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Sandre A, Weinberg A, Park J. Psychophysiology and affective processing across the lifespan: Pathways to psychopathology. Biol Psychol 2024; 186:108740. [PMID: 38154702 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Ps ychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Juhyun Park
- Department of Ps ychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada.
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Renault H, Freeman C, Banica I, Sandre A, Ethridge P, Park J, Weinberg A. Neural response to rewards moderates the within-person association between daily positive events and positive affect during a period of stress exposure. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14376. [PMID: 37430465 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Stress and neural responses to reward can interact to predict psychopathology, but the mechanisms of this interaction are unclear. One possibility is that the strength of neural responses to reward can affect the ability to maintain positive affect during stress. In this study, 105 participants completed a monetary reward task to elicit the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential sensitive to rewards. Subsequently, during a stressful period, participants reported on their affect nine times a day and on daily positive and negative events for 10 days. Even during heightened stress, experiencing more positive events was associated with increased positive affect. The RewP significantly moderated this association: Individuals with a larger RewP reported greater increases in positive affect when they experienced more positive events, relative to individuals with a smaller RewP. A blunted RewP might contribute to stress susceptibility by affecting how much individuals engage in positive emotion regulation during stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héléna Renault
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Clara Freeman
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Paige Ethridge
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Juhyun Park
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Tan JXY, Liu P. Beyond the RewP: The reward feedback-elicited LPP and its potential associations with perceived stress and internalizing symptoms in late childhood. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 193:112237. [PMID: 37625596 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Internalizing problems increase substantially during late childhood and early adolescence, which are known to be associated with elevated perceived stress as children transition into adolescence. One risk factor that may moderate the stress-symptom association is reward processing. While neurophysiological research in this field has focused on the reward positivity component (RewP) elicited during reward processing, little work has examined the reward feedback-elicited late positive potential (LPP) and its association with internalizing psychopathology. The present study examined the moderating roles of the RewP and feedback-elicited LPP in the relationship between perceived stress and internalizing symptoms in late childhood. A community sample of 115 nine-to-12-year-old children (66 girls, Mean age = 11.00 years, SD = 1.16) completed an EEG version of the reward feedback paradigm, the Doors task, and completed questionnaires on perceived stress and internalizing symptoms. A principal component analysis revealed three temporo-spatial factors that were temporally and spatially analogous to the RewP, anterior LPP, and posterior LPP, respectively. As expected, an enlarged RewP was found towards the win condition compared to the loss condition. We also observed a potentiated LPP towards loss relative to win feedback, which may reflect the evaluation and reappraisal processes following unsuccessful performance (i.e., loss). We did not, however, find significant moderating effects of any ERP components on the stress-symptom association. Our study was first to isolate the feedback-elicited LPP in a reward processing paradigm in children and provide initial evidence on the modulation of the ERP component by task conditions. Future research is warranted to further explore the functional significance of the reward feedback-elicited LPP in association with perceived stress and internalizing psychopathology in youths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaron X Y Tan
- Department of Psychology, Center for Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience, North Dakota State University, United States of America.
| | - Pan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Center for Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience, North Dakota State University, United States of America
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Park J, Banica I, Weinberg A. Parsing patterns of reward responsiveness: Initial evidence from latent profile analysis. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:1384-1400. [PMID: 37231102 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01110-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Variation in reward responsiveness has been linked to psychopathology. Reward responsiveness is a complex phenomenon that encompasses different temporal dimensions (i.e., reward anticipation or consumption) that can be measured using multiple appetitive stimuli. Furthermore, distinct measures, such as neural and self-report measures, reflect related but distinct aspects of reward responsiveness. To understand reward responsiveness more comprehensively and better identify deficits in reward responsiveness implicated in psychopathology, we examined ways multiple measures of reward responsiveness jointly contribute to distinct psychological problems by using latent profile analysis. Specifically, we identified three profiles of reward responsiveness among 139 female participants based on their neural responses to money, food, social acceptance, and erotic images and self-reported responsiveness to reward anticipation and consumption. Profile 1 (n = 30) exhibited blunted neural responses to social rewards and erotic images, low self-reported reward responsiveness, but average neural responses to monetary and food rewards. Profile 2 (n = 71) showed elevated neural response to monetary rewards, average neural responses to other stimuli, and average self-reported reward responsiveness. Profile 3 (n = 38) showed more variable neural responses to reward (e.g., hypersensitivity to erotic images, hyposensitivity to monetary rewards), and high self-reported reward responsiveness. These profiles were differentially associated with variables generally linked to aberrations in reward responsiveness. For example, Profile 1 was most strongly associated with anhedonic depression and social dysfunction, whereas Profile 3 was associated with risk-taking behaviors. These preliminary findings may help to elucidate ways different measures of reward responsiveness manifest within and across individuals and identify specific vulnerabilities for distinct psychological problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juhyun Park
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada.
| | - Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
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Freeman C, Carpentier L, Weinberg A. Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Neural Responses to Reward: A Quasi-experiment. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:891-898. [PMID: 36948399 PMCID: PMC10028216 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has been a prolonged period of stress due to social isolation, illness, death, and other major life disruptions. Neural reward sensitivity, essential for healthy functioning, may become reduced under major naturalistic stressors, though few studies have examined this. The present study sought to test whether neural responses to rewards were significantly blunted by the stress of the pandemic. METHODS We compared 2 groups of young adult participants, who completed a monetary reward task while an electroencephalogram was recorded, at 2 time points, 1 to 3 years apart. Our measure of reward sensitivity was the reward positivity (RewP), a neural marker enhanced to gain relative to loss feedback. The magnitude of the RewP is sensitive to stress exposure and can prospectively predict depression. The pre-pandemic group (n = 41) completed both time points before the pandemic, while the pandemic group (n = 39) completed the baseline visit before the pandemic and the follow-up visit during its second year. RESULTS The pandemic group reported having experienced significant stressors over the course of the pandemic. We did not observe a significant decrease in the RewP from baseline to follow-up in the pre-pandemic group. In contrast, in the pandemic group, the RewP was significantly blunted at the follow-up visit to the extent that it no longer distinguished gain from loss feedback. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that prolonged naturalistic stressors can result in adaptations in neural responses to rewards. Our findings also highlight a possible mechanism linking stress to the development of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Freeman
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Loran Carpentier
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Castagna PJ, Waters AC, Edgar EV, Budagzad-Jacobson R, Crowley MJ. Catch the drift: Depressive symptoms track neural response during more efficient decision-making for negative self-referents. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2023; 13:100593. [PMID: 37396954 PMCID: PMC10310306 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Adolescence is a time of heightened risk for developing depression and also a critical period for the development and integration of self-identity. Despite this, the relation between the neurophysiological correlates of self-referential processing and major depressive symptoms in youth is not well understood. Here, we leverage computational modeling of the self-referential encoding task (SRET) to identify behavioral moderators of the association between the posterior late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential associated with emotion regulation, and youth self-reported symptoms of depression. Specifically, within a drift-diffusion framework, we evaluated whether the association between the posterior LPP and youth symptoms of major depression was moderated by drift rate, a parameter reflecting processing efficiency during self-evaluative decisions. Methods A sample of 106 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 (53% male; Mage = 14.49, SD = 1.70), completed the SRET with concurrent high-density electroencephalography and self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Results Findings indicated a significant moderation: for youth showing greater processing efficiency (drift rate) when responding to negative compared to positive words, larger posterior LPPs predicted greater depressive symptom severity. Limitations We relied on a community sample and our study was cross-sectional in nature. Future longitudinal work with clinically depressed youth would be beneficial. Conclusions Our results suggest a neurobehavioral model of adolescent depression wherein efficient processing of negative information co-occurs with increased demands on affective self-regulation. Our findings also have clinical relevance; youth's neurophysiological response (posterior LPP) and performance during the SRET may serve as a novel target for tracking treatment-related changes in one's self-identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. Castagna
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Allison C. Waters
- Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Elizabeth V. Edgar
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | - Michael J. Crowley
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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Sandre A, Park J, Freeman C, Banica I, Ethridge P, Weinberg A. Chronic stress in peer relationships moderates the association between pubertal development and neural response to emotional faces in adolescence. Biol Psychol 2023; 181:108612. [PMID: 37301427 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Adolescence is a period of heightened risk for multiple forms of psychopathology, partly due to greater exposure to interpersonal stress. One way that interpersonal stress may increase risk for psychopathology is by altering the normative development of neural systems that support socio-affective processing. The late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential component that reflects sustained attention to motivationally-salient information and is a promising marker of risk for stress-related psychopathology. However, it is not clear how the LPP to socio-affective information changes across adolescence, nor whether exposure to stress with peers interferes with normative developmental differences in the LPP to socio-affective content during this period. In 92 adolescent girls (10-19 years old), we assessed the LPP to task-irrelevant emotional and neutral faces, as well as behavioural measures of interference following the presentation of these faces. Adolescents at more advanced stages of puberty showed a smaller LPP to emotional faces, but adolescents exposed to greater peer stress exhibited a larger LPP to these stimuli. Additionally, for girls exposed to lower levels of peer stress, more advanced pubertal development was associated with a smaller LPP to emotional faces, whereas for girls exposed to higher levels of peer stress, the association between pubertal development and the LPP to emotional faces was not significant. Neither stress nor pubertal stage was significantly associated with behavioural measures. Combined, these data suggest that one pathway through which stress exposure increases risk for psychopathology during adolescence is by interfering with the normative development of socio-affective processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada.
| | - Juhyun Park
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Clara Freeman
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Paige Ethridge
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
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Moretta T, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Familial risk for depression is associated with reduced P300 and late positive potential to affective stimuli and prolonged cardiac deceleration to unpleasant stimuli. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6432. [PMID: 37081143 PMCID: PMC10119159 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33534-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite evidence of abnormal affective processing as a key correlate of depression, specific attentional mechanisms underlying processing of emotions in familial risk for depression have yet to be investigated in a single study. To this end, the amplitude of the P300 and late positive potential (LPP) complex and cardiac deceleration were assessed during the passive viewing of affective pictures in 32 individuals who had family history of depression (without depressive symptoms) and in 30 controls (without depressive symptoms and family history of depression). Individuals with familial risk for depression revealed reduced P300-LPP amplitudes in response to pleasant and unpleasant stimuli relative to controls, and comparable P300-LPP amplitudes in response to pleasant and neutral stimuli. Controls, but not individuals with familial risk for depression, reported cardiac deceleration during the viewing of pleasant vs. neutral and unpleasant stimuli in the 0-3 s time window. Also, only individuals with familial risk for depression showed a prolonged cardiac deceleration in response to unpleasant vs. neutral stimuli. Overall, the present study provides new insights into the characterization of emotion-related attentional processes in familial risk for depression as potential vulnerability factors for the development of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Moretta
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131, Padua, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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Freeman C, Panier L, Schaffer J, Weinberg A. Neural response to social but not monetary reward predicts increases in depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14206. [PMID: 36349469 PMCID: PMC9878199 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of depressive symptoms has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among those with greater pandemic-related stress exposure; however, not all individuals exposed to pandemic stress will develop depression. Determining which individuals are vulnerable to depressive symptoms as a result of this stress could lead to an improved understanding of the etiology of depression. This study sought to determine whether neural sensitivity to monetary and/or social reward prospectively predicts depressive symptoms during periods of high stress. 121 participants attended pre-pandemic laboratory visits where they completed monetary and social reward tasks while electroencephalogram was recorded. Subsequently, from March to August 2020, we sent eight questionnaires probing depressive symptoms and exposure to pandemic-related stressors. Using repeated-measures multilevel models, we evaluated whether neural response to social or monetary reward predicted increases in depressive symptoms across the early course of the pandemic. Furthermore, we examined whether neural response to social or monetary reward moderated the association between pandemic-related episodic stressors and depressive symptoms. Pandemic-related stress exposure was strongly associated with depressive symptoms. Additionally, we found that blunted neural response to social but not monetary reward predicted increased depressive symptoms during the pandemic. However, neither neural response to social nor monetary reward moderated the association between episodic stress exposure and depressive symptoms. Our findings indicate that neural response to social reward may be a useful predictor of depressive symptomatology under times of chronic stress, particularly stress with a social dimension.
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Dell’Acqua C, Palomba D, Patron E, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Rethinking the risk for depression using the RDoC: A psychophysiological perspective. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1108275. [PMID: 36814670 PMCID: PMC9939768 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1108275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering that the classical categorical approach to mental disorders does not allow a clear identification of at-risk conditions, the dimensional approach provided by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) is useful in the exploration of vulnerability to psychopathology. In the RDoC era, psychophysiological models have an important role in the reconceptualization of mental disorders. Indeed, progress in the study of depression vulnerability has increasingly been informed by psychophysiological models. By adopting an RDoC lens, this narrative review focuses on how psychophysiological models can be used to advance our knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression vulnerability. Findings from psychophysiological research that explored multiple RDoC domains in populations at-risk for depression are reviewed and discussed. Future directions for the application of psychophysiological research in reaching a more complete understanding of depression vulnerability and, ultimately, improving clinical utility, are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell’Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,*Correspondence: Carola Dell’Acqua, ✉
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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11
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Fedorenko EJ, Barnwell PV, Selby EA, Contrada RJ. Associations between the late positive potential and PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among trauma-exposed undergraduates. Biol Psychol 2023; 177:108499. [PMID: 36669617 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The late positive potential (LPP) is a neural marker of attention to emotional stimuli; dysregulations in those attentional processes might contribute to trauma-related psychopathology. Although higher LPP amplitudes to negative images have been found to be associated with anxiety symptoms, results have been mixed regarding depressive and PTSD symptoms, especially among trauma-exposed populations. Further, the relationships between the LPP to positive and neutral images and psychopathology symptoms have been underexamined. The purpose of the current study was to test the effects of image valence, and PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms on LPP amplitude among trauma-exposed undergraduates. METHOD Seventy-three trauma-exposed undergraduates viewed a series of negative, positive, and neutral images while LPPs were recorded. Self-report measures were used to assess recent PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical linear modeling tested valence and symptom main effects, as well as Valence by Symptom interactions on LPP amplitude. RESULTS We found a main effect of valence such that individuals exhibited higher LPP amplitudes to negative images compared to neutral images. We also found a Valence by Depressive Symptoms interaction such that there was an inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and the LPP to neutral images but no associations between depressive symptoms and the LPP for positive or negative images. We found no main effects or interactions for anxiety and PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms might be related to diminished attention to neutral stimuli among trauma-exposed undergraduates. Further investigation of the relationship between the LPP and psychopathology is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Fedorenko
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
| | - Patrick V Barnwell
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Edward A Selby
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Richard J Contrada
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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12
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Hill KE, Dickey L, Pegg S, Dao A, Arfer KB, Kujawa A. Associations between parental conflict and social and monetary reward responsiveness in adolescents with clinical depression. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2023; 51:119-131. [PMID: 35852700 PMCID: PMC9771890 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00949-7] [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] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Increased rates of depression beginning in adolescence are thought to be attributed in part to marked developmental changes in reward systems and interpersonal relationships. Blunted reward response has been observed in depression and this may be shaped in part by social experiences, raising questions about the combined associations of parental conflict, depression, and reward response in both social and monetary domains. The present study used the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential that indexes both monetary and social reward processing, to examine the unique and combined associations of parental conflict and depressive symptoms on reward responsiveness in adolescents with clinical depression (N = 70) 14-18 years of age (M = 15.81, SD = 1.46; 65.7% female). Results indicated that depressive symptoms interacted with maternal conflict in characterizing the RewP to social, but not monetary, rewards. Specifically, higher levels of current depressive symptoms and potentiated maternal conflict together were associated with an attenuated RewP to social rewards in this clinical sample. We found no significant effects of paternal conflict. This investigation highlights maternal conflict as an important environmental factor for reward responsiveness and also emphasizes the utility of examining social reward responsiveness in depression in order to better understand the impacts of contextual factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaylin E Hill
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Lindsay Dickey
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Samantha Pegg
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Anh Dao
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kodi B Arfer
- Mount Sinai Health System, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, USA.
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Maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety during the postpartum period moderate infants' neural response to emotional faces of their mother and of female strangers. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:1370-1389. [PMID: 35799031 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01022-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Affective exchanges between mothers and infants are key to the intergenerational transmission of depression and anxiety, possibly via adaptations in neural systems that support infants' attention to facial affect. The current study examined associations between postnatal maternal symptoms of depression, panic and social anxiety, maternal parenting behaviours, and infants' neural responses to emotional facial expressions portrayed by their mother and by female strangers. The Negative Central (Nc), an event-related potential component that indexes attention to salient stimuli and is sensitive to emotional expression, was recorded from 30 infants. Maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, and warmth, as well as infant's positive engagement with their mothers, were coded from unstructured interactions. Mothers reporting higher levels of postnatal depression symptoms were rated by coders as less sensitive and warm, and their infants exhibited decreased positive engagement with the mothers. In contrast, postnatal maternal symptoms of panic and social anxiety were not significantly associated with experimenter-rated parenting behaviours. Additionally, infants of mothers reporting greater postnatal depression symptoms showed a smaller Nc to their own mother's facial expressions, whereas infants of mothers endorsing greater postnatal symptoms of panic demonstrated a larger Nc to fearful facial expressions posed by both their mother and female strangers. Together, these results suggest that maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety during the postpartum period have distinct effects on infants' neural responses to parent and stranger displays of emotion.
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14
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Granros M, MacNamara A, Klumpp H, Phan KL, Burkhouse KL. Neural reactivity to affective stimuli and internalizing symptom dimensions in a transdiagnostic patient sample. Depress Anxiety 2022; 39:770-779. [PMID: 35848494 PMCID: PMC9729372 DOI: 10.1002/da.23282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internalizing psychopathologies (IPs) are highly comorbid and exhibit substantial overlap, such as aberrant affective reactivity. Neural reactivity to emotional images, measured via the late positive potential (LPP) event-related potential (ERP) component, has been utilized to index affective reactivity in IPs. The LPP is often examined in isolation with a specific disorder, ignoring overlap between IPs. The current study examined how transdiagnostic IP symptom dimensions relate to neural affective reactivity in a highly comorbid patient sample. METHODS Participants (N = 99) completed a battery of IP symptom assessments as well as a target categorization task while viewing pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images during electroencephalography recording. ERPs to each image valence were averaged from 400 to 1000 ms following picture onset at pooled centroparietal and occipital electrodes to calculate the LPP. A principal components analysis performed on the IP symptom measures resulted in two factors: affective distress/misery and fear-based anxiety. RESULTS Fear-based anxiety was associated with enhanced LPP reactivity to unpleasant, but not pleasant, images. Distress/misery was related to attenuated average LPP reactivity across images. CONCLUSIONS Results revealed a dissociable effect of IP symptom factors in a transdiagnostic sample such that enhanced reactivity to negative images was specific to enhanced fear-based anxiety symptoms while distress/misery symptoms predicted blunted affective reactivity. Neural affective reactivity may serve as an objective biological marker to elucidate the nature of psychological concerns in individuals with comorbid IPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Granros
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Annmarie MacNamara
- Texas A&M University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Heide Klumpp
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - K. Luan Phan
- The Ohio State University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Katie L. Burkhouse
- The Ohio State University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Columbus, OH, USA
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Research Institute, Columbus, OH, USA
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15
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Weinberg A. Pathways to depression: Dynamic associations between neural responses to appetitive cues in the environment, stress, and the development of illness. Psychophysiology 2022; 60:e14193. [PMID: 36256483 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This review focuses on research my colleagues and I have conducted on etiological pathways to depression. Much of this work has focused on the measurement of neural responses to appetitive cues, using two event-related brain potential (ERP) components, the Late Positive Potential (LPP) and the Reward Positivity (RewP). Reductions in each of these components have been associated with current symptoms of depression, and in some cases have been shown to differentiate anxious from depressive phenotypes. In this review, I will describe three broad and related approaches we have taken in our research to address a series of interdependent issuess. The first attempts to understand different sources of variation in the LPP and RewP, and how these sources interact with one another. The second tries to identify whether variation in the processes measured by these ERP components might reflect a latent vulnerability to depression and its symptoms, that is evident prior to illness onset. And the third examines the possibility that the processes reflected in the LPP and RewP might play a mechanistic role in the development of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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16
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Banica I, Sandre A, Shields GS, Slavich GM, Weinberg A. Associations between lifetime stress exposure and the error-related negativity (ERN) differ based on stressor characteristics and exposure timing in young adults. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:672-689. [PMID: 33821458 PMCID: PMC8490486 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00883-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Life stress increases risk for multiple forms of psychopathology, in part by altering neural processes involved in performance monitoring. However, the ways in which these stress-cognition effects are influenced by the specific timing and types of life stressors experienced remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we examined how different social-psychological characteristics and developmental timing of stressors are related to the error-related negativity (ERN), a negative-going deflection in the event-related potential (ERP) waveform that is observed from 0 to 100 ms following error commission. A sample of 203 emerging adults performed an ERN-eliciting arrow flanker task and completed an interview-based measure of lifetime stress exposure. Adjusting for stress severity during other developmental periods, there was a small-to-medium effect of stress on performance monitoring, such that more severe total stress exposure, as well as more severe social-evaluative stress in particular, experienced during early adolescence significantly predicted an enhanced ERN. These results suggest that early adolescence may be a sensitive developmental period during which stress exposure may result in lasting adaptations to neural networks implicated in performance monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Grant S Shields
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - George M Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1G1, Canada.
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17
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Ligeza TS, Maciejczyk M, Wyczesany M, Junghofer M. The effects of a single aerobic exercise session on mood and neural emotional reactivity in depressed and healthy young adults: A late positive potential study. Psychophysiology 2022; 60:e14137. [PMID: 35790005 PMCID: PMC10078493 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Depression has been characterized by lowered mood and unfavorable changes in neural emotional reactivity (altered brain responses to emotional stimuli). Physical exercise is a well-established strategy to improve the mood of healthy and depressed individuals. Increasing evidence suggests that exercise might also improve emotional reactivity in healthy adults by increasing or decreasing brain responses to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. It is unknown, however, if exercise could also benefit emotional reactivity in depressed individuals. We investigated the effects of a single aerobic exercise session on mood and emotional reactivity in 24 depressed and 24 matched healthy young adults. Self-reported mood and neural reactivity to emotional pictures (indexed by the EEG late positive potential, LPP) were assessed before and after two experimental protocols: exercise (36 min of moderate-intensity exercise at 75% of maximal heart rate) and seated rest condition (36 min). In the healthy control group, exercise improved self-reported mood and neural emotional reactivity (increasing LPP to positive pictures). In the depressed group, exercise improved self-reported mood; however, it did not affect neural emotional reactivity. Additional analyses performed on both groups revealed that exercise-induced changes in emotional reactivity are associated with the severity of depressive symptoms: the effectiveness of exercise in improving emotional reactivity decreases with the severity of depressive symptoms. Overall, the study further strengthens the claim of a beneficial role of exercise on mood and emotional reactivity. It also suggests that a single aerobic exercise session might have a limited influence on neural emotional reactivity in depressed individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz S Ligeza
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Marcin Maciejczyk
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, University of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland
| | - Miroslaw Wyczesany
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Markus Junghofer
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal analysis, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.,Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
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18
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Feurer C, Granros M, Calentino AE, Suor JH, Burkhouse KL. Risk for youth anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: The interactive impact of financial stress and prepandemic electrocortical reactivity to negative self-referential stimuli. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22250. [PMID: 35312058 PMCID: PMC8943894 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Despite evidence that stress exposure increases risk for internalizing symptoms in youth, it remains unclear which youth are most vulnerable. This study examined whether youth's prepandemic late positive potential (LPP), an electrocortical marker of sustained attention to affective stimuli, exacerbated the impact of stress on prospective increases in depression and anxiety symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 29 youth (ages 9-16, 82.8% girls) who completed depression and anxiety symptom measures and an affective words task to assess LPP to positive and negative self-referential stimuli prepandemic onset. Postpandemic onset, approximately 16.03 months (SD = 8.86) after their baseline assessments, youth again completed symptom measures as well as the UCLA Life Stress Interview to assess ongoing social and financial chronic stress. Results indicated a significant interaction between youth LPP to negative words and financial stress. Greater exposure to financial stress during the pandemic predicted greater anxiety symptom increases specifically for youth who demonstrated enhanced prepandemic LPP to negative words. Results were specific to the prediction of anxiety, but not depression, symptoms. If replicated in larger studies, findings highlight enhanced LPP to negative stimuli as a promising target for intervention for youth exposed to greater financial stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cope Feurer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Maria Granros
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Alison E. Calentino
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Jennifer H. Suor
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Katie L. Burkhouse
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
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19
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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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20
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Moretta T, Dal Bò E, Dell'Acqua C, Messerotti Benvenuti S, Palomba D. Disentangling emotional processing in dysphoria: An ERP and cardiac deceleration study. Behav Res Ther 2021; 147:103985. [PMID: 34628258 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103985] [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] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate emotional processing in dysphoria. To this end, the amplitude of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) and cardiac deceleration were assessed during the passive viewing of affective (pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant) pictures in 26 individuals with dysphoria and in 25 non-depressed controls. The group with dysphoria revealed a smaller LPP amplitude than the group without dysphoria in response to pleasant and neutral, but not unpleasant, stimuli at centro-parieto-occipital sites. Interestingly, whereas both groups showed cardiac deceleration when viewing pleasant compared to neutral pictures (3-6 s time window), only individuals with dysphoria showed a prolonged cardiac deceleration in response to unpleasant stimuli as compared with neutral ones. This study suggests that dysphoria is characterized by reduced motivated attentional allocation to positive information and by sustained intake of unpleasant information. Overall, the present findings provide novel insights into the characterization of valence-specific attentional processes in dysphoria as potential vulnerability factors for clinically significant depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Moretta
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Elisa Dal Bò
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Carola Dell'Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
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21
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Weinberg A, Correa KA, Stevens ES, Shankman SA. The emotion-elicited late positive potential is stable across five testing sessions. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13904. [PMID: 34292629 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have examined associations between neural and behavioral markers of attention to emotion and individual differences in affective functioning. However, the majority of these studies are cross-sectional, and examine associations between brain, behavior, and individual differences at one or two time-points, limiting our understanding of the extent to which these neural responses reflect trait-like patterns of attention. The present study used the Emotional Interrupt paradigm, and examined the stability and trajectory of behavioral (i.e., reaction time to targets following task-irrelevant appetitive, neutral, and aversive images), and neural responses to images (i.e., the late positive potential or LPP), across five sessions separated by one week in 86 individuals. Additionally, we examined the extent to which the LPP and behavioral measures were sensitive to naturally occurring daily fluctuations in positive and negative affect. Results indicate that, though the magnitude of the conditional LPP waveforms decreased over time, the degree of emotional modulation (i.e., differentiation of emotional from neutral) did not; in fact, differentiation of appetitive from neutral increased over time. Behavioral responses were similarly stable across sessions. Additionally, we largely did not observe significant effects of state positive and negative affect on the LPP or behavior over time. Finally, the LPP elicited by appetitive images significantly predicted reaction time to targets following these images. These data suggest that neural and behavioral markers of attention to motivationally salient cues may be trait-like in nature, and may be helpful in future studies seeking to identify markers of vulnerability for diverse forms of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Kelly A Correa
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Stevens
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
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22
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McGhie SF, Holbrook A, Arienzo D, Amir N. Psychometric properties of the late positive potential in adult females. Biol Psychol 2021; 163:108145. [PMID: 34252483 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The late positive potential (LPP) is an event related potential (ERP) that has been used to study the processing of emotional stimuli and has been proposed as a biomarker for depression. However, to relate the LPP to trait-like individual differences it is important to first determine its psychometric properties. The current study assessed the reliability and internal consistency of the LPP in a large adult sample of women. We assessed the LPP following pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images at baseline (n = 266) and approximately eight weeks later (n = 193). The LPP demonstrated good test-retest reliability and good-to-excellent internal consistency at both time points. The LPP response was not associated with concurrent depressive symptoms. These findings suggest the LPP is a relatively stable and reliable measure of emotional processing, but further research with larger samples and more elevated depression scores may be needed in order to clarify the associations between depression and LPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaan F McGhie
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States
| | - Amanda Holbrook
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States
| | | | - Nader Amir
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, United States.
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23
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Klawohn J, Burani K, Bruchnak A, Santopetro N, Hajcak G. Reduced neural response to reward and pleasant pictures independently relate to depression. Psychol Med 2021; 51:741-749. [PMID: 31907094 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291719003659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multiple studies have found a reduced reward positivity (RewP) among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Event-related potential studies have also reported blunted neural responses to pleasant pictures in MDD as reflected by the late positive potential (LPP). These deficits have been interpreted broadly in terms of anhedonia and decreased emotional engagement characteristic of depression. METHODS In the current study, a community-based sample of 83 participants with current MDD and 45 healthy individuals performed both a guessing task and a picture viewing paradigm with neutral and pleasant pictures to assess the RewP and the LPP, respectively. RESULTS We found that both RewP and LPP to pleasant pictures were reduced in the MDD group; moreover, RewP and LPP were both independent predictors of MDD status. Within the MDD group, a smaller RewP predicted impaired mood reactivity in younger but not older participants. Smaller LPP amplitudes were associated with increased anhedonia severity in the MDD group. CONCLUSIONS These data replicate and merge separate previous lines of research, and suggest that a blunted RewP and LPP reflect independent neural deficits in MDD - which could be used in conjunction to improve the classification of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Klawohn
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
| | - Kreshnik Burani
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
| | - Alec Bruchnak
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
| | | | - Greg Hajcak
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
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24
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White EJ, Kuplicki R, Stewart JL, Kirlic N, Yeh HW, Paulus MP, Aupperle RL. Latent variables for region of interest activation during the monetary incentive delay task. Neuroimage 2021; 230:117796. [PMID: 33503481 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Monetary Incentive Delay task (MID) has been used extensively to probe anticipatory reward processes. However, individual differences evident during this task may relate to other constructs such as general arousal or valence processing (i.e., anticipation of negative versus positive outcomes). This investigation used a latent variable approach to parse activation patterns during the MID within a transdiagnostic clinical sample. METHODS Participants were drawn from the first 500 individuals recruited for the Tulsa-1000 (T1000), a naturalistic longitudinal study of 1000 participants aged 18-55 (n = 476 with MID data). We employed a multiview latent analysis method, group factor analysis, to characterize factors within and across variable sets consisting of: (1) region of interest (ROI)-based blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrasts during reward and loss anticipation; and (2) self-report measures of positive and negative valence and related constructs. RESULTS Three factors comprised of ROI indicators emerged to accounted for >43% of variance and loaded on variables representing: (1) general arousal or general activation; (2) valence, with dissociable responses to anticipation of win versus loss; and (3) region-specific activation, with dissociable activation in salience versus perceptual brain networks. Two additional factors were comprised of self-report variables, which appeared to represent arousal and valence. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that multiview techniques to identify latent variables offer a novel approach for differentiating brain activation patterns during task engagement. Such approaches may offer insight into neural processing patterns through dimension reduction, be useful for probing individual differences, and aid in the development of optimal explanatory or predictive frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan J White
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA.
| | - Rayus Kuplicki
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA
| | - Jennifer L Stewart
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA; Department of Community Medicine, Oxley Health Sciences, University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
| | - Namik Kirlic
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA
| | - Hung-Wen Yeh
- Pediatrics Department, Children's Mercy Kansas City, 2401 Gilham Road, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
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- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA
| | - Martin P Paulus
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA; Department of Community Medicine, Oxley Health Sciences, University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
| | - Robin L Aupperle
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136, USA; Department of Community Medicine, Oxley Health Sciences, University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
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25
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Weinberg A, Ethridge P, Pegg S, Freeman C, Kujawa A, Dirks MA. Neural responses to social acceptance predict behavioral adjustments following peer feedback in the context of a real-time social interaction task. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13748. [PMID: 33320341 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Strong social connections are important predictors of both mental and physical health. The ability to effectively process social feedback from other people and adjust behavior accordingly is a critical part of skillfully navigating the social landscape. However, relatively few studies have considered neural systems driving these behavioral adjustments. In this study, 254 participants engaged in a peer interaction game while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. In this game, participants repeatedly "interact" with a small set of virtual peers over a series of rounds, in which they provide feedback to their peers, and receive feedback from them in turn. A reward-sensitive event-related potential called the Reward Positivity (RewP) was extracted from the EEG following positive feedback from peers, and multilevel modeling was used to examine whether the RewP moderated associations between the feedback participants received during the task and their subsequent behavior. Participants were more likely to accept coplayers who had previously voted to accept them, and to like coplayers who had voted to accept them on the same round. A larger RewP was associated with a stronger tendency to modify behavior following feedback from peers, both in terms of voting behavior and expressions of liking. These data suggest that initial neural responsiveness to reward within 300 ms of positive social feedback may guide social behaviors. Thus, this line of research represents an important step toward a more complete understanding of the ways in which neural responses to feedback are involved in human social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Paige Ethridge
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Samantha Pegg
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Clara Freeman
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Melanie A Dirks
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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26
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Comparing the effects of different methodological decisions on the error-related negativity and its association with behaviour and gender. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 156:18-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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27
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McLean MA, Van den Bergh BR, Baart M, Vroomen J, van den Heuvel MI. The late positive potential (LPP): A neural marker of internalizing problems in early childhood. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 155:78-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 05/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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28
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Banica I, Sandre A, Shields GS, Slavich GM, Weinberg A. The error-related negativity (ERN) moderates the association between interpersonal stress and anxiety symptoms six months later. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 153:27-36. [PMID: 32277956 PMCID: PMC7335004 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are often preceded by interpersonal stress; however, most individuals who experience stress do not develop anxiety, making it difficult to predict who is most susceptible to stress. One proposed trans-diagnostic neural risk marker for anxiety is the error-related negativity (ERN), a negative deflection in the event-related potential waveform occurring within 100 ms of error commission. The present study sought to investigate whether interpersonal stress experienced over the course of a year interacts with ERN magnitude to prospectively predict anxiety symptoms. A sample of 57 emerging adults performed an arrow flanker task to elicit the ERN at the start of the academic school year (time one). Toward the end of the academic year (time two), participants reported on past-year interpersonal stress and anxiety symptoms. Stress interacted with ERN magnitude to predict anxiety symptoms, whereby, for individuals with an enhanced ERN at time one, greater interpersonal stress over the course of a year was significantly associated with increased anxiety symptoms at time two, even controlling for anxiety symptoms at time one. These findings suggest that enhanced performance monitoring may render individuals more susceptible to the adverse effects of interpersonal stress, thereby increasing risk for heightened anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Aislinn Sandre
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Grant S Shields
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA
| | - George M Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1G1, Canada.
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29
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Kujawa A, Klein DN, Pegg S, Weinberg A. Developmental trajectories to reduced activation of positive valence systems: A review of biological and environmental contributions. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 43:100791. [PMID: 32510349 PMCID: PMC7225621 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Reduced activation of positive valence systems (PVS), including blunted neural and physiological responses to pleasant stimuli and rewards, has been shown to prospectively predict the development of psychopathology. Yet, little is known about how reduced PVS activation emerges across development or what implications it has for prevention. We review genetic, temperament, parenting, and naturalistic and laboratory stress research on neural measures of PVS and outline developmentally-informed models of trajectories of PVS activation. PVS function is partly heritable and appears to reflect individual differences in early-emerging temperament traits. Although lab-induced stressors blunt PVS activation, effects of parenting and naturalistic stress on PVS are mixed and depend on the type of stressor, developmental timing, and interactions amongst risk factors. We propose that there may be multiple, dynamic developmental trajectories to reduced PVS activation in which combinations of genes, temperament, and exposure to severe, prolonged, or uncontrollable stress may exert direct and interactive effects on PVS function. Critically, these risk factors may alter PVS developmental trajectories and/or PVS sensitivity to proximal stressors. Distinct factors may converge such that PVS activation proceeds along a typical, accelerated, chronically low, or stress-reactive trajectory. Finally, we present directions for future research with translational implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, United States.
| | - Daniel N Klein
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, United States.
| | - Samantha Pegg
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, United States.
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1G1, Canada.
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Pegg S, Ethridge P, Shields GS, Slavich GM, Weinberg A, Kujawa A. Blunted Social Reward Responsiveness Moderates the Effect of Lifetime Social Stress Exposure on Depressive Symptoms. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:178. [PMID: 31447659 PMCID: PMC6692494 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to social stress is a well-established risk factor for the development and recurrence of depression. Reduced neural responsiveness to monetary reward has been associated with greater symptoms following stress exposure. However, it remains unclear whether reduced reward responsiveness serves as a mediator or moderator of the effects of stress on internalizing symptoms or whether similar patterns emerge with responses to social reward. We addressed this issue by measuring lifetime stress exposure and event-related potentials (ERPs) to social reward in 231 emerging adults (M = 18.16, SD = 0.41 years old). Participants completed the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN) to assess severity of lifetime stressors and self-report measures of current internalizing symptoms. In addition, participants completed the Island Getaway task in which the reward positivity (RewP) ERP was recorded in response to social acceptance, adjusting for responses to rejection (RewP residual). In this task, participants vote to accept or reject peers and receive reward/acceptance and rejection feedback. Stressors were divided into social and non-social stress severity scores. Analyses were conducted to test social reward responsiveness as a mediator or moderator of the effects of social and non-social stress on internalizing symptoms. Both social and non-social stress exposure over the life course predicted symptoms of depression (ps < 0.001) and social anxiety (ps < 0.002). The effect of social stress on depression was moderated by the residual RewP to social reward, adjusting for responses to social rejection (p =0.024), such that greater lifetime social stress exposure and a relatively blunted RewP to social reward were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Social reward responsiveness did not mediate effects of stress on internalizing symptoms. Reduced processing of social reward may be a vulnerability for depression that increases risk for symptoms following exposure to social stress. Blunted social reward responsiveness appears to be a relatively unique vulnerability for depression, rather than social anxiety. Results support the utility of ERP measures in measuring individual differences in social reward processing that can be applied to better understand neural processes involved in the development of depression, and highlight the importance of considering specific dimensions of stressful life experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Pegg
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Paige Ethridge
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Grant S Shields
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - George M Slavich
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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