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Dal Bò E, Cecchetto C, Callara AL, Greco A, Mura F, Vanello N, Di Francesco F, Scilingo EP, Gentili C. Emotion perception through the nose: how olfactory emotional cues modulate the perception of neutral facial expressions in affective disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:342. [PMID: 39181892 PMCID: PMC11344772 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-03038-z] [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: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans can decode emotional states from the body odors of the conspecifics and this type of emotional communication is particularly relevant in conditions in which social interactions are impaired, as in depression and social anxiety. The present study aimed to explore how body odors collected in happiness and fearful conditions modulate the subjective ratings, the psychophysiological response and the neural processing of neutral faces in individuals with depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and healthy controls (N = 22 per group). To this aim, electrocardiogram (ECG) and HD-EEG were recorded continuously. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was extracted from the ECG as a measure of vagal tone, event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related spectral perturbations (ERPSs) were extracted from the EEG. The results revealed that the HRV increased during the fear and happiness body odors conditions compared to clean air, but no group differences emerged. For ERPs data, repeated measure ANOVA did not show any significant effects. However, the ERPSs analyses revealed a late increase in delta power and a reduced beta power both at an early and a late stage of stimulus processing in response to the neutral faces presented with the emotional body odors, regardless of the presence of depressive or social anxiety symptoms. The current research offers new insights, demonstrating that emotional chemosignals serve as potent environmental cues. This represents a substantial advancement in comprehending the impact of emotional chemosignals in both individuals with and without affective disorders.
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Grants
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- 824153 EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)
- DM 11/05/2017 n. 262 Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca (Ministry of Education, University and Research)
- European Union - Next Generation EU, in the context of The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Investment 1.5 Ecosystems of Innovation, Project Tuscany Health Ecosystem (THE), Spoke 3 "Advanced technologies, methods, materials and heath analytics " CUP: I53C22000780001
- PNRR - M4C2 - Investimento 1.3, Partenariato Esteso PE00000013 - “FAIR - Future Artificial Intelligence Research” - Spoke 1 “Human-centered AI”, funded by the European Commission under the NextGeneration EU programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Dal Bò
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
| | - Cinzia Cecchetto
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Alejandro Luis Callara
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Greco
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesca Mura
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Nicola Vanello
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Francesco
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Gentili
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
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2
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Dell'Acqua C, Mejza R, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Affective processing in dysphoria: Evidence from startle probe modulation of ERPs. Neurosci Lett 2024; 824:137673. [PMID: 38346533 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The hypoactivation of the appetitive and defensive motivational systems in the brain is a feature of depression and might also represent a vulnerability factor for the disorder. A measure that can be employed to investigate both motivational systems is the electroencephalographic response to an acoustic startle probe during affective processing. Particularly, the amplitude of auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) components to the startle probe is smaller when the emotional context is more arousing. Neural responses to an unattended startle probe during an emotional passive viewing task of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures was employed to assess the activation of the approach and defensive motivational systems in a sample of individuals with (n = 24, 23 females) vs. without (n = 24, 23 females) dysphoria. The group without dysphoria showed a reduced startle-elicited N200 only in the context of pleasant relative to neutral pictures, indicating that the affective processing of the appetitive context might reduce the attentional resources needed to orient attention toward unattended non-salient stimuli. Conversely, the N200 amplitude was not attenuated for pleasant relative to neutral and unpleasant contexts in the group with dysphoria. Moreover, no within- or between-group differences emerged in the P300 amplitude. Taken together, the results of this study showed that depression vulnerability is characterized by reduced attention to pleasant contexts, suggesting a blunted affective processing of appetitive emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell'Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
| | - Roza Mejza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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3
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Wendt J, Kuhn M, Hamm AO, Lonsdorf TB. Recent advances in studying brain-behavior interactions using functional imaging: The primary startle response pathway and its affective modulation in humans. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14364. [PMID: 37402156 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
The startle response is a cross-species defensive reflex that is considered a key tool for cross-species translational emotion research. While the neural pathway mediating (affective) startle modulation has been extensively studied in rodents, human work on brain-behavior interactions has lagged in the past due to technical challenges, which have only recently been overcome through non-invasive simultaneous EMG-fMRI assessments. We illustrate key paradigms and methodological tools for startle response assessment in rodents and humans and review evidence for primary and modulatory neural circuits underlying startle responses and their affective modulation in humans. Based on this, we suggest a refined and integrative model for primary and modulatory startle response pathways in humans concluding that there is strong evidence from human work on the neurobiological pathway underlying the primary startle response while evidence for the modulatory pathway is still sparse. In addition, we provide methodological considerations to guide future work and provide an outlook on new and exciting perspectives enabled through technical and theoretical advances outlined in this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, University of Potsdam, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Tina B Lonsdorf
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Bielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Psychology, Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
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4
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Böttger SJ, Förstner BR, Szalek L, Koller-Schlaud K, Rapp MA, Tschorn M. Mood and anxiety disorders within the Research Domain Criteria framework of Positive and Negative Valence Systems: a scoping review. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1184978. [PMID: 37333832 PMCID: PMC10272468 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1184978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction While a growing body of research is adopting Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)-related methods and constructs, there is still a lack of comprehensive reviews on the state of published research on Positive Valence Systems (PVS) and Negative Valence Systems (NVS) in mood and anxiety disorders consistent with the RDoC framework. Methods Five electronic databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed publications covering research on "positive valence" and "negative valence" as well as "valence," "affect," and "emotion" for individuals with symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders. Data was extracted with a focus on disorder, domain, (sub-) constructs, units of analysis, key results, and study design. Findings are presented along four sections, distinguishing between primary articles and reviews each for PVS, NVS, and cross-domain PVS and NVS. Results A total of 231 abstracts were identified, and 43 met the inclusion criteria for this scoping review. Seventeen publications addressed research on PVS, seventeen on NVS, and nine covered cross-domain research on PVS and NVS. Psychological constructs were typically examined across different units of analysis, with the majority of publications incorporating two or more measures. Molecular, genetic, and physiological aspects were mainly investigated via review articles, primary articles focused on self-report, behavioral, and, to a lesser extent, physiological measures. Conclusions This present scoping review shows that mood and anxiety disorders were actively studied using a range of genetic, molecular, neuronal, physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures within the RDoC PVS and NVS. Results highlight the essential role of specific cortical frontal brain structures and of subcortical limbic structures in impaired emotional processing in mood and anxiety disorders. Findings also indicate overall limited research on NVS in bipolar disorders and PVS in anxiety disorders, a majority of self-report studies, and predominantly observational studies. Future research is needed to develop more RDoC-consistent advancements and intervention studies targeting neuroscience-driven PVS and NVS constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Jane Böttger
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- DZPG (German Center of Mental Health), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Bernd R. Förstner
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- DZPG (German Center of Mental Health), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Laura Szalek
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Kristin Koller-Schlaud
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School, University Hospital Ruppin-Brandenburg, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Michael A. Rapp
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- DZPG (German Center of Mental Health), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Mira Tschorn
- Social and Preventive Medicine, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- DZPG (German Center of Mental Health), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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5
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Yang X, Chen L, Yang P, Yang X, Liu L, Li L. Negative emotion-conditioned prepulse induces the attentional enhancement of prepulse inhibition in humans. Behav Brain Res 2023; 438:114179. [PMID: 36330905 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114179] [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: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a reduction of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) when the startling stimulus is preceded by a weaker and non-startling stimulus (i.e., prepulse). Previous studies have revealed that PPI can be top-down modulated by selective attention to the fear-conditioned prepulse in animals. However, few researchers have tested this assumption in humans. Thus, in this study, the negative emotional-conditioned prepulse (CS+) was used to explore whether it could improve participants' attention, and further improve the PPI. The results showed that the CS+ prepulse increased the PPI only in females, PPI produced by CS+ prepulse was larger in females than in males, and the perceptual spatial attention further improved the PPI in both females and males. The results suggested that the PPI was affected by emotional, perceptual spatial attention, and sex. These findings highlight an additional method to measure top-down attentional regulation of PPI in humans. Which may offer a useful route to enhance the diagnosis of affective disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqin Yang
- Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Liangjie Chen
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Pengcheng Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Xiaodong Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Lei Liu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China.
| | - Liang Li
- Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China.
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6
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Dell’Acqua C, Palomba D, Patron E, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Rethinking the risk for depression using the RDoC: A psychophysiological perspective. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1108275. [PMID: 36814670 PMCID: PMC9939768 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1108275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering that the classical categorical approach to mental disorders does not allow a clear identification of at-risk conditions, the dimensional approach provided by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) is useful in the exploration of vulnerability to psychopathology. In the RDoC era, psychophysiological models have an important role in the reconceptualization of mental disorders. Indeed, progress in the study of depression vulnerability has increasingly been informed by psychophysiological models. By adopting an RDoC lens, this narrative review focuses on how psychophysiological models can be used to advance our knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression vulnerability. Findings from psychophysiological research that explored multiple RDoC domains in populations at-risk for depression are reviewed and discussed. Future directions for the application of psychophysiological research in reaching a more complete understanding of depression vulnerability and, ultimately, improving clinical utility, are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell’Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,*Correspondence: Carola Dell’Acqua, ✉
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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Andreatta M, Winkler MH, Collins P, Gromer D, Gall D, Pauli P, Gamer M. VR for Studying the Neuroscience of Emotional Responses. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 65:161-187. [PMID: 36592276 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Emotions are frequently considered as the driving force of behavior, and psychopathology is often characterized by aberrant emotional responding. Emotional states are reflected on a cognitive-verbal, physiological-humoral, and motor-behavioral level but to date, human research lacks an experimental protocol for a comprehensive and ecologically valid characterization of such emotional states. Virtual reality (VR) might help to overcome this situation by allowing researchers to study mental processes and behavior in highly controlled but reality-like laboratory settings. In this chapter, we first elucidate the role of presence and immersion as requirements for eliciting emotional states in a virtual environment and discuss different VR methods for emotion induction. We then consider the organization of emotional states on a valence continuum (i.e., from negative to positive) and on this basis discuss the use of VR to study threat processing and avoidance as well as reward processing and approach behavior. Although the potential of VR has not been fully realized in laboratory and clinical settings yet, this technological tool can open up new avenues to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms of emotional responding in healthy and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Markus H Winkler
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Peter Collins
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Gromer
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Gall
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Gamer
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
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Guo W, Fan S, Xiao D, He C, Guan M, Xiong W. A midbrain-reticulotegmental circuit underlies exaggerated startle under fear emotions. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4881-4892. [PMID: 36117214 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01782-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Exaggerated startle has been recognized as a core hyperarousal symptom of multiple fear-related anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder. However, the mechanisms driving this symptom are poorly understood. Here we reveal a neural projection from dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) to a startle-controlling center reticulotegmental nucleus (RtTg) that mediates enhanced startle response under fear condition. Within RtTg, we identify an inhibitory microcircuit comprising GABAergic neurons in pericentral RtTg (RtTgP) and glutamatergic neurons in central RtTg (RtTgC). Inhibition of this RtTgP-RtTgC microcircuit leads to elevated startle amplitudes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the conditioned fear-activated DRN 5-HTergic neurons send inhibitory projections to RtTgP GABAergic neurons, which in turn upregulate neuronal activities of RtTgC glutamatergic neurons. Chemogenetic activation of the DRN-RtTgP projections mimics the increased startle response under fear emotions. Moreover, conditional deletion of 5-HT1B receptor from RtTgP GABAergic neurons largely reverses the exaggeration of startle during conditioned fear. Thus, our study establishes the disinhibitory DRN-RtTgP-RtTgC circuit as a critical mechanism underlying exaggerated startle under fear emotions, and provides 5-HT1B receptor as a potential therapeutic target for treating hyperarousal symptom in fear-associated psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiwei Guo
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Sijia Fan
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Dan Xiao
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Chen He
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Mengyuan Guan
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. .,Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230088, China. .,Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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Pöhlchen D, Fietz J, Czisch M, Sämann PG, Spoormaker VI, Binder E, Brückl T, Erhardt A, Grandi N, Lucae S, von Muecke-Heim I, Ziebula J. Startle Latency as a Potential Marker for Amygdala-Mediated Hyperarousal. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 8:406-416. [PMID: 35577304 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fear-related disorders are characterized by hyperexcitability in reflexive circuits and maladaptive associative learning mechanisms. The startle reflex is suited to investigate both processes, either by probing it under baseline conditions or by deriving it in fear conditioning studies. In anxiety research, the amplitude of the fear-potentiated startle has been shown to be influenced by amygdalar circuits and has typically been the readout of interest. In schizophrenia research, prolonged startle peak latency under neutral conditions is an established readout, thought to reflect impaired processing speed. We therefore explored whether startle latency is an informative readout for human anxiety research. METHODS We investigated potential similarities and differences of startle peak latency and amplitude derived from a classical fear conditioning task in a sample of 206 participants with varying severity levels of anxiety disorders and healthy control subjects. We first reduced startle response to stable components and regressed individual amygdala gray matter volumes onto the resulting startle measures. We then probed time, stimulus, and group effects of startle latency. RESULTS We showed that startle latency and startle amplitude were 2 largely uncorrelated measures; startle latency, but not amplitude, showed a sex-specific association with gray matter volume of the amygdala; startle latencies showed a fear-dependent task modulation; and patients with fear-related disorders displayed shorter startle latencies throughout the fear learning task. CONCLUSIONS These data provide support for the notion that probing startle latencies under threat may engage amygdala-modulated threat processing, making them a complementary marker for human anxiety research.
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Guo W, Fan S, Xiao D, Dong H, Xu G, Wan Z, Ma Y, Wang Z, Xue T, Zhou Y, Li Y, Xiong W. A Brainstem reticulotegmental neural ensemble drives acoustic startle reflexes. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6403. [PMID: 34737329 PMCID: PMC8568936 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26723-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The reticulotegmental nucleus (RtTg) has long been recognized as a crucial component of brainstem reticular formation (RF). However, the function of RtTg and its related circuits remain elusive. Here, we report a role of the RtTg in startle reflex, a highly conserved innate defensive behaviour. Optogenetic activation of RtTg neurons evokes robust startle responses in mice. The glutamatergic neurons in the RtTg are significantly activated during acoustic startle reflexes (ASR). Chemogenetic inhibition of the RtTg glutamatergic neurons decreases the ASR amplitudes. Viral tracing reveals an ASR neural circuit that the cochlear nucleus carrying auditory information sends direct excitatory innervations to the RtTg glutamatergic neurons, which in turn project to spinal motor neurons. Together, our findings describe a functional role of RtTg and its related neural circuit in startle reflexes, and demonstrate how the RF connects auditory system with motor functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiwei Guo
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Sijia Fan
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Dan Xiao
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Hui Dong
- grid.11135.370000 0001 2256 9319State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, 100871 China
| | - Guangwei Xu
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Zhikun Wan
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Yuqian Ma
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Zhen Wang
- grid.16821.3c0000 0004 0368 8293Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Tian Xue
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China ,grid.9227.e0000000119573309Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031 China
| | - Yifeng Zhou
- grid.59053.3a0000000121679639Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026 China
| | - Yulong Li
- grid.11135.370000 0001 2256 9319State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, 100871 China ,grid.11135.370000 0001 2256 9319PKU-IDG–McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 100871 China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Institute on Aging and Brain Disorders, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. .,Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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Venkatesan V, Khess CRJ, Shreekantiah U, Goyal N, Kshitiz KK. Response Processes to Looming Appetitive and Aversive Cues in Euthymic Bipolar Patients and Their First-Degree Relatives: An Exploratory Study. Indian J Psychol Med 2021; 43:209-216. [PMID: 34345096 PMCID: PMC8287393 DOI: 10.1177/0253717620975285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with bipolar disorder demonstrate increased sensitivity to appetitive/rewarding stimuli even during euthymia. On presentation of arousing pictures, they show a peculiar response, suggesting heightened vigilance. While responding to looming arousing cues, studies show subjects with anxiety spectrum disorders exhibit increased reaction time (RT), explained by the "looming-vulnerability model." This study aimed to investigate the responses to looming arousing cues in euthymic bipolar patients and their first-degree relatives, as compared to healthy controls. METHOD A looming appetitive and aversive cue paradigm was designed for assessing the RT of patients to process appetitive and aversive cues. The behavioral inhibition/activation and sensitivity to reward/punishment amongst the groups were also assessed. RESULTS The bipolar group showed significantly longer RT to process appetitive cues irrespective of the looming condition. Aversive cues elicited significantly longer RT in both the bipolar group and in first-degree relatives, but only when presented with the looming condition. Significant looming bias was elicited in the bipolar group which suggested a particular cognitive style to looming cues. A composite measure of RT along with sensitivity to reward/punishment distinguishes the bipolar group and their first-degree relatives from the healthy controls. CONCLUSION The looming vulnerability model may provide important insights for future exploration of cognitive endophenotypes in bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Velprashanth Venkatesan
- K. S. Mani Centre for Cognitive
Neurosciences and Dept. of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi,
Jharkhand, India
| | - Christoday R J Khess
- S. S. Raju Centre for Deaddiction
Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
| | - Umesh Shreekantiah
- K. S. Mani Centre for Cognitive
Neurosciences and Dept. of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi,
Jharkhand, India
| | - Nishant Goyal
- K. S. Mani Centre for Cognitive
Neurosciences and Dept. of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi,
Jharkhand, India
| | - K. K. Kshitiz
- Dept. of Biochemistry, Central
Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
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Contactless differentiation of pleasant and unpleasant valence: Assessment of the acoustic startle eyeblink response with infrared reflectance oculography. Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:2092-2104. [PMID: 33754323 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01555-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The ability to distinguish between discrete emotions by monitoring autonomic or facial features has been an elusive "holy grail" for fields such as psychophysiology, affective computing, and human-computer interface design. However, cross-validated models are lacking, and contemporary theory suggests that emotions may lack distinct physiological or facial "signatures." Therefore, in this study, we propose a reorientation toward distinguishing between pleasant and unpleasant affective valence. We focus on the acoustic eyeblink response, which exhibits affective modulation but remains underutilized. The movement of the eyelid was monitored in a contactless manner via infrared reflectance oculography at 1 kHz while 36 participants viewed normatively pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant images, and 50-ms bursts of white noise were presented binaurally via headphones. Startle responses while viewing pleasant images exhibited significantly smaller amplitudes than those while viewing unpleasant images, with a large effect size (d = 1.56). The affective modulation of the eyeblink startle response is a robust phenomenon that can be assessed in a contactless manner. As research continues on whether systems based on psychophysiological or facial features can distinguish between discrete emotions, the eyeblink startle response offers a relatively simple way to distinguish between pleasant and unpleasant affective valence.
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Stegmann Y, Ahrens L, Pauli P, Keil A, Wieser MJ. Social aversive generalization learning sharpens the tuning of visuocortical neurons to facial identity cues. eLife 2020; 9:55204. [PMID: 32515731 PMCID: PMC7311168 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Defensive system activation promotes heightened perception of threat signals, and excessive attention to threat signals has been discussed as a contributory factor in the etiology of anxiety disorders. However, a mechanistic account of attentional modulation during fear-relevant processes, especially during fear generalization remains elusive. To test the hypothesis that social fear generalization prompts sharpened tuning in the visuocortical representation of social threat cues, 67 healthy participants underwent differential fear conditioning, followed by a generalization test in which participants viewed faces varying in similarity with the threat-associated face. We found that generalization of social threat sharpens visuocortical tuning of social threat cues, whereas ratings of fearfulness showed generalization, linearly decreasing with decreasing similarity to the threat-associated face. Moreover, individuals who reported greater anxiety in social situations also showed heightened sharpened tuning of visuocortical neurons to facial identity cues, indicating the behavioral relevance of visuocortical tuning during generalization learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannik Stegmann
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Lea Ahrens
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Center for Mental Health, Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Keil
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Attention and affect in dysphoria: Insights from startle reflex modulation and cardiac deceleration. Behav Res Ther 2020; 131:103626. [PMID: 32387705 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated the interplay between attention and affective disposition during emotional processing in dysphoria. Attentional and affective startle modulation and cardiac deceleration were assessed during the viewing of emotional pictures in 38 individuals with dysphoria and in 52 controls. Startle probes during picture viewing were presented at 300, 1500, 3500, 4500 ms after picture onset. Whereas controls showed the expected startle potentiation to unpleasant stimuli as compared to neutral and pleasant ones, individuals with dysphoria did not show any significant increase in startle reflex amplitude in response to unpleasant stimuli. Of note, startle potentiation during the viewing of unpleasant stimuli was significantly attenuated in the group with dysphoria relative to controls. Conversely, no significant effect concerning attentional startle modulation was noted. However, whereas individuals with dysphoria showed a prolonged cardiac deceleration when viewing unpleasant compared to neutral stimuli, the same effect was observed in controls only in the initial stage of stimuli processing. This study suggests that dysphoria is characterized by underactivation of the defensive motivational system and by prolonged attentional allocation to unpleasant stimuli. The assessment of affective startle modulation and cardiac deceleration is a valuable paradigm for unraveling dysfunctions in affective disposition and attention in dysphoria.
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