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Porciello G, Monti A, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. Ingestible pills reveal gastric correlates of emotions. eLife 2024; 13:e85567. [PMID: 38831694 PMCID: PMC11149936 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85567] [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: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Although it is generally held that gastrointestinal (GI) signals are related to emotions, direct evidence for such a link is currently lacking. One of the reasons why the internal milieu of the GI system is poorly investigated is because visceral organs are difficult to access and monitor. To directly measure the influence of endoluminal markers of GI activity on the emotional experience, we asked a group of healthy male participants to ingest a pill that measured pH, pressure, and temperature of their GI tract while they watched video clips that consistently induced disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, or a control neutral state. In addition to the objective physiological markers of GI activity, subjective ratings of perceived emotions and visceral (i.e. gastric, respiratory and cardiac) sensations were recorded, as well as changes in heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and spontaneous eyes blinks as non-gastric behavioral and autonomic markers of the emotional experience. We found that when participants observed fearful and disgusting video clips, they reported to perceive not only cardiac and respiratory sensations but also gastric sensations, such as nausea. Moreover, we found that there was a clear relation between the physiology of the stomach and the perceived emotions. Specifically, when disgusting video clips were displayed, the more acidic the pH, the more participants reported feelings of disgust and fear; the less acidic the pH, the more they reported happiness. Complementing the results found in the deep gastric realm, we found that disgusting stimuli induced a significant increase in HRV compared to the neutral scenarios, and together with fearful video clips a decrease in HR. Our findings suggest that gastric signals contribute to unique emotional states and that ingestible pills may open new avenues for exploring the deep-body physiology of emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppina Porciello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Research HospitalRomeItaly
| | | | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Research HospitalRomeItaly
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Research HospitalRomeItaly
- Sapienza Università di Roma and Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di TecnologiaRomeItaly
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2
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Geng H, Xu P, Aleman A, Qin S, Luo YJ. Dynamic Organization of Large-scale Functional Brain Networks Supports Interactions Between Emotion and Executive Control. Neurosci Bull 2024:10.1007/s12264-023-01168-w. [PMID: 38261252 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01168-w] [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: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Emotion and executive control are often conceptualized as two distinct modes of human brain functioning. Little, however, is known about how the dynamic organization of large-scale functional brain networks that support flexible emotion processing and executive control, especially their interactions. The amygdala and prefrontal systems have long been thought to play crucial roles in these processes. Recent advances in human neuroimaging studies have begun to delineate functional organization principles among the large-scale brain networks underlying emotion, executive control, and their interactions. Here, we propose a dynamic brain network model to account for interactive competition between emotion and executive control by reviewing recent resting-state and task-related neuroimaging studies using network-based approaches. In this model, dynamic interactions among the executive control network, the salience network, the default mode network, and sensorimotor networks enable dynamic processes of emotion and support flexible executive control of multiple processes; neural oscillations across multiple frequency bands and the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine pathway serve as communicational mechanisms underlying dynamic synergy among large-scale functional brain networks. This model has important implications for understanding how the dynamic organization of complex brain systems and networks empowers flexible cognitive and affective functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Geng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- Tianqiao and Chrissy, Chen Institute for Translational Research, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (BNU), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- Center for Neuroimaging, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Andre Aleman
- University of Groningen, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, Section Cognitive Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China.
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
- Institute for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, 266113, China.
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
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3
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Xu J, Luo Y, Liu Y, Zhong L, Liu H, Zhang X, Cheng Q, Yang Z, Zhang Y, Weng A, Ou Z, Yan Z, Zhang W, Hu Q, Peng K, Liu G. Neural Correlates of Facial Emotion Recognition Impairment in Blepharospasm: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Neuroscience 2023; 531:50-59. [PMID: 37709002 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.09.002] [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: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Selective impairment in recognizing facial expressions of disgust was reported in patients with focal dystonia several years ago, but the basic neural mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated whether dysfunction of the brain network involved in disgust recognition processing was related to this selective impairment in blepharospasm. Facial emotion recognition evaluations and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed in 33 blepharospasm patients and 33 healthy controls (HCs). The disgust processing network was constructed, and modularity analyses were performed to identify sub-networks. Regional functional indexes and intra- and inter-functional connections were calculated and compared between the groups. Compared to HCs, blepharospasm patients demonstrated a worse performance in disgust recognition. In addition, functional connections within the sub-network involved in perception processing rather than recognition processing of disgust were significantly decreased in blepharospasm patients compared to HCs. Specifically, decreased functional connections were noted between the left fusiform gyrus (FG) and right middle occipital gyrus (MOG), the left FG and right FG, and the right FG and left MOG. We identified decreased functional activity in these regions, as indicated by a lower amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the left MOG, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in the right FG, and regional homogeneity in the right FG and left MOG in blepharospasm patients versus HCs. Our results suggest that dysfunctions of the disgust processing network exist in blepharospasm. A deficit in disgust emotion recognition may be attributed to disturbances in the early perception of visual disgust stimuli in blepharospasm patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinping Xu
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yuhan Luo
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Linchang Zhong
- Department of Medical Imaging, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Huiming Liu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Qinxiu Cheng
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zhengkun Yang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Ai Weng
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zilin Ou
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zhicong Yan
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Weixi Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Qingmao Hu
- Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
| | - Kangqiang Peng
- Department of Medical Imaging, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China.
| | - Gang Liu
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou 510080, China.
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Tully J, Sethi A, Griem J, Paloyelis Y, Craig MC, Williams SCR, Murphy D, Blair RJ, Blackwood N. Oxytocin normalizes the implicit processing of fearful faces in psychopathy: a randomized crossover study using fMRI. NATURE. MENTAL HEALTH 2023; 1:420-427. [PMID: 38665476 PMCID: PMC11041724 DOI: 10.1038/s44220-023-00067-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Adults with antisocial personality disorder with (ASPD + P) and without (ASPD - P) psychopathy commit the majority of violent crimes. Empathic processing abnormalities are particularly prominent in psychopathy, but effective pharmacological interventions have yet to be identified. Oxytocin modulates neural responses to fearful expressions in healthy populations. The current study investigates its effects in violent antisocial men. In a placebo-controlled, randomized crossover design, 34 violent offenders (19 ASPD + P; 15 ASPD - P) and 24 healthy non-offenders received 40 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo and then completed an fMRI morphed faces task examining the implicit processing of fearful facial expressions. Increasing intensity of fearful facial expressions failed to appropriately modulate activity in the bilateral mid-cingulate cortex in violent offenders with ASPD + P, compared with those with ASPD - P. Oxytocin abolished these group differences. This represents evidence of neurochemical modulation of the empathic processing of others' distress in psychopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Tully
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
- Academic Unit of Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham, UK
| | - Arjun Sethi
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Julia Griem
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Yannis Paloyelis
- Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Michael C. Craig
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Steven C. R. Williams
- Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Declan Murphy
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Robert James Blair
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nigel Blackwood
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK
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5
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Vaccaro AG, Heydari P, Christov-Moore L, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Perspective-taking is associated with increased discriminability of affective states in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:1082-1090. [PMID: 35579186 PMCID: PMC9714424 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac035] [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: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work using multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has found that distinct affective states produce correspondingly distinct patterns of neural activity in the cerebral cortex. However, it is unclear whether individual differences in the distinctiveness of neural patterns evoked by affective stimuli underlie empathic abilities such as perspective-taking (PT). Accordingly, we examined whether we could predict PT tendency from the classification of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activation patterns while participants (n = 57) imagined themselves in affectively charged scenarios. We used an MVPA searchlight analysis to map where in the brain activity patterns permitted the classification of four affective states: happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Classification accuracy was significantly above chance levels in most of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior medial cortices. Furthermore, participants' self-reported PT was positively associated with classification accuracy in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula. This finding has implications for understanding affective processing in the prefrontal cortex and for interpreting the cognitive significance of classifiable affective brain states. Our multivariate approach suggests that PT ability may rely on the grain of internally simulated affective representations rather than simply the global strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Panthea Heydari
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Correspondence should be addressed to Jonas T. Kaplan, Brain and Creativity Institute, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. E-mail:
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6
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Gan X, Zhou X, Li J, Jiao G, Jiang X, Biswal B, Yao S, Klugah-Brown B, Becker B. Common and distinct neurofunctional representations of core and social disgust in the brain: Coordinate-based and network meta-analyses. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104553. [PMID: 35122784 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Disgust represents a multifaceted defensive-avoidance response. On the behavioral level, the response includes withdrawal and a disgust-specific facial expression. While both serve the avoidance of pathogens, the latter additionally transmits social-communicative information. Given that common and distinct brain representation of the primary defensive-avoidance response (core disgust) and encoding of the social-communicative signal (social disgust) remain debated, we employed neuroimaging meta-analyses to (1) determine brain systems generally engaged in disgust processing, and (2) segregate common and distinct brain systems for core and social disgust. Disgust processing, in general, engaged a bilateral network encompassing the insula, amygdala, occipital and prefrontal regions. Core disgust evoked stronger reactivity in left-lateralized threat detection and defensive response network including amygdala, occipital and frontal regions, while social disgust engaged a right-lateralized superior temporal-frontal network engaged in social cognition. Anterior insula, inferior frontal and fusiform regions were commonly engaged during core and social disgust, suggesting a shared neurofunctional basis. We demonstrate a common and distinct neural basis of primary disgust responses and encoding of associated social-communicative signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianyang Gan
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Guojuan Jiao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Xi Jiang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Bharat Biswal
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ 7102, United States
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China.
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Koevoets MGJC, Prikken M, Hagenaar DA, Kahn RS, van Haren NEM. The Association Between Emotion Recognition, Affective Empathy, and Structural Connectivity in Schizophrenia Patients. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:910985. [PMID: 35782419 PMCID: PMC9240782 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.910985] [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] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Emotion processing deficits often occur in patients with schizophrenia. We investigate whether patients and controls differ in the association between facial emotion recognition and experience of affective empathy and whether performance on these emotion processing domains differently relates to white matter connectivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-seven patients with schizophrenia and 47 controls performed an emotion recognition and affective empathy task. T1-weighted and diffusion-tensor images (DTI) of the brain were acquired. Using Tracula 5.3, ten fibers were reconstructed and fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were extracted. Groups were compared on task performance, white matter measures and their interactions using ANCOVAs. Correction for multiple comparisons was applied. RESULTS Patients scored lower on emotion recognition (p = 0.037) and reported higher levels of affective empathy (p < 0.001) than controls. Patients with poor emotion recognition (PT-low) experienced stronger affective empathy than patients with similar emotion recognition performance as controls (PT-normal; p = 0.011), who in turn reported stronger affective empathy than controls (p = 0.043). We found a significant interaction between emotion recognition, affective empathy and anterior thalamic radiation AD (p = 0.017, d = 0.43). Post hoc analyses revealed that the correlation between AD and empathy differed significantly between all groups (empathy/AD in PT-low < empathy/AD in PT-normal < empathy/AD in controls). DISCUSSION In patients with poor emotion recognition, the negative association between anterior thalamic radiation AD and affective empathy was stronger than in patients with normal emotion recognition capacity. Possibly, axonal damage in fronto-thalamic structural connections, as part of a larger frontotemporal network, underlies the association between poor emotion recognition and higher levels of affective empathy in schizophrenia patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martijn G J C Koevoets
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Merel Prikken
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Doesjka A Hagenaar
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - René S Kahn
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Neeltje E M van Haren
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Meersmans K, Storms G, De Deyne S, Bruffaerts R, Dupont P, Vandenberghe R. Orienting to Different Dimensions of Word Meaning Alters the Representation of Word Meaning in Early Processing Regions. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:3302-3317. [PMID: 34963135 PMCID: PMC9340395 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Conscious processing of word meaning can be guided by attention. In this event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study in 22 healthy young volunteers, we examined in which regions orienting attention to two fundamental and generic dimensions of word meaning, concreteness versus valence, alters the semantic representations coded in activity patterns. The stimuli consisted of 120 nouns in written or spoken modality which varied factorially along the concreteness and valence axis. Participants performed a forced-choice judgement of either concreteness or valence. Rostral and subgenual anterior cingulate were strongly activated during valence judgement, and precuneus and the dorsal attention network during concreteness judgement. Task and stimulus type interacted in right posterior fusiform gyrus, left lingual gyrus, precuneus, and insula. In the right posterior fusiform gyrus and the left lingual gyrus, the correlation between the pairwise similarity in activity patterns evoked by words and the pairwise distance in valence and concreteness was modulated by the direction of attention, word valence or concreteness. The data indicate that orienting attention to basic dimensions of word meaning exerts effects on the representation of word meaning in more peripheral nodes, such as the ventral occipital cortex, rather than the core perisylvian language regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Meersmans
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Gerrit Storms
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simon De Deyne
- Computational Cognitive Science Lab, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, 3010 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Rose Bruffaerts
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Patrick Dupont
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Neurology Department, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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9
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Saarimäki H, Glerean E, Smirnov D, Mynttinen H, Jääskeläinen IP, Sams M, Nummenmaa L. Classification of emotion categories based on functional connectivity patterns of the human brain. Neuroimage 2021; 247:118800. [PMID: 34896586 PMCID: PMC8803541 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophysiological and psychological models posit that emotions depend on connections across wide-spread corticolimbic circuits. While previous studies using pattern recognition on neuroimaging data have shown differences between various discrete emotions in brain activity patterns, less is known about the differences in functional connectivity. Thus, we employed multivariate pattern analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging data (i) to develop a pipeline for applying pattern recognition in functional connectivity data, and (ii) to test whether connectivity patterns differ across emotion categories. Six emotions (anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and surprise) and a neutral state were induced in 16 participants using one-minute-long emotional narratives with natural prosody while brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We computed emotion-wise connectivity matrices both for whole-brain connections and for 10 previously defined functionally connected brain subnetworks and trained an across-participant classifier to categorize the emotional states based on whole-brain data and for each subnetwork separately. The whole-brain classifier performed above chance level with all emotions except sadness, suggesting that different emotions are characterized by differences in large-scale connectivity patterns. When focusing on the connectivity within the 10 subnetworks, classification was successful within the default mode system and for all emotions. We thus show preliminary evidence for consistently different sustained functional connectivity patterns for instances of emotion categories particularly within the default mode system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heini Saarimäki
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, FI-33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland.
| | - Enrico Glerean
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging (AMI) Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Dmitry Smirnov
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Henri Mynttinen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Mikko Sams
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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10
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Schaefer LV, Dech S, Bittmann FN. Adaptive Force and emotionally related imaginations - preliminary results suggest a reduction of the maximal holding capacity as reaction to disgusting food imagination. Heliyon 2021; 7:e07827. [PMID: 34485726 PMCID: PMC8391030 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The link between emotions and motor control has been discussed for years. The measurement of the Adaptive Force (AF) provides the possibility to get insights into the adaptive control of the neuromuscular system in reaction to external forces. It was hypothesized that the holding isometric AF is especially vulnerable to disturbing inputs. Here, the behavior of the AF under the influence of positive (tasty) vs. negative (disgusting) food imaginations was investigated. The AF was examined in n = 12 cases using an objectified manual muscle test of the hip flexors, elbow flexors or pectoralis major muscle, performed by one of two experienced testers while the participants imagined their most tasty or most disgusting food. The reaction force and the limb position were measured by a handheld device. While the slope of force rises and the maximal AF did not differ significantly between tasty and disgusting imaginations (p > 0.05), the maximal isometric AF was significantly lower and the AF at the onset of oscillations was significantly higher under disgusting vs. tasty imaginations (both p = 0.001). A proper length tension control of muscles seems to be a crucial functional parameter of the neuromuscular system which can be impaired instantaneously by emotionally related negative imaginations. This might be a potential approach to evaluate somatic reactions to emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura V. Schaefer
- Regulative Physiology and Prevention, Department Sports and Health Sciences, University Potsdam, Germany
| | - Silas Dech
- Regulative Physiology and Prevention, Department Sports and Health Sciences, University Potsdam, Germany
| | - Frank N. Bittmann
- Regulative Physiology and Prevention, Department Sports and Health Sciences, University Potsdam, Germany
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11
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior theory and research has implicated disgust as relevant to some, but not all phobias. AIMS The current study examined whether anxiety sensitivity is more relevant to certain specific phobias and whether disgust sensitivity is more relevant to other specific phobias. METHOD Participants (n = 201) completed measures of anxiety sensitivity, disgust sensitivity and measures of aversive reactions in the presence of two fear-relevant stimuli (i.e. heights and small, enclosed spaces) and two disgust-relevant stimuli (i.e. spiders and blood/injury). RESULTS Results of multiple linear regression analyses revealed that disgust sensitivity showed significant associations with aversive reactions in all four stimulus domains after controlling for anxiety sensitivity. After controlling for disgust sensitivity, anxiety sensitivity showed associations with the two fear-relevant phobias but not with the two disgust-relevant phobias included in this study. Anxiety sensitivity also showed an association with variance specific to one of the two fear-relevant specific phobias included in the study. Disgust sensitivity also showed associations with variance specific to both of the disgust-relevant phobias included in the study but not with variance specific to either of the fear-relevant specific phobias. CONCLUSIONS These results provide evidence that the distinction between fear-relevant and disgust-relevant specific phobias is meaningful and also implicate disgust sensitivity as relevant to aversive reactions to all stimuli included in this study.
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12
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Koide-Majima N, Nakai T, Nishimoto S. Distinct dimensions of emotion in the human brain and their representation on the cortical surface. Neuroimage 2020; 222:117258. [PMID: 32798681 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We experience a rich variety of emotions in daily life, and a fundamental goal of affective neuroscience is to determine how these emotions are represented in the brain. Recent psychological studies have used naturalistic stimuli (e.g., movies) to reveal high dimensional representational structures of diverse daily-life emotions. However, relatively little is known about how such diverse emotions are represented in the brain because most of the affective neuroscience studies have used only a small number of controlled stimuli. To reveal that, we measured functional MRI to obtain blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses from human subjects while they watched emotion-inducing audiovisual movies over a period of 3 hours. For each of the one-second movie scenes, we annotated the movies with respect to 80 emotions selected based on a wide range of previous emotion literature. By quantifying canonical correlations between the emotion ratings and the BOLD responses, the results suggest that around 25 distinct dimensions (ranging from 18 to 36 and being subject-dependent) of the emotion ratings contribute to emotion representations in the brain. For demonstrating how the 80 emotion categories were represented in the cortical surface, we visualized a continuous semantic space of the emotion representation and mapped it on the cortical surface. We found that the emotion categories were changed from unimodal to transmodal regions on the cortical surface. This study presents a cortical representation of a rich variety of emotion categories, which covers many of the emotional experiences of daily living.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tomoya Nakai
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shinji Nishimoto
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
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13
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Dissociable neural systems for unconditioned acute and sustained fear. Neuroimage 2020; 216:116522. [PMID: 31926280 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear protects organisms by increasing vigilance and preparedness, and by coordinating survival responses during life-threatening encounters. The fear circuit must thus operate on multiple timescales ranging from preparatory sustained alertness to acute fight-or-flight responses. Here we studied the brain basis of sustained and acute fear using naturalistic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enabling analysis of different time-scales of fear responses. Subjects (N = 37) watched feature-length horror movies while their hemodynamic brain activity was measured with fMRI. Time-variable intersubject correlation (ISC) was used to quantify the reliability of brain activity across participants, and seed-based phase synchronization was used for characterizing dynamic connectivity. Subjective ratings of fear were used to assess how synchronization and functional connectivity varied with emotional intensity. These data suggest that acute and sustained fear are supported by distinct neural pathways, with sustained fear amplifying mainly sensory responses, and acute fear increasing activity in brainstem, thalamus, amygdala and cingulate cortices. Sustained fear increased ISC in regions associated with acute fear, and also amplified functional connectivity within this network. The results were replicated in an independent experiment with a different subject sample and stimulus movie. The functional interplay between cortical networks involved in sustained anticipation of, and acute response to, threat involves a complex and dynamic interaction that depends on the proximity of threat, and the need to employ threat appraisals and vigilance for decision making and response selection.
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14
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van Zutphen L, Maier S, Siep N, Jacob GA, Tüscher O, van Elst LT, Zeeck A, Arntz A, O'Connor MF, Stamm H, Hudek M, Joos A. Intimate stimuli result in fronto-parietal activation changes in anorexia nervosa. Eat Weight Disord 2019; 24:1155-1164. [PMID: 29397562 DOI: 10.1007/s40519-017-0474-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intimacy is a key psychological problem in anorexia nervosa (AN). Empirical evidence, including neurobiological underpinnings, is however, scarce. OBJECTIVE In this study, we evaluated various emotional stimuli including intimate stimuli experienced in patients with AN and non-patients, as well as their cerebral response. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted using stimuli with positive, neutral, negative and intimate content. Participants (14 AN patients and 14 non-patients) alternated between passive viewing and explicit emotion regulation. RESULTS Intimate stimuli were experienced less positively in AN patients compared to non-patients. AN patients showed decreased cerebral responses in superior parietal cortices in response to positive and intimate stimuli. Intimate stimuli led to stronger activation of the orbitofrontal cortex, and lower activation of the bilateral precuneus in AN patients. Orbitofrontal responses decreased in AN patients during explicit emotion regulation. CONCLUSIONS These results show that intimate stimuli are of particular importance in AN patients, who show experiential differences compared to non-patients and altered activation of orbitofrontal and parietal brain structures. This supports that AN patients have difficulties with intimacy, attachment, self-referential processing and body perception. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III, case-control study.
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Affiliation(s)
- L van Zutphen
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - S Maier
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - N Siep
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - G A Jacob
- Institute of Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - O Tüscher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - L Tebartz van Elst
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - A Zeeck
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - A Arntz
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - M-F O'Connor
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
| | - H Stamm
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - M Hudek
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Joos
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany. .,Department of Psychotherapeutic Neurology, Kliniken Schmieder Gailingen, Gailingen, Germany.
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15
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Sachs ME, Kaplan J, Habibi A. Echoing the emotions of others: empathy is related to how adults and children map emotion onto the body. Cogn Emot 2019; 33:1639-1654. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1591938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E. Sachs
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Assal Habibi
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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16
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Wilson AD, Kolesar TA, Kornelsen J, Smith SD. Neural Responses to Consciously and Unconsciously Perceived Emotional Faces: A Spinal fMRI Study. Brain Sci 2018; 8:brainsci8080156. [PMID: 30126119 PMCID: PMC6119943 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci8080156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional stimuli modulate activity in brain areas related to attention, perception, and movement. Similar increases in neural activity have been detected in the spinal cord, suggesting that this understudied component of the central nervous system is an important part of our emotional responses. To date, previous studies of emotion-dependent spinal cord activity have utilized long presentations of complex emotional scenes. The current study differs from this research by (1) examining whether emotional faces will lead to enhanced spinal cord activity and (2) testing whether these stimuli require conscious perception to influence neural responses. Fifteen healthy undergraduate participants completed six spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) runs in which three one-minute blocks of fearful, angry, or neutral faces were interleaved with 40-s rest periods. In half of the runs, the faces were clearly visible while in the other half, the faces were displayed for only 17 ms. Spinal fMRI consisted of half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) sequences targeting the cervical spinal cord. The results indicated that consciously perceived faces expressing anger elicited significantly more activity than fearful or neutral faces in ventral (motoric) regions of the cervical spinal cord. When stimuli were presented below the threshold of conscious awareness, neutral faces elicited significantly more activity than angry or fearful faces. Together, these data suggest that the emotional modulation of spinal cord activity is most impactful when the stimuli are consciously perceived and imply a potential threat toward the observer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssia D Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada.
| | - Tiffany A Kolesar
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
| | - Jennifer Kornelsen
- Department of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada.
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
- Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
| | - Stephen D Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada.
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17
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Gotsopoulos A, Saarimäki H, Glerean E, Jääskeläinen IP, Sams M, Nummenmaa L, Lampinen J. Reproducibility of importance extraction methods in neural network based fMRI classification. Neuroimage 2018; 181:44-54. [PMID: 29964190 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in machine learning allow faster training, improved performance and increased interpretability of classification techniques. Consequently, their application in neuroscience is rapidly increasing. While classification approaches have proved useful in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, there are concerns regarding extraction, reproducibility and visualization of brain regions that contribute most significantly to the classification. We addressed these issues using an fMRI classification scheme based on neural networks and compared a set of methods for extraction of category-related voxel importances in three simulated and two empirical datasets. The simulation data revealed that the proposed scheme successfully detects spatially distributed and overlapping activation patterns upon successful classification. Application of the proposed classification scheme to two previously published empirical fMRI datasets revealed robust importance maps that extensively overlap with univariate maps but also provide complementary information. Our results demonstrate increased statistical power of importance maps compared to univariate approaches for both detection of overlapping patterns and patterns with weak univariate information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanasios Gotsopoulos
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland.
| | - Heini Saarimäki
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Enrico Glerean
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging (AMI) Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Mikko Sams
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Lauri Nummenmaa
- Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Jouko Lampinen
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland; Department of Computer Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
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18
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Huang YA, Jastorff J, Van den Stock J, Van de Vliet L, Dupont P, Vandenbulcke M. Studying emotion theories through connectivity analysis: Evidence from generalized psychophysiological interactions and graph theory. Neuroimage 2018; 172:250-262. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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19
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Stanciu MA, Rafal RD, Turnbull OH. Preserved re-experience of discrete emotions: Amnesia and executive function. J Neuropsychol 2018; 13:305-327. [PMID: 29411941 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Amnesic patients can re-experience emotions elicited by forgotten events, suggesting that brain systems for episodic and emotional memory are independent. However, the range of such emotional memories remains under-investigated (most studies employing just positive-negative emotion dyads), and executive function may also play a role in the re-experience of emotions. This is the first investigation of the intensity of the emotional re-experience of a range of discrete emotions (anger, fear, sadness, and happiness) for a group of amnesic patients. Twenty Korsakoff syndrome (KS) patients and 20 neurologically normal controls listened to four novel emotional vignettes selectively eliciting the four basic emotions. Emotional experience was measured using pen-and-paper Visual Analogue Mood Scales and episodic memory using verbal recollections. After 30 min, the recollection of stories was severely impaired for the patient group, but the emotional re-experience was no different from that of controls. Notably, there was no relationship between episodic recall and the intensity of the four emotions, such that even profoundly amnesic patients reported moderate levels of the target emotion. Exploratory analyses revealed negative correlations between the intensity of basic emotions and executive functions (e.g., cognitive flexibility and response inhibition) for controls but not patients. The results suggest that discrete emotions can be re-experienced independently of episodic memory, and that the re-experience of certain discrete emotions appears to be dampened by executive control. KS patients with absent or mild cognitive symptoms should benefit from emotion-regulation interventions aimed at reducing the recognized affective burden associated with their episodic memory deficit.
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20
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Pujol J, Blanco-Hinojo L, Coronas R, Esteba-Castillo S, Rigla M, Martínez-Vilavella G, Deus J, Novell R, Caixàs A. Mapping the sequence of brain events in response to disgusting food. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:369-380. [PMID: 29024175 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning signals indicating that a food is potentially dangerous may evoke a response that is not limited to the feeling of disgust. We investigated the sequence of brain events in response to visual representations of disgusting food using a dynamic image analysis. Functional MRI was acquired in 30 healthy subjects while they were watching a movie showing disgusting food scenes interspersed with the scenes of appetizing food. Imaging analysis included the identification of the global brain response and the generation of frame-by-frame activation maps at the temporal resolution of 2 s. Robust activations were identified in brain structures conventionally associated with the experience of disgust, but our analysis also captured a variety of other brain elements showing distinct temporal evolutions. The earliest events included transient changes in the orbitofrontal cortex and visual areas, followed by a more durable engagement of the periaqueductal gray, a pivotal element in the mediation of responses to threat. A subsequent core phase was characterized by the activation of subcortical and cortical structures directly concerned not only with the emotional dimension of disgust (e.g., amygdala-hippocampus, insula), but also with the regulation of food intake (e.g., hypothalamus). In a later phase, neural excitement extended to broad cortical areas, the thalamus and cerebellum, and finally to the default mode network that signaled the progressive termination of the evoked response. The response to disgusting food representations is not limited to the emotional domain of disgust, and may sequentially involve a variety of broadly distributed brain networks. Hum Brain Mapp 39:369-380, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, 08003, Spain.,Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - Laura Blanco-Hinojo
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, 08003, Spain.,Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - Ramón Coronas
- Mental Health Center, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, 08208, Spain
| | - Susanna Esteba-Castillo
- Specialized Service in Mental Health and Intellectual Disability, Institut Assistència Sanitària (IAS), Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià, Girona, 17190, Spain
| | - Mercedes Rigla
- Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Sabadell University Hospital (UAB), Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, 08208, Spain
| | | | - Joan Deus
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, 08003, Spain.,Guttmann Neurorehabilitation Institute, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain.,Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
| | - Ramón Novell
- Specialized Service in Mental Health and Intellectual Disability, Institut Assistència Sanitària (IAS), Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià, Girona, 17190, Spain
| | - Assumpta Caixàs
- Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Sabadell University Hospital (UAB), Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, 08208, Spain
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21
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Fausto C. The Integration of Emotional Expression and Experience: A Pragmatist Review of Recent Evidence From Brain Stimulation. EMOTION REVIEW 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073917723461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A common view in affective neuroscience considers emotions as a multifaceted phenomenon constituted by independent affective and motor components. Such dualistic connotation, obtained by rephrasing the classic Darwin and James’s theories of emotion, leads to the assumption that emotional expression is controlled by motor centers in the anterior cingulate, frontal operculum, and supplementary motor area, whereas emotional experience depends on interoceptive centers in the insula. Recent stimulation studies provide a different perspective. I will outline two sets of findings. First, affective experiences can be elicited also following the stimulation of motor centers. Second, emotional expressions can be elicited by stimulating interoceptive regions. Echoing the original pragmatist theories of emotion, I will make a case for the notion that emotional experience emerges from the integration of sensory and motor signals, encoded in the same functional network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caruana Fausto
- Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy
- Unit of Philosophy, University of Parma, Italy
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22
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Abstract
The Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS; Marchewka, Żurawski, Jednoróg, & Grabowska, Behavior Research Methods, 2014) is a standardized set of 1,356 realistic, high-quality photographs divided into five categories (people, faces, animals, objects, and landscapes). NAPS has been primarily standardized along the affective dimensions of valence, arousal, and approach–avoidance, yet the characteristics of discrete emotions expressed by the images have not been investigated thus far. The aim of the present study was to collect normative ratings according to categorical models of emotions. A subset of 510 images from the original NAPS set was selected in order to proportionally cover the whole dimensional affective space. Among these, using three available classification methods, we identified images eliciting distinguishable discrete emotions. We introduce the basic-emotion normative ratings for the Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS BE), which will allow researchers to control and manipulate stimulus properties specifically for their experimental questions of interest. The NAPS BE system is freely accessible to the scientific community for noncommercial use as supplementary materials to this article.
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23
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Functional connectivity dynamics during film viewing reveal common networks for different emotional experiences. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2017; 16:709-23. [PMID: 27142636 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-016-0425-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent theoretical and empirical work has highlighted the role of domain-general, large-scale brain networks in generating emotional experiences. These networks are hypothesized to process aspects of emotional experiences that are not unique to a specific emotional category (e.g., "sadness," "happiness"), but rather that generalize across categories. In this article, we examined the dynamic interactions (i.e., changing cohesiveness) between specific domain-general networks across time while participants experienced various instances of sadness, fear, and anger. We used a novel method for probing the network connectivity dynamics between two salience networks and three amygdala-based networks. We hypothesized, and found, that the functional connectivity between these networks covaried with the intensity of different emotional experiences. Stronger connectivity between the dorsal salience network and the medial amygdala network was associated with more intense ratings of emotional experience across six different instances of the three emotion categories examined. Also, stronger connectivity between the dorsal salience network and the ventrolateral amygdala network was associated with more intense ratings of emotional experience across five out of the six different instances. Our findings demonstrate that a variety of emotional experiences are associated with dynamic interactions of domain-general neural systems.
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24
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Dynamic Changes in Amygdala Psychophysiological Connectivity Reveal Distinct Neural Networks for Facial Expressions of Basic Emotions. Sci Rep 2017; 7:45260. [PMID: 28345642 PMCID: PMC5366904 DOI: 10.1038/srep45260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The quest to characterize the neural signature distinctive of different basic emotions has recently come under renewed scrutiny. Here we investigated whether facial expressions of different basic emotions modulate the functional connectivity of the amygdala with the rest of the brain. To this end, we presented seventeen healthy participants (8 females) with facial expressions of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and emotional neutrality and analyzed amygdala's psychophysiological interaction (PPI). In fact, PPI can reveal how inter-regional amygdala communications change dynamically depending on perception of various emotional expressions to recruit different brain networks, compared to the functional interactions it entertains during perception of neutral expressions. We found that for each emotion the amygdala recruited a distinctive and spatially distributed set of structures to interact with. These changes in amygdala connectional patters characterize the dynamic signature prototypical of individual emotion processing, and seemingly represent a neural mechanism that serves to implement the distinctive influence that each emotion exerts on perceptual, cognitive, and motor responses. Besides these differences, all emotions enhanced amygdala functional integration with premotor cortices compared to neutral faces. The present findings thus concur to reconceptualise the structure-function relation between brain-emotion from the traditional one-to-one mapping toward a network-based and dynamic perspective.
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25
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Zimmer U, Höfler M, Koschutnig K, Ischebeck A. Neuronal interactions in areas of spatial attention reflect avoidance of disgust, but orienting to danger. Neuroimage 2016; 134:94-104. [PMID: 27039145 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
For survival, it is necessary to attend quickly towards dangerous objects, but to turn away from something that is disgusting. We tested whether fear and disgust sounds direct spatial attention differently. Using fMRI, a sound cue (disgust, fear or neutral) was presented to the left or right ear. The cue was followed by a visual target (a small arrow) which was located on the same (valid) or opposite (invalid) side as the cue. Participants were required to decide whether the arrow pointed up- or downwards while ignoring the sound cue. Behaviorally, responses were faster for invalid compared to valid targets when cued by disgust, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for targets after fearful and neutral sound cues. During target presentation, activity in the visual cortex and IPL increased for targets invalidly cued with disgust, but for targets validly cued with fear which indicated a general modulation of activation due to attention. For the TPJ, an interaction in the opposite direction was observed, consistent with its role in detecting targets at unattended positions and in relocating attention. As a whole our results indicate that a disgusting sound directs spatial attention away from its location, in contrast to fearful and neutral sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Zimmer
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria; Biotechmed Graz, Austria.
| | - Margit Höfler
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
| | - Karl Koschutnig
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria; Biotechmed Graz, Austria
| | - Anja Ischebeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria; Biotechmed Graz, Austria
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26
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Decoding the neural representation of fine-grained conceptual categories. Neuroimage 2016; 132:93-103. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Revised: 02/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
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27
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On dissociating the neural time course of the processing of positive emotions. Neuropsychologia 2016; 83:123-137. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2015] [Revised: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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28
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Miedl SF, Blechert J, Klackl J, Wiggert N, Reichenberger J, Derntl B, Wilhelm FH. Criticism hurts everybody, praise only some: Common and specific neural responses to approving and disapproving social-evaluative videos. Neuroimage 2016; 132:138-147. [PMID: 26892859 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Social evaluation is a ubiquitous feature of daily interpersonal interactions and can produce strong positive or negative emotional reactions. While previous research has highlighted neural correlates of static or dynamic facial expressions, little is known about neural processing of more naturalistic social interaction simulations or the modulating role of inter-individual differences such as trait fear of negative/positive evaluation. The present fMRI study investigated neural activity of 37 (21 female) healthy participants while watching videos of posers expressing a range of positive, negative, and neutral statements tapping into several basic and social emotions. Unpleasantness ratings linearly increased in response to positive to neutral to negative videos whereas arousal ratings were elevated in both emotional video conditions. At the whole brain level, medial prefrontal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex activated strongly in both emotional conditions which may be attributed to the cognitive processing demands of responding to complex social evaluation. Region of interest analysis for basic emotion processing areas revealed enhanced amygdala activation in both emotional conditions, whereas anterior and posterior insula showed stronger activity during negative evaluations only. Individuals with high fear of positive evaluation were characterized by increased posterior insula activity during positive videos, suggesting heightened interoception. Taken together, these results replicate and extend studies that used facial expression stimuli and reveal neurobiological systems involved in processing of more complex social-evaluative videos. Results also point to vulnerability factors for social-interaction related psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan F Miedl
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, & Clinical Stress and Emotion Lab, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Jens Blechert
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, & Clinical Stress and Emotion Lab, University of Salzburg, Austria; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Austria.
| | - Johannes Klackl
- Department of Psychology, Division of Social Psychology, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nicole Wiggert
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, & Clinical Stress and Emotion Lab, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Julia Reichenberger
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, & Clinical Stress and Emotion Lab, University of Salzburg, Austria
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, & Clinical Stress and Emotion Lab, University of Salzburg, Austria
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29
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Murray DR, Schaller M. The Behavioral Immune System. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aesp.2015.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
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30
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Schröder O, Schriewer E, Golombeck KS, Kürten J, Lohmann H, Schwindt W, Wiendl H, Bruchmann M, Melzer N, Straube T. Impaired Autonomic Responses to Emotional Stimuli in Autoimmune Limbic Encephalitis. Front Neurol 2015; 6:250. [PMID: 26648907 PMCID: PMC4663278 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Limbic encephalitis (LE) is an autoimmune-mediated disorder that affects structures of the limbic system, in particular, the amygdala. The amygdala constitutes a brain area substantial for processing of emotional, especially fear-related signals. The amygdala is also involved in neuroendocrine and autonomic functions, including skin conductance responses (SCRs) to emotionally arousing stimuli. This study investigates behavioral and autonomic responses to discrete emotion evoking and neutral film clips in a patient suffering from LE associated with contactin-associated protein-2 (CASPR2) antibodies as compared to a healthy control group. Results show a lack of SCRs in the patient while watching the film clips, with significant differences compared to healthy controls in the case of fear-inducing videos. There was no comparable impairment in behavioral data (emotion report, valence, and arousal ratings). The results point to a defective modulation of sympathetic responses during emotional stimulation in patients with LE, probably due to impaired functioning of the amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Schröder
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Elisabeth Schriewer
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | | | - Julia Kürten
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Hubertus Lohmann
- Department of Neurology, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Wolfram Schwindt
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Heinz Wiendl
- Department of Neurology, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Nico Melzer
- Department of Neurology, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
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31
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Jastorff J, Huang YA, Giese MA, Vandenbulcke M. Common neural correlates of emotion perception in humans. Hum Brain Mapp 2015. [PMID: 26219630 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether neuroimaging findings support discriminable neural correlates of emotion categories is a longstanding controversy. Two recent meta-analyses arrived at opposite conclusions, with one supporting (Vytal and Hamann []: J Cogn Neurosci 22:2864-2885) and the other opposing this proposition (Lindquist et al. []: Behav Brain Sci 35:121-143). To obtain direct evidence regarding this issue, we compared activations for four emotions within a single fMRI design. Angry, happy, fearful, sad and neutral stimuli were presented as dynamic body expressions. In addition, observers categorized motion morphs between neutral and emotional stimuli in a behavioral experiment to determine their relative sensitivities. Brain-behavior correlations revealed a large brain network that was identical for all four tested emotions. This network consisted predominantly of regions located within the default mode network and the salience network. Despite showing brain-behavior correlations for all emotions, muli-voxel pattern analyses indicated that several nodes of this emotion general network contained information capable of discriminating between individual emotions. However, significant discrimination was not limited to the emotional network, but was also observed in several regions within the action observation network. Taken together, our results favor the position that one common emotional brain network supports the visual processing and discrimination of emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Jastorff
- Laboratory for Translational Neuropsychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Yun-An Huang
- Laboratory for Translational Neuropsychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Martin A Giese
- Section for Computational Sensomotorics, Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Clinic Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Mathieu Vandenbulcke
- Laboratory for Translational Neuropsychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, KU Leuven, Belgium
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32
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Saarimäki H, Gotsopoulos A, Jääskeläinen IP, Lampinen J, Vuilleumier P, Hari R, Sams M, Nummenmaa L. Discrete Neural Signatures of Basic Emotions. Cereb Cortex 2015; 26:2563-2573. [PMID: 25924952 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Categorical models of emotions posit neurally and physiologically distinct human basic emotions. We tested this assumption by using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to classify brain activity patterns of 6 basic emotions (disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise) in 3 experiments. Emotions were induced with short movies or mental imagery during functional magnetic resonance imaging. MVPA accurately classified emotions induced by both methods, and the classification generalized from one induction condition to another and across individuals. Brain regions contributing most to the classification accuracy included medial and inferior lateral prefrontal cortices, frontal pole, precentral and postcentral gyri, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex. Thus, specific neural signatures across these regions hold representations of different emotional states in multimodal fashion, independently of how the emotions are induced. Similarity of subjective experiences between emotions was associated with similarity of neural patterns for the same emotions, suggesting a direct link between activity in these brain regions and the subjective emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heini Saarimäki
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and.,Advanced Magnetic Imaging (AMI) Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, FI-00076 Espoo, Finland
| | | | | | - Jouko Lampinen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center and.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and
| | - Mikko Sams
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and
| | - Lauri Nummenmaa
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and.,Turku PET Center and Department of Psychology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland
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33
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Meier L, Friedrich H, Federspiel A, Jann K, Morishima Y, Landis BN, Wiest R, Strik W, Dierks T. Rivalry of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions: Dehydration attenuates olfactory disgust and its neural correlates. Neuroimage 2015; 114:120-7. [PMID: 25818686 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Revised: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural correlates have been described for emotions evoked by states of homeostatic imbalance (e.g. thirst, hunger, and breathlessness) and for emotions induced by external sensory stimulation (such as fear and disgust). However, the neurobiological mechanisms of their interaction, when they are experienced simultaneously, are still unknown. We investigated the interaction on the neurobiological and the perceptional level using subjective ratings, serum parameters, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a situation of emotional rivalry, when both a homeostatic and a sensory-evoked emotion were experienced at the same time. Twenty highly dehydrated male subjects rated a disgusting odor as significantly less repulsive when they were thirsty. On the neurobiological level, we found that this reduction in subjective disgust during thirst was accompanied by a significantly reduced neural activity in the insular cortex, a brain area known to be considerably involved in processing of disgust. Furthermore, during the experience of disgust in the satiated condition, we observed a significant functional connectivity between brain areas responding to the disgusting odor, which was absent during the stimulation in the thirsty condition. These results suggest interference of conflicting emotions: an acute homeostatic imbalance can attenuate the experience of another emotion evoked by the sensory perception of a potentially harmful external agent. This finding offers novel insights with regard to the behavioral relevance of biologically different types of emotions, indicating that some types of emotions are more imperative for behavior than others. As a general principle, this modulatory effect during the conflict of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions may function to safeguard survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Meier
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Hergen Friedrich
- Rhinology, Smell and Taste Outpatient Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Inselspital, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Psychiatric Neuroimaging Unit, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Kay Jann
- Psychiatric Neuroimaging Unit, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, 90095 Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yosuke Morishima
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Basile Nicolas Landis
- Rhinology, Smell and Taste Outpatient Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Inselspital, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; Rhinology-Olfactology Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Geneva Neuroscience Center (CMU), University of Geneva Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Dierks
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
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34
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Leung MK, Chan CCH, Yin J, Lee CF, So KF, Lee TMC. Enhanced amygdala-cortical functional connectivity in meditators. Neurosci Lett 2015; 590:106-10. [PMID: 25623035 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2015.01.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2014] [Revised: 01/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that meditation is associated with neuroplastic changes in the brain regions including amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and temporal-parietal junction. Extended from these previous works, this study examined the functional connectivity of the amygdala in meditation experts during affective processing and observed that these experts had significantly stronger left amygdala (LA) connectivity with the dorsal ACC (dACC), premotor, and primary somatosensory cortices (PSC) while viewing affectively positive stimuli when compared to the novices. The current findings have implications for further understanding of affective neuroplastic changes associated with meditation in the amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mei-Kei Leung
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Chetwyn C H Chan
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
| | - Jing Yin
- Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Chack-Fan Lee
- Centre of Buddhist Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Kwok-Fai So
- Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; GMH Institute of CNS Regeneration, and Guangdong Medical Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Tatia M C Lee
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Institute of Clinical Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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35
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van Overveld M, Borg C. Brief Emotion Regulation Training Facilitates Arousal Control During Sexual Stimuli. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH 2014; 52:996-1005. [PMID: 25258109 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2014.948111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Disgust, a negative emotion which evokes strong behavioral avoidance tendencies, has been associated with sexual dysfunction. Recently, it was postulated that healthy sexual functioning requires a balance between excitatory (increased sexual arousal) and inhibitory processes (lowered disgust levels). This suggests that amplification of excitatory processes (like sexual arousal) could be a valuable addition to treatments for affect-based sexual dysfunctions. The major aim of the present study was to establish whether up-regulation could effectively enhance arousal levels during sexual stimuli, and whether such a training would simultaneously reduce disgust. Students (N = 163, mean age = 20.73 years, SD = 2.35) were trained in up-regulation of affect using either a sexual arousal film (i.e., female-friendly erotic movie) or a threat arousal film clip (i.e., horror movie), while control groups viewed the films without training instructions. Following this, participants viewed and rated state emotions during a series of pictures (sexual, disgusting, or neutral). Up-regulation of mood successfully enhanced general arousal in both groups, yet these arousal levels were not paralleled by reductions in disgust. Overall, the findings indicate that emotion regulation training by maximizing positive affect and general arousal could be an effective instrument to facilitate affect-related disturbances in sexual dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Charmaine Borg
- b Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology , University of Groningen
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36
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The Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS): introduction to a novel, standardized, wide-range, high-quality, realistic picture database. Behav Res Methods 2014; 46:596-610. [PMID: 23996831 PMCID: PMC4030128 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-013-0379-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 370] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Selecting appropriate stimuli to induce emotional states is essential in affective research. Only a few standardized affective stimulus databases have been created for auditory, language, and visual materials. Numerous studies have extensively employed these databases using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. However, some limitations of the existing databases have recently been reported, including limited numbers of stimuli in specific categories or poor picture quality of the visual stimuli. In the present article, we introduce the Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS), which consists of 1,356 realistic, high-quality photographs that are divided into five categories (people, faces, animals, objects, and landscapes). Affective ratings were collected from 204 mostly European participants. The pictures were rated according to the valence, arousal, and approach–avoidance dimensions using computerized bipolar semantic slider scales. Normative ratings for the categories are presented for each dimension. Validation of the ratings was obtained by comparing them to ratings generated using the Self-Assessment Manikin and the International Affective Picture System. In addition, the physical properties of the photographs are reported, including luminance, contrast, and entropy. The new database, with accompanying ratings and image parameters, allows researchers to select a variety of visual stimulus materials specific to their experimental questions of interest. The NAPS system is freely accessible to the scientific community for noncommercial use by request at http://naps.nencki.gov.pl.
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37
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Zhang W, Li H, Pan X. Positive and negative affective processing exhibit dissociable functional hubs during the viewing of affective pictures. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 36:415-26. [PMID: 25220389 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 08/31/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using graph theory metrics have revealed that the functional network of the human brain possesses small-world characteristics and comprises several functional hub regions. However, it is unclear how the affective functional network is organized in the brain during the processing of affective information. In this study, the fMRI data were collected from 25 healthy college students as they viewed a total of 81 positive, neutral, and negative pictures. The results indicated that affective functional networks exhibit weaker small-worldness properties with higher local efficiency, implying that local connections increase during viewing affective pictures. Moreover, positive and negative emotional processing exhibit dissociable functional hubs, emerging mainly in task-positive regions. These functional hubs, which are the centers of information processing, have nodal betweenness centrality values that are at least 1.5 times larger than the average betweenness centrality of the network. Positive affect scores correlated with the betweenness values of the right orbital frontal cortex (OFC) and the right putamen in the positive emotional network; negative affect scores correlated with the betweenness values of the left OFC and the left amygdala in the negative emotional network. The local efficiencies in the left superior and inferior parietal lobe correlated with subsequent arousal ratings of positive and negative pictures, respectively. These observations provide important evidence for the organizational principles of the human brain functional connectome during the processing of affective information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhai Zhang
- Mental Health Center, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng City, China; College of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian City, China
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38
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Nummenmaa L, Saarimäki H, Glerean E, Gotsopoulos A, Jääskeläinen IP, Hari R, Sams M. Emotional speech synchronizes brains across listeners and engages large-scale dynamic brain networks. Neuroimage 2014; 102 Pt 2:498-509. [PMID: 25128711 PMCID: PMC4229500 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Revised: 07/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech provides a powerful means for sharing emotions. Here we implement novel intersubject phase synchronization and whole-brain dynamic connectivity measures to show that networks of brain areas become synchronized across participants who are listening to emotional episodes in spoken narratives. Twenty participants' hemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they listened to 45-s narratives describing unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant events spoken in neutral voice. After scanning, participants listened to the narratives again and rated continuously their feelings of pleasantness–unpleasantness (valence) and of arousal–calmness. Instantaneous intersubject phase synchronization (ISPS) measures were computed to derive both multi-subject voxel-wise similarity measures of hemodynamic activity and inter-area functional dynamic connectivity (seed-based phase synchronization, SBPS). Valence and arousal time series were subsequently used to predict the ISPS and SBPS time series. High arousal was associated with increased ISPS in the auditory cortices and in Broca's area, and negative valence was associated with enhanced ISPS in the thalamus, anterior cingulate, lateral prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices. Negative valence affected functional connectivity of fronto-parietal, limbic (insula, cingulum) and fronto-opercular circuitries, and positive arousal affected the connectivity of the striatum, amygdala, thalamus, cerebellum, and dorsal frontal cortex. Positive valence and negative arousal had markedly smaller effects. We propose that high arousal synchronizes the listeners' sound-processing and speech-comprehension networks, whereas negative valence synchronizes circuitries supporting emotional and self-referential processing. We model how emotional speech synchronizes brains across listeners. Participants listened to emotional and neutral narratives during fMRI scan. Arousal synchronized auditory cortices and Broca's area. Valence synchronized limbic system, prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices. Valence and arousal triggered distinct patterns of dynamic functional connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Nummenmaa
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Turku PET Centre, Finland.
| | - Heini Saarimäki
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Enrico Glerean
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Athanasios Gotsopoulos
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Riitta Hari
- Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
| | - Mikko Sams
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland; Advanced Magnetic Imaging Centre, Aalto NeuroImaging, School of Science, Aalto University, Finland
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Gallo M, Gámiz F, Perez-García M, Del Moral RG, Rolls ET. Taste and olfactory status in a gourmand with a right amygdala lesion. Neurocase 2014; 20:421-33. [PMID: 23668221 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2013.791862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In a patient with a lesion of the right amygdala and temporal pole who had the characteristics of the gourmand syndrome, sensory and hedonic testing was performed to examine the processing of taste, olfactory, and some emotional stimuli. The gourmand syndrome describes a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating and is associated with right anterior lesions. It was found that the taste thresholds for sweet, salt, bitter, and sour were normal; that the patient did not dislike the taste of salt (NaCl) at low and moderate concentrations as much as age-matched controls; that this also occurred for monosodium glutamate (MSG); that there were some olfactory differences from normal controls; and that there was a marked reduction in the ability to detect face expressions of disgust.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gallo
- a Department of Psychobiology, Instituto de Neurociencias F. Olóriz , Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas, CIBM, Universidad de Granada , Granada , Spain
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Neural network underlying ictal pouting ("chapeau de gendarme") in frontal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2014; 37:249-57. [PMID: 25108117 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2014] [Revised: 07/05/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In order to determine the anatomical neural network underlying ictal pouting (IP), with the mouth turned down like a "chapeau de gendarme", in frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), we reviewed the video-EEG recordings of 36 patients with FLE who became seizure-free after surgery. We selected the cases presenting IP, defined as a symmetrical and sustained (>5s) lowering of labial commissures with contraction of chin, mimicking an expression of fear, disgust, or menace. Ictal pouting was identified in 11 patients (8 males; 16-48 years old). We analyzed the clinical semiology, imaging, and electrophysiological data associated with IP, including FDG-PET in 10 and SEEG in 9 cases. In 37 analyzed seizures (2-7/patient), IP was an early symptom, occurring during the first 10s in 9 cases. The main associated features consisted of fear, anguish, vegetative disturbances, behavioral disorders (sudden agitation, insults, and fighting), tonic posturing, and complex motor activities. The epileptogenic zone assessed by SEEG involved the mesial frontal areas, especially the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in 8 patients, whereas lateral frontal onset with an early spread to the ACC was seen in the other patient. Ictal pouting associated with emotional changes and hypermotor behavior had high localizing value for rostroventral "affective" ACC, whereas less intense facial expressions were related to the dorsal "cognitive" ACC. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography demonstrated the involvement of both the ACC and lateral cortex including the anterior insula in all cases. We propose that IP is sustained by reciprocal mesial and lateral frontal interactions involved in emotional and cognitive processes, in which the ACC plays a pivotal role.
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Olderbak S, Sassenrath C, Keller J, Wilhelm O. An emotion-differentiated perspective on empathy with the emotion specific empathy questionnaire. Front Psychol 2014; 5:653. [PMID: 25071632 PMCID: PMC4076670 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 06/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy refers to the thoughts and feelings of one individual in response to the observed (emotional) experiences of another individual. Empathy, however, can occur toward persons experiencing a variety of emotions, raising the question of whether or not empathy can be emotion specific. This paper discusses theoretical and empirical support for the emotion specificity of empathy. We present a new measure, the Emotion Specific Empathy questionnaire, which assesses affective and cognitive empathy for the six basic emotions. This paper presents the measure's psychometric qualities and demonstrates, through a series of models, the discriminant validity between emotion specific empathies suggesting empathy is emotion specific. Results and implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally Olderbak
- Differentielle Psychologie und Psychologische Diagnostik, Institut für Psychologie und Pädagogik, Universität Ulm Ulm, Germany
| | - Claudia Sassenrath
- Sozialpsychologie, Institut für Psychologie und Pädagogik, Universität Ulm Ulm, Germany ; Knowledge Media Research Center Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johannes Keller
- Sozialpsychologie, Institut für Psychologie und Pädagogik, Universität Ulm Ulm, Germany
| | - Oliver Wilhelm
- Differentielle Psychologie und Psychologische Diagnostik, Institut für Psychologie und Pädagogik, Universität Ulm Ulm, Germany
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The Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS): introduction to a novel, standardized, wide-range, high-quality, realistic picture database. Behav Res Methods 2014. [PMID: 23996831 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-013-0379-1/tables/4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Selecting appropriate stimuli to induce emotional states is essential in affective research. Only a few standardized affective stimulus databases have been created for auditory, language, and visual materials. Numerous studies have extensively employed these databases using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. However, some limitations of the existing databases have recently been reported, including limited numbers of stimuli in specific categories or poor picture quality of the visual stimuli. In the present article, we introduce the Nencki Affective Picture System (NAPS), which consists of 1,356 realistic, high-quality photographs that are divided into five categories (people, faces, animals, objects, and landscapes). Affective ratings were collected from 204 mostly European participants. The pictures were rated according to the valence, arousal, and approach-avoidance dimensions using computerized bipolar semantic slider scales. Normative ratings for the categories are presented for each dimension. Validation of the ratings was obtained by comparing them to ratings generated using the Self-Assessment Manikin and the International Affective Picture System. In addition, the physical properties of the photographs are reported, including luminance, contrast, and entropy. The new database, with accompanying ratings and image parameters, allows researchers to select a variety of visual stimulus materials specific to their experimental questions of interest. The NAPS system is freely accessible to the scientific community for noncommercial use by request at http://naps.nencki.gov.pl .
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Pauls F, Petermann F, Lepach AC. Episodic memory and executive functioning in currently depressed patients compared to healthy controls. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:383-400. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.915208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Franz Pauls
- Center of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, University of Bremen , Bremen, Germany
| | - Franz Petermann
- Center of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, University of Bremen , Bremen, Germany
| | - Anja Christina Lepach
- Center of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, University of Bremen , Bremen, Germany
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Zimmer U, Koschutnig K, Ebner F, Ischebeck A. Successful contextual integration of loose mental associations as evidenced by emotional conflict-processing. PLoS One 2014; 9:e91470. [PMID: 24618674 PMCID: PMC3950074 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Often we cannot resist emotional distraction, because emotions capture our attention. For example, in TV-commercials, tempting emotional voices add an emotional expression to a formerly neutral product. Here, we used a Stroop-like conflict paradigm as a tool to investigate whether emotional capture results in contextual integration of loose mental associations. Specifically, we tested whether the associatively connected meaning of an ignored auditory emotion with a non-emotional neutral visual target would yield a modulation of activation sensitive to emotional conflict in the brain. In an fMRI-study, nineteen participants detected the presence or absence of a little worm hidden in the picture of an apple, while ignoring a voice with an emotional sound of taste (delicious/disgusting). Our results indicate a modulation due to emotional conflict, pronounced most strongly when processing conflict in the context of disgust (conflict: disgust/no-worm vs. no conflict: disgust/worm). For conflict in the context of disgust, insula activity was increased, with activity correlating positively with reaction time in the conflict case. Conflict in the context of deliciousness resulted in increased amygdala activation, possibly due to the resulting “negative” emotion in incongruent versus congruent combinations. These results indicate that our associative stimulus-combinations showed a conflict-dependent modulation of activity in emotional brain areas. This shows that the emotional sounds were successfully contextually integrated with the loosely associated neutral pictures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Zimmer
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Karl Koschutnig
- Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Franz Ebner
- Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Anja Ischebeck
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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Abstract
As a result of recent progress in brain imaging techniques, a number of studies have been able to identify anatomical correlates of various emotions (Pujol et al., 2013; Tettamanti et al., 2012; van der Zwaag et al., 2012). However, emotions are not solely a phenomenon within the brain-they are also composed of body responses. These include autonomic and behavioral responses, such as changes in heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and respiration. Among these physiological responses, respiration has a unique relationship to emotion. While the primary role of respiration concerns metabolism and homeostasis, emotions such as disgust, anger, and happiness also influence respiratory activities (Boiten et al., 1994). While respiratory change that accompanies emotions can occur unconsciously, respiration can also be voluntarily altered associating with an activation of the motor cortex. There may be no physiological expression for the association between the three areas of the brain that regulate respiration: the brainstem, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. The brainstem works to maintain homeostasis, the limbic system is responsible for emotional processing, and the cerebral cortex controls intention. Investigating the interaction between these brain regions may lead to an explanation about why they are so widely dispersed in the brain, despite their common role in the regulation of respiration. In this chapter, we review our findings on breathing behavior and discuss the mechanisms underlying the relationship between emotion and respiration.
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Weston CSE. Posttraumatic stress disorder: a theoretical model of the hyperarousal subtype. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:37. [PMID: 24772094 PMCID: PMC3983492 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2014] [Accepted: 03/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a frequent and distressing mental disorder, about which much remains to be learned. It is a heterogeneous disorder; the hyperarousal subtype (about 70% of occurrences and simply termed PTSD in this paper) is the topic of this article, but the dissociative subtype (about 30% of occurrences and likely involving quite different brain mechanisms) is outside its scope. A theoretical model is presented that integrates neuroscience data on diverse brain regions known to be involved in PTSD, and extensive psychiatric findings on the disorder. Specifically, the amygdala is a multifunctional brain region that is crucial to PTSD, and processes peritraumatic hyperarousal on grounded cognition principles to produce hyperarousal symptoms. Amygdala activity also modulates hippocampal function, which is supported by a large body of evidence, and likewise amygdala activity modulates several brainstem regions, visual cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), to produce diverse startle, visual, memory, numbing, anger, and recklessness symptoms. Additional brain regions process other aspects of peritraumatic responses to produce further symptoms. These contentions are supported by neuroimaging, neuropsychological, neuroanatomical, physiological, cognitive, and behavioral evidence. Collectively, the model offers an account of how responses at the time of trauma are transformed into an extensive array of the 20 PTSD symptoms that are specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth edition. It elucidates the neural mechanisms of a specific form of psychopathology, and accords with the Research Domain Criteria framework.
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Abstract
Emotions are often felt in the body, and somatosensory feedback has been proposed to trigger conscious emotional experiences. Here we reveal maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions using a unique topographical self-report method. In five experiments, participants (n = 701) were shown two silhouettes of bodies alongside emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions. They were asked to color the bodily regions whose activity they felt increasing or decreasing while viewing each stimulus. Different emotions were consistently associated with statistically separable bodily sensation maps across experiments. These maps were concordant across West European and East Asian samples. Statistical classifiers distinguished emotion-specific activation maps accurately, confirming independence of topographies across emotions. We propose that emotions are represented in the somatosensory system as culturally universal categorical somatotopic maps. Perception of these emotion-triggered bodily changes may play a key role in generating consciously felt emotions.
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Schienle A, Scharmüller W. Cerebellar activity and connectivity during the experience of disgust and happiness. Neuroscience 2013; 246:375-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.04.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2013] [Revised: 04/04/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Canbeyli R. Sensorimotor modulation of mood and depression: in search of an optimal mode of stimulation. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:428. [PMID: 23908624 PMCID: PMC3727046 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2013] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression involves a dysfunction in an affective fronto-limbic circuitry including the prefrontal cortices, several limbic structures including the cingulate cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus as well as the basal ganglia. A major emphasis of research on the etiology and treatment of mood disorders has been to assess the impact of centrally generated (top-down) processes impacting the affective fronto-limbic circuitry. The present review shows that peripheral (bottom-up) unipolar stimulation via the visual and the auditory modalities as well as by physical exercise modulates mood and depressive symptoms in humans and animals and activates the same central affective neurocircuitry involved in depression. It is proposed that the amygdala serves as a gateway by articulating the mood regulatory sensorimotor stimulation with the central affective circuitry by emotionally labeling and mediating the storage of such emotional events in long-term memory. Since both amelioration and aggravation of mood is shown to be possible by unipolar stimulation, the review suggests that a psychophysical assessment of mood modulation by multimodal stimulation may uncover mood ameliorative synergisms and serve as adjunctive treatment for depression. Thus, the integrative review not only emphasizes the relevance of investigating the optimal levels of mood regulatory sensorimotor stimulation, but also provides a conceptual springboard for related future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Resit Canbeyli
- Psychobiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Bogazici University , Istanbul , Turkey
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Klasen M, Zvyagintsev M, Schwenzer M, Mathiak KA, Sarkheil P, Weber R, Mathiak K. Quetiapine modulates functional connectivity in brain aggression networks. Neuroimage 2013; 75:20-26. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.02.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2012] [Revised: 01/29/2013] [Accepted: 02/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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