER and EF were assessed and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), biomarker of parasympathetic regulation, was quantified. Mother-child dyadic reciprocity, child's avoidance symptoms, and cortisol (CT) were measured in early childhood. Trauma-exposed youth displayed impaired ER and EF abilities. Conditional process analysis described two differential indirect paths leading from early trauma to regulatory outcomes. ER was mediated by avoidance symptoms in early childhood and modulated by cortisol, such that this path was evident only for preadolescents with high, but not low, CT. In comparison, EF was mediated by the degree of dyadic reciprocity experienced in early childhood and modulated by RSA, observed only among youth with lower RSA. Findings pinpoint trauma-related disruptions to key regulatory support systems in preadolescence as mediated by early-childhood relational, clinical, and physiological factors and highlight the need to specify biobehavioral precursors of resilience toward targeted early interventions.
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von Dawans B, Strojny J, Domes G. The effects of acute stress and stress hormones on social cognition and behavior: Current state of research and future directions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 121:75-88. [PMID: 33301780 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Stress encompasses profound psychological and physiological changes that are observable on all levels, from cellular mechanisms, humoral changes, and brain activation to subjective experience and behavior. While the impact of stress on health has already been studied for decades, a more recent field of research has revealed effects of stress on human social cognition and behavior. Initial studies have attempted to elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms of these stress-induced effects by measuring physiological responses or by using pharmacological approaches. We provide an overview of the current state of research on the effects of acute stress induction or pharmacological manipulations of stress-related neuro circuitry on social cognition and behavior. Additionally, we discuss the methodological challenges that need to be addressed in order to gain further insight into this important research topic and facilitate replicability of results. Future directions may help to disentangle the complex interplay of psychological and biological stress variables and their effects on social cognition and behavior on health and in disorders with social deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julia Strojny
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Germany.
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Gellner AK, Voelter J, Schmidt U, Beins EC, Stein V, Philipsen A, Hurlemann R. Molecular and neurocircuitry mechanisms of social avoidance. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 78:1163-1189. [PMID: 32997200 PMCID: PMC7904739 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03649-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Humans and animals live in social relationships shaped by actions of approach and avoidance. Both are crucial for normal physical and mental development, survival, and well-being. Active withdrawal from social interaction is often induced by the perception of threat or unpleasant social experience and relies on adaptive mechanisms within neuronal networks associated with social behavior. In case of confrontation with overly strong or persistent stressors and/or dispositions of the affected individual, maladaptive processes in the neuronal circuitries and its associated transmitters and modulators lead to pathological social avoidance. This review focuses on active, fear-driven social avoidance, affected circuits within the mesocorticolimbic system and associated regions and a selection of molecular modulators that promise translational potential. A comprehensive review of human research in this field is followed by a reflection on animal studies that offer a broader and often more detailed range of analytical methodologies. Finally, we take a critical look at challenges that could be addressed in future translational research on fear-driven social avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Kathrin Gellner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jella Voelter
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 7, 26160, Bad Zwischenahn, Germany
| | - Ulrike Schmidt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry Und Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, Von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eva Carolina Beins
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Valentin Stein
- Institute of Physiology II, University Hospital Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexandra Philipsen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - René Hurlemann
- Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127, Bonn, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 7, 26160, Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. .,Research Center Neurosensory Science, University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
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Bramson B, Folloni D, Verhagen L, Hartogsveld B, Mars RB, Toni I, Roelofs K. Human Lateral Frontal Pole Contributes to Control over Emotional Approach-Avoidance Actions. J Neurosci 2020; 40:2925-2934. [PMID: 32034069 PMCID: PMC7117901 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2048-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulation of emotional behavior is essential for human social interactions. Recent work has exposed its cognitive complexity, as well as its unexpected reliance on portions of the anterior PFC (aPFC) also involved in exploration, relational reasoning, and counterfactual choice, rather than on dorsolateral and medial prefrontal areas involved in several forms of cognitive control. This study anatomically qualifies the contribution of aPFC territories to the regulation of prepotent approach-avoidance action tendencies elicited by emotional faces, and explores a possible structural pathway through which this emotional action regulation might be implemented. We provide converging evidence from task-based fMRI, diffusion-weighted imaging, and functional connectivity fingerprints for a novel neural element in emotional regulation. Task-based fMRI in human male participants (N = 40) performing an emotional approach-avoidance task identified aPFC territories involved in the regulation of action tendencies elicited by emotional faces. Connectivity fingerprints, based on diffusion-weighted imaging and resting-state connectivity, localized those task-defined frontal regions to the lateral frontal pole (FPl), an anatomically defined portion of the aPFC that lacks a homologous counterpart in macaque brains. Probabilistic tractography indicated that 10%-20% of interindividual variation in emotional regulation abilities is accounted for by the strength of structural connectivity between FPl and amygdala. Evidence from an independent replication sample (N = 50; 10 females) further substantiated this result. These findings provide novel neuroanatomical evidence for incorporating FPl in models of control over human action tendencies elicited by emotional faces.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Successful regulation of emotional behaviors is a prerequisite for successful participation in human society, as is evidenced by the social isolation and loss of occupational opportunities often encountered by people suffering from emotion regulation disorders, such as social-anxiety disorder and psychopathy. Knowledge about the precise cortical regions and connections supporting this control is crucial for understanding both the nature of computations needed to successfully traverse the space of possible actions in social situations, and the potential interventions that might result in efficient treatment of social-emotional disorders. This study provides evidence for a precise cortical region (lateral frontal pole) and a structural pathway (the ventral amygdalofugal bundle) through which a cognitively complex form of emotional action regulation might be implemented in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob Bramson
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands,
| | - Davide Folloni
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SR, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom, and
| | - Lennart Verhagen
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SR, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom, and
| | - Bart Hartogsveld
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom, and
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Izen SC, Lapp HE, Harris DA, Hunter RG, Ciaramitaro VM. Seeing a Face in a Crowd of Emotional Voices: Changes in Perception and Cortisol in Response to Emotional Information across the Senses. Brain Sci 2019; 9:brainsci9080176. [PMID: 31349644 PMCID: PMC6721384 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9080176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
One source of information we glean from everyday experience, which guides social interaction, is assessing the emotional state of others. Emotional state can be expressed through several modalities: body posture or movements, body odor, touch, facial expression, or the intonation in a voice. Much research has examined emotional processing within one sensory modality or the transfer of emotional processing from one modality to another. Yet, less is known regarding interactions across different modalities when perceiving emotions, despite our common experience of seeing emotion in a face while hearing the corresponding emotion in a voice. Our study examined if visual and auditory emotions of matched valence (congruent) conferred stronger perceptual and physiological effects compared to visual and auditory emotions of unmatched valence (incongruent). We quantified how exposure to emotional faces and/or voices altered perception using psychophysics and how it altered a physiological proxy for stress or arousal using salivary cortisol. While we found no significant advantage of congruent over incongruent emotions, we found that changes in cortisol were associated with perceptual changes. Following exposure to negative emotional content, larger decreases in cortisol, indicative of less stress, correlated with more positive perceptual after-effects, indicative of stronger biases to see neutral faces as happier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Izen
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Hannah E Lapp
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Daniel A Harris
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
| | - Richard G Hunter
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Vivian M Ciaramitaro
- Department of Psychology, Developmental and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA.
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Does Exposure Therapy Lead to Changes in Attention Bias and Approach-Avoidance Bias in Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder? COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-018-9934-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Luo X, Rinck M, Bekkering H, Becker ES. The processing of task-irrelevant emotion and colour in the Approach-Avoidance Task. Cogn Emot 2018; 33:548-562. [PMID: 29985106 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1497951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
When processing information about human faces, we have to integrate different sources of information like skin colour and emotional expression. In 3 experiments, we investigated how these features are processed in a top-down manner when task instructions determine the relevance of features, and in a bottom-up manner when the stimulus features themselves determine process priority. In Experiment 1, participants learned to respond with approach-avoidance movements to faces that presented both emotion and colour features (e.g. happy faces printed in greyscale). For each participant, only one of these two features was task-relevant while the other one could be ignored. In contrast to our predictions, we found better learning of task-irrelevant colour when emotion was task-relevant than vice versa. Experiment 2 showed that the learning of task-irrelevant emotional information was improved in general when participants' awareness was increased by adding NoGo-trials. Experiment 3 replicated these results for faces and emotional words. We conclude that during the processing of faces, both bottom-up and top-down processes are involved, such that task instructions and feature characteristics play a role. Ecologically significant features like emotions are not necessarily processed with high priority. The findings are discussed in the light of theories of attention and cognitive biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xijia Luo
- a Behavioural Science Institute , Radboud University Nijmegen , Nijmegen , The Netherlands
| | - Mike Rinck
- a Behavioural Science Institute , Radboud University Nijmegen , Nijmegen , The Netherlands
| | - Harold Bekkering
- b Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour , Radboud University Nijmegen , Nijmegen , The Netherlands
| | - Eni S Becker
- a Behavioural Science Institute , Radboud University Nijmegen , Nijmegen , The Netherlands
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Facial gender but not emotion distinguishes neural responses of 10- to 13-year-old children with social anxiety disorder from healthy and clinical controls. Biol Psychol 2018; 135:36-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Revised: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Michalska KJ, Machlin L, Moroney E, Lowet DS, Hettema JM, Roberson-Nay R, Averbeck BB, Brotman MA, Nelson EE, Leibenluft E, Pine DS. Anxiety symptoms and children's eye gaze during fear learning. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:1276-1286. [PMID: 28736915 PMCID: PMC9673016 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The eye region of the face is particularly relevant for decoding threat-related signals, such as fear. However, it is unclear if gaze patterns to the eyes can be influenced by fear learning. Previous studies examining gaze patterns in adults find an association between anxiety and eye gaze avoidance, although no studies to date examine how associations between anxiety symptoms and eye-viewing patterns manifest in children. The current study examined the effects of learning and trait anxiety on eye gaze using a face-based fear conditioning task developed for use in children. METHODS Participants were 82 youth from a general population sample of twins (aged 9-13 years), exhibiting a range of anxiety symptoms. Participants underwent a fear conditioning paradigm where the conditioned stimuli (CS+) were two neutral faces, one of which was randomly selected to be paired with an aversive scream. Eye tracking, physiological, and subjective data were acquired. Children and parents reported their child's anxiety using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders. RESULTS Conditioning influenced eye gaze patterns in that children looked longer and more frequently to the eye region of the CS+ than CS- face; this effect was present only during fear acquisition, not at baseline or extinction. Furthermore, consistent with past work in adults, anxiety symptoms were associated with eye gaze avoidance. Finally, gaze duration to the eye region mediated the effect of anxious traits on self-reported fear during acquisition. CONCLUSIONS Anxiety symptoms in children relate to face-viewing strategies deployed in the context of a fear learning experiment. This relationship may inform attempts to understand the relationship between pediatric anxiety symptoms and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalina J. Michalska
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD,Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
| | - Laura Machlin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Elizabeth Moroney
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - John M. Hettema
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
| | - Roxann Roberson-Nay
- Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
| | - Bruno B. Averbeck
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Melissa A. Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Eric E. Nelson
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD,Center for Biobehavioral Health, The Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH,Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
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15
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Maeda S, Sato T, Shimada H, Tsumura H. Post-event Processing Predicts Impaired Cortisol Recovery Following Social Stressor: The Moderating Role of Social Anxiety. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1919. [PMID: 29163296 PMCID: PMC5671589 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that individuals with social anxiety show impaired cortisol recovery after experiencing social evaluative stressors. Yet, little is known regarding the cognitive processes underlying such impaired cortisol recovery. The present study examined the effect of post-event processing (PEP), referred to as repetitive thinking about social situations, on cortisol recovery following a social stressor. Forty-two non-clinical university students (23 women, 19 men, mean age = 22.0 ± 2.0 years) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), followed by a thought sampling procedure which assessed the frequency of PEP reflecting the TSST. A growth curve model showed PEP and social anxiety interactively predicted cortisol recovery. In particular, PEP predicted impaired cortisol recovery in those with low levels of social anxiety but not in those with high levels of social anxiety, which contradicted the initial hypothesis. These findings suggest that PEP is differentially associated with cortisol recovery depending on levels of social anxiety. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings were discussed in terms of protective inhibition framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunta Maeda
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Japan.,Research Fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomoya Sato
- Institute of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | | | - Hideki Tsumura
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Shimane University, Izumo, Japan
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16
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Approach and avoidance tendencies in depression and anxiety disorders. Psychiatry Res 2017; 256:475-481. [PMID: 28715782 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety is linked to increased avoidance and inhibition, whereas depression is linked to decreased approach and diminished behavioral activation. Although these notions are widely recognized, systematic investigation of approach-avoidance tendencies is lacking across these diagnostic groups. Participants (mean age = 45.6; 65.8% female) were subdivided in healthy controls (405), remitted patients (877) and currently anxious (217), depressed (154) or comorbid (154) patients. Automatic approach-avoidance tendencies in reaction to facial expression were assessed using the Approach-Avoidance-Task (AAT). Self-reported trait approach and avoidance tendencies were assessed using the BIS/BAS scale. Severity of psychopathology was assessed to examine dose-response relationships. We did not find any consistent associations of automatic approach-avoidance tendencies with psychiatric variables. In contrast, medium to large differences in BIS scores showed increased trait avoidance tendencies in all patient groups relative to healthy controls. Overall, it seems that increased trait avoidance, rather than decreased approach, is a characteristic of affective disorders. This holds for both depressed and anxious patients and more strongly so in severe and chronic patients. It underlines the importance to address trait avoidance tendencies in the treatment of affective disorders.
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17
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Lieslehto J, Kiviniemi V, Mäki P, Koivukangas J, Nordström T, Miettunen J, Barnett JH, Jones PB, Murray GK, Moilanen I, Paus T, Veijola J. Early adversity and brain response to faces in young adulthood. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:4470-4478. [PMID: 28612935 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2017] [Revised: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Early stressors play a key role in shaping interindividual differences in vulnerability to various psychopathologies, which according to the diathesis-stress model might relate to the elevated glucocorticoid secretion and impaired responsiveness to stress. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that individuals exposed to early adversity have deficits in emotion processing from faces. This study aims to explore whether early adversities associate with brain response to faces and whether this association might associate with the regional variations in mRNA expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1). A total of 104 individuals drawn from the Northern Finland Brith Cohort 1986 participated in a face-task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. A large independent dataset (IMAGEN, N = 1739) was utilized for reducing fMRI data-analytical space in the NFBC 1986 dataset. Early adversities were associated with deviant brain response to fearful faces (MANCOVA, P = 0.006) and with weaker performance in fearful facial expression recognition (P = 0.01). Glucocorticoid receptor gene expression (data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas) correlated with the degree of associations between early adversities and brain response to fearful faces (R2 = 0.25, P = 0.01) across different brain regions. Our results suggest that early adversities contribute to brain response to faces and that this association is mediated in part by the glucocorticoid system. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4470-4478, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Lieslehto
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Aurora Doctoral Program, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Vesa Kiviniemi
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Pirjo Mäki
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Länsi-Pohja Healthcare District, Keropudas and the Middle Ostrobothnia Central Hospital, Kiuru, Kokkola, Mental Health Services in Raahe District and District of Kallio, Finland
| | - Jenni Koivukangas
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Tanja Nordström
- Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jouko Miettunen
- Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Center for Life Course Health Research, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jennifer H Barnett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Peter B Jones
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Graham K Murray
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Irma Moilanen
- University of Oulu and Department of Child Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, PEDEGO Research Center, Child Psychiatry, Oulu, Finland
| | | | - Tomáš Paus
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Child Mind Institute, New York, New York
| | - Juha Veijola
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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18
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Bandelow B, Baldwin D, Abelli M, Bolea-Alamanac B, Bourin M, Chamberlain SR, Cinosi E, Davies S, Domschke K, Fineberg N, Grünblatt E, Jarema M, Kim YK, Maron E, Masdrakis V, Mikova O, Nutt D, Pallanti S, Pini S, Ströhle A, Thibaut F, Vaghix MM, Won E, Wedekind D, Wichniak A, Woolley J, Zwanzger P, Riederer P. Biological markers for anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD: A consensus statement. Part II: Neurochemistry, neurophysiology and neurocognition. World J Biol Psychiatry 2017; 18:162-214. [PMID: 27419272 PMCID: PMC5341771 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2016.1190867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 173] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Biomarkers are defined as anatomical, biochemical or physiological traits that are specific to certain disorders or syndromes. The objective of this paper is to summarise the current knowledge of biomarkers for anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS Findings in biomarker research were reviewed by a task force of international experts in the field, consisting of members of the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry Task Force on Biological Markers and of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Anxiety Disorders Research Network. RESULTS The present article (Part II) summarises findings on potential biomarkers in neurochemistry (neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine or GABA, neuropeptides such as cholecystokinin, neurokinins, atrial natriuretic peptide, or oxytocin, the HPA axis, neurotrophic factors such as NGF and BDNF, immunology and CO2 hypersensitivity), neurophysiology (EEG, heart rate variability) and neurocognition. The accompanying paper (Part I) focuses on neuroimaging and genetics. CONCLUSIONS Although at present, none of the putative biomarkers is sufficient and specific as a diagnostic tool, an abundance of high quality research has accumulated that should improve our understanding of the neurobiological causes of anxiety disorders, OCD and PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Borwin Bandelow
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, Germany
| | - David Baldwin
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Marianna Abelli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Blanca Bolea-Alamanac
- School of Social and Community Medicine, Academic Unit of Psychiatry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Michel Bourin
- Neurobiology of Anxiety and Mood Disorders, University of Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Samuel R. Chamberlain
- Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and University of Hertfordshire, Parkway, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Eduardo Cinosi
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Gabriele D’Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Simon Davies
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Geriatric Psychiatry Division, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- School of Social and Community Medicine, Academic Unit of Psychiatry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Naomi Fineberg
- Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and University of Hertfordshire, Parkway, UK
| | - Edna Grünblatt
- Department of Psychiatry Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and the ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marek Jarema
- Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Yong-Ku Kim
- Department of Psychiatry College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eduard Maron
- Department of Psychiatry, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Faculty of Medicine Department of Medicine, Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Vasileios Masdrakis
- Athens University Medical School, First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Olya Mikova
- Foundation Biological Psychiatry, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - David Nutt
- Faculty of Medicine Department of Medicine, Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Stefano Pallanti
- UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Stefano Pini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité – University Medica Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Florence Thibaut
- Faculty of Medicine Paris Descartes, University Hospital Cochin, Paris, France
| | - Matilde M. Vaghix
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Eunsoo Won
- Department of Psychiatry College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dirk Wedekind
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, Germany
| | - Adam Wichniak
- Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Jade Woolley
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Peter Zwanzger
- kbo-Inn-Salzach-Klinikum Wasserburg am Inn, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Riederer
- Department of Psychiatry Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
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19
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Kaldewaij R, Koch SBJ, Volman I, Toni I, Roelofs K. On the Control of Social Approach-Avoidance Behavior: Neural and Endocrine Mechanisms. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2017; 30:275-293. [PMID: 27356521 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2016_446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to control our automatic action tendencies is crucial for adequate social interactions. Emotional events trigger automatic approach and avoidance tendencies. Although these actions may be generally adaptive, the capacity to override these emotional reactions may be key to flexible behavior during social interaction. The present chapter provides a review of the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying this ability and their relation to social psychopathologies. Aberrant social behavior, such as observed in social anxiety or psychopathy, is marked by abnormalities in approach-avoidance tendencies and the ability to control them. Key neural regions involved in the regulation of approach-avoidance behavior are the amygdala, widely implicated in automatic emotional processing, and the anterior prefrontal cortex, which exerts control over the amygdala. Hormones, especially testosterone and cortisol, have been shown to affect approach-avoidance behavior and the associated neural mechanisms. The present chapter also discusses ways to directly influence social approach and avoidance behavior and will end with a research agenda to further advance this important research field. Control over approach-avoidance tendencies may serve as an exemplar of emotional action regulation and might have a great value in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the development of affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinoud Kaldewaij
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Saskia B J Koch
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Inge Volman
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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20
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Zhang L, Qin S, Yao Z, Zhang K, Wu J. Long-term academic stress enhances early processing of facial expressions. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 109:138-146. [PMID: 27567996 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to long-term stress can lead to a variety of emotional and behavioral problems. Although widely investigated, the neural basis of how long-term stress impacts emotional processing in humans remains largely elusive. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we investigated the effects of long-term stress on the neural dynamics of emotionally facial expression processing. Thirty-nine male college students undergoing preparation for a major examination and twenty-one matched controls performed a gender discrimination task for faces displaying angry, happy, and neutral expressions. The results of the Perceived Stress Scale showed that participants in the stress group perceived higher levels of long-term stress relative to the control group. ERP analyses revealed differential effects of long-term stress on two early stages of facial expression processing: 1) long-term stress generally augmented posterior P1 amplitudes to facial stimuli irrespective of expression valence, suggesting that stress can increase sensitization to visual inputs in general, and 2) long-term stress selectively augmented fronto-central P2 amplitudes for angry but not for neutral or positive facial expressions, suggesting that stress may lead to increased attentional prioritization to processing negative emotional stimuli. Together, our findings suggest that long-term stress has profound impacts on the early stages of facial expression processing, with an increase at the very early stage of general information inputs and a subsequent attentional bias toward processing emotionally negative stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuxi Yao
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianhui Wu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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21
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Cremers HR, Roelofs K. Social anxiety disorder: a critical overview of neurocognitive research. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2016; 7:218-32. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2015] [Revised: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Henk R. Cremers
- Department of Clinical Psychology; University of Amsterdam; Amsterdam Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry; The University of Chicago; Chicago IL USA
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Behavioural Science Institute; Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour; Radboud University Nijmegen; Nijmegen Netherlands
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22
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Enter D, Spinhoven P, Roelofs K. Alleviating social avoidance: effects of single dose testosterone administration on approach-avoidance action. Horm Behav 2014; 65:351-4. [PMID: 24530652 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2013] [Revised: 02/03/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Testosterone is an important regulator of social-motivational behavior and is known for its dominance-enhancing and social-anxiolytic properties. However, to date no studies have systematically investigated the causal effect of testosterone on actual social approach-avoidance behavior in humans. The present study sets out to test the effects of testosterone administration in healthy female volunteers using an objective implicit measure of social motivational behavior: the social Approach-Avoidance Task, a reaction time task requiring participants to approach or avoid visually presented emotional (happy, angry, and neutral) faces. Participants showed significantly diminished avoidance tendencies to angry faces after testosterone administration. Testosterone did not affect approach-avoidance tendencies to social affiliation (happy) faces. Thus, a single dose testosterone administration reduces automatic avoidance of social threat and promotes relative increase of threat approach tendencies in healthy females. These findings further the understanding of the neuroendocrine regulation of social motivational behavior and may have direct treatment implications for social anxiety, characterized by persistent social avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorien Enter
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Leiden, The Netherlands; Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Philip Spinhoven
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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23
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Elnazer HY, Baldwin DS. Investigation of cortisol levels in patients with anxiety disorders: a structured review. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2014; 18:191-216. [PMID: 24659553 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2014_299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are common and distressing medical conditions, which typically arise in adolescence or early adult life. They can persist for many years, reducing quality of life, limiting academic and occupational achievement, and being responsible for considerable economic pressures. Although a range of psychological and pharmacological treatments are available, their success is often limited, and many patients remain troubled by significant symptom-related disability for long periods. The detailed pathophysiology of each anxiety disorder is not established, and novel treatments that are based solely on current understanding of conventional neurotransmitter function are unlikely to be substantially more effective or better tolerated than current treatments. Investigations of hypothalamo-pituitary axis function across panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias and social anxiety disorder have produced intriguing findings but not revealed a consistent pattern of endocrine disturbance, perhaps reflecting differences in methodology and the nature and size of the clinical samples. There is a persistent need for large, prospective studies using standardized methods for investigation and data analysis (164 words).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hesham Yousry Elnazer
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences Academic Unit (CNS and Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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24
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Abstract
Oxytocin attenuates responses to stress and threat (e.g., by fostering social approach in animals), but direct investigations of whether the hormone also facilitates approach-related social behaviors in humans are lacking. To assess approach-avoidance tendencies, we had participants respond to images of happy and angry faces with direct or averted gaze by either pulling a joystick toward themselves (approach) or pushing it away from themselves (avoidance). When given a placebo, participants’ action tendencies were typical, with happy faces eliciting approach responses and angry faces eliciting avoidance responses. However, 24 IU of oxytocin moderated these tendencies, with the inclination to approach angry faces with direct gaze being negatively related to social anxiety. The results demonstrate that oxytocin facilitates approach in humans in response to social threat, which verifies its anxiolytic potential. Moreover, they underscore the moderating role of dispositional factors reported in endocrine research and their therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina Radke
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen
| | - Ellen R. A. de Bruijn
- Department of Clinical, Health and Neuropsychology, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University
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25
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Schulz C, Mothes-Lasch M, Straube T. Automatic neural processing of disorder-related stimuli in social anxiety disorder: faces and more. Front Psychol 2013; 4:282. [PMID: 23745116 PMCID: PMC3662886 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with automatic information processing biases resulting in hypersensitivity to signals of social threat such as negative facial expressions. However, the nature and extent of automatic processes in SAD on the behavioral and neural level is not entirely clear yet. The present review summarizes neuroscientific findings on automatic processing of facial threat but also other disorder-related stimuli such as emotional prosody or negative words in SAD. We review initial evidence for automatic activation of the amygdala, insula, and sensory cortices as well as for automatic early electrophysiological components. However, findings vary depending on tasks, stimuli, and neuroscientific methods. Only few studies set out to examine automatic neural processes directly and systematic attempts are as yet lacking. We suggest that future studies should: (1) use different stimulus modalities, (2) examine different emotional expressions, (3) compare findings in SAD with other anxiety disorders, (4) use more sophisticated experimental designs to investigate features of automaticity systematically, and (5) combine different neuroscientific methods (such as functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology). Finally, the understanding of neural automatic processes could also provide hints for therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Schulz
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster Muenster, Germany
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N1 and N2 ERPs reflect the regulation of automatic approach tendencies to positive stimuli. Neurosci Res 2013; 75:239-49. [PMID: 23298530 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2012] [Revised: 12/18/2012] [Accepted: 12/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) measures automatic approach-avoidance tendencies and their regulation: compatible reactions (approach positive, avoid negative) are faster than incompatible ones (approach negative, avoid positive). The present study assessed event-related potentials (ERPs) in 15 healthy persons for depicting neuropsychological sub-processes of such stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effects. Early attention allocation preparing efficient stimulus classification (N1 ERP) and response inhibition on the level of response representations (N2 ERP) were found to underlie the solution of the AAT-conflict. For positive stimuli, these processes were enhanced during the incompatible condition avoid positive compared to the compatible condition approach positive. Source localization analysis revealed activity in right occipital areas (N1 ERP), and in left DLPFC and insula (N2 ERP) to be neuronal generators of these electrophysiological SRC effects. This neuronal regulation resulted in no influence of incompatibility at the behavioural level. For negative pictures, we found the reversed pattern: there were no electrophysiological SRC effects, but clear behavioural SRC effects in both RTs and error frequency, i.e. participants were faster and made fewer errors during avoiding than approaching negative pictures. These valence-specific differences are in line with previous studies indicating negative stimuli - probably due to higher importance for survival - to more strongly influence behaviour.
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Enter D, Colzato LS, Roelofs K. Dopamine transporter polymorphisms affect social approach-avoidance tendencies. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2012; 11:671-6. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-183x.2012.00791.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Stress-induced cortisol level elevations are associated with reduced negative affect after stress: indications for a mood-buffering cortisol effect. Psychosom Med 2012; 74:23-32. [PMID: 22155939 DOI: 10.1097/psy.0b013e31823a4a25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Stress is associated with increased negative affect and activation of the sympathetic nervous system and of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, the relationship between these stress systems and negative affect is incompletely understood. We therefore investigated positive and negative affects in relationship with salivary cortisol and salivary α-amylase (sAA) levels in a large sample of participants exposed to a psychosocial stressor or a control condition. METHODS Cortisol and sAA levels from five studies with a total sample size of 232 participants were reanalyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. In these studies, we measured affective responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and its control condition (placebo TSST) with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. RESULTS An inverse relationship between cortisol and negative affect was observed across all participants (β(06) = -0.13, p = .002). Higher level of negative affect was associated with lower mean cortisol levels 10 minutes after the TSST or the control condition. When the two conditions were tested separately, the effect was significant in the stress condition (β(06) = -0.05, p = .02) but not in the control condition (β(06) = -0.0008, p > .05). In contrast to the results for cortisol, a positive relationship was found between sAA and negative affect within the stress condition (β(06) = 0.10, p = .005). CONCLUSIONS The present findings suggest that cortisol is associated with an attenuated negative emotional arousal in response to acute stress, whereas sAA levels seem to reflect the degree of negative emotional arousal. Together with previous pharmacological studies, these data seem to support the hypothesis of mood-buffering effects of cortisol.
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Bakvis P, Spinhoven P, Zitman FG, Roelofs K. Automatic avoidance tendencies in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Seizure 2011; 20:628-34. [PMID: 21752672 DOI: 10.1016/j.seizure.2011.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2010] [Revised: 04/20/2011] [Accepted: 06/14/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Psychogenic Non Epileptic Seizures (PNES) have been theorized to reflect a learned pattern of avoidant behavior to deal with stressors. Although such observation may be relevant for our understanding of the etiology of PNES, evidence for this theory is largely build on self-report investigations and no studies have systematically tested actual avoidance behavior in patients with PNES. In this study, we tested automatic threat avoidance tendencies in relation to stress and cortisol levels in patients with PNES and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS The approach and avoidance (AA) task was administered to 12 patients with PNES and 20 matched HCs at baseline and following stress-induction using the Cold Pressor Test (CPT). The AA task requires participants to evaluate the emotional valence of pictures of angry and happy faces by making arm movements (arm flexion or extension) that are either affect-congruent (avoid-angry; approach-happy) or affect-incongruent (approach-angry; avoid-happy) with their intuitive action tendencies. Saliva cortisol was measured throughout the experiment. RESULTS Patients, but not HCs, showed increased approach-avoidance congruency-effects for angry faces on the AA task at baseline, with relatively slower approach of angry faces, which was overall associated with basal pre-task cortisol. This congruency-effect disappeared after the CPT. DISCUSSION The present findings provide an objective confirmation of previous suggestions from self-report studies indicating that PNES patients show relatively increased avoidance tendencies to social threat cues. The registering of threat avoidance behavior may prove to be a clinically valuable contribution to evaluate psychological treatment effectiveness and perhaps even PNES prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Bakvis
- SEIN, Epilepsy Institute in the Netherlands, Heemstede, The Netherlands.
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Putman P, Roelofs K. Effects of single cortisol administrations on human affect reviewed: Coping with stress through adaptive regulation of automatic cognitive processing. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2011; 36:439-48. [PMID: 21194844 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2010] [Revised: 11/29/2010] [Accepted: 12/01/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The human stress hormone cortisol may facilitate effective coping after psychological stress. In apparent agreement, administration of cortisol has been demonstrated to reduce fear in response to stressors. For anxious patients with phobias or posttraumatic stress disorder this has been ascribed to hypothetical inhibition of retrieval of traumatic memories. However, such stress-protective effects may also work via adaptive regulation of early cognitive processing of threatening information from the environment. This paper selectively reviews the available literature on effects of single cortisol administrations on affect and early cognitive processing of affectively significant information. The concluded working hypothesis is that immediate effects of high concentration of cortisol may facilitate stress-coping via inhibition of automatic processing of goal-irrelevant threatening information and through increased automatic approach-avoidance responses in early emotional processing. Limitations in the existing literature and suggestions for future directions are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Putman
- Department of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
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Matias GP, Nicolson NA, Freire T. Solitude and cortisol: Associations with state and trait affect in daily life. Biol Psychol 2011; 86:314-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2010] [Revised: 12/23/2010] [Accepted: 12/23/2010] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Amodio DM. Coordinated Roles of Motivation and Perception in the Regulation of Intergroup Responses: Frontal Cortical Asymmetry Effects on the P2 Event-related Potential and Behavior. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 22:2609-17. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2009.21395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Self-regulation is believed to involve changes in motivation and perception that function to promote goal-driven behavior. However, little is known about the way these processes interact during the on-line engagement of self-regulation. The present study examined the coordination of motivation, perception, and action control in White American participants as they regulated responses on a racial stereotyping task. Electroencephalographic indices of approach motivation (left frontal cortical asymmetry) and perceptual attention to Black versus White faces (the P2 event-related potential) were assessed during task performance. Action control was modeled from task behavior using the process-dissociation procedure. A pattern of moderated mediation emerged, such that stronger left frontal activity predicted larger P2 responses to race, which in turn predicted better action control, especially for participants holding positive racial attitudes. Results supported the hypothesis that motivation tunes perception to facilitate goal-directed action. Implications for theoretical models of intergroup response regulation, the P2 component, and the relation between motivation and perception are discussed.
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Henckens MJAG, van Wingen GA, Joëls M, Fernández G. Time-dependent effects of corticosteroids on human amygdala processing. J Neurosci 2010; 30:12725-32. [PMID: 20861377 PMCID: PMC6633587 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3112-10.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2010] [Revised: 08/02/2010] [Accepted: 08/04/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute stress is associated with a sensitized amygdala. Corticosteroids, released in response to stress, are suggested to restore homeostasis by normalizing/desensitizing brain processing in the aftermath of stress. Here, we investigated the effects of corticosteroids on amygdala processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Since corticosteroids exert rapid nongenomic and slow genomic effects, we administered hydrocortisone either 75 min (rapid effects) or 285 min (slow effects) before scanning in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Seventy-two healthy males were scanned while viewing faces morphing from a neutral facial expression into fearful or happy expressions. Imaging results revealed that hydrocortisone desensitizes amygdala responsivity rapidly, while it selectively normalizes responses to negative stimuli slowly. Psychophysiological interaction analyses suggested that this slow normalization is related to an altered coupling of the amygdala with the medial prefrontal cortex. These results reveal a temporarily fine-tuned mechanism that is critical for avoiding amygdala overshoot during stress and enabling adequate recovery thereafter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marloes J A G Henckens
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Roelofs K, Putman P, Schouten S, Lange WG, Volman I, Rinck M. Gaze direction differentially affects avoidance tendencies to happy and angry faces in socially anxious individuals. Behav Res Ther 2010; 48:290-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2009] [Revised: 10/29/2009] [Accepted: 11/12/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Psychophysiological evidence for cortisol-induced reduction in early bias for implicit social threat in social phobia. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2010; 35:21-32. [PMID: 19836898 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2009] [Revised: 09/11/2009] [Accepted: 09/11/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The stress hormone cortisol is important for the regulation of social motivational processes. High cortisol levels have been associated with social fear and avoidance, which play an important role in social anxiety disorder (SAD), as does hypervigilant processing of social threat. However, causal effects of cortisol on threat processing in SAD remain unclear. In an event-related potential (ERP) study we investigated the effects of cortisol on task-irrelevant (implicit) processing of social threat in SAD, exploring the temporal dynamics as well as the role of symptom severity and stimulus awareness. Angry face processing was measured in participants with clinical SAD after double-blind, within-subject oral administration of cortisol (50mg) and placebo, using a masked and an unmasked emotional Stroop task. Both tasks showed significantly increased P2 midline ERP amplitudes for angry compared to neutral and happy faces in the placebo condition, reflecting an early attentional bias for social threat in SAD. Furthermore, cortisol administration significantly decreased P2 amplitudes for masked angry faces. This effect correlated with social anxiety, showing stronger decreases in patients with higher levels of social anxiety. These results indicate a highly specific effect of cortisol on early motivated attention to social threat and, together with previous findings, highlight the importance of motivational context (stimulus- or task-relevance) as well as symptom severity.
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Bakvis P, Spinhoven P, Roelofs K. Basal cortisol is positively correlated to threat vigilance in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Epilepsy Behav 2009; 16:558-60. [PMID: 19818692 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2009] [Revised: 09/04/2009] [Accepted: 09/06/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have provided evidence for a vigilant attentional bias toward threat stimuli and increased basal diurnal cortisol levels in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). Because cortisol levels may be predictive of threat vigilance, we reanalyzed previous data on threat vigilance in 19 unmedicated patients with PNES and found a positive correlation between baseline cortisol levels and attentional bias scores for threat stimuli (r=0.49, P=0.035). There was no such relationship in healthy matched controls (n=20) or in patients with epileptic seizures (n=17). These findings provide the first evidence linking an endocrine stress marker to increased threat sensitivity in PNES and support new integrated psychoneurobiological models of PNES.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Bakvis
- Unit of Clinical Health and Neuropsychology, Institute of Psychology Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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