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Günther V, Strukova M, Pecher J, Webelhorst C, Engelmann S, Kersting A, Hoffmann KT, Egloff B, Okon-Singer H, Lobsien D, Suslow T. Cognitive Avoidance Is Associated with Decreased Brain Responsiveness to Threat Distractors under High Perceptual Load. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13040618. [PMID: 37190583 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13040618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive coping strategies to deal with anxiety-provoking events have an impact on mental and physical health. Dispositional vigilance is characterized by an increased analysis of the threatening environment, whereas cognitive avoidance comprises strategies to inhibit threat processing. To date, functional neuroimaging studies on the neural underpinnings of these coping styles are scarce and have revealed discrepant findings. In the present study, we examined automatic brain responsiveness as a function of coping styles using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We administered a perceptual load paradigm with contemptuous and fearful faces as distractor stimuli in a sample of N = 43 healthy participants. The Mainz Coping Inventory was used to assess cognitive avoidance and vigilance. An association of cognitive avoidance with reduced contempt and fear processing under high perceptual load was observed in a widespread network including the amygdala, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, insula, and frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas. Our findings indicate that the dispositional tendency to divert one's attention away from distressing stimuli is a valuable predictor of diminished automatic neural responses to threat in several cortical and subcortical areas. A reduced processing in brain regions involved in emotion perception and attention might indicate a potential threat resilience associated with cognitive avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivien Günther
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mariia Strukova
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jonas Pecher
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carolin Webelhorst
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simone Engelmann
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anette Kersting
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karl-Titus Hoffmann
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Boris Egloff
- Department of Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, 55122 Mainz, Germany
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 3100000, Israel
| | - Donald Lobsien
- Department of Neuroradiology, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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2
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Lucherini Angeletti L, Scalabrini A, Ricca V, Northoff G. Topography of the Anxious Self: Abnormal Rest-Task Modulation in Social Anxiety Disorder. Neuroscientist 2023; 29:221-244. [PMID: 34282680 DOI: 10.1177/10738584211030497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by social anxiety/fear, self-attention, and interoception. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies demonstrate increased activity during symptom-sensitive tasks in regions of the default-mode network (DMN), amygdala (AMG), and salience network (SN). What is the source of this task-unspecific symptom-sensitive hyperactivity in DMN? We address this question by probing SAD resting state (rs) changes in DMN including their relation to other regions as possible source of task-unspecific hyperactivity in the same regions. Our findings show the following: (1) rs-hypoconnectivity within-DMN regions; (2) rs-hyperconnectivity between DMN and AMG/SN; (3) task-evoked hyperactivity in the abnormal rs-regions of DMN and AMG/SN during different symptom-sensitive tasks; (4) negative relationship of rest and task changes in especially anterior DMN regions as their rs-hypoconnectivity is accompanied by task-unspecific hyperactivity; (5) abnormal top-down/bottom-up modulation between anterior DMN regions and AMG during rest and task. Findings demonstrate that rs-hypoconnectivity among DMN regions is negatively related to task-unspecific hyperactivity in DMN and AMG/SN. We propose a model of "Topography of the Anxious Self" in SAD (TAS-SAD). Abnormal DMN-AMG/SN topography during rest, as trait feature of an "unstable social self", is abnormally aggravated during SAD-sensitive situations resulting in task-related hyperactivity in the same regions with an "anxious self" as state feature.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Psychological Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Valdo Ricca
- Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.,Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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3
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Hu C, Oei TP, Hong Y, Zhou R. Processing the peripheral distractor in test anxiety: the effects of perceptual load and cognitive load. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03264-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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4
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Monopoli WJ, Huet A, Allan NP, Judah MR, Bunford N. Distinct aspects of emotion dysregulation differentially correspond to magnitude and slope of the late positive potential to affective stimuli. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:372-383. [PMID: 34775912 PMCID: PMC8860885 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.2000370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACTEmotion dysregulation (ED) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for several forms of psychopathology. One established, integrative conceptualisation of ED that has informed our understanding of psychopathology (Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation : development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41-54) was recently extended to account for state-level and specifically physiological aspects of ED. As such, the goal of the current study was to assess the degree to which this conceptualisation could be captured using a physiological, state-level index (i.e. the late positive potential; LPP). Participants (N=41; Mage=27.5 years, SD=11.0) completed a trait-based rating scale measure of the extended conceptualisation of ED and viewed a series of images that ranged in valence (i.e. unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral). Multilevel modelling indicated some points of convergence between rating scale scores and the LPP, and other points of divergence. Findings underscore the utility of a multi-method approach to improve understanding of key transdiagnostic characteristics across levels of analysis. Further, results are novel evidence supporting validity of the extended conceptualisation of ED.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ann Huet
- Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH
| | | | - Matt R. Judah
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
| | - Nóra Bunford
- ‘Lendület’ Developmental and Translational Neuroscience Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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5
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Sheena MK, Jimmy J, Burkhouse KL, Klumpp H. Anterior cingulate cortex activity during attentional control corresponds with rumination in depression and social anxiety. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2021; 317:111385. [PMID: 34563988 PMCID: PMC8559256 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Rumination and worry are transdiagnostic perseverative cognitions that have overlapping and distinct characteristics. While the mechanisms of perseverative cognitions remain incomplete, limited data indicate anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as it relates to top-down functions contributes to perseverative cognitions in internalizing conditions. The current study extends this work in patients with major depression (n = 39) or social anxiety (n = 42). During fMRI, participants viewed images comprising letter strings superimposed on task-irrelevant threatening or neutral faces. To moderate task difficulty, there was a low perceptual load condition where the target letter was in a string of identical letters and high load condition with the target letter in a mixed letter string increasing task difficulty. Regions of interest (ROI) comprised dorsal ACC and rostral ACC. Bilateral amygdala was also examined. Results showed diagnostic groups had similar levels of rumination and worry. Exploratory hierarchical regression analysis comprising clinical measures, task performance, and the 4 ROIs revealed significantly less dorsal ACC engagement during low (vs. high) load to task-irrelevant faces corresponded with more rumination, but not worry, regardless of diagnostic status. However, the ACC finding did not survive Bonferroni correction. Preliminary results suggest dorsal ACC response during attentional control may serve as a transdiagnostic mechanism of rumination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle K Sheena
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor St., Rm 457, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
| | - Jagan Jimmy
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor St., Rm 457, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Katie L Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor St., Rm 457, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor St., Rm 457, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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6
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Liang CW. Inhibitory attentional control under cognitive load in social anxiety: An investigation using a novel dual-task paradigm. Behav Res Ther 2021; 144:103925. [PMID: 34242838 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Research suggests that socially anxious (SA) individuals exhibit poorer attentional inhibition than their non-anxious (NA) counterparts. Attentional control theory presumes that cognitive load worsens the adverse effects of anxiety on attentional inhibition. However, previous studies examined the effects of cognitive load on attentional inhibition in social anxiety yielded inconsistent results. In this study, cognitive load was manipulated by adding a 1-back (low cognitive load) and 2-back task (high cognitive load) to the emotional antisaccade task, investigating the effects of cognitive load on attentional inhibition in the presence of social evaluative stimuli in SA and NA individuals. Results revealed that cognitive load improved the efficiency but impeded the effectiveness of inhibitory attentional control in SA participants. Under high cognitive load, SA participants made more erroneous saccades for threat-related than nonthreat-related faces while NA participants showed no differences in error rates among different face types. Moreover, regardless of cognitive levels, SA participants had shorter saccade latencies for angry faces than happy and neutral faces. NA participants did not show differences in saccade latencies among different face types. Implications of these findings for understanding the role that cognitive load plays in the processes of attentional control and interventions for social anxiety are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Wen Liang
- Department of Psychology, Chung Yuan Christian University, No. 200, Zhongbei Rd., Zhongli Dist., Taoyuan City, 320314, Taiwan, ROC.
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Yu X, Ruan Y, Zhang Y, Wang J, Liu Y, Zhang J, Zhang L. Cognitive Neural Mechanism of Social Anxiety Disorder: A Meta-Analysis Based on fMRI Studies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18115556. [PMID: 34067468 PMCID: PMC8196988 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Objective: The present meta-analysis aimed to explore the cognitive and neural mechanism of social anxiety disorder (SAD) from a whole-brain view, and compare the differences in brain activations under different task paradigms. Methods: We searched Web of Science Core Collection and other databases with the keywords related to social anxiety, social phobia, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for comparing persons with SAD to healthy controls and used the activation likelihood estimation method. Thirty-seven papers met the inclusion criteria, including 15 with emotional faces as stimuli, 8 presenting specific situations as stimuli, and 14 using other types of tasks as stimuli. Among these papers, 654 participants were in the SAD group and 594 participants were in the control group with 335 activation increase points and 115 activation decrease points. Results: Whole-brain analysis showed that compared with healthy controls, persons with SAD showed significantly lower activation of the left anterior cingulate gyrus (MNI coordinate: x = −6, y = 22, z = 38; p 0.001). Sub-group analysis based on task indicated that when performing tasks with emotional faces as stimuli, persons with SAD showed significantly lower activation of the left cerebellar slope and fusiform gyrus (MNI coordinate: x = −26, y = −68, z = −12; p 0.001), and significantly higher activation of the right supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus, than healthy controls (MNI coordinate: x = 58, y = −52, z = 30; p 0.001). Conclusion: Individuals with social anxiety disorder show abnormal activation in the cingulate gyrus, which is responsible for the process of attention control, and task type can influence the activation pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianglian Yu
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430056, China
| | - Yijun Ruan
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China;
| | - Yawen Zhang
- Department of Medical Psychology, School of Health Humanities, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China;
| | - Jiayi Wang
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
| | - Yuting Liu
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
| | - Jibiao Zhang
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (L.Z.); Tel.: +86-151-1631-9551 (J.Z.); Tel.: +86-186-2215-2329 (L.Z.)
| | - Lin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430056, China
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (L.Z.); Tel.: +86-151-1631-9551 (J.Z.); Tel.: +86-186-2215-2329 (L.Z.)
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8
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Yuan J, Zhang Q, Cui L. Social anxiety is related to impaired ability to filter out irrelevant information but not reduced storage capacity. Biol Psychol 2021; 160:108049. [PMID: 33607210 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with social anxiety have deficits in inhibiting task-irrelevant threatening information, but the mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, we instructed participants with high and low social anxiety to perform a variant change-detection task, recording their accuracy and electrophysiological data. The results indicated that individuals with high social anxiety showed impaired ability to filter out irrelevant information in disgust facial expression condition rather than neutral facial expression. While individuals with low social anxiety didn't show filter efficiency defects under both disgust and neutral facial expressions. Furthermore, we found high socially anxious individuals could hold more information in visual working memory than low socially anxious individuals. These results suggest that the abundance of cognitive resources in socially anxious individuals compensates the presumed weak performance in accuracy produced by impaired filter efficiency. These results provide support for the claims of efficiency and effectiveness in attentional control theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yuan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China; School of Teacher Education, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities, Chengde, China
| | - Qin Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lixia Cui
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
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9
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Sorella S, Grecucci A, Piretti L, Job R. Do anger perception and the experience of anger share common neural mechanisms? Coordinate-based meta-analytic evidence of similar and different mechanisms from functional neuroimaging studies. Neuroimage 2021; 230:117777. [PMID: 33503484 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural bases of anger are still a matter of debate. In particular we do not know whether anger perception and anger experience rely on similar or different neural mechanisms. To study this topic, we performed activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analyses of human neuroimaging studies on 61 previous studies on anger perception and experience. Anger perception analysis resulted in significant activation in the amygdala, the right superior temporal gyrus, the right fusiform gyrus and the right IFG, thus revealing the role of perceptual temporal areas for perceiving angry stimuli. Anger experience analysis resulted in the bilateral activations of the insula and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, thus revealing a role for these areas in the subjective experience of anger and, possibly, in a subsequent evaluation of the situation. Conjunction analyses revealed a common area localized in the right inferior frontal gyrus, probably involved in the conceptualization of anger for both perception and experience. Altogether these results provide new insights on the functional architecture underlying the neural processing of anger that involves separate and joint mechanisms. According to our tentative model, angry stimuli are processed by temporal areas, such as the superior temporal gyrus, the fusiform gyrus and the amygdala; on the other hand, the subjective experience of anger mainly relies on the anterior insula; finally, this pattern of activations converges in the right IFG. This region seems to play a key role in the elaboration of a general meaning of this emotion, when anger is perceived or experienced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sorella
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luca Piretti
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Remo Job
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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10
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Yuan J, Zhang Q, Cui L. Disgust face captures more attention in individuals with high social anxiety when cognitive resources are abundant: Evidence from N2pc. Neuropsychologia 2020; 151:107731. [PMID: 33347915 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
There is a debate about the relative contributions of top-down and bottom-up attention to the threat-related attentional bias. In this study we investigated the attentional bias in individuals with social anxiety under conditions of no, low and high visual working memory (WM) load. Event-related potential (ERP) and response time (RT) data were recorded while participants performed the dot-probe task and a concurrent change-detection task. The ERP results revealed that the maximum N2pc effect emerged in no visual WM load condition in individuals with social anxiety. The difference of N2pc effect between high socially anxious (HSA) and low socially anxious (LSA) groups was observed in no visual WM load condition, whereas this difference was eliminated under low and high load conditions. However, no significant main effects or interactions were observed in the behavioral index (reflected by Trial Level-Bias Score variability). Overall, the findings indicate the critical role of top-down attention on social anxiety-related attentional bias, which have important implication for attentional bias modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yuan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China; School of Teacher Education, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities, Chengde, China
| | - Qin Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lixia Cui
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
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11
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Klaus J, Schutter DJLG. Functional topography of anger and aggression in the human cerebellum. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117582. [PMID: 33221449 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
New insights into the functional neuroanatomic correlates of emotions point toward the involvement of the cerebellum in anger and aggression. To identify cerebellar regions commonly activated in tasks examining the experience of anger and threat as well as exerting an aggressive response, two coordinate-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses reporting a total of 57 cerebellar activation foci from 819 participants were performed. For anger processing (18 studies), results showed significant clusters in the bilateral posterior cerebellum, overlapping with results from previous meta-analyses on emotion processing, and implying functional connectivity to cognitive, limbic, and social canonic networks in the cerebral cortex. By contrast, active aggression expression (10 studies) was associated with significant clusters in more anterior regions of the cerebellum, overlapping with cerebellar somatosensory and motor regions and displaying functional connectivity with the somatomotor and default mode network. This study not only strengthens the notion that the cerebellum is involved in emotion processing, but also provides the first quantitative evidence for distinct cerebellar functional activation patterns related to anger and aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Klaus
- Utrecht University, Helmholtz Institute, Department of Experimental Psychology The Netherlands
| | - Dennis J L G Schutter
- Utrecht University, Helmholtz Institute, Department of Experimental Psychology The Netherlands.
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De Pascalis V, Sommer K, Scacchia P. Extraversion and behavioural approach system in stimulus analysis and motor response initiation. Biol Psychol 2018; 137:91-106. [PMID: 30012464 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Revised: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we attempt to validate previous findings on extraversion-related differences in speed of sensorimotor processing and to extend them into Behavioural Approach System (BAS) subtraits within the framework of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) of personality. Here, we assessed psychological traits of extraversion (E), four BAS facets (Goal-Drive Persistence, BAS-GDP; Reward Interest, BAS-RI; Reward Reactivity, BAS-RR; Impulsivity, BAS-I), Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS) in 51 volunteers (28 women). Stimulus-locked lateralized readiness potential (S-LRP), response-locked LRP (R-LRP), stimulus-locked and response-locked forearm electromyogram (S-EMG and R-EMG), and P3 components of the event-related potentials (ERPs), were recorded during the performance of a two-choice Go/NoGo visual letter-digit discrimination task varying in task difficulty. High extraverts, relative to introverts and individuals high relative to low on BAS-RI, were more likely to exhibit shorter S-LRP latencies and stimulus- and response-locked EMG latencies. Additionally, high BAS-I had a shorter R-RLP latency than low BAS-I participants for the difficult task. High FFFS levels were associated with longer S-LRP and S-EMG latencies, while high BIS levels had larger response accuracy. Extraverts, relative to introverts, along with those high relative to low on BAS-RR and BAS-I, exhibited smaller P3 amplitudes. The faster cortical premotor initiation, found in individuals high on extraversion, BAS-RI and low on FFFS, may account for their faster peripheral motor response initiation and execution. Smaller P3 amplitudes in extraverts and individuals high on BAS-RR and BAS-I may indicate reduced perceptual processing capacity in these individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kathrin Sommer
- Department of Psychology, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Scacchia
- Department of Psychology, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
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13
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Klumpp H, Kinney KL, Kennedy AE, Shankman SA, Langenecker SA, Kumar A, Phan KL. Trait attentional control modulates neurofunctional response to threat distractors in anxiety and depression. J Psychiatr Res 2018; 102:87-95. [PMID: 29674271 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Revised: 02/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating data suggest attentional control capability varies across psychiatric diagnostic boundaries. The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) assesses self-reported trait attentional control (TAC) and tracks the anterior attention system. Greater TAC is associated with less negative affect, however, its mechanisms in anxiety and depression are poorly understood. Therefore, we examined whether individual differences in TAC modulated top-down mechanisms in a clinical sample. During fMRI, 104 patients with social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and/or major depression and 34 healthy participants completed a validated attentional control paradigm comprising strings of letters superimposed on threatening and neutral face distractors. In the low perceptual load condition, a target letter was in a string of identical letters. In the high load condition, a target letter was in a mixed letter string. Whole-brain regression results for low load revealed more activation to threat (vs. neutral) distractors in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex was predicted by better TAC (i.e., higher ACS scores). For high load, regression results showed less activation to threat (vs. neutral) distractors in the inferior frontal gyrus was predicted by better TAC. An exploratory whole-brain ANOVA revealed a main effect of group in the superior temporal gyrus and a main effect of perceptual load in parietal, frontal, and limbic regions. No other effects were detected and activation derived from significant ANOVA results did not correlate with ACS scores. In conclusion, regression findings suggest individual differences in brain-behavioral ACS-related activity in frontal structures may be useful in identifying phenotypes in internalizing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heide Klumpp
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Kerry L Kinney
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Amy E Kennedy
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Mental Health Service, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Scott A Langenecker
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Anand Kumar
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - K Luan Phan
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Mental Health Service, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
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14
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Tenenbaum RB, Musser ED, Raiker JS, Coles EK, Gnagy EM, Pelham WE. Specificity of Reward Sensitivity and Parasympathetic-Based Regulation among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Disruptive Behavior Disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 46:965-977. [PMID: 28875352 PMCID: PMC5839917 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0343-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with disruptionsin reward sensitivity and regulatory processes. However, it is unclear whether thesedisruptions are better explained by comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD)symptomology. This study sought to examine this question using multiple levels ofanalysis (i.e., behavior, autonomic reactivity). One hundred seventeen children (aged 6 to 12 years; 72.6% male; 69 with ADHD) completed theBalloon-Analogue Risk Task (BART) to assess external reward sensitivity behaviorally.Sympathetic-based internal reward sensitivity and parasympathetic-based regulationwere indexed via cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia(RSA), respectively. Children with ADHD exhibited reduced internal reward sensitivity (i.e.,lengthened PEP; F(1,112)=4.01, p=0.047) compared to healthy controls and werecharacterized by greater parasympathetic-based dysregulation (i.e., reduced RSAaugmentation F(1,112)=10.12, p=0.002). However, follow-up analyses indicated theADHD effect was better accounted for by comorbid DBD diagnoses; that is, childrenwith ADHD and comorbid ODD were characterized by reduced internal rewardsensitivity (i.e., lengthened PEP; t=2.47, p=0.046) and by parasympathetic-baseddysregulation (i.e., reduced RSA augmentation; t=3.51, p=0.002) in response to rewardwhen compared to typically developing youth. Furthermore, children with ADHD and comorbid CD exhibited greater behaviorally-based external reward sensitivity (i.e.,more total pops; F(3,110)= 5.96, p=0.001) compared to children with ADHD only (t=3.87, p=0.001) and children with ADHD and ODD (t=3.56, p=0.003). Results suggest that disruptions in sensitivity to reward may be betteraccounted for, in part, by comorbid DBD.Key Words: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autonomic nervous system,disruptive behavior disorders, reward sensitivityPowered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel B Tenenbaum
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA.
| | - Joseph S Raiker
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Erika K Coles
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Gnagy
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - William E Pelham
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
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15
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Burkhouse KL, Kujawa A, Hosseini B, Klumpp H, Fitzgerald KD, Langenecker SA, Monk CS, Phan KL. Anterior cingulate activation to implicit threat before and after treatment for pediatric anxiety disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 84. [PMID: 29535037 PMCID: PMC5912209 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research suggests that individuals with anxiety have difficulty ignoring threat distractors when completing tasks with competing stimuli. Studies examining the neural correlates of these emotional processing difficulties in youth anxiety highlight reduced recruitment of regions associated with goal-directed attention, such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In the current study, we examined neural activation during an emotional conflict task in youth with anxiety disorders before and after treatment. METHODS Twenty-five youth (ages 9-19 years) with generalized, separation, and/or social anxiety disorder and 25 healthy controls underwent 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging scans approximately 13 weeks apart. At each scan, participants completed a task in which they matched shapes in the context of emotional distractors (happy and threatening faces). Between scans, anxious youth were treated with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). RESULTS Prior to treatment, anxious youth exhibited reduced activation of the medial prefrontal cortex, encompassing the rostral ACC, when matching shapes in the context of threat distractors relative to healthy controls. Activation in this region increased in anxious youth after treatment, but remained unchanged in the healthy control group. Increases in rostral ACC activation were related to greater reductions in social anxiety and avoidance symptoms following treatment. CONCLUSIONS Effective treatments for pediatric anxiety may enhance rostral ACC response during attempts to filter out threat-relevant stimuli. Enhanced recruitment of this region may constitute one manner in which CBT and SSRI treatment reduce youth anxiety symptoms, particularly social anxiety and avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L. Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Bobby Hosseini
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | | | - Scott A. Langenecker
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Christopher S. Monk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan,Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - K. Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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16
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Crespo-Llado MM, Vanderwert RE, Geangu E. Individual differences in infants’ neural responses to their peers’ cry and laughter. Biol Psychol 2018; 135:117-127. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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17
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Fitzgerald JM, Kinney KL, Phan KL, Klumpp H. Distinct neural engagement during implicit and explicit regulation of negative stimuli. Neuropsychologia 2018; 145:106675. [PMID: 29428771 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging research has characterized underlying neural mechanisms of attentional control and cognitive reappraisal, common implicit and explicit forms of emotion regulation, respectively. This research suggests attentional control and reappraisal may engage similar midline and lateral areas in the prefrontal cortex (PFC); however, findings are largely based on separate studies. Therefore, the extent to which mechanisms of implicit versus explicit regulation are independent or overlapping is not clear. In the current study, 49 healthy participants completed well-validated implicit and explicit regulation tasks in the form of attentional control and cognitive reappraisal during functional magnetic resonance imaging. During implicit regulation, participants identified a target letter in a string of letters superimposed on threatening faces. To manipulate attentional control, the letter string either consisted of all targets ('Threat Low' perceptual load), or was embedded among non-target letters ('Threat High' perceptual load). During cognitive reappraisal, participants were shown aversive images and instructed to use a cognitive approach to down-regulate negative affect ('Reappraise') or to naturally experience emotions without altering them ('Look-Negative'). Order of administration of tasks was counterbalanced across participants. Whole-brain results regarding frontal activity showed ventromedial PFC/rostral anterior cingulate cortex was recruited during Threat Low > Threat High. In contrast, Reappraise > Look-Negative resulted in engagement of the dorsolateral PFC, ventrolateral PFC and dorsomedial PFC. In addition, results showed no relationship between accuracy during attentional control and self-reported negative affect during cognitive reappraisal. Results indicate attentional control in the context of threat distractors and the reappraisal of negative images are supported by discrete, non-overlapping neurocircuitries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacklynn M Fitzgerald
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Kerry L Kinney
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and The Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Chicago, IL, USA; Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Heide Klumpp
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA.
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18
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Bunford N, Kinney KL, Michael J, Klumpp H. Threat distractor and perceptual load modulate test-retest reliability of anterior cingulate cortex response. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 77:120-127. [PMID: 28408292 PMCID: PMC9278877 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2016] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating data from fMRI studies implicate the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) in inhibition of attention to threat distractors that compete with task-relevant goals for processing resources. However, little data is available on the reliability of rACC activation. Our aim in the current study was to examine test-retest reliability of rACC activation over a 12-week period, in the context of a validated emotional interference paradigm that varied in perceptual load. During functional MRI, 23 healthy volunteers completed a task involving a target letter in a string of identical letters (low load) or in a string of mixed letters (high load) superimposed on angry, fearful, and neutral face distractors. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) indicated that under low, but not high perceptual load, rACC activation to fearful vs. neutral distractors was moderately reliable. Conversely, regardless of perceptual load, rACC activation to angry vs. neutral distractors was not reliable. Regarding behavioral performance, ICCs indicated that accuracy was not reliable regardless of distractor type or perceptual load. Although reaction time (RT) was similarly not reliable regardless of distractor type under low perceptual load, RT to angry vs. neutral distractors and to fearful vs. neutral distractors was reliable under high perceptual load. Together, results indicate the test-retest reliability of rACC activation and corresponding behavioral performance are context dependent; reliability of the former varies as a function of distractor type and level of cognitive demand, whereas reliability of the latter depends on behavioral index (accuracy vs. RT) and level of cognitive demand but not distractor type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Bunford
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA.
| | - Kerry L. Kinney
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Jamie Michael
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
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19
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Bunford N, Andics A, Kis A, Miklósi Á, Gácsi M. Canis familiaris As a Model for Non-Invasive Comparative Neuroscience. Trends Neurosci 2017; 40:438-452. [PMID: 28571614 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
There is an ongoing need to improve animal models for investigating human behavior and its biological underpinnings. The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is a promising model in cognitive neuroscience. However, before it can contribute to advances in this field in a comparative, reliable, and valid manner, several methodological issues warrant attention. We review recent non-invasive canine neuroscience studies, primarily focusing on (i) variability among dogs and between dogs and humans in cranial characteristics, and (ii) generalizability across dog and dog-human studies. We argue not for methodological uniformity but for functional comparability between methods, experimental designs, and neural responses. We conclude that the dog may become an innovative and unique model in comparative neuroscience, complementing more traditional models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nóra Bunford
- Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institute of Biology, Department of Ethology, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Attila Andics
- Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institute of Biology, Department of Ethology, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Anna Kis
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Magyar tudósok körútja 2, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ádám Miklósi
- Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institute of Biology, Department of Ethology, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Márta Gácsi
- Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Institute of Biology, Department of Ethology, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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20
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Bunford N, Roberts J, Kennedy AE, Klumpp H. Neurofunctional correlates of behavioral inhibition system sensitivity during attentional control are modulated by perceptual load. Biol Psychol 2017; 127:10-17. [PMID: 28478139 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Although the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) is associated with threat-sensitivity, little is known about its neurofunctional correlates during cognitive control over task-irrelevant threat distractors. Thirty non-clinical participants, who ranged in BIS sensitivity, completed an attentional control paradigm during fMRI. The paradigm varied in cognitive demand with low perceptual load comprising identical target letters and high perceptual load comprising a target letter in a mixed letter string; each superimposed on threatening and neutral face distractors. Whole-brain results indicated that individuals with higher, relative to lower BIS sensitivity, exhibited enhanced dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation to angry (vs. neutral) and enhanced dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation to fearful (vs. neutral) face distractors under low load whereas no differences in activation were observed under high load. These findings are consistent with literature indicating that the BIS is involved in conflict processing, including between cognitive and emotional or motivational goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Bunford
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program (MADRP), Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Julia Roberts
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program (MADRP), Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Amy E Kennedy
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program (MADRP), Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program (MADRP), Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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21
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Miskowiak KW, Kjaerstad HL, Støttrup MM, Svendsen AM, Demant KM, Hoeffding LK, Werge TM, Burdick KE, Domschke K, Carvalho AF, Vieta E, Vinberg M, Kessing LV, Siebner HR, Macoveanu J. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotype modulates working memory-related dorsolateral prefrontal response and performance in bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord 2017; 19:214-224. [PMID: 28544426 DOI: 10.1111/bdi.12497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cognitive dysfunction affects a substantial proportion of patients with bipolar disorder (BD), and genetic-imaging paradigms may aid in the elucidation of mechanisms implicated in this symptomatic domain. The Val allele of the functional Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is associated with reduced prefrontal cortex dopamine and exaggerated working memory-related prefrontal activity. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated for the first time whether the COMT Val158Met genotype modulates prefrontal activity during spatial working memory in BD. METHODS Sixty-four outpatients with BD in full or partial remission were stratified according to COMT Val158Met genotype (ValVal [n=13], ValMet [n=34], and MetMet [n=17]). The patients completed a spatial n-back working memory task during fMRI and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) Spatial Working Memory test outside the scanner. RESULTS During high working memory load (2-back vs 1-back), Val homozygotes displayed decreased activity relative to ValMet individuals, with Met homozygotes displaying intermediate levels of activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) (P=.016). Exploratory whole-brain analysis revealed a bilateral decrease in working memory-related dlPFC activity in the ValVal group vs the ValMet group which was not associated with differences in working memory performance during fMRI. Outside the MRI scanner, Val carriers performed worse in the CANTAB Spatial Working Memory task than Met homozygotes (P≤.006), with deficits being most pronounced in Val homozygotes. CONCLUSIONS The association between Val allelic load, dlPFC activity and WM impairment points to a putative role of aberrant PFC dopamine tonus in the cognitive impairments in BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- K W Miskowiak
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.,Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - H L Kjaerstad
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
| | - M M Støttrup
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
| | - A M Svendsen
- Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - K M Demant
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
| | - L K Hoeffding
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, MHC Sct. Hans, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital of Copenhagen Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - T M Werge
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, MHC Sct. Hans, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - K E Burdick
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, NY, USA
| | - K Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - A F Carvalho
- Translational Psychiatry Research Group and Department of Clinical Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | - E Vieta
- Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - M Vinberg
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
| | - L V Kessing
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
| | - H R Siebner
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg, Denmark
| | - J Macoveanu
- Copenhagen Affective Disorder Research Centre, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.,Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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22
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Klumpp H, Fitzgerald JM, Kinney KL, Kennedy AE, Shankman SA, Langenecker SA, Phan KL. Predicting cognitive behavioral therapy response in social anxiety disorder with anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala during emotion regulation. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 15:25-34. [PMID: 28462086 PMCID: PMC5403806 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Background Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) and other internalizing conditions attempts to improve emotion regulation. Accumulating data indicate anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and to a lesser extent amygdala, activation in various tasks predicts treatment outcome. However, little is known about ACC and amygdala activation to emotion regulation in predicting clinical improvement following CBT in SAD. Methods Before treatment, 38 SAD patients completed implicit and explicit emotion regulation paradigms during fMRI. Implicit regulation involved attentional control over negative distractors. Explicit regulation comprised cognitive reappraisal to negative images. Pre-CBT brain activity was circumscribed to anatomical-based ACC sub-regions (rostral, dorsal) and amygdala masks, which were submitted to ROC curves to examine predictive validity as well as correlational analysis to evaluate prognostic change in symptom severity. Results More rostral (rACC) activity in implicit regulation and less rACC activity during explicit regulation distinguished responders (34%) from non-responders. Greater amygdala response in implicit regulation also foretold responder status. Baseline rACC and amygdala activity during attentional control correlated with pre-to-post CBT change in symptom severity such that more activation was related to greater decline in symptoms. No significant correlations were observed for explicit regulation. Conclusions Across forms of regulation, rACC activity predicted responder status whereas amygdala as a neuromarker was limited to implicit regulation. While the direction of effects (enhanced vs. reduced) in rACC activity was task-dependent, results suggest SAD patients with deficient regulation benefited more from CBT. Findings support previous studies involving patients with depression and suggest the rACC may be a viable marker of clinical improvement in SAD. Anterior cingulate cortex is a replicated treatment neuromarker in depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is evidence-based psychotherapy for social phobia. CBT attempts to improve emotion regulation ability. Baseline anterior cingulate cortex activity in regulation predicted CBT response. Baseline amygdala activity during regulation also predicted CBT response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heide Klumpp
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry (HK, AEK, SAL, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology (HK, JMF, KLK, SAS, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Jacklynn M Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychology (HK, JMF, KLK, SAS, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Kerry L Kinney
- Department of Psychology (HK, JMF, KLK, SAS, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Amy E Kennedy
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry (HK, AEK, SAL, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Mental Health Service (AEK, KLP), Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychology (HK, JMF, KLK, SAS, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Scott A Langenecker
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry (HK, AEK, SAL, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - K Luan Phan
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry (HK, AEK, SAL, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology (HK, JMF, KLK, SAS, KLP), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Mental Health Service (AEK, KLP), Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
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23
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Szekely A, Silton RL, Heller W, Miller GA, Mohanty A. Differential functional connectivity of rostral anterior cingulate cortex during emotional interference. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2017; 12:476-486. [PMID: 27998997 PMCID: PMC5499751 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Revised: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The rostral-ventral subdivision of the anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) plays a key role in the regulation of emotional processing. Although rACC has strong anatomical connections with anterior insular cortex (AIC), amygdala, prefrontal cortex and striatal brain regions, it is unclear whether the functional connectivity of rACC with these regions changes when regulating emotional processing. Furthermore, it is not known whether this connectivity changes with deficits in emotion regulation seen in different kinds of anxiety and depression. To address these questions regarding rACC functional connectivity, non-patients high in self-reported anxious apprehension (AP), anxious arousal (AR), anhedonic depression (AD) or none (CON) indicated the ink color of pleasant, neutral and unpleasant words during functional magnetic resonance imaging. While ignoring task-irrelevant unpleasant words, AD and CON showed an increase in the functional connectivity of rACC with AIC, putamen, caudate and ventral pallidum. There was a decrease in this connectivity in AP and AR, with AP showing greater reduction than AR. These findings provide support for the role of rACC in integrating interoceptive, emotional and cognitive functions via interactions with insula and striatal regions during effective emotion regulation in healthy individuals and a failure of this integration that may be specific to anxiety, particularly AP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akos Szekely
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Wendy Heller
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Gregory A. Miller
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Aprajita Mohanty
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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24
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Bunford N, Kujawa A, Swain JE, Fitzgerald KD, Monk CS, Phan KL. Attenuated neural reactivity to happy faces is associated with rule breaking and social problems in anxious youth. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2017; 26:215-230. [PMID: 27341840 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-016-0883-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Pediatric anxiety is associated with comorbid externalizing behaviors and social problems, and these associations may be related to altered emotion processing. The late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential component, is a neural marker of emotion processing, and there is evidence that anxious youth exhibits enhanced LPPs to threatening signals. It is unknown, however, if differences in the LPP are related to externalizing behaviors and social problems co-occurring with anxiety and if these associations are driven by altered processing of threatening (angry or fearful faces) or rewarding (happy faces) socio-emotional signals. Thus, in the present study, we examined, in a sample of 39 anxious youth, the association between LPPs, following socio-emotional signals and externalizing behaviors and social problems. Results indicated an association between attenuated LPPs in response to happy faces and greater rule-breaking and social problems. These findings suggest that differences in positive socio-emotional signal processing are related to heterogeneity in pediatric anxiety and that LPPs are a sensitive index of such heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Bunford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm. 277, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. .,Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA.
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm. 277, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Kate D Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Christopher S Monk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Rm. 277, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.,Departments of Psychology and Anatomy & Cell Biology, and Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 6012, USA
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25
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Gao H, Jia Z. Detection of Threats under Inattentional Blindness and Perceptual Load. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-016-9460-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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26
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Impaired down-regulation of negative emotion in self-referent social situations in bipolar disorder: A pilot study of a novel experimental paradigm. Psychiatry Res 2016; 238:318-325. [PMID: 27086251 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Emotion dysregulation is a core feature of bipolar disorder (BD) that persists into periods of remission. Neuroimaging studies show aberrant neural responses during emotion regulation (ER) in patients with BD relative to healthy controls, but behavioural evidence for ER deficits is sparse and conflicting. This study aimed to explore ER in BD using a novel, personally relevant experimental paradigm. Twenty patients with BD and 20 patients with unipolar disorder (UD), in full or partial remission, and 20 healthy controls were given a novel computerised test. Participants were instructed to react naturally or dampen their emotional response to positive and negative social scenarios and associated self-beliefs. They were also given an established experimental task for comparison, involving reappraisal of negative affective picture stimuli, as well as a questionnaire of habitual ER strategies. BD patients showed reduced ability to down-regulate emotional responses in negative, but not positive, social scenarios relative to healthy controls and UD patients. In contrast, there were no between-group differences in the established ER task or in self-reported habitual reappraisal strategies. Findings highlight the novel social scenario paradigm as a sensitive test for detection of ER difficulties in BD.
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27
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Klumpp H, Fitzgerald DA, Piejko K, Roberts J, Kennedy AE, Phan KL. Prefrontal control and predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy response in social anxiety disorder. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:630-40. [PMID: 26634281 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 11/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Generalized social anxiety disorder (gSAD) is associated with aberrant anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) response to threat distractors. Perceptual load has been shown to modulate ACC activity such that under high load, when demands on processing capacity is restricted, individuals with gSAD exhibit compensatory activation to threat distractors yet under low load, there is evidence of reduced activation. It is not known if neural predictors of response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), based on such emotional conflict resolution, interact with demands on controlled processes. Prior to CBT, 32 patients with gSAD completed an fMRI task involving a target letter in a string of identical targets (low perceptual load) or a target letter in a mixed letter string (high perceptual load) superimposed on fearful, angry and neutral face distractors. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses revealed better CBT outcome was predicted by more frontopartial activity that included dorsal ACC (dACC) and insula to threat (vs neutral) distractors during high, but not low, perceptual load. Psychophysiological interaction analysis with dACC as the seed region revealed less connectivity with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to threat distractors during high load. Results indicate patients with less regulatory capability when demands on higher-order control are great may benefit more from CBT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA,
| | - Daniel A Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Katherine Piejko
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Julia Roberts
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Amy E Kennedy
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, Mental Health Service, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, and Mental Health Service, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
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28
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Gentili C, Cristea IA, Angstadt M, Klumpp H, Tozzi L, Phan KL, Pietrini P. Beyond emotions: A meta-analysis of neural response within face processing system in social anxiety. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2015; 241:225-37. [PMID: 26341469 DOI: 10.1177/1535370215603514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience anxiety and avoidance in face-to-face interactions. We performed a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in SAD to provide a comprehensive understanding of the neural underpinnings of face perception in this disorder. To this purpose, we adopted an innovative approach, asking authors for unpublished data. This is a common procedure for behavioral meta-analyses, which, however has never been used in neuroimaging studies. We searched Pubmed with the key words "Social Anxiety AND faces" and "Social Phobia AND faces." Then, we selected those fMRI studies for which we were able to obtain data for the comparison between SAD and healthy controls (HC) in a face perception task, either from the published papers or from the authors themselves. In this way, we obtained 23 studies (totaling 449 SAD and 424 HC individuals). We identified significant clusters in which faces evoked a higher response in SAD in bilateral amygdala, globus pallidus, superior temporal sulcus, visual cortex, and prefrontal cortex. We also found a higher activity for HC in the lingual gyrus and in the posterior cingulate. Our findings show that altered neural response to face in SAD is not limited to emotional structures but involves a complex network. These results may have implications for the understanding of SAD pathophysiology, as they suggest that a dysfunctional face perception process may bias patient person-to-person interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Gentili
- Clinical Psychology Branch - Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy Department of General Psychology - University of Padua, Padua 35131, Italy
| | - Ioana Alina Cristea
- Clinical Psychology Branch - Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, RO 400015, Romania
| | - Mike Angstadt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | | | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA Department Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Chicago, IL 60612, USA Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Clinical Psychology Branch - Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy
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Loitfelder M, Huijbregts SCJ, Veer IM, Swaab HS, Van Buchem MA, Schmidt R, Rombouts SA. Functional Connectivity Changes and Executive and Social Problems in Neurofibromatosis Type I. Brain Connect 2015; 5:312-20. [PMID: 25705926 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2014.0334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) has regularly been associated with cognitive, social, and behavioral problems. The fact that many different cognitive and behavioral impairments have been observed in NF1 suggests that networks of brain regions are involved rather than specific brain regions. Here, we examined whether functional connectivity was different in NF1 and, if so, whether associations were present with cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes. Fourteen NF1 patients (8 male, age: M=12.49, SD=2.65) and 30 healthy controls (HC; 23 male, age: M=12.30, SD=2.94; p=0.835) were included. Functional connectivity was assessed using functional resting-state scanning. We analyzed brain regions that have been associated with cognitive and social functions: the bilateral ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), the bilateral amygdala, the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). For NF1 patients, connection strengths between brain regions showing HC-NF1 differences were correlated with parent reports of cognitive, social, and behavioral functioning. Compared to HC, patients showed differences in functional connectivity between the left vACC and the frontal cortex, insula, and subcortical areas (caudate, putamen), between the left amygdala and the frontal cortex, insula, supramarginal gyrus, and PCC/precuneus, and between the left OFC and frontal and subcortical areas (caudate, pallidum). In patients, indications were found for associations between increased frontofrontal and temporofrontal functional connectivity with cognitive, social, and behavioral deficits (r-range=0.536-0.851). NF1 patients showed differences in functional connectivity between areas associated with cognitive and social functioning when compared to controls. This, plus the fact that connectivity strengths in these networks were associated with worse cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes, suggests a neuropathological basis for the widespread deficits observed in NF1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa Loitfelder
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,2 Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,3 Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz , Graz, Austria
| | - Stephan C J Huijbregts
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,2 Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ilya Milos Veer
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,4 Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin , Berlin, Germany
| | - Hanna S Swaab
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,2 Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mark A Van Buchem
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,5 Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Reinhold Schmidt
- 3 Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz , Graz, Austria
| | - Serge A Rombouts
- 1 Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands .,5 Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden, The Netherlands .,6 Institute of Psychology, Leiden University , Leiden, The Netherlands
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