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Michalek JE, Qtaishat L, von Stumm S, El Kharouf A, Dajani R, Hadfield K, Mareschal I. Maternal Trauma and Psychopathology Symptoms Affect Refugee Children's Mental Health But Not Their Emotion Processing. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2024; 52:1233-1246. [PMID: 38430294 PMCID: PMC11289056 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-024-01182-0] [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: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Refugee children's development may be affected by their parents' war-related trauma exposure and psychopathology symptoms across a range of cognitive and affective domains, but the processes involved in this transmission are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the impact of refugee mothers' trauma exposure and mental health on their children's mental health and attention biases to emotional expressions. In our sample of 324 Syrian refugee mother-child dyads living in Jordan (children's Mage=6.32, SD = 1.18; 50% female), mothers reported on their symptoms of anxiety and depression, and on their children's internalising, externalising, and attention problems. A subset of mothers reported their trauma exposure (n = 133) and PTSD symptoms (n = 124). We examined emotion processing in the dyads using a standard dot-probe task measuring their attention allocation to facial expressions of anger and sadness. Maternal trauma and PTSD symptoms were linked to child internalising and attention problems, while maternal anxiety and depression symptoms were associated with child internalising, externalising, and attention problems. Mothers and children were hypervigilant towards expressions of anger, but surprisingly, mother and child biases were not correlated with each other. The attentional biases to emotional faces were also not linked to psychopathology risk in the dyads. Our findings highlight the importance of refugee mothers' trauma exposure and psychopathology on their children's wellbeing. The results also suggest a dissociation between the mechanisms underlying mental health and those involved in attention to emotional faces, and that intergenerational transmission of mental health problems might involve mechanisms other than attentional processes relating to emotional expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia E Michalek
- Youth Resilience Unit, Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
| | | | | | - Amal El Kharouf
- Centre for Women Studies, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
| | - Rana Dajani
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Kristin Hadfield
- Trinity Centre for Global Health, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Isabelle Mareschal
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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Imbert L, Neige C, Moirand R, Piva G, Bediou B, Vallet W, Brunelin J. Eye-tracking evidence of a relationship between attentional bias for emotional faces and depression severity in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12000. [PMID: 38796509 PMCID: PMC11127986 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62251-4] [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: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In a retrospective study, 54 patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) completed a free-viewing task in which they had to freely explore pairs of faces (an emotional face (happy or sad) opposite to a neutral face). Attentional bias to emotional faces was calculated for early and sustained attention. We observed a significant negative correlation between depression severity as measured by the 10-item Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and sustained attention to happy faces. In addition, we observed a positive correlation between depression severity and sustained attention to sad faces. No significant correlation between depression severity and early attention was found for either happy or sad faces. Although conclusions from the current study are limited by the lack of comparison with a control group, the eye-tracking free-viewing task appears to be a relevant, accessible and easy-to-use tool for measuring depression severity through emotional attentional biases in TRD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laetitia Imbert
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PSYR2, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Cécilia Neige
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PSYR2, 69500, Bron, France
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bat 416 1st floor, 95 boulevard Pinel, 696500, Bron, France
| | - Rémi Moirand
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bat 416 1st floor, 95 boulevard Pinel, 696500, Bron, France
| | - Giulia Piva
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bat 416 1st floor, 95 boulevard Pinel, 696500, Bron, France
| | - Benoit Bediou
- Faculté de Psychologie et Sciences de l'Education Campus Biotech, Université de Genève, 9 chemin des mines, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - William Vallet
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PSYR2, 69500, Bron, France
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bat 416 1st floor, 95 boulevard Pinel, 696500, Bron, France
| | - Jerome Brunelin
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PSYR2, 69500, Bron, France.
- Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bat 416 1st floor, 95 boulevard Pinel, 696500, Bron, France.
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Surber C, Hoepfel D, Günther V, Kersting A, Rufer M, Suslow T, Bodenschatz CM. Deployment of attention to facial expressions varies as a function of emotional quality-but not in alexithymic individuals. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1338194. [PMID: 38510803 PMCID: PMC10950908 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1338194] [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: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Alexithymia is a risk factor for emotional disorders and is characterized by differences in automatic and controlled emotion processing. The multi-stimulus free-viewing task has been used to detect increased negative and reduced positive attentional biases in depression and anxiety. In the present eye-tracking study, we examined whether lexical emotional priming directs attention toward emotion-congruent facial expressions and whether alexithymia is related to impairments in lexical priming and spontaneous attention deployment during multiple face perception. Materials and methods A free-viewing task with happy, fearful, angry, and neutral faces shown simultaneously was administered to 32 alexithymic and 46 non-alexithymic individuals along with measures of negative affect and intelligence. Face presentation was preceded by masked emotion words. Indices of initial orienting and maintenance of attention were analyzed as a function of prime or target category and study group. Results Time to first fixation was not affected by prime category or study group. Analysis of fixation duration yielded a three-way interaction. Alexithymic individuals exhibited no prime or target category effect, whereas non-alexithymic individuals showed a main effect of target condition, fixating happy faces longer than neutral and angry faces and fearful faces longer than angry faces. Discussion Our results show evidence of attentional biases for positive and fearful social information in non-alexithymic individuals, but not in alexithymic individuals. The lack of spontaneous attentional preference for these social stimuli in alexithymia might contribute to a vulnerability for developing emotional disorders. Our data also suggest that briefly presented emotion words may not facilitate gaze orientation toward emotion-congruent stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Surber
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dennis Hoepfel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vivien Günther
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anette Kersting
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Rufer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich (PUK), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Clinic Zugersee, Triaplus AG, Zug, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Charlott Maria Bodenschatz
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany
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Xu Y, Cao C. Interpersonal Stress and Late Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Moderation by Perceptual Sensitivity to Facial Expression of Anger. J Youth Adolesc 2023; 52:2592-2605. [PMID: 37642781 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-023-01849-9] [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: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
The interpersonal theories of depression highlight the role of interpersonal stress and individual's sensitivity to social rejection in the development of depression. However, previous research has tested their respective effects, whereas whether or not these two factors interact to affect depression, especially in ways of differential susceptibility or diathesis-stress, remains unknown. By adopting a morphed facial expressions recognition paradigm, the current study investigated the potential moderating role of perceptual sensitivity to facial expressions, especially that to angry expression which signaled social rejection, in the association between interpersonal stress and adolescent depressive symptoms. A total of 186 Chinese late adolescents (Mage = 21.16 ± 1.81 years; 73.7% females) participated in this study. The results demonstrated that perceptual sensitivity for angry faces, but not sad or happy faces, functioned as a plasticity factor significantly moderating the effect of interpersonal stress on depressive symptoms, which was consistent with hypothesis of differential susceptibility rather than diathesis-stress. No interactions were observed regarding non-interpersonal dimensions. These results were robust and survived a series of sensitivity analyses, including k-fold cross-validation test. The current findings highlight the crucial role of perceptual sensitivity to angry expression in explaining individual differences behind the links between interpersonal stress and adolescent depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajing Xu
- School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Cong Cao
- School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
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Baek S, Ha S, Lee JH. Application of attentional bias modification to reduce attentional bias and emotional reactivity to stress in mildly depressed individuals. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1273512. [PMID: 37965674 PMCID: PMC10641893 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1273512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aims to verify the effectiveness of attentional bias modification (ABM) in reducing attentional bias related to depression, particularly in the later stages of attention as a pattern of difficulty in disengagement from depression-relevant stimuli, and to assess its effects on emotional reactivity to stress. A total of 78 participants were separated into four groups based on their levels of depression (minimal and mild) and the types of ABM. The positive ABM (pABM) trained participants to disengage their attention from depression-relevant stimuli and directed their attention toward more positive stimuli, whereas the neutral ABM (nABM) was designed to have no effect. The participants underwent a free-viewing task by eye tracker both before and after ABM to observe changes in attentional bias. Subsequently, they reported their emotional response after a stress-inducing task. The group of mildly depressed participants receiving pABM showed significantly less attention to depression-relevant negative affective stimuli and reported significantly decreased negative emotional reactivity to stress compared to the other groups. pABM had an effect on decreasing difficulty in disengaging from depression-relevant negative affective words (DW). However, it did not increase the dwell time on positive affective words (PW) in the current study. This might be due to the short duration of the application of ABM. The current study conducted ABM twice in 1 day, and this might not be enough to increase the dwell time on PA. This study verified that the ABM effectively decreased the attentional bias of depression and its relevant symptom, emotional reactivity to stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soojung Baek
- Department of Educational Affairs, Anyang Juvenile Detention Center, Anyang, Republic of Korea
| | - SoSeo Ha
- Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jang-Han Lee
- Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Reisch AA, Bessette KL, Jenkins LM, Skerrett KA, Gabriel LB, Kling LR, Stange JP, Ryan KA, Schreiner MW, Crowell SE, Kaufman EA, Langenecker SA. Human emotion processing accuracy, negative biases, and fMRI activation are associated with childhood trauma. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1181785. [PMID: 37908596 PMCID: PMC10614639 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1181785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Emerging literature suggests that childhood trauma may influence facial emotion perception (FEP), with the potential to negatively bias both emotion perception and reactions to emotion-related inputs. Negative emotion perception biases are associated with a range of psychiatric and behavioral problems, potentially due or as a result of difficult social interactions. Unfortunately, there is a poor understanding of whether observed negative biases are related to childhood trauma history, depression history, or processes common to (and potentially causative of) both experiences. Methods The present cross-sectional study examines the relation between FEP and neural activation during FEP with retrospectively reported childhood trauma in young adult participants with remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD, n = 41) and without psychiatric histories (healthy controls [HC], n = 34). Accuracy of emotion categorization and negative bias errors during FEP and brain activation were each measured during exposure to fearful, angry, happy, sad, and neutral faces. We examined participant behavioral and neural responses in relation to total reported severity of childhood abuse and neglect (assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, CTQ). Results Results corrected for multiple comparisons indicate that higher trauma scores were associated with greater likelihood of miscategorizing happy faces as angry. Activation in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) positively correlated with trauma scores when participants viewed faces that they correctly categorized as angry, fearful, sad, and happy. Discussion Identifying the neural mechanisms by which childhood trauma and MDD may change facial emotion perception could inform targeted prevention efforts for MDD or related interpersonal difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis A. Reisch
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Katie L. Bessette
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Lisanne M. Jenkins
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Kristy A. Skerrett
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Laura B. Gabriel
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Leah R. Kling
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Jonathan P. Stange
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Kelly A. Ryan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Mindy Westlund Schreiner
- Department of Psychiatry and Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Sheila E. Crowell
- Department of Psychiatry and Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Erin A. Kaufman
- Department of Psychiatry and Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Scott A. Langenecker
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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Nilsson KK, Nygaard S, Ebsen S, Østergård OK. Valence in the eyes: An emotion decoding profile of adults with major depressive disorder and a history of childhood maltreatment. Clin Psychol Psychother 2023. [PMID: 37646395 DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2899] [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: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and childhood maltreatment have been proposed to constitute a subgroup with worse illness course and outcomes. To elucidate a potential social cognitive vulnerability in this subgroup, this study compared the emotion decoding abilities of MDD patients with and without a history of childhood maltreatment. METHODS Participants with a diagnosis of MDD were recruited from nationwide mental health organizations. Emotion decoding abilities were assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, while childhood maltreatment was measured with the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. RESULTS The MDD patients with a history of childhood maltreatment exhibited poorer emotion decoding abilities than MDD patients without such past. This difference applied specifically to the decoding of positive and negative emotions, while no group differences emerged for the decoding of neutral emotions. When specific maltreatment types were considered as predictors only emotional neglect was associated with lower emotion decoding abilities. These associations remained when adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates. CONCLUSIONS By indicating that emotion decoding difficulties characterize the MDD subgroup with childhood maltreatment, the findings highlight a potential vulnerability that merits further examination in terms of its developmental antecedents and prognostic relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Signe Nygaard
- Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Simone Ebsen
- Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Ole Karkov Østergård
- Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
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Attentional Bias to Threat: Examining Associations with Children's Emotional Regulation and Interactions with Intimate Partner Violence. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2023; 54:223-231. [PMID: 34515892 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-021-01238-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) in the home-a prevalent environmental risk for children-exemplifies a key factor that may alter the role of attentional bias to threat (ABT) in children's psychological adjustment. The current study aims to (1) examine potential variations in ABT and emotion regulation across animal and face stimuli and (2) test IPV as a potential moderator of the relationship between ABT and child outcomes. Participating children (N = 37) completed computerized tasks assessing ABT. Mothers provided data on IPV in the home, child victimization, and child emotion regulation. Children's ABT toward animal stimuli was not associated with emotion regulation; IPV significantly moderated the link between ABT and emotion regulation (β = - 0.06, p < .001). At low levels of IPV, children's ABT and emotion regulation were not related, but at high levels of IPV, ABT was negatively associated with emotion regulation skills. The relevance of ABT for understanding functioning may vary by both stimulus selection and by previous experiences of environmental risk.
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Ross AJ, Handley ED, Toth SL. An integrated review of social information processing as a mechanism in the association between maltreatment and depression among youth of color. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2023; 135:105956. [PMID: 36459888 PMCID: PMC9839652 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Child maltreatment is a potent risk factor for depression across the life course, with maltreatment and depression demonstrated to disproportionately impact youth of color. Despite evidence for mechanisms (e.g., social information processing; SIP) accounting for the effects of maltreatment on youth broadly, pathways of risk for depression among maltreated youth of color specifically remain largely under-investigated. OBJECTIVE In an effort to address this gap in the literature, the present review synthesizes available research regarding SIP as a mechanism underlying the impact of maltreatment on the development of depression in general, and among youth of color specifically. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING A review of literature was conducted on English language articles published between 1989 and 2022 involving maltreatment, depression, social information processing, and/or youth of color. METHODS An electronic database search using terms "Maltreatment," "Depression," "Social Information Processing," "Social Cognition," and "Youth of Color" identified relevant literature. RESULTS Synthesis of literature supports SIP as a salient mechanism in the effect of maltreatment on depressive symptomatology for youth broadly, identifying the need for additional empirical work explicitly assessing this pathway among youth of color. CONCLUSION In addition to support for SIP as a risk pathway for youth broadly, this review highlights associated processes that can lend support to SIP as a meaningful mechanism of risk for youth of color. Additionally, this review addresses the deficit-based approach through which research and intervention tools evaluate youth of color experiencing maltreatment and depression, proposing alternative approaches towards prevention and intervention efforts with this marginalized population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Ross
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, United States of America.
| | | | - Sheree L Toth
- Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester, United States of America
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Suslow T, Hoepfel D, Günther V, Kersting A, Bodenschatz CM. Positive attentional bias mediates the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and trait affect. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20733. [PMID: 36456618 PMCID: PMC9715682 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25317-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional intelligence and, in particular, the component emotion regulation may increase well-being and improve mood and coping with negative emotions. In the present eye-tracking study, we examined whether attention allocation to positive stimuli mediates the relationship between emotion regulation abilities and trait affect. Gaze behavior of 104 healthy adults was analyzed in a free-viewing task, in which happy, sad, angry, and neutral faces were shown simultaneously for ten seconds. Dwell time on facial expressions was used as indicator of attention allocation. Trait emotional intelligence was assessed using the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale. Self-report measures of state and trait positive and negative affect, trait anxiety, and depression were administered. In general, participants viewed longer at happy than at negative or neutral faces. The results of mediation analyses indicated that intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation abilities were indirectly related to trait positive affect through attention to happy faces. Moreover, dwell time on happy faces had a mediating effect on the relationship between interpersonal emotion regulation ability and trait anxiety. Preference for positive social signals might form one attentional pathway through which emotion regulation abilities promote positive mood and buffer the development of anxiety reactions in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Suslow
- grid.9647.c0000 0004 7669 9786Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dennis Hoepfel
- grid.9647.c0000 0004 7669 9786Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vivien Günther
- grid.9647.c0000 0004 7669 9786Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anette Kersting
- grid.9647.c0000 0004 7669 9786Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Charlott Maria Bodenschatz
- grid.9647.c0000 0004 7669 9786Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Flechsenhar A, Kanske P, Krach S, Korn C, Bertsch K. The (un)learning of social functions and its significance for mental health. Clin Psychol Rev 2022; 98:102204. [PMID: 36216722 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions are dynamic, context-dependent, and reciprocal events that influence prospective strategies and require constant practice and adaptation. This complexity of social interactions creates several research challenges. We propose a new framework encouraging future research to investigate not only individual differences in capacities relevant for social functioning and their underlying mechanisms, but also the flexibility to adapt or update one's social abilities. We suggest three key capacities relevant for social functioning: (1) social perception, (2) sharing emotions or empathizing, and (3) mentalizing. We elaborate on how adaptations in these capacities may be investigated on behavioral and neural levels. Research on these flexible adaptations of one's social behavior is needed to specify how humans actually "learn to be social". Learning to adapt implies plasticity of the relevant brain networks involved in the underlying social processes, indicating that social abilities are malleable for different contexts. To quantify such measures, researchers need to find ways to investigate learning through dynamic changes in adaptable social paradigms and examine several factors influencing social functioning within the three aformentioned social key capacities. This framework furthers insight concerning individual differences, provides a holistic approach to social functioning, and may improve interventions for ameliorating social abilities in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleya Flechsenhar
- Department Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Sören Krach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christoph Korn
- Section Social Neuroscience, Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Department Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany; NeuroImaging Core Unit Munich (NICUM), University Hospital LMU, Munich, Germany; Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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12
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Chen J, Wang DM, Fan F, Fu F, Wei D, Tang S, Tian Y, Du Y, Zhu R, Li Y, Wang L, Zhang XY. Prevalence, demographics, and cognitive dysfunction among methamphetamine-dependent individuals with childhood maltreatment. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 153:182-188. [PMID: 35820226 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that dependent individuals (DIs) have higher rates of childhood maltreatment and poorer cognitive performance compared with healthy controls. However, little attention has been paid to the cognitive dysfunction of DIs with childhood maltreatment. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive deficits of maltreated methamphetamine-dependent individuals (METH-DIs) using a cross-sectional and case-control design. In addition, we aimed to examine the prevalence of childhood maltreatment and the demographic and clinical characteristics of Chinese male METH-DIs. 330 METH-DIs and 143 healthy controls were recruited and completed a detailed questionnaire on demographic and drug-related variables. Childhood abuse data were collected from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). Cognitive function was assessed by the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used to assess the clinical state of the METH-DIs. 166 of 326 (50.9%) METH-DIs had experienced at least one type of childhood maltreatment. Maltreated METH-DIs were more likely to have a lower level of education (t324 = 5.81, p < 0.001), a higher level of depression(t324 = -2.68, p < 0.01), and a younger onset age of drug use (t324 = 3.58, p < 0.01) than METH-DIs who had no experience of childhood maltreatment. Maltreated METH-DIs also performed worse on the RBANS attention score than METH-DIs who did not experience maltreatment (F1,324 = 15.41, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.05). Our findings revealed that some demographic and clinical variables were associated with maltreatment among METH-DIs. Moreover, attention dysfunction was found in maltreated METH-DIs, which conforms to the theory of latent vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajing Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dong Mei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Fusheng Fan
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | - Fabing Fu
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | - Dejun Wei
- Xin Hua Drug Rehabilitation Center, Sichuan, China
| | | | - Yang Tian
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuxuan Du
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rongrong Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuqing Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiang-Yang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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13
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Looks interesting: Attention allocation in depression when using a news website - An eye tracking study. J Affect Disord 2022; 304:113-121. [PMID: 35219737 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.02.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Eye-tracking-based attention research has shown attentional biases toward dysphoric and away from positive stimuli in depression. However, most research used prototypical stimuli (co-presented contrasting emotional faces/pictures), less reflective of real-life situations. The current study addressed this limitation by examining participants' attentional allocation patterns while freely viewing a news website containing dysphoric and positive news articles. METHODS Participants with high levels of depression (HD; n = 30) and with minimal levels of depression (MD; n = 30) freely viewed a fictitious news website for 3.5 min, containing six articles (picture + text) with dysphoric content and six with positive content. Gaze patterns on corresponding areas of interest (AOIs) were compared. Following the task, participants rated each article's valence, authenticity, and interest. RESULTS Compared to MD participants, HD participants spent more time dwelling on dysphoric articles and less time dwelling on positive articles. Within group analyses showed that while HD participants spent more time dwelling on dysphoric compared to positive articles, MD participants showed no preference, allocating their attention equally to both article types. Echoing within-group gaze patterns, HD participants rated the dysphoric articles as being more interesting than the positive articles, while MD participants rated both types of articles as being equally interesting. CONCLUSION Attentional biases in depression were also evident when using a more ecologically valid task such as viewing a news website, manifesting as increase attention allocation to dysphoric over positive content. This attention pattern may be related to corresponding differences in the level of interest participants found in each article type.
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14
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Hoepfel D, Günther V, Bujanow A, Kersting A, Bodenschatz CM, Suslow T. Experiences of maltreatment in childhood and attention to facial emotions in healthy young women. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4317. [PMID: 35279687 PMCID: PMC8918349 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08290-1] [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: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Using reaction-time measures, research on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and biased attention to emotional stimuli in adults has obtained inconsistent results. To help clarify this issue, we conducted an eye-tracking study on the link between childhood maltreatment and allocation of attention to facial emotions analyzing gaze behavior in addition to manual reactions. In contrast to prior investigations, we excluded individuals with tendencies to minimize maltreatment experiences from analyses. Gaze behavior and manual response time of 58 healthy women were examined in a dot-probe task in which pairs of emotional (happy, sad, or disgusted) and neutral faces were presented. In our analyses, participants’ affectivity, level of alexithymia, and intelligence were controlled. Entry time and dwell time on facial expressions were used as indicators of attention allocation. Childhood maltreatment showed no effect on response latencies but was associated with shorter entry times on emotional faces and shorter dwell time on disgusted faces. Experiences of childhood maltreatment seem to be linked to an increased early vigilance to emotional social signals and to an attentional avoidance of hostile facial expressions at a later stage of perception. The present results suggest a vigilance-avoidance pattern of attention allocation associated with childhood maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Hoepfel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vivien Günther
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anna Bujanow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anette Kersting
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Charlott Maria Bodenschatz
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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15
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Basel D, Aviram T, Lazarov A. Lack of an Attention Bias Away From Relatively Negative Faces in Dysphoria Is Not Related to Biased Emotion Identification. Behav Ther 2022; 53:182-195. [PMID: 35227397 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2021.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Eye-tracking-based attention research has consistently shown a lack of a normative attentional bias away from dysphoric face stimuli in depression, characterizing the attention system of non-depressed individuals. However, this more equal attention allocation pattern could also be related to biased emotion identification, namely, an inclination of depressed individuals to attribute negative emotions to non-negative stimuli when processing mood-congruent stimuli. Here, we examined emotion identification as a possible mechanism associated with attention allocation when processing emotional faces in depression. Attention allocation and emotion identification of participants with high (HD; n = 30) and low (LD; n = 30) levels of depression symptoms were assessed using two corresponding tasks previously shown to yield significant findings in depression, using the same face stimuli (sad, happy, and neutral faces) across both tasks. We examined group differences on each task and possible between-task associations. Results showed that while LD participants dwelled longer on relatively positive faces compared with relatively negative faces on the attention allocation task, HD participants showed no such bias, dwelling equally on both. Trait anxiety did not affect these results. No group differences were noted for emotion identification, and no between-task associations emerged. Present results suggest that depression is characterized by a lack of a general attention bias toward relatively positive faces over relatively negative faces, which is not related to a corresponding bias in emotion identification.
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16
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Michalek J, Lisi M, Binetti N, Ozkaya S, Hadfield K, Dajani R, Mareschal I. War-related trauma linked to increased sustained attention to threat in children. Child Dev 2022; 93:900-909. [PMID: 35147214 PMCID: PMC9542223 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Experiences of war and displacement can have profound effects on children's affective development and mental health, although the mechanism(s) underlying these effects remain unknown. This study investigated the link between early adversity and attention to affective stimuli using a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm with Syrian refugee (n = 31, Mage = 9.55, 12 female) and Jordanian non-refugee (n = 55, Mage = 9.98, 30 female) children living in Jordan (March 2020). Questionnaires assessed PTSD, anxiety/depression, insecurity, distress, and trauma. Refugee children showed greater initial avoidance of angry and happy faces compared to non-refugee children, and higher trauma exposure was linked to increased sustained attention to angry stimuli. These findings suggest that war-related trauma may have differential effects on the early and later stages of affective processing in refugee children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Michalek
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Matteo Lisi
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, London, UK
| | - Nicola Binetti
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Sumeyye Ozkaya
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Kristin Hadfield
- School of Psychology, Trinity Centre for Global Health, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Rana Dajani
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Isabelle Mareschal
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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17
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Nagy SA, Kürtös Z, Németh N, Perlaki G, Csernela E, Lakner FE, Dóczi T, Czéh B, Simon M. Childhood maltreatment results in altered deactivation of reward processing circuits in depressed patients: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of a facial emotion recognition task. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100399. [PMID: 34646916 PMCID: PMC8495173 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Importance and objectives Childhood adversity is a strong risk factor for the development of various psychopathologies including major depressive disorder (MDD). However, not all depressed patients experience early life trauma. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using facial emotion processing tasks have documented altered blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in specific cortico-limbic networks both in MDD patients and in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM). Therefore, a history of maltreatment may represent a key modulating factor responsible for the altered processing of socio-affective stimuli. To test this hypothesis, we recruited MDD patients with and without of maltreatment history to study the long-term consequences of childhood trauma and examined the impact of CM on brain activity using a facial emotion recognition fMRI task. Methods MDD patients with childhood maltreatment (MDD + CM, n = 21), MDD patients without maltreatment (MDD, n = 19), and healthy controls (n = 21) matched for age, sex and intelligence quotient underwent fMRI while performing a block design facial emotion matching task with images portraying negative emotions (fear, anger and sadness). The history of maltreatment was assessed with the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results Both MDD and MDD + CM patients displayed impaired accuracy to recognize sad faces. Analysis of brain activity revealed that MDD + CM patients had significantly reduced negative BOLD signals in their right accumbens, subcallosal cortex, and anterior paracingulate gyrus compared to controls. Furthermore, MDD + CM patients had a significantly increased negative BOLD response in their right precentral and postcentral gyri compared to controls. We found little difference between MDD and MDD + CM patients, except that MDD + CM patients had reduced negative BOLD response in their anterior paracingulate gyrus relative to the MDD group. Conclusions Our present data provide evidence that depressed patients with a history of maltreatment are impaired in facial emotion recognition and that they display altered functioning of key reward-related fronto-striatal circuits during a facial emotion matching task. History of childhood maltreatment (CM) can alter socio-cognitive functioning in adults. We studied depressed patients with and without CM with age, gender and IQ matched controls. Brain activity was assessed with fMRI using a facial emotion matching task. CM patients had impaired accuracy to recognize facial emotions, especially sadness. CM patients had altered negative BOLD signals in their fronto-striatal circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szilvia Anett Nagy
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,MTA-PTE, Clinical Neuroscience MR Research Group, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Pécs Diagnostic Centre, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Kürtös
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Pécs Diagnostic Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Nándor Németh
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Gábor Perlaki
- MTA-PTE, Clinical Neuroscience MR Research Group, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Pécs Diagnostic Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Eszter Csernela
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Flóra Elza Lakner
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Tamás Dóczi
- MTA-PTE, Clinical Neuroscience MR Research Group, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Pécs Diagnostic Centre, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Boldizsár Czéh
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Maria Simon
- Neurobiology of Stress Research Group, Szentágothai János Research Centre, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Pécs, Hungary
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18
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Imagery of negative interpersonal experiences influence the neural mechanisms of social interaction. Neuropsychologia 2021; 160:107923. [PMID: 34175371 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Negative interpersonal experiences are a key contributor to psychiatric disorders. While previous research has shown that negative interpersonal experiences influence social cognition, less is known about the effects on participation in social interactions and the underlying neurobiology. To address this, we developed a new naturalistic version of a gaze-contingent paradigm using real video sequences of gaze behaviour that respond to the participants' gaze in real-time in order to create a believable and continuous interactive social situation. Additionally, participants listened to two autobiographical audio-scripts that guided them to imagine a recent stressful and a relaxing situation and performed the gaze-based social interaction task before and after the presentation of either the stressful or the relaxing audio-script. Our results demonstrate that the social interaction task robustly recruits brain areas with known involvement in social cognition, namely the medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral temporoparietal junction, superior temporal sulcus as well as the precuneus. Imagery of negative interpersonal experiences compared to relaxing imagery led to a prolonged change in affective state and to increased brain responses during the subsequent social interaction paradigm in the temporoparietal junction, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and inferior frontal gyrus. Taken together this study presents a new naturalistic social interaction paradigm suitable to study the neural mechanisms of social interaction and the results demonstrate that the imagery of negative interpersonal experiences affects social interaction on neural levels.
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19
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Hori H, Itoh M, Lin M, Yoshida F, Niwa M, Hakamata Y, Matsui M, Kunugi H, Kim Y. Childhood maltreatment history and attention bias variability in healthy adult women: role of inflammation and the BDNF Val66Met genotype. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:122. [PMID: 33574220 PMCID: PMC7878504 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01247-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment has been associated with greater attention bias to emotional information, but the findings are controversial. Recently, a novel index of attention bias, i.e., attention bias variability (ABV), has been developed to better capture trauma-related attentional dysfunction. However, ABV in relation to childhood trauma has not been studied. Here, we examined the association of childhood maltreatment history with attention bias/ABV in 128 healthy adult women. Different types of childhood maltreatment were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Attention bias/ABV was measured by the dot-probe task. Possible mechanisms whereby childhood maltreatment affects attention bias/ABV were also explored, focusing on blood proinflammatory markers and the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. We observed a significant positive correlation between childhood emotional abuse and ABV (P = 0.002). Serum high-sensitivity tumor necrosis factor-α levels were significantly positively correlated with ABV (P < 0.001), but not with childhood maltreatment. Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test showed a significant tendency toward greater ABV with increasing numbers of the BDNF Met alleles (P = 0.021). A two-way analysis of variance further revealed that the genotype-by-emotional abuse interaction for ABV was significant (P = 0.022); individuals with the Val/Met and Met/Met genotypes exhibited even greater ABV when childhood emotional abuse was present. These results indicate that childhood emotional abuse can have a long-term negative impact on emotional attention control. Increased inflammation may be involved in the mechanism of ABV, possibly independently of childhood maltreatment. The BDNF Met allele may dose-dependently increase ABV by interacting with childhood emotional abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroaki Hori
- Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Mariko Itoh
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan ,grid.39158.360000 0001 2173 7691Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Mingming Lin
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fuyuko Yoshida
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Madoka Niwa
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuko Hakamata
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan ,grid.411731.10000 0004 0531 3030Department of Clinical Psychology, International University of Health and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mie Matsui
- grid.9707.90000 0001 2308 3329Department of Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Liberal Arts and Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kunugi
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan ,grid.264706.10000 0000 9239 9995Department of Psychiatry, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshiharu Kim
- grid.419280.60000 0004 1763 8916Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
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20
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Seitz KI, Leitenstorfer J, Krauch M, Hillmann K, Boll S, Ueltzhoeffer K, Neukel C, Kleindienst N, Herpertz SC, Bertsch K. An eye-tracking study of interpersonal threat sensitivity and adverse childhood experiences in borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul 2021; 8:2. [PMID: 33397512 PMCID: PMC7784013 DOI: 10.1186/s40479-020-00141-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous eye-tracking studies provide preliminary evidence for a hypersensitivity to negative, potentially threatening interpersonal cues in borderline personality disorder (BPD). From an etiological point of view, such interpersonal threat hypersensitivity might be explained by a biological vulnerability along with a history of early life adversities. The objective of the current study was to investigate interpersonal threat hypersensitivity and its association with adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in patients with BPD employing eye-tracking technology. METHODS We examined a sample of 46 unmedicated, adult female patients with BPD and 25 healthy female volunteers, matched on age and intelligence, with a well-established emotion classification paradigm with angry, fearful, happy, and neutral facial expressions. ACE were assessed retrospectively with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. RESULTS Patients as compared to healthy volunteers reflexively directed their gaze more quickly towards the eyes of emotional and neutral faces and did not adapt their fixation patterns according to the facial expression presented. Misclassifying emotional and neutral faces as angry correlated positively with the patients' self-reported ACE. CONCLUSIONS Building on and extending earlier findings, our results are likely to suggest a visual hypervigilance towards the eyes of emotional and neutral facial expressions and a childhood trauma-related anger bias in patients with BPD. Given the lack of a clinical control group, the question whether these findings are specific for BPD has to remain open. Thus, further research is needed to elucidate the specificity of altered visual attention allocation and the role of ACE in anger recognition in patients with BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja I Seitz
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Johanna Leitenstorfer
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marlene Krauch
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Karen Hillmann
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sabrina Boll
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kai Ueltzhoeffer
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinne Neukel
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nikolaus Kleindienst
- Institute for Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Sabine C Herpertz
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
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21
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Kuehl LK, Deuter CE, Nowacki J, Ueberrueck L, Wingenfeld K, Otte C. Attentional bias in individuals with depression and adverse childhood experiences: influence of the noradrenergic system? Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:3519-3531. [PMID: 34605959 PMCID: PMC8629860 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05969-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a severe mental disorder with affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms. Mood congruent cognitive biases, including a negative attentional bias, are important for development, maintenance, and recurrence of depressive symptoms. MDD is associated with maladaptive changes in the biological stress systems such as dysregulations of central noradrenergic alpha2-receptors in the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system, which can affect cognitive processes including attention. Patients with adverse childhood experiences (ACE), representing severe stress experiences in early life, might be particularly affected. OBJECTIVES With an experimental design, we aimed to gain further knowledge about the role of noradrenergic activity for attentional bias in MDD patients with and without ACE. METHODS We tested the effect of increased noradrenergic activity induced by the alpha2-receptor blocker yohimbine on attentional bias in a placebo-controlled repeated measures design. Four groups were included as follows: MDD patients with and without ACE, and healthy participants with and without ACE (total N = 128, all without antidepressant medication). RESULTS A significant effect of MDD on attentional bias scores of sad face pictures (p = .037) indicated a facilitated attentional processing of sad face pictures in MDD patients (compared to non-MDD individuals). However, we found no such effect of ACE. For attentional bias of happy face pictures, we found no significant effects of MDD and ACE. Even though a higher increase of blood pressure and salivary alpha-amylase following yohimbine compared to placebo indicated successful noradrenergic stimulation, we found no significant effects of yohimbine on attentional bias of happy or sad face pictures. CONCLUSIONS Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a negative attentional bias in MDD patients. However, as we found no effect of ACE or yohimbine, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which ACE increases the risk of MDD and to understand the biological basis of the MDD-related negative attentional bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linn K Kuehl
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, MSB Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Christian E Deuter
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Nowacki
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lisa Ueberrueck
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Otte
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Yin H, Guo J, Xin Q, Zheng S, Xue X, Li E, Liu T, Yan N, Keilp J, Mann JJ. Influence of the GABA Receptor Subunit Gene Polymorphism and Childhood Sexual Abuse on Processing Speed in Major Depression and Suicide Attempt. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:712231. [PMID: 34733184 PMCID: PMC8558369 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.712231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Suicide is moderately heritable and also more common in those who report childhood abuse. Previously, it was found that allele A of GABRG2 (GABA A receptor subunit gamma2) polymorphism rs211034 was protective in a suicide attempt (SA). Hence, it was proposed that rs211034 may interact with childhood trauma to influence cognitive deficits related to SA or depression risk. Genetic variants may predict the benefits of certain cognitive treatments. Methods: A total of 52 individuals who had attempted suicide, 59 individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar depression who had not previously attempted suicide, and 90 healthy volunteers were subjected to the modified Suicide Stroop task and were clinically assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Hamilton Depression Scale-24 items (HAMD-24). rs211034 was genotyped using Sanger sequencing. Results: After correcting for covariates, depressed participants displayed longer reaction times for all emotional conditions, including suicide-related words, compared with healthy controls. Depressed suicide attempters displayed longer reaction times for negative words than depressed non-attempters. Depressed non-attempters displayed higher interference scores for negative words compared with healthy controls. There was an interaction between rs211034 risk allele and the effects of reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on reaction time for all emotional words and suicide-related words. Carriers of the rs211034 risk allele A exhibited shorter reaction times, but the protective effects of this allele were eliminated in those exposed to reported CSA. Conclusion: Only limited results were found regarding effects of a past suicide attempt on response times to emotional and suicide-related words, but there was an overall effect of major depression on slower response time. Protective genetic effects of the rs211034 A allele on this slowing were eliminated in those with a history of sexual abuse during childhood. Further research is needed to better characterize the mechanisms underlying the effects of childhood trauma on these genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honglei Yin
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Jia Guo
- Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Qianqian Xin
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Shuqiong Zheng
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiang Xue
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Enze Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Ting Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - Na Yan
- Department of Psychiatry, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangdong, China
| | - John Keilp
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.,Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - J John Mann
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.,Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
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23
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Klawohn J, Bruchnak A, Burani K, Meyer A, Lazarov A, Bar-Haim Y, Hajcak G. Aberrant attentional bias to sad faces in depression and the role of stressful life events: Evidence from an eye-tracking paradigm. Behav Res Ther 2020; 135:103762. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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24
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Huo JY, Wang XQ, Ge Y, Wang YC, Hu XY, Liu MF, Ji LJ, Ye BJ. Chinese college students' ability to recognize facial expressions based on their meaning-in-life profiles: An eye-tracking study. J Pers 2020; 89:514-530. [PMID: 32996593 DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE People can be categorized into one of four meaning-in-life profiles: High Presence High Search (HPHS), High Presence Low Search (HPLS), Low Presence High Search (LPHS), and Low Presence Low Search (LPLS).The main goal of this study is to provide a theoretical explanation for why Chinese people with different meaning-in-life profiles have different mental health levels than Western people, based on their emotional-cognitive-processing ability. METHOD We adopted eye-movement analysis and recognition-judgment experimental paradigm concerning absolute-recognition judgment and relative-recognition judgment in our study. Moreover, we applied a multifactor and multilevel mixed-experimental design. We selected 118 participants for the experiments from the 788 Chinese college students who responded. RESULTS Our results showed that HPHS individuals preferred positive-emotion pictures, LPLS individuals preferred negative-emotion pictures, HPLS individuals preferred positive- and neutral-emotion pictures, and LPHS individuals preferred neutral-emotion pictures. Moreover, HPHS individuals were better at accurately processing facial expression from pictures, while LPLS individuals lacked such ability. The fine-processing ability of HPLS and LPHS individuals was lower than that of HPHS yet higher than that of LPLS individuals. Moreover, the features of HPLS individuals were closer to HPHS, while those of LPHS individuals were closer to LPLS. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the hypothesis that meaning-in-life profiles have different immediate processing abilities and preferences regarding facial expression recognition and different emotional-cognitive-processing ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun-Yu Huo
- School of Psychology, Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xin-Qiang Wang
- School of Psychology, Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ying Ge
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China
| | - Yin-Cheng Wang
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Yu Hu
- School of Psychology, Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ming-Fan Liu
- School of Psychology, Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Li-Jun Ji
- Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Bao-Juan Ye
- School of Psychology, Center of Mental Health Education and Research, Key Laboratory of Psychology and Cognition Science of Jiangxi, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
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25
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Suslow T, Hußlack A, Kersting A, Bodenschatz CM. Attentional biases to emotional information in clinical depression: A systematic and meta-analytic review of eye tracking findings. J Affect Disord 2020; 274:632-642. [PMID: 32663997 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the last decade, eye-tracking technology has been increasingly used to investigate attention orientation in depression. The aim of the current review was to summarize the available eye-tracking research specifying the effects of clinical depression on early and late attention allocation during visual perception of emotional material. METHODS The literature search identified sixteen relevant publications, including twelve free-viewing studies in which multiple stimulus arrays with images (scenarios) or faces were administered. Meta-analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of acute depression on attentional maintenance during free viewing as a function of type and emotional quality of stimulus material. RESULTS Moderate (to large) differences were observed between depressed and healthy individuals in maintained attention to dysphoric images (Hedges' g = .66) and sad faces (g = .58). Moderate group differences were also revealed for maintained attention to positive images (g = -.51) and happy faces (g = -.54). Age of patients explained between study variance in effect sizes for attention to happy faces. No group differences in initial attention orientation were found. LIMITATIONS The number of free-viewing studies based on images was low (n=4). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that clinical depression is characterized by medium-sized increases of attention maintenance for dysphoric and medium-sized decreases for positive stimuli compared to healthy individuals. Therefore, both alterations represent equally important targets for attention modification programs. Depressed patients seem not to manifest abnormalities in early orienting to emotional stimuli. Differences between patients and healthy subjects in attention to positive stimuli may diminish with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Anja Hußlack
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anette Kersting
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Charlott Maria Bodenschatz
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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