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Cushing CA, Lau H, Kawato M, Craske MG, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. A double-blind trial of decoded neurofeedback intervention for specific phobias. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 39221769 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
AIM A new closed-loop functional magnetic resonance imaging method called multivoxel neuroreinforcement has the potential to alleviate the subjective aversiveness of exposure-based interventions by directly inducing phobic representations in the brain, outside of conscious awareness. The current study seeks to test this method as an intervention for specific phobia. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, controlled single-university trial, individuals diagnosed with at least two (one target, one control) animal subtype-specific phobias were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive one, three, or five sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement in which they were rewarded for implicit activation of a target animal representation. Amygdala response to phobic stimuli was assessed by study staff blind to target and control animal assignments. Pretreatment to posttreatment differences were analyzed with a two-way repeated-measures anova. RESULTS A total of 23 participants (69.6% female) were randomized to receive one (n = 8), three (n = 7), or five (n = 7) sessions of multivoxel neuroreinforcement. Eighteen (n = 6 each group) participants were analyzed for our primary outcome. After neuroreinforcement, we observed an interaction indicating a significant decrease in amygdala response for the target phobia but not the control phobia. No adverse events or dropouts were reported as a result of the intervention. CONCLUSION Results suggest that multivoxel neuroreinforcement can specifically reduce threat signatures in specific phobia. Consequently, this intervention may complement conventional psychotherapy approaches with a nondistressing experience for patients seeking treatment. This trial sets the stage for a larger randomized clinical trial to replicate these results and examine the effects on real-life exposure. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION The now-closed trial was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with ID NCT03655262.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A Cushing
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Kawato
- Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory Group, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Kyoto, Japan
- XNef, Inc., Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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Cornwell BR, Didier PR, Grogans SE, Anderson AS, Islam S, Kim HC, Kuhn M, Tillman RM, Hur J, Scott ZS, Fox AS, DeYoung KA, Smith JF, Shackman AJ. A shared threat-anticipation circuit is dynamically engaged at different moments by certain and uncertain threat. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.10.602972. [PMID: 39026814 PMCID: PMC11257510 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.10.602972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Temporal dynamics play a central role in models of emotion: "fear" is widely conceptualized as a phasic response to certain-and-imminent danger, whereas "anxiety" is a sustained response to uncertain-or-distal harm. Yet the underlying human neurobiology remains contentious. Leveraging an ethnoracially diverse sample, translationally relevant paradigm, and theory-driven modeling approach, we demonstrate that certain and uncertain threat recruit a shared threat-anticipation circuit. This cortico-subcortical circuit exhibits persistently elevated activation when anticipating uncertain-threat encounters and a transient burst of activation in the moments before certain encounters. For many scientists and clinicians, feelings are the defining feature of human fear and anxiety. Here we used an independently validated brain signature to covertly decode the momentary dynamics of anticipatory distress for the first time. Results mirrored the dynamics of neural activation. These observations provide fresh insights into the neurobiology of threat-elicited emotions and set the stage for more ambitious clinical and mechanistic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R. Cornwell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20006 USA
| | - Paige R. Didier
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Shannon E. Grogans
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Allegra S. Anderson
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
| | - Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478 USA
| | | | - Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Zachary S. Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Andrew S. Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Kathryn A. DeYoung
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Jason F. Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Alexander J. Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
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3
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Cushing CA, Lau H, Kawato M, Craske MG, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. A double-blind trial of decoded neurofeedback intervention for specific phobias. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2023.04.25.23289107. [PMID: 39132473 PMCID: PMC11312662 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.25.23289107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Aim A new closed-loop fMRI method called multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement has the potential to alleviate the subjective aversiveness of exposure-based interventions by directly inducing phobic representations in the brain, outside of conscious awareness. The current study seeks to test this method as an intervention for specific phobia. Methods In a randomized, double-blind, controlled single-university trial, individuals diagnosed with at least two (1 target, 1 control) animal subtype specific phobias were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive 1, 3, or 5 sessions of multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement in which they were rewarded for implicit activation of a target animal representation. Amygdala response to phobic stimuli was assessed by study staff blind to target and control animal assignments. Pre-treatment to post-treatment differences were analyzed with a 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA. Results A total of 23 participants (69.6% female) were randomized to receive 1 (n=8), 3 (n=7), or 5 (n=7) sessions of multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement. Eighteen (n=6 each group) participants were analyzed for our primary outcome. After neuro-reinforcement, we observed an interaction indicating a significant decrease in amygdala response for the target phobia but not the control phobia. No adverse events or dropouts were reported as a result of the intervention. Conclusion Results suggest multi-voxel neuro-reinforcement can specifically reduce threat signatures in specific phobia. Consequently, this intervention may complement conventional psychotherapy approaches with a non-distressing experience for patients seeking treatment. This trial sets the stage for a larger randomized clinical trial to replicate these results and examine the effects on real-life exposure. Clinical Trial Registration The now-closed trial was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with ID NCT03655262.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Kawato
- Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory Group, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Kyoto, Japan
- XNef, Inc., Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Kirk PA, Robinson OJ. Neuroanatomical Subtyping of Phobias: Implications for Function and Development. Am J Psychiatry 2024; 181:693-695. [PMID: 39086286 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Kirk
- Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md. (Kirk); Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London (Robinson)
| | - Oliver J Robinson
- Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md. (Kirk); Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, University College London (Robinson)
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Cushing CA, Lau H, Hofmann SG, LeDoux JE, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. Metacognition as a window into subjective affective experience. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024; 78:430-437. [PMID: 38884177 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13683] [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: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
When patients seek professional help for mental disorders, they often do so because of troubling subjective affective experiences. While these subjective states are at the center of the patient's symptomatology, scientific tools for studying them and their cognitive antecedents are limited. Here, we explore the use of concepts and analytic tools from the science of consciousness, a field of research that has faced similar challenges in having to develop robust empirical methods for addressing a phenomenon that has been considered difficult to pin down experimentally. One important strand is the operationalization of some relevant processes in terms of metacognition and confidence ratings, which can be rigorously studied in both humans and animals. By assessing subjective experience with similar approaches, we hope to develop new scientific approaches for studying affective processes and promoting psychological resilience in the face of debilitating emotional experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A Cushing
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, New York, USA
- Max-Planck-NYU Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Yamamoto K, Estienne P, Bloch S. Does a Vertebrate Morphotype of Pallial Subdivisions Really Exist? BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2024:1-18. [PMID: 38952102 DOI: 10.1159/000537746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Comparative neuroanatomists have long sought to determine which part of the pallium in nonmammals is homologous to the mammalian neocortex. A number of similar connectivity patterns across species have led to the idea that the basic organization of the vertebrate brain is relatively conserved; thus, efforts of the last decades have been focused on determining a vertebrate "morphotype" - a model comprising the characteristics believed to have been present in the last common ancestor of all vertebrates. SUMMARY The endeavor to determine the vertebrate morphotype has been riddled with controversies due to the extensive morphological diversity of the pallium among vertebrate taxa. Nonetheless, most proposed scenarios of pallial homology are variants of a common theme where the vertebrate pallium is subdivided into subdivisions homologous to the hippocampus, neocortex, piriform cortex, and amygdala, in a one-to-one manner. We review the rationales of major propositions of pallial homology and identify the source of the discrepancies behind different hypotheses. We consider that a source of discrepancies is the prevailing assumption that there is a single "morphotype of the pallial subdivisions" throughout vertebrates. Instead, pallial subdivisions present in different taxa probably evolved independently in each lineage. KEY MESSAGES We encounter discrepancies when we search for a single morphotype of subdivisions across vertebrates. These discrepancies can be resolved by considering that several subdivisions within the pallium were established after the divergence of the different lineages. The differences of pallial organization are especially remarkable between actinopterygians (including teleost fishes) and other vertebrates. Thus, the prevailing notion of a simple one-to-one homology between the mammalian and teleost pallia needs to be reconsidered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kei Yamamoto
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI), Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS UMR 9197, Saclay, France
| | - Pierre Estienne
- Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (Neuro-PSI), Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS UMR 9197, Saclay, France
| | - Solal Bloch
- Université de Tours, INSERM, Imaging Brain & Neuropsychiatry iBraiN U1253, 37032, Tours, France
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Zhang B, Rolls ET, Wang X, Xie C, Cheng W, Feng J. Roles of the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex in major depression and its treatment. Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:914-928. [PMID: 38212376 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02380-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
We describe evidence for dissociable roles of the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in major depressive disorder (MDD) from structure, functional activation, functional connectivity, metabolism, and neurochemical systems. The reward-related medial orbitofrontal cortex has lower connectivity and less reward sensitivity in MDD associated with anhedonia symptoms; and the non-reward related lateral OFC has higher functional connectivity and more sensitivity to non-reward/aversive stimuli in MDD associated with negative bias symptoms. Importantly, we propose that conventional antidepressants act to normalize the hyperactive lateral (but not medial) OFC to reduce negative bias in MDD; while other treatments are needed to operate on the medial OFC to reduce anhedonia, with emerging evidence suggesting that ketamine may act in this way. The orbitofrontal cortex is the key cortical region in emotion and reward, and the current review presents much new evidence about the different ways that the medial and lateral OFC are involved in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bei Zhang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Edmund T Rolls
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
- Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, PR China
- Medical Psychological Institute, Central South University, Changsha, PR China
- China National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Changsha, PR China
| | - Chao Xie
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Wei Cheng
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, PR China.
- MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
- Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, PR China.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
- MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
- Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, Shanghai, PR China.
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Berridge KC. Separating desire from prediction of outcome value. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:932-946. [PMID: 37543439 PMCID: PMC10527990 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Individuals typically want what they expect to like, often based on memories of previous positive experiences. However, in some situations desire can decouple completely from memories and from learned predictions of outcome value. The potential for desire to separate from prediction arises from independent operating rules that control motivational incentive salience. Incentive salience, or 'wanting', is a type of mesolimbic desire that evolved for adaptive goals, but can also generate maladaptive addictions. Two proof-of-principle examples are presented here to show how motivational 'wanting' can soar above memory-based predictions of outcome value: (i) 'wanting what is remembered to be disgusting', and (ii) 'wanting what is predicted to hurt'. Consequently, even outcomes remembered and predicted to be negatively aversive can become positively 'wanted'. Similarly, in human addictions, people may experience powerful cue-triggered cravings for outcomes that are not predicted to be enjoyable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kent C Berridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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Bramson B, Meijer S, van Nuland A, Toni I, Roelofs K. Anxious individuals shift emotion control from lateral frontal pole to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4880. [PMID: 37573436 PMCID: PMC10423291 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40666-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxious individuals consistently fail in controlling emotional behavior, leading to excessive avoidance, a trait that prevents learning through exposure. Although the origin of this failure is unclear, one candidate system involves control of emotional actions, coordinated through lateral frontopolar cortex (FPl) via amygdala and sensorimotor connections. Using structural, functional, and neurochemical evidence, we show how FPl-based emotional action control fails in highly-anxious individuals. Their FPl is overexcitable, as indexed by GABA/glutamate ratio at rest, and receives stronger amygdalofugal projections than non-anxious male participants. Yet, high-anxious individuals fail to recruit FPl during emotional action control, relying instead on dorsolateral and medial prefrontal areas. This functional anatomical shift is proportional to FPl excitability and amygdalofugal projections strength. The findings characterize circuit-level vulnerabilities in anxious individuals, showing that even mild emotional challenges can saturate FPl neural range, leading to a neural bottleneck in the control of emotional action tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bob Bramson
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Behavioral Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Sjoerd Meijer
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Annelies van Nuland
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ivan Toni
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioral Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Rolls ET. Emotion, motivation, decision-making, the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and the amygdala. Brain Struct Funct 2023; 228:1201-1257. [PMID: 37178232 PMCID: PMC10250292 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02644-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala are involved in emotion and in motivation, but the relationship between these functions performed by these brain structures is not clear. To address this, a unified theory of emotion and motivation is described in which motivational states are states in which instrumental goal-directed actions are performed to obtain rewards or avoid punishers, and emotional states are states that are elicited when the reward or punisher is or is not received. This greatly simplifies our understanding of emotion and motivation, for the same set of genes and associated brain systems can define the primary or unlearned rewards and punishers such as sweet taste or pain. Recent evidence on the connectivity of human brain systems involved in emotion and motivation indicates that the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in reward value and experienced emotion with outputs to cortical regions including those involved in language, and is a key brain region involved in depression and the associated changes in motivation. The amygdala has weak effective connectivity back to the cortex in humans, and is implicated in brainstem-mediated responses to stimuli such as freezing and autonomic activity, rather than in declarative emotion. The anterior cingulate cortex is involved in learning actions to obtain rewards, and with the orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in providing the goals for navigation and in reward-related effects on memory consolidation mediated partly via the cholinergic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund T Rolls
- Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
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11
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Shemesh Y, Chen A. A paradigm shift in translational psychiatry through rodent neuroethology. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:993-1003. [PMID: 36635579 PMCID: PMC10005947 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01913-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Mental disorders are a significant cause of disability worldwide. They profoundly affect individuals' well-being and impose a substantial financial burden on societies and governments. However, despite decades of extensive research, the effectiveness of current therapeutics for mental disorders is often not satisfactory or well tolerated by the patient. Moreover, most novel therapeutic candidates fail in clinical testing during the most expensive phases (II and III), which results in the withdrawal of pharma companies from investing in the field. It also brings into question the effectiveness of using animal models in preclinical studies to discover new therapeutic agents and predict their potential for treating mental illnesses in humans. Here, we focus on rodents as animal models and propose that they are essential for preclinical investigations of candidate therapeutic agents' mechanisms of action and for testing their safety and efficiency. Nevertheless, we argue that there is a need for a paradigm shift in the methodologies used to measure animal behavior in laboratory settings. Specifically, behavioral readouts obtained from short, highly controlled tests in impoverished environments and social contexts as proxies for complex human behavioral disorders might be of limited face validity. Conversely, animal models that are monitored in more naturalistic environments over long periods display complex and ethologically relevant behaviors that reflect evolutionarily conserved endophenotypes of translational value. We present how semi-natural setups in which groups of mice are individually tagged, and video recorded continuously can be attainable and affordable. Moreover, novel open-source machine-learning techniques for pose estimation enable continuous and automatic tracking of individual body parts in groups of rodents over long periods. The trajectories of each individual animal can further be subjected to supervised machine learning algorithms for automatic detection of specific behaviors (e.g., chasing, biting, or fleeing) or unsupervised automatic detection of behavioral motifs (e.g., stereotypical movements that might be harder to name or label manually). Compared to studies of animals in the wild, semi-natural environments are more compatible with neural and genetic manipulation techniques. As such, they can be used to study the neurobiological mechanisms underlying naturalistic behavior. Hence, we suggest that such a paradigm possesses the best out of classical ethology and the reductive behaviorist approach and may provide a breakthrough in discovering new efficient therapies for mental illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yair Shemesh
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Alon Chen
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804, Munich, Germany.
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12
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Sleight FG, Lynn SJ, Mattson RE, McDonald CW. A novel ego dissolution scale: A construct validation study. Conscious Cogn 2023; 109:103474. [PMID: 36764162 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2023.103474] [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: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Ego dissolution (i.e., ego loss, ego disintegration, ego death, or self-loss) is a conscious state marked by a loss or diminution of one's sense of self and a lack of first-person experience. We developed a novel, valid, and internally consistent ego dissolution scale to both (a) assess trait-like aspects of ego dissolution, which have received scant attention to date, and (b) facilitate future research in a variety of contexts (e.g., personality, psychopathology, substance use/psychedelics, contemplative practices). We determined that the 10-item Ego Dissolution Scale (EDS; Cronbach's α = 0.80) and its identified subfactors of Ego-Loss (Cronbach's α = 0.84) and Unity (Cronbach's α = 0.75) were internally consistent, possessed strong convergent (e.g., depersonalization/derealization, mysticism, unusual experiences) and discriminant validity (e.g., neuroticism, social desirability). We found ego dissolution and dissociation to be empirically related yet discriminable on a statistical basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona G Sleight
- Psychology Department, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13905, USA.
| | - Steven Jay Lynn
- Psychology Department, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13905, USA.
| | - Richard E Mattson
- Psychology Department, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13905, USA.
| | - Charlie W McDonald
- Psychology Department, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13905, USA.
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13
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LeDoux J. Deep history and beyond: a reply to commentators. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2160312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph LeDoux
- Director, The Emotional Brain Institute, NYU Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, NYU Professor of Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone, New York, NY, USA
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14
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Ren S. Emotion, autonoesis, and the self. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2161356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Songyao Ren
- School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
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15
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Deming P, Heilicher M, Koenigs M. How reliable are amygdala findings in psychopathy? A systematic review of MRI studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104875. [PMID: 36116578 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala is a key component in predominant neural circuitry models of psychopathy. Yet, after two decades of neuroimaging research on psychopathy, the reproducibility of amygdala findings is questionable. We systematically reviewed MRI studies (81 of adults, 53 of juveniles) to determine the consistency of amygdala findings across studies, as well as within specific types of experimental tasks, community versus forensic populations, and the lowest- versus highest-powered studies. Three primary findings emerged. First, the majority of studies found null relationships between psychopathy and amygdala structure and function, even in the context of theoretically relevant tasks. Second, findings of reduced amygdala activity were more common in studies with low compared to high statistical power. Third, the majority of peak coordinates of reduced amygdala activity did not fall primarily within the anatomical bounds of the amygdala. Collectively, these findings demonstrate significant gaps in the empirical support for the theorized role of the amygdala in psychopathy and indicate the need for novel research perspectives and approaches in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Deming
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Mickela Heilicher
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719, USA
| | - Michael Koenigs
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd., Madison, WI 53719, USA
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16
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Flavell SW, Gogolla N, Lovett-Barron M, Zelikowsky M. The emergence and influence of internal states. Neuron 2022; 110:2545-2570. [PMID: 35643077 PMCID: PMC9391310 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Animal behavior is shaped by a variety of "internal states"-partially hidden variables that profoundly shape perception, cognition, and action. The neural basis of internal states, such as fear, arousal, hunger, motivation, aggression, and many others, is a prominent focus of research efforts across animal phyla. Internal states can be inferred from changes in behavior, physiology, and neural dynamics and are characterized by properties such as pleiotropy, persistence, scalability, generalizability, and valence. To date, it remains unclear how internal states and their properties are generated by nervous systems. Here, we review recent progress, which has been driven by advances in behavioral quantification, cellular manipulations, and neural population recordings. We synthesize research implicating defined subsets of state-inducing cell types, widespread changes in neural activity, and neuromodulation in the formation and updating of internal states. In addition to highlighting the significance of these findings, our review advocates for new approaches to clarify the underpinnings of internal brain states across the animal kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven W Flavell
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Nadine Gogolla
- Emotion Research Department, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany; Circuits for Emotion Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Matthew Lovett-Barron
- Division of Biological Sciences-Neurobiology Section, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Moriel Zelikowsky
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
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17
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Harbin A. The relational calibration of fear. SYNTHESE 2022; 200:256. [PMID: 35694123 PMCID: PMC9169032 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-022-03719-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this article, I consider how fear in contexts of crisis shapes and is shaped by agents' relationships. I survey a number of approaches to understanding fearing at the intersection of empirical psychology and philosophy, highlighting the extent to which interpersonal relationships are positioned as involved in processes of fearing, and establish what I take to insufficient attention paid by these approaches to the ways interpersonal relations shape the emotions we come to have. Contexts of acute crisis and uncertainty can involve rapidly adjusting practices of fearing in response to other agents, both those we trust and those we do not. I call for the development of a model of 'relational calibration' for understanding the complex interpersonal dynamics of fearing during crises, including in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami Harbin
- Department of Philosophy, Oakland University, 2200 N. Squirrel Rd, Rochester, MI 48309 USA
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18
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Fermin ASR, Friston K, Yamawaki S. An insula hierarchical network architecture for active interoceptive inference. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220226. [PMID: 35774133 PMCID: PMC9240682 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
In the brain, the insular cortex receives a vast amount of interoceptive information, ascending through deep brain structures, from multiple visceral organs. The unique hierarchical and modular architecture of the insula suggests specialization for processing interoceptive afferents. Yet, the biological significance of the insula's neuroanatomical architecture, in relation to deep brain structures, remains obscure. In this opinion piece, we propose the Insula Hierarchical Modular Adaptive Interoception Control (IMAC) model to suggest that insula modules (granular, dysgranular and agranular), forming parallel networks with the prefrontal cortex and striatum, are specialized to form higher order interoceptive representations. These interoceptive representations are recruited in a context-dependent manner to support habitual, model-based and exploratory control of visceral organs and physiological processes. We discuss how insula interoceptive representations may give rise to conscious feelings that best explain lower order deep brain interoceptive representations, and how the insula may serve to defend the body and mind against pathological depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan S. R. Fermin
- Center for Brain, Mind and Kansei Sciences Research, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Karl Friston
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, England
| | - Shigeto Yamawaki
- Center for Brain, Mind and Kansei Sciences Research, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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19
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Dunsmoor JE, Cisler JM, Fonzo GA, Creech SK, Nemeroff CB. Laboratory models of post-traumatic stress disorder: The elusive bridge to translation. Neuron 2022; 110:1754-1776. [PMID: 35325617 PMCID: PMC9167267 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental illness composed of a heterogeneous collection of symptom clusters. The unique nature of PTSD as arising from a precipitating traumatic event helps simplify cross-species translational research modeling the neurobehavioral effects of stress and fear. However, the neurobiological progress on these complex neural circuits informed by animal models has yet to produce novel, evidence-based clinical treatment for PTSD. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of popular laboratory models of PTSD and provide concrete ideas for improving the validity and clinical translational value of basic research efforts in humans. We detail modifications to simplified animal paradigms to account for myriad cognitive factors affected in PTSD, which may contribute to abnormalities in regulating fear. We further describe new avenues for integrating different areas of psychological research underserved by animal models of PTSD. This includes incorporating emerging trends in the cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory, emotion regulation, social-emotional processes, and PTSD subtyping to provide a more comprehensive recapitulation of the human experience to trauma in laboratory research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Josh M Cisler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Gregory A Fonzo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Suzannah K Creech
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Charles B Nemeroff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA.
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20
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Mondal P. A Unifying Perspective on Perception and Cognition Through Linguistic Representations of Emotion. Front Psychol 2022; 13:768170. [PMID: 35712179 PMCID: PMC9195166 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.768170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This article will provide a unifying perspective on perception and cognition via the route of linguistic representations of emotion. Linguistic representations of emotions provide a fertile ground for explorations into the nature and form of integration of perception and cognition because emotion has facets of both perceptual and cognitive processes. In particular, this article shows that certain types of linguistic representations of emotion allow for the integration of perception and cognition through a series of steps and operations in cognitive systems, whereas certain other linguistic representations of emotion are not so representationally structured as to permit the unity of perception and cognition. It turns out that the types of linguistic representations of emotion that readily permit the desired unity of perception and cognition are exactly those that are linguistically encoded emotive representations of everyday objects, events, and things around us. It is these ordinary objects, events and things that provide the scaffolding for task-dependent or goal-oriented activities of cognitive systems including autonomous systems. In this way, cognitive systems can be saliently tuned to the outer world by being motivated and also subtly governed by emotion-driven representations. This helps not only tie together perceptual and cognitive processes via the interface between language and emotive representations, but also reveal the limits of emotive representations in amalgamating perceptual and cognitive processes in cognitive systems.
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21
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Halder T, Michl P, Flanagin V, Schenk T. Impaired Emotion Processing and Panic Disorder After Left Anterior Temporal Lobectomy: A Case Report of Successful Psychotherapeutic Intervention. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-022-10301-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Over the last decades, brain surgery became a more frequently applied treatment for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Despite its success, several studies found de-novo post-operative psychiatric symptoms in TLE surgery patients. Cognitive behavioural therapy is effective to treat brain healthy psychiatric patients but might not be translatable to patients with resections in emotion regulating networks as these areas seem to be essentially involved in successful psychotherapeutic treatment.
Methods
Here we report the case of a female patient with medically refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy resulting in left anterior temporal lobectomy at age 35. Post operation she did not show adequate fearful response but at the same time manifested symptoms of a severe panic disorder. We investigated if this patient, despite lesions in emotion-behaviour brain circuits, can benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy.
Results
The intervention, customized to the specific resources and difficulties of the patient, was effective in stopping panic attacks and improving social functioning.
Conclusions
This case shows that MTL brain surgery patients may benefit from CBT and demonstrates the important and if yet still somewhat mysterious role of the amygdala in emotion regulation processes.
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22
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Taschereau-Dumouchel V, Michel M, Lau H, Hofmann SG, LeDoux JE. Putting the "mental" back in "mental disorders": a perspective from research on fear and anxiety. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:1322-1330. [PMID: 35079126 PMCID: PMC9095479 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01395-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Mental health problems often involve clusters of symptoms that include subjective (conscious) experiences as well as behavioral and/or physiological responses. Because the bodily responses are readily measured objectively, these have come to be emphasized when developing treatments and assessing their effectiveness. On the other hand, the subjective experience of the patient reported during a clinical interview is often viewed as a weak correlate of psychopathology. To the extent that subjective symptoms are related to the underlying problem, it is often assumed that they will be taken care of if the more objective behavioral and physiological symptoms are properly treated. Decades of research on anxiety disorders, however, show that behavioral and physiological symptoms do not correlate as strongly with subjective experiences as is typically assumed. Further, the treatments developed using more objective symptoms as a marker of psychopathology have mostly been disappointing in effectiveness. Given that "mental" disorders are named for, and defined by, their subjective mental qualities, it is perhaps not surprising, in retrospect, that treatments that have sidelined mental qualities have not been especially effective. These negative attitudes about subjective experience took root in psychiatry and allied fields decades ago when there were few avenues for scientifically studying subjective experience. Today, however, cognitive neuroscience research on consciousness is thriving, and offers a viable and novel scientific approach that could help achieve a deeper understanding of mental disorders and their treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Matthias Michel
- Department of Philosophy, New York University, New York, NY, 1003, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 1003, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, NY, 1003, USA
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23
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LeDoux JE. As soon as there was life, there was danger: the deep history of survival behaviours and the shallower history of consciousness. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210292. [PMID: 34957848 PMCID: PMC8710881 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
It is often said that fear is a universal innate emotion that we humans have inherited from our mammalian ancestors by virtue of having inherited conserved features of their nervous systems. Contrary to this common sense-based scientific point of view, I have argued that what we have inherited from our mammalian ancestors, and they from their distal vertebrate ancestors, and they from their chordate ancestors, and so forth, is not a fear circuit. It is, instead, a defensive survival circuit that detects threats, and in response, initiates defensive survival behaviours and supporting physiological adjustments. Seen in this light, the defensive survival circuits of humans and other mammals can be conceptualized as manifestations of an ancient survival function-the ability to detect danger and respond to it-that may in fact predate animals and their nervous systems, and perhaps may go back to the beginning of life. Fear, on the other hand, from my perspective, is a product of cortical cognitive circuits. This conception is not just of academic interest. It also has practical implications, offering clues as to why efforts to treat problems related to fear and anxiety are not more effective, and what might make them better. This article is part of the theme issue 'Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph E. LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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24
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Visser RM, Bathelt J, Scholte HS, Kindt M. Robust BOLD Responses to Faces But Not to Conditioned Threat: Challenging the Amygdala's Reputation in Human Fear and Extinction Learning. J Neurosci 2021; 41:10278-10292. [PMID: 34750227 PMCID: PMC8672698 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0857-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of our knowledge about human emotional memory comes from animal research. Based on this work, the amygdala is often labeled the brain's "fear center", but it is unclear to what degree neural circuitries underlying fear and extinction learning are conserved across species. Neuroimaging studies in humans yield conflicting findings, with many studies failing to show amygdala activation in response to learned threat. Such null findings are often treated as resulting from MRI-specific problems related to measuring deep brain structures. Here we test this assumption in a mega-analysis of three studies on fear acquisition (n = 98; 68 female) and extinction learning (n = 79; 53 female). The conditioning procedure involved the presentation of two pictures of faces and two pictures of houses: one of each pair was followed by an electric shock [a conditioned stimulus (CS+)], the other one was never followed by a shock (CS-), and participants were instructed to learn these contingencies. Results revealed widespread responses to the CS+ compared with the CS- in the fear network, including anterior insula, midcingulate cortex, thalamus, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, but not the amygdala, which actually responded stronger to the CS- Results were independent of spatial smoothing, and of individual differences in trait anxiety and conditioned pupil responses. In contrast, robust amygdala activation distinguished faces from houses, refuting the idea that a poor signal could account for the absence of effects. Moving forward, we suggest that, apart from imaging larger samples at higher resolution, alternative statistical approaches may be used to identify cross-species similarities in fear and extinction learning.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The science of emotional memory provides the foundation of numerous theories on psychopathology, including stress and anxiety disorders. This field relies heavily on animal research, which suggests a central role of the amygdala in fear learning and memory. However, this finding is not strongly corroborated by neuroimaging evidence in humans, and null findings are too easily explained away by methodological limitations inherent to imaging deep brain structures. In a large nonclinical sample, we find widespread BOLD activation in response to learned fear, but not in the amygdala. A poor signal could not account for the absence of effects. While these findings do not disprove the involvement of the amygdala in human fear learning, they challenge its typical portrayals and illustrate the complexities of translational science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renée M Visser
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joe Bathelt
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
| | - H Steven Scholte
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Merel Kindt
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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25
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Abstract
In this My word, Joseph LeDoux explores what the emotional lives of other mammals might be like. He proposes that better understanding of the brain mechanisms of emotional consciousness in humans might shed light on the kinds of conscious capacities that might be possible in non-human primates and non-primate mammals, given the kinds of brains they possess.
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Does the Prefrontal Cortex Play an Essential Role in Consciousness? Insights from Intracranial Electrical Stimulation of the Human Brain. J Neurosci 2021; 41:2076-2087. [PMID: 33692142 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1141-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A central debate in philosophy and neuroscience pertains to whether PFC activity plays an essential role in the neural basis of consciousness. Neuroimaging and electrophysiology studies have revealed that the contents of conscious perceptual experience can be successfully decoded from PFC activity, but these findings might be confounded by postperceptual cognitive processes, such as thinking, reasoning, and decision-making, that are not necessary for consciousness. To clarify the involvement of the PFC in consciousness, we present a synthesis of research that has used intracranial electrical stimulation (iES) for the causal modulation of neural activity in the human PFC. This research provides compelling evidence that iES of only certain prefrontal regions (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex) reliably perturbs conscious experience. Conversely, stimulation of anterolateral prefrontal sites, often considered crucial in higher-order and global workspace theories of consciousness, seldom elicits any reportable alterations in consciousness. Furthermore, the wide variety of iES-elicited effects in the PFC (e.g., emotions, thoughts, and olfactory and visual hallucinations) exhibits no clear relation to the immediate environment. Therefore, there is no evidence for the kinds of alterations in ongoing perceptual experience that would be predicted by higher-order or global workspace theories. Nevertheless, effects in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices suggest a specific role for these PFC subregions in supporting emotional aspects of conscious experience. Overall, this evidence presents a challenge for higher-order and global workspace theories, which commonly point to the PFC as the basis for conscious perception based on correlative and possibly confounded information.
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27
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LeDoux J. Lighting up mental disorders: A psychiatrist’s stories from the lab and clinic. Curr Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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28
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Memories are not written in stone: Re-writing fear memories by means of non-invasive brain stimulation and optogenetic manipulations. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:334-352. [PMID: 33964307 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.04.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The acquisition of fear associative memory requires brain processes of coordinated neural activity within the amygdala, prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, thalamus and brainstem. After fear consolidation, a suppression of fear memory in the absence of danger is crucial to permit adaptive coping behavior. Acquisition and maintenance of fear extinction critically depend on amygdala-PFC projections. The robust correspondence between the brain networks encompassed cortical and subcortical hubs involved into fear processing in humans and in other species underscores the potential utility of comparing the modulation of brain circuitry in humans and animals, as a crucial step to inform the comprehension of fear mechanisms and the development of treatments for fear-related disorders. The present review is aimed at providing a comprehensive description of the literature on recent clinical and experimental researches regarding the noninvasive brain stimulation and optogenetics. These innovative manipulations applied over specific hubs of fear matrix during fear acquisition, consolidation, reconsolidation and extinction allow an accurate characterization of specific brain circuits and their peculiar interaction within the specific fear processing.
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29
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Hur J, Smith JF, DeYoung KA, Anderson AS, Kuang J, Kim HC, Tillman RM, Kuhn M, Fox AS, Shackman AJ. Anxiety and the Neurobiology of Temporally Uncertain Threat Anticipation. J Neurosci 2020; 40:7949-7964. [PMID: 32958570 PMCID: PMC7548695 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0704-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
When extreme, anxiety-a state of distress and arousal prototypically evoked by uncertain danger-can be debilitating. Uncertain anticipation is a shared feature of situations that elicit signs and symptoms of anxiety across psychiatric disorders, species, and assays. Despite the profound significance of anxiety for human health and wellbeing, the neurobiology of uncertain-threat anticipation remains unsettled. Leveraging a paradigm adapted from animal research and optimized for fMRI signal decomposition, we examined the neural circuits engaged during the anticipation of temporally uncertain and certain threat in 99 men and women. Results revealed that the neural systems recruited by uncertain and certain threat anticipation are anatomically colocalized in frontocortical regions, extended amygdala, and periaqueductal gray. Comparison of the threat conditions demonstrated that this circuitry can be fractionated, with frontocortical regions showing relatively stronger engagement during the anticipation of uncertain threat, and the extended amygdala showing the reverse pattern. Although there is widespread agreement that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsal amygdala-the two major subdivisions of the extended amygdala-play a critical role in orchestrating adaptive responses to potential danger, their precise contributions to human anxiety have remained contentious. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these regions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat anticipation. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing anxiety and fear, for understanding the functional neuroanatomy of threat anticipation in humans, and for accelerating the development of more effective intervention strategies for pathological anxiety.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anxiety-an emotion prototypically associated with the anticipation of uncertain harm-has profound significance for public health, yet the underlying neurobiology remains unclear. Leveraging a novel neuroimaging paradigm in a relatively large sample, we identify a core circuit responsive to both uncertain and certain threat anticipation, and show that this circuitry can be fractionated into subdivisions with a bias for one kind of threat or the other. The extended amygdala occupies center stage in neuropsychiatric models of anxiety, but its functional architecture has remained contentious. Here we demonstrate that its major subdivisions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat. Collectively, these observations indicate the need to revise how we think about the neurobiology of anxiety and fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Allegra S Anderson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Jinyi Kuang
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
| | | | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
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31
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Silva F, Gomes N, Korb S, Semin GR. Not All Emotions Are Equal: Fear Chemosignals Lower Awareness Thresholds Only for Fearful Faces. Chem Senses 2020; 45:601-608. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Exposure to body odors (chemosignals) collected under different emotional states (i.e., emotional chemosignals) can modulate our visual system, biasing visual perception. Recent research has suggested that exposure to fear body odors, results in a generalized faster access to visual awareness of different emotional facial expressions (i.e., fear, happy, and neutral). In the present study, we aimed at replicating and extending these findings by exploring if these effects are limited to fear odor, by introducing a second negative body odor—that is, disgust. We compared the time that 3 different emotional facial expressions (i.e., fear, disgust, and neutral) took to reach visual awareness, during a breaking continuous flash suppression paradigm, across 3 body odor conditions (i.e., fear, disgust, and neutral). We found that fear body odors do not trigger an overall faster access to visual awareness, but instead sped-up access to awareness specifically for facial expressions of fear. Disgust odor, on the other hand, had no effects on awareness thresholds of facial expressions. These findings contrast with prior results, suggesting that the potential of fear body odors to induce visual processing adjustments is specific to fear cues. Furthermore, our results support a unique ability of fear body odors in inducing such visual processing changes, compared with other negative emotional chemosignals (i.e., disgust). These conclusions raise interesting questions as to how fear odor might interact with the visual processing stream, whilst simultaneously giving rise to future avenues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio Silva
- William James Center for Research, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Nuno Gomes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sebastian Korb
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse, Wien, Austria
| | - Gün R Semin
- William James Center for Research, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, Lisbon, Portugal
- Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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