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Zohdi H, Natale L, Scholkmann F, Wolf U. Intersubject Variability in Cerebrovascular Hemodynamics and Systemic Physiology during a Verbal Fluency Task under Colored Light Exposure: Clustering of Subjects by Unsupervised Machine Learning. Brain Sci 2022; 12:1449. [PMID: 36358375 PMCID: PMC9688708 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12111449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
There is large intersubject variability in cerebrovascular hemodynamic and systemic physiological responses induced by a verbal fluency task (VFT) under colored light exposure (CLE). We hypothesized that machine learning would enable us to classify the response patterns and provide new insights into the common response patterns between subjects. In total, 32 healthy subjects (15 men and 17 women, age: 25.5 ± 4.3 years) were exposed to two different light colors (red vs. blue) in a randomized cross-over study design for 9 min while performing a VFT. We used the systemic physiology augmented functional near-infrared spectroscopy (SPA-fNIRS) approach to measure cerebrovascular hemodynamics and oxygenation at the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and visual cortex (VC) concurrently with systemic physiological parameters. We found that subjects were suitably classified by unsupervised machine learning into different groups according to the changes in the following parameters: end-tidal carbon dioxide, arterial oxygen saturation, skin conductance, oxygenated hemoglobin in the VC, and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the PFC. With hard clustering methods, three and five different groups of subjects were found for the blue and red light exposure, respectively. Our results highlight the fact that humans show specific reactivity types to the CLE-VFT experimental paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamoon Zohdi
- Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Luciano Natale
- Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Felix Scholkmann
- Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Neonatology Research, Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ursula Wolf
- Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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2
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Savage HS, Davey CG, Wager TD, Garfinkel SN, Moffat BA, Glarin RK, Harrison BJ. Neural mediators of subjective and autonomic responding during threat learning and regulation. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118643. [PMID: 34699966 PMCID: PMC9533324 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Threat learning elicits robust changes across multiple affective domains, including changes in autonomic indices and subjective reports of fear and anxiety. It has been argued that the underlying causes of such changes may be dissociable at a neural level, but there is currently limited evidence to support this notion. To address this, we examined the neural mediators of trial-by-trial skin conductance responses (SCR), and subjective reports of anxious arousal and valence in participants (n = 27; 17 females) performing a threat reversal task during ultra-high field functional magnetic resonance imaging. This allowed us to identify brain mediators during initial threat learning and subsequent threat reversal. Significant neural mediators of anxious arousal during threat learning included the dorsal anterior cingulate, anterior insula cortex (AIC), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), subcortical regions including the amygdala, ventral striatum, caudate and putamen, and brain-stem regions including the pons and midbrain. By comparison, autonomic changes (SCR) were mediated by a subset of regions embedded within this broader circuitry that included the caudate, putamen and thalamus, and two distinct clusters within the vmPFC. The neural mediators of subjective negative valence showed prominent effects in posterior cortical regions and, with the exception of the AIC, did not overlap with threat learning task effects. During threat reversal, positive mediators of both subjective anxious arousal and valence mapped to the default mode network; this included the vmPFC, posterior cingulate, temporoparietal junction, and angular gyrus. Decreased SCR during threat reversal was positively mediated by regions including the mid cingulate, AIC, two sub-regions of vmPFC, the thalamus, and the hippocampus. Our findings add novel evidence to support distinct underlying neural processes facilitating autonomic and subjective responding during threat learning and threat reversal. The results suggest that the brain systems engaged in threat learning mostly capture the subjective (anxious arousal) nature of the learning process, and that appropriate responding during threat reversal is facilitated by participants engaging self- and valence-based processes. Autonomic changes (SCR) appear to involve distinct facilitatory and regulatory contributions of vmPFC sub-regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah S Savage
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria 3053 Australia.
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3053 Australia
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 United States
| | - Sarah N Garfinkel
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ United Kingdom
| | - Bradford A Moffat
- Melbourne Biomedical Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Rebecca K Glarin
- Melbourne Biomedical Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria 3053 Australia.
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Allaert J, Erdogan M, Sanchez-Lopez A, Baeken C, De Raedt R, Vanderhasselt MA. Prefrontal tDCS Attenuates Self-Referential Attentional Deployment: A Mechanism Underlying Adaptive Emotional Reactivity to Social-Evaluative Threat. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:700557. [PMID: 34483865 PMCID: PMC8416079 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.700557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social-evaluative threat (SET) - a situation in which one could be negatively evaluated by others - elicits profound (psycho)physiological reactivity which, if chronically present and not adaptively regulated, has deleterious effects on mental and physical health. Decreased self-awareness and increased other-awareness are understood to be an adaptive response to SET. Attentional deployment - the process of selectively attending to certain aspects of emotional stimuli to modulate emotional reactivity - is supported by fronto-parietal and fronto-limbic networks, with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex being a central hub. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of active (versus sham) prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on self and other-attentional deployment during the exposure to a SET context. Seventy-four female participants received active or sham tDCS and were subsequently exposed to a rigged social feedback paradigm. In this paradigm a series of social evaluations were presented together with a photograph of the supposed evaluator and a self- photograph of the participant, while gaze behavior (time to first fixation, total fixation time) and skin conductance responses (SCRs; a marker of emotional reactivity) were measured. For half of the evaluations, participants could anticipate the valence (negative or positive) of the evaluation a priori. Analyses showed that participants receiving active tDCS were (a) slower to fixate on their self-photograph, (b) spent less time fixating on their self-photograph, and (c) spent more time fixating on the evaluator photograph. During unanticipated evaluations, active tDCS was associated with less time spent fixating on the evaluation. Furthermore, among those receiving active tDCS, SCRs were attenuated as a function of slower times to fixate on the self-photograph. Taken together, these results suggest that in a context of SET, prefrontal tDCS decreases self-attention while increasing other-attention, and that attenuated self-referential attention specifically may be a neurocognitive mechanism through which tDCS reduces emotional reactivity. Moreover, the results suggest that tDCS reduces vigilance toward stimuli that possibly convey threatening information, corroborating past research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Allaert
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maide Erdogan
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Alvaro Sanchez-Lopez
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chris Baeken
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands
| | - Rudi De Raedt
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Suttkus S, Schumann A, De la Cruz F, Bär KJ. Attenuated neuronal and autonomic responses during error processing in anorexia nervosa. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e2235. [PMID: 34318622 PMCID: PMC8413769 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric illness with alarming mortality rates. Nevertheless, despite former and recent research results, the etiology of AN is still poorly understood. Of particular interest is that, despite exaggerated response control and increased perfectionism scores, patients with AN seem not to perform better that those unaffected in tasks that require inhibitory control. One reason might be aberrant processing of errors. The objective of our study was thus to obtain further insight into the pathopsychology of AN. We were particularly interested in neuronal and autonomic responses during error processing and their association with behavior. METHODS We analyzed 16 acute patients suffering from restrictive type AN and 21 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with simultaneous physiological recordings during a Go/Nogo response inhibition task. Data were corrected for noise due to cardiac and respiratory influence. RESULTS Patients and controls had similarly successful response inhibition in Nogo trials. However, in failed Nogo trials, controls had significantly greater skin conductance responses (SCR) than in correct Nogo trials. Patients did not exhibit elevated SCR to errors. Furthermore, we found significantly increased neuronal responses, especially in the amygdala and hippocampus, in controls compared to patients during error trials. We also found significant positive correlations in controls but not in patients between Nogo performance and activation in the salience network core regions after errors. CONCLUSION Acute restrictive type AN patients seem to lack neuronal and autonomic responses to errors that might impede a flexible behavior adaption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Suttkus
- Lab for Autonomic Neuroscience, Imaging and Cognition (LANIC), Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University, Jena, Germany
| | - Andy Schumann
- Lab for Autonomic Neuroscience, Imaging and Cognition (LANIC), Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University, Jena, Germany
| | - Feliberto De la Cruz
- Lab for Autonomic Neuroscience, Imaging and Cognition (LANIC), Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University, Jena, Germany
| | - Karl-Jürgen Bär
- Lab for Autonomic Neuroscience, Imaging and Cognition (LANIC), Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University, Jena, Germany
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Obiols-Suari N, Marco-Pallarés J. Does It Look Good or Evil? Children's Recognition of Moral Identities in Illustrations of Characters in Stories. Front Psychol 2021; 12:552387. [PMID: 33967873 PMCID: PMC8102697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.552387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children usually use the external and physical features of characters in movies or stories as a means of categorizing them quickly as being either good or bad/evil. This categorization is probably done by means of heuristics and previous experience. However, the study of this fast processing is difficult in children. In this paper, we propose a new experimental paradigm to determine how these decisions are made. We used illustrations of characters in folk tales, whose visual representations contained features that were compatible or incompatible with the moral identity of the characters. Sixteen children between 8 and 10 years old participated in the experiment. We measured their electrodermal activity when they were listening to the story and looking at pictures of the characters. Results revealed a higher increase in skin conductance when the illustrations showed a moral condition that was incompatible with the actions of a character than when they showed one that was compatible. These results suggest that children make fast decisions about the moral identity of characters based on their physical features. They open up new possibilities in the study of the processing of moral decisions in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Núria Obiols-Suari
- Department of Theory and History of Education, Group Research of Moral Education GREM, Institute of Educational Research IRE, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Marco-Pallarés
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
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6
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Hu Y, Ji G, Li G, Manza P, Zhang W, Wang J, Lv G, He Y, Zhang Z, Yuan K, von Deneen KM, Chen A, Cui G, Wang H, Wiers CE, Volkow ND, Nie Y, Zhang Y, Wang GJ. Brain Connectivity, and Hormonal and Behavioral Correlates of Sustained Weight Loss in Obese Patients after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:1284-1295. [PMID: 33037819 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The biological mediators that support cognitive-control and long-term weight-loss after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) remain unclear. We measured peripheral appetitive hormones and brain functional-connectivity (FC) using magnetic-resonance-imaging with food cue-reactivity task in 25 obese participants at pre, 1 month, and 6 month after LSG, and compared with 30 normal weight controls. We also used diffusion-tensor-imaging to explore whether LSG increases brain structural-connectivity (SC) of regions involved in food cue-reactivity. LSG significantly decreased BMI, craving for high-calorie food cues, ghrelin, insulin, and leptin levels, and increased self-reported cognitive-control of eating behavior. LSG increased FC between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) and increased SC between DLPFC and ACC at 1 month and 6 month after LSG. Reduction in BMI correlated negatively with increased FC of right DLPFC-pgACC at 1 month and with increased SC of DLPFC-ACC at 1 month and 6 month after LSG. Reduction in craving for high-calorie food cues correlated negatively with increased FC of DLPFC-pgACC at 6 month after LSG. Additionally, SC of DLPFC-ACC mediated the relationship between lower ghrelin levels and greater cognitive control. These findings provide evidence that LSG improved functional and structural connectivity in prefrontal regions, which contribute to enhanced cognitive-control and sustained weight-loss following surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Hu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Gang Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China
| | - Guanya Li
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Peter Manza
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Wenchao Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Jia Wang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Ganggang Lv
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Yang He
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Zhida Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Kai Yuan
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Karen M von Deneen
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Antao Chen
- Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Guangbin Cui
- Department of Radiology, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, China
| | - Huaning Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China
| | - Corinde E Wiers
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nora D Volkow
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yongzhan Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China
| | - Gene-Jack Wang
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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7
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Li G, Zhang S, Le TM, Tang X, Li CSR. Neural responses to negative facial emotions: Sex differences in the correlates of individual anger and fear traits. Neuroimage 2020; 221:117171. [PMID: 32682098 PMCID: PMC7789231 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies have examined sex differences in emotion processing in health and illness. However, it remains unclear how these neural processes may relate to individual differences in affective traits. We addressed this issue with a dataset of 970 subjects (508 women) curated from the Human Connectome Project. Participants were assessed with the NIH Toolbox Emotion Measures and fMRI while identifying negative facial emotion and neutral shape targets in alternating blocks. Imaging data were analyzed with published routines and the results were reported at a corrected threshold. Men scored similarly in Anger- but lower in Fear-Affect, as compared to women. Men as compared with women engaged the occipital-temporal visual cortex, retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and both anterior and posterior cingulate cortex to a greater extent during face versus shape identification. Women relative to men engaged higher activation of bilateral middle frontal cortex. In regional brain responses to face versus shape identification, men relative to women showed more significant modulations by both Anger- and Fear- Affect traits. The left RSC and right RSC/precuneus each demonstrated activities during face vs. shape identification in negative correlation with Anger- and Fear- Affect scores in men only. Anger affect was positively correlated with prolonged RT in identifying face vs. shape target in men but not women. In contrast, women relative to men showed higher Fear-Affect score and higher activation in the right middle frontal cortex, which was more strongly correlated with prolonged RT during face vs. shape identification. Together, men and women with higher Fear-Affect demonstrated lower accuracy in identifying negative facial emotion versus neutral shape target, a relationship mediated by activity of the RSC. These findings add to the literature of sex and trait individual differences in emotion processing and may help research of sex-shared and sex-specific behavioral and neural markers of emotional disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangfei Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of technology, 715-3 Teaching Building No.5, Beijing Institute of technology, 5 South Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Thang M Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Xiaoying Tang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of technology, 715-3 Teaching Building No.5, Beijing Institute of technology, 5 South Zhongguancun Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center S112, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519-1109, United States; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
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8
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Li G, Zhang S, Le TM, Tang X, Li CSR. Neural Responses to Reward in a Gambling Task: Sex Differences and Individual Variation in Reward-Driven Impulsivity. Cereb Cortex Commun 2020; 1:tgaa025. [PMID: 32864617 PMCID: PMC7446303 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgaa025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous work suggests sex differences in reward sensitivity. However, it remains unclear how men and women differ in the neural processes of reward-driven impulsivity. With a data set of 968 subjects (502 women) curated from the Human Connectome Project, we investigated sex differences in regional activations to reward and to punishment in a gambling task. Individual variations in reward-driven impulsivity were quantified by the difference in reaction time between reward and punishment blocks in the gambling task, as well as by a behavioral measure of delay discounting. At a corrected threshold, men and women exhibited significant differences in regional activations to reward and to punishment. Longer reaction times during reward versus punishment blocks, indicative of more cautious responding, were associated with left-hemispheric lateral prefrontal cortical activation to reward in men but not women. Steeper discounting was associated with higher activation to reward in the right-hemispheric dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and angular gyrus in women but not men. These sex differences were confirmed in slope tests. Together, the results highlight the sex-specific neural processes of reward-driven impulsivity with left-hemispheric prefrontal cortex supporting impulse control in men and right-hemispheric saliency circuit playing a more important role in diminished impulse control in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangfei Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Thang M Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Xiaoying Tang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 10081, China
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
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9
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Lam SL, Criaud M, Alegria A, Barker GJ, Giampietro V, Rubia K. Neurofunctional and behavioural measures associated with fMRI-neurofeedback learning in adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 27:102291. [PMID: 32526685 PMCID: PMC7287276 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) targeting brain areas/networks shown to be dysfunctional by previous fMRI research is a promising novel neurotherapy for ADHD. Our pioneering study in 31 adolescents with ADHD showed that fMRI-NF of the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) and of the left parahippocampal gyrus (lPHG) was associated with clinical improvements. Previous studies using electro-encephalography-NF have shown, however, that not all ADHD patients learn to self-regulate, and the predictors of fMRI-NF self-regulation learning are not presently known. The aim of the current study was therefore to elucidate the potential predictors of fMRI-NF learning by investigating the relationship between fMRI-NF learning and baseline inhibitory brain function during an fMRI stop task, along with clinical and cognitive measures. fMRI-NF learning capacity was calculated for each participant by correlating the number of completed fMRI-NF runs with brain activation in their respective target regions from each run (rIFC or lPHG); higher correlation values were taken as a marker of better (linear) fMRI-NF learning. Linear correlations were then conducted between baseline measures and the participants' capacity for fMRI-NF learning. Better fMRI-NF learning was related to increased activation in left inferior fronto-striatal regions during the fMRI stop task. Poorer self-regulation during fMRI-NF training was associated with enhanced activation in posterior temporo-occipital and cerebellar regions. Cognitive and clinical measures were not associated with general fMRI-NF learning across all participants. A categorical analysis showed that 48% of adolescents with ADHD successfully learned fMRI-NF and this was also not associated with any baseline clinical or cognitive measures except that faster processing speed during inhibition and attention tasks predicted learning. Taken together, the findings suggest that imaging data are more predictive of fMRI-NF self-regulation skills in ADHD than behavioural data. Stronger baseline activation in fronto-striatal cognitive control regions predicts better fMRI-NF learning in ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheut-Ling Lam
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Marion Criaud
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Analucia Alegria
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Gareth J Barker
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Vincent Giampietro
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Katya Rubia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
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10
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Wang W, Zhornitsky S, Le TM, Dhingra I, Zhang S, Krystal JH, Li CSR. Cue-elicited craving, thalamic activity, and physiological arousal in adult non-dependent drinkers. J Psychiatr Res 2019; 116:74-82. [PMID: 31202048 PMCID: PMC6606341 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 06/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Changes in physiological arousal frequently accompany cognitive and affective challenges. Many studies employed cue exposure paradigms to investigate the neural processes underlying cue-elicited drug and alcohol craving. However, whether cue-elicited craving relates to changes in physiological arousal and the neural bases underlying the potential relationship remain unclear. Here we examined cerebral cue-related activations in relation to differences in skin conductance responses (SCR) recorded during alcohol vs. neutral cue blocks in 61 non-dependent alcohol drinkers (30 men). Imaging and skin conductance data were collected and processed with published routines. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the inter-relationship between regional activities, cue-elicited craving, and SCR. The results showed higher SCR during alcohol than during neutral cue exposure. Despite no differences in drinking characteristics, men as compared to women demonstrated higher craving rating, and men but not women demonstrated a positive correlation between alcohol (vs. neutral) cue-evoked craving and SCR. Further, across subjects, thalamic cue activity was positively correlated with differences in SCR between alcohol and neutral cue blocks in men but not in women. Mediation analyses suggested that thalamic activity mediated the correlation between craving and SCR across men and women, and in men but not women alone. These findings substantiate physiological and neural correlates of alcohol cue response and suggest important sex differences in the physiological and neural processes of cue evoked craving. Centered on the intralaminar and mediodorsal subregions, the thalamic correlate may represent a neural target for behavioral or pharmacological therapy to decrease cue-elicited arousal and craving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wuyi Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Simon Zhornitsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Thang M. Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Isha Dhingra
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - John H. Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Chiang-shan R. Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
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11
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Wang W, Zhornitsky S, Li CSP, Le TM, Joormann J, Li CSR. Social anxiety, posterior insula activation, and autonomic response during self-initiated action in a Cyberball game. J Affect Disord 2019; 255:158-167. [PMID: 31153052 PMCID: PMC6591038 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND An earlier study characterized the neural correlates of self-initiated actions in a Cyberball game in healthy individuals. It remains unclear how social anxiety may influence these neural processes. METHODS We examined regional activations to self-initiated actions in 25 adults with low and 25 with high social anxiety (LA and HA, respectively). Skin conductance was recorded concurrently with fMRI. We followed published routines in the analyses of imaging and skin conductance data. RESULTS We hypothesized that HA as compared to LA individuals would demonstrate increased cortical limbic activations during self-initiated actions (tossing or T > receiving or R trials, to control for motor activities) in social exclusion (EX) vs. fair game (FG) scenario. At a corrected threshold, HA as compared with LA group showed increases in bilateral posterior insula activation during T vs. R trials in EX as compared to FG. Further, HA as compared to LA showed higher skin conductance response to tossing trials during EX as compared to FG. LIMITATIONS With a limited sample size, we did not examine potential sex effects. Further, we cannot rule out the effects of depression on the findings. CONCLUSIONS Together, the results suggest that individuals with more severe social anxiety engaged the somatosensory insula to a greater extent and exhibited higher physiological arousal when initiating ball toss during social exclusion in the Cyberball game. Posterior insula response to self-initiated action may represent a biomarker of social anxiety. It remains to be investigated whether interventions to decrease physiological arousal may alleviate social anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wuyi Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
| | - Simon Zhornitsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
| | - Clara S-P Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States; Phillips Academy, Andover, MA 01810, United States
| | - Thang M Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
| | - Jutta Joormann
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States.
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12
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Weissman DG, Guyer AE, Ferrer E, Robins RW, Hastings PD. Tuning of brain-autonomic coupling by prior threat exposure: Implications for internalizing problems in Mexican-origin adolescents. Dev Psychopathol 2019; 31:1127-1141. [PMID: 31084645 PMCID: PMC6639798 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419000646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to threat increases the risk for internalizing problems in adolescence. Deficits in integrating bodily cues into representations of emotion are thought to contribute to internalizing problems. Given the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in regulating bodily responses and integrating them into representations of emotional states, coordination between activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and autonomic nervous system responses may be influenced by past threat exposure with consequences for the emergence of internalizing problems. A sample of 179 Mexican-origin adolescents (88 female) reported on neighborhood and school crime, peer victimization, and discrimination when they were 10-16 years old. At age 17, participants underwent a functional neuroimaging scan during which they viewed pictures of emotional faces while respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance responses were measured. Adolescents also reported symptoms of internalizing problems. Greater exposure to threats across adolescence was associated with more internalizing problems. Threat exposure was also associated with stronger negative coupling between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and RSA. Stronger negative ventromedial prefrontal cortex-RSA coupling was associated with fewer internalizing problems. These results suggest the degree of coordinated activity between the brain and parasympathetic nervous system is both enhanced by threat experiences and decreased in adolescents with more internalizing problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G. Weissman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Amanda E. Guyer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Emilio Ferrer
- Department of Psychology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Richard W. Robins
- Department of Psychology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Paul D. Hastings
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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13
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Le TM, Wang W, Zhornitsky S, Dhingra I, Zhang S, Li CSR. Reward sensitivity and electrodermal responses to actions and outcomes in a go/no-go task. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219147. [PMID: 31344045 PMCID: PMC6657849 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Skin conductance response (SCR) is used in psychophysiological research to measure the reactions of the autonomic nervous system to reward and punishment. While there is consistent evidence that SCR increases to both aversive and appetitive stimuli, it remains unclear whether SCR simply represents a general index of arousal to motivationally significant outcomes or may also differentiate action or inhibition of action that lead to such outcomes. Furthermore, individual differences in trait sensitivity to reward and punishment can influence physiological arousal during approach and avoidance behaviors. Yet, their inter-relationships have not been examined. To address these gaps, we employed a reward go/no-go task with ⅔ go and ⅓ no-go trials and an individually titrated go response window. Correct go and no-go responses were rewarded while incorrect responses were penalized. We examined whether SCR varied with outcome (win vs. loss), action (go vs. no-go), and individual differences in reward sensitivity (SR) and sex. The results showed greater SCRs to loss vs. win, to go vs. no-go success, and to go success in positive correlation with SR. Further, SCR mediated the relationship between SR and go success rate. In sex differences, men exhibited greater SCR which was more predictive of go success rate relative to women. In contrast, SCR was more predictive of no-go success rate in women. Thus, SCR varies according to behavioral contingency, outcome, sex, and reward sensitivity. These findings add to the literature by characterizing the individual and behavioral factors that may influence physiological arousal in response to salient events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thang M. Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Wuyi Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Simon Zhornitsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Isha Dhingra
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Chiang-Shan R. Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
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14
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Chevalère J, Jauregi J, Copet P, Laurier V, Thuilleaux D, Postal V. Investigation of the relationship between electrodermal and behavioural responses to executive tasks in Prader-Willi syndrome: An event-related experiment. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 85:229-242. [PMID: 30590308 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2018.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent work suggests that maladaptive behaviors in genetic developmental disorders may emerge from autonomic dysfunctions impacting higher order executive functions. In Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), executive functions are not well understood and investigations of possible underlying causes at the autonomic level are lacking. AIMS This study aimed at clarifying the status of inhibition and working memory updating functions in PWS and searched for sympathetic signatures as well as to examine their links with executive performance. METHODS AND PROCEDURES The performance of thirty adults with PWS was compared to that of thirty healthy adults on two tasks assessing inhibition and working memory updating while electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS PWS adults underperformed healthy adults in the inhibition and the working memory updating tasks and showed abnormal skin conductance responses. Distinct EDA have been found in PWS and healthy adults. Furthermore, while EDA reflected distinct cognitive processes, correlations between electrodermal and behavioural data were absent when examining the two groups separately. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS PWS is associated with a slight impairment of inhibition and a severe impairment of working memory updating. Furthermore, there are specific sympathetic autonomic signatures in PWS that do not present straightforward links with executive dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Chevalère
- Univ. Bordeaux, Laboratoire de Psychologie, EA 4139, F33076, Bordeaux, France.
| | - J Jauregi
- Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Paseo de Arriola 2, 20018, San Sebastián, Spain; AP-HP Hôpital Marin, BP 40139, 64700, Hendaye, France.
| | - P Copet
- AP-HP Hôpital Marin, BP 40139, 64700, Hendaye, France.
| | - V Laurier
- AP-HP Hôpital Marin, BP 40139, 64700, Hendaye, France.
| | - D Thuilleaux
- AP-HP Hôpital Marin, BP 40139, 64700, Hendaye, France.
| | - V Postal
- Univ. Bordeaux, Laboratoire de Psychologie, EA 4139, F33076, Bordeaux, France.
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15
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Wang W, Worhunsky PD, Zhang S, Le TM, Potenza MN, Li CSR. Response inhibition and fronto-striatal-thalamic circuit dysfunction in cocaine addiction. Drug Alcohol Depend 2018; 192:137-145. [PMID: 30248560 PMCID: PMC6200592 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many studies have investigated how cognitive control may be compromised in cocaine addiction. Here, we extend this literature by employing spatial Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to describe circuit dysfunction in relation to impairment in response inhibition in cocaine addiction. METHODS Fifty-five cocaine-dependent (CD) and 55 age- and sex-matched non-drug-using healthy control individuals (HC) participated in the study. Task-relatedness of 40 independent components (ICs) was assessed using multiple regression analyses of component time courses with the modeled time courses of hemodynamic activity convolved with go success (GS), stop success (SS) and stop error (SE). This procedure produced beta-weights that represented the degree to which each IC was temporally associated with, or 'engaged', by each task event. RESULTS Behaviorally, CD participants showed prolonged stop signal reaction times (SSRTs) as compared to HC participants (p < 0.01). ICA identified two networks that showed differences in engagement related to SS between CD and HC (p < 0.05, FDR-corrected). The activity of the fronto-striatal-thalamic network was negatively correlated with SSRTs in HC but not in CD, suggesting a specific role of this network in mediating deficits of response inhibition in CD individuals. In contrast, the engagement of the fronto-parietal-temporal network did not relate to SSRTs, was similarly less engaged for both SS and SE trials, and may reflect attentional dysfunction in cocaine addiction. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the utility of ICA in identifying neural circuitry engagement related to SST performance and suggests that specific networks may represent important targets in remedying executive-control impairment in cocaine addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wuyi Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
| | - Patrick D. Worhunsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Thang M. Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Marc N. Potenza
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 200 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06510, USA,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Rd., New Haven, CT 06519, USA,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, SHM L-200, P.O. Box 208074, New Haven CT 06520-8074, USA,Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, 100 Great Meadow Rd, Wethersfield, CT 06109, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R. Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St, #901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA,Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519, USA,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 200 S Frontage Rd, New Haven, CT 06510, USA,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, SHM L-200, P.O. Box 208074, New Haven CT 06520-8074, USA
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16
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Bush KA, Privratsky A, Gardner J, Zielinski MJ, Kilts CD. Common Functional Brain States Encode both Perceived Emotion and the Psychophysiological Response to Affective Stimuli. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15444. [PMID: 30337576 PMCID: PMC6194055 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33621-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has critically advanced the neuroanatomical understanding of affect processing in the human brain. Central to these advancements is the brain state, a temporally-succinct fMRI-derived pattern of neural activation, which serves as a processing unit. Establishing the brain state's central role in affect processing, however, requires that it predicts multiple independent measures of affect. We employed MVPA-based regression to predict the valence and arousal properties of visual stimuli sampled from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) along with the corollary skin conductance response (SCR) for demographically diverse healthy human participants (n = 19). We found that brain states significantly predicted the normative valence and arousal scores of the stimuli as well as the attendant individual SCRs. In contrast, SCRs significantly predicted arousal only. The prediction effect size of the brain state was more than three times greater than that of SCR. Moreover, neuroanatomical analysis of the regression parameters found remarkable agreement with regions long-established by fMRI univariate analyses in the emotion processing literature. Finally, geometric analysis of these parameters also found that the neuroanatomical encodings of valence and arousal are orthogonal as originally posited by the circumplex model of dimensional emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith A Bush
- Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA.
| | - Anthony Privratsky
- Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA
| | - Jonathan Gardner
- College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA
| | - Melissa J Zielinski
- Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA
| | - Clinton D Kilts
- Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR, 72205-7199, USA
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17
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Köhler S, Schumann A, de la Cruz F, Wagner G, Bär KJ. Towards response success prediction: An integrative approach using high-resolution fMRI and autonomic indices. Neuropsychologia 2018; 119:182-190. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 07/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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18
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Weissman DG, Guyer AE, Ferrer E, Robins RW, Hastings PD. Adolescents' brain-autonomic coupling during emotion processing. Neuroimage 2018; 183:818-827. [PMID: 30189339 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity is a core component of emotion processing. The limbic system and medial prefrontal cortex play important roles in the regulation of ANS activity. However, the integration of brain activity and ANS activity has yet to be investigated in adolescents despite independent evidence of adolescents' heightened neural and physiological sensitivity to emotional stimuli. The present study examined the relations of ANS activity in the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) with brain activity during emotional face processing in adolescents. 135 adolescents (65 female; M = 17.15 yr, SD = 0.42) completed an emotional faces task during an fMRI scan while electrocardiography and skin conductance were recorded simultaneously. Using linear mixed-effect modelling, we tested the effect of change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of PNS activity, and number of skin conductance responses (SCRs), a measure of SNS activity, on neural activity while adolescents viewed emotional faces. Greater RSA withdrawal, indicating decreased PNS activity, was associated with increased activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). More SCRs, indicating greater SNS activity, were associated with decreased activation in several regions including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and increased activation in the left hippocampus. Left hippocampus-SCR coupling and vmPFC-RSA coupling predicted baseline SCR and RSA respectively. These findings implicate the hippocampus for potentiating SNS activity, document that regulation of SNS and PNS activity are coordinated with distinct regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, and suggest potential developmental differences in vmPFC regulation of PNS activity between adolescents and adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Weissman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Amanda E Guyer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Emilio Ferrer
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Richard W Robins
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Paul D Hastings
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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19
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Xiao T, Zhang S, Lee LE, Chao HH, van Dyck C, Li CSR. Exploring Age-Related Changes in Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala: From Young to Middle Adulthood. Front Aging Neurosci 2018; 10:209. [PMID: 30061823 PMCID: PMC6055042 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivities of the amygdala support emotional and cognitive processing. Life-span development of resting-state functional connectivities (rsFC) of the amygdala may underlie age-related differences in emotion regulatory mechanisms. To date, age-related changes in amygdala rsFC have been reported through adolescence but not as thoroughly for adulthood. This study investigated age-related differences in amygdala rsFC in 132 young and middle-aged adults (19–55 years). Data processing followed published routines. Overall, amygdala showed positive rsFC with the temporal, sensorimotor and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), insula and lentiform nucleus, and negative rsFC with visual, frontoparietal, and posterior cingulate cortex and caudate head. Amygdala rsFC with the cerebellum was positively correlated with age, and rsFCs with the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and somatomotor cortex were negatively correlated with age, at voxel p < 0.001 in combination with cluster p < 0.05 FWE. These age-dependent changes in connectivity appeared to manifest to a greater extent in men than in women, although the sex difference was only evident for the cerebellum in a slope test of age regressions (p = 0.0053). Previous studies showed amygdala interaction with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and vmPFC during emotion regulation. In region of interest analysis, amygdala rsFC with the ACC and vmPFC did not show age-related changes. These findings suggest that intrinsic connectivity of the amygdala evolved from young to middle adulthood in selective brain regions, and may inform future studies of age-related emotion regulation and maladaptive development of the amygdala circuits as an etiological marker of emotional disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Lue-En Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Herta H Chao
- Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Christopher van Dyck
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
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20
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Thalamic Cortical Error-Related Responses in Adult Social Drinkers: Sex Differences and Problem Alcohol Use. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2018; 3:868-877. [PMID: 29859929 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2018.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Error-related brain activities are altered in individuals with substance use disorders. Here we examined error-related activities in relation to problem drinking in nondependent alcohol drinkers. In particular, we investigated sex differences and whether altered error responses are related to post-error behavioral control. METHODS A sample of 145 nondependent drinkers (77 women) performed the stop-signal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging data were processed and modeled using statistical parametric mapping. Independent sample t test and linear regression were employed to examine sex differences in error response and relationship between error response and problem drinking. RESULTS Compared with men, women showed greater error-related (stop error > go success) activations in the bilateral thalamus, right middle/superior temporal cortex, and bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. In whole-brain linear regression of error responses against the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score, a wide swath of cortical and subcortical regions, including the thalamus, showed decreased activation in association with problem drinking in women but not in men. However, men and women were not different in the extent of post-error slowing and decreased thalamic error response in association with problem drinking was not related to the extent of post-error slowing in women. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest sex differences in error-related activations with heavier drinking associated with reduced error activations in women but not in men. These differences in cerebral activations may reflect higher physiological arousal in response to errors and greater vulnerability of saliency-related arousal response to problem drinking in female as compared with male social drinkers.
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21
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Liu L, Yao YW, Li CSR, Zhang JT, Xia CC, Lan J, Ma SS, Zhou N, Fang XY. The Comorbidity Between Internet Gaming Disorder and Depression: Interrelationship and Neural Mechanisms. Front Psychiatry 2018; 9:154. [PMID: 29740358 PMCID: PMC5924965 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is characterized by cognitive and emotional deficits. Previous studies have reported the co-occurrence of IGD and depression. However, extant brain imaging research has largely focused on cognitive deficits in IGD. Few studies have addressed the comorbidity between IGD and depression symptoms and underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we systematically investigated this issue by combining a longitudinal survey study, a cross-sectional resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) study and an intervention study. Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling on a longitudinal dataset of college students showed that IGD severity and depression are reciprocally predictive. At the neural level, individuals with IGD exhibited enhanced rsFC between the left amygdala and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), inferior frontal and precentral gyrus, compared with control participants, and the amygdala-frontoparietal connectivity at the baseline negatively predicted reduction in depression symptoms following a psychotherapy intervention. Further, following the intervention, individuals with IGD showed decreased connectivity between the left amygdala and left middle frontal and precentral gyrus, as compared with the non-intervention group. These findings together suggest that IGD may be closely associated with depression; aberrant rsFC between emotion and executive control networks may underlie depression and represent a therapeutic target in individuals with IGD. Registry name: The behavioral and brain mechanism of IGD; URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02550405; Registration number: NCT02550405.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan-Wei Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Tao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Cui-Cui Xia
- Students Counseling Center, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Lan
- Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shan-Shan Ma
- Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Zhou
- Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao-Yi Fang
- Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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22
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Mansouri FA, Acevedo N, Illipparampil R, Fehring DJ, Fitzgerald PB, Jaberzadeh S. Interactive effects of music and prefrontal cortex stimulation in modulating response inhibition. Sci Rep 2017; 7:18096. [PMID: 29273796 PMCID: PMC5741740 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18119-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Influential hypotheses propose that alterations in emotional state influence decision processes and executive control of behavior. Both music and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of prefrontal cortex affect emotional state, however interactive effects of music and tDCS on executive functions remain unknown. Learning to inhibit inappropriate responses is an important aspect of executive control which is guided by assessing the decision outcomes such as errors. We found that high-tempo music, but not low-tempo music or low-level noise, significantly influenced learning and implementation of inhibitory control. In addition, a brief period of tDCS over prefrontal cortex specifically interacted with high-tempo music and altered its effects on executive functions. Measuring event-related autonomic and arousal response of participants indicated that exposure to task demands and practice led to a decline in arousal response to the decision outcome and high-tempo music enhanced such practice-related processes. However, tDCS specifically moderated the high-tempo music effect on the arousal response to errors and concomitantly restored learning and improvement in executive functions. Here, we show that tDCS and music interactively influence the learning and implementation of inhibitory control. Our findings indicate that alterations in the arousal-emotional response to the decision outcome might underlie these interactive effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farshad Alizadeh Mansouri
- Department of Physiology, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia. .,ARC Centre of Excellence in Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Nicola Acevedo
- Department of Physiology, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Rosin Illipparampil
- Department of Physiology, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Daniel J Fehring
- Department of Physiology, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paul B Fitzgerald
- Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Victoria, Australia
| | - Shapour Jaberzadeh
- Department of Physiotherapy, Non-invasive Brain Stimulation & Neuroplasticity Laboratory, Monash University, Victoria, 3199, Australia
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23
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Developmental changes in autonomic responses are associated with future reward/punishment expectations: A study of sympathetic skin responses in the Markov decision task. Brain Dev 2017; 39:573-582. [PMID: 28377150 DOI: 10.1016/j.braindev.2017.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Autonomic nervous system activity is recognized as a major component of emotional responses. Future reward/punishment expectations depend upon the process of decision making in the frontal lobe, which is considered to play an important role in executive function. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between autonomic responses and decision making during reinforcement tasks using sympathetic skin responses (SSR). METHODS Nine adult and 9 juvenile (mean age, 10.2years) volunteers were enrolled in this study. SSRs were measured during the Markov decision task (MDT), which is a reinforcement task. In this task, subjects must endure a small immediate loss to ultimately get a large reward. The subjects had to undergo three sets of tests and their scores in these tests were assessed and evaluated. RESULTS All adults showed gradually increasing scores for the MDT from the first to third set. As the trial progressed from the first to second set in adults, SSR appearance ratios remarkably increased for both punishment and reward expectations. In comparison with adults, children showed decreasing scores from the first to second set. There were no significant inter-target differences in the SSR appearance ratio in the first and second set in children. In the third set, the SSR appearance ratio for reward expectations was higher than that in the neutral condition. CONCLUSIONS In reinforcement tasks, such as MDT, autonomic responses play an important role in decision making. We assume that SSRs are elicited during efficient decision making tasks associated with future reward/punishment expectations, which demonstrates the importance of autonomic function. In contrast, in children around the age of 10years, the autonomic system does not react as an organized response specific to reward/punishment expectations. This suggests the immaturity of the future reward/punishment expectations process in children.
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24
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Ghaderyan P, Abbasi A. An efficient automatic workload estimation method based on electrodermal activity using pattern classifier combinations. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 110:91-101. [PMID: 27780715 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Revised: 10/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Automatic workload estimation has received much attention because of its application in error prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of neural system impairment. The development of a simple but reliable method using minimum number of psychophysiological signals is a challenge in automatic workload estimation. To address this challenge, this paper presented three different decomposition techniques (Fourier, cepstrum, and wavelet transforms) to analyze electrodermal activity (EDA). The efficiency of various statistical and entropic features was investigated and compared. To recognize different levels of an arithmetic task, the features were processed by principal component analysis and machine-learning techniques. These methods have been incorporated into a workload estimation system based on two types: feature-level and decision-level combinations. The results indicated the reliability of the method for automatic and real-time inference of psychological states. This method provided a quantitative estimation of the workload levels and a bias-free evaluation approach. The high-average accuracy of 90% and cost effective requirement were the two important attributes of the proposed workload estimation system. New entropic features were proved to be more sensitive measures for quantifying time and frequency changes in EDA. The effectiveness of these measures was also compared with conventional tonic EDA measures, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed method in achieving accurate estimation of workload levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peyvand Ghaderyan
- Computational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran.
| | - Ataollah Abbasi
- Computational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran.
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25
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Hirose S, Osada T, Ogawa A, Tanaka M, Wada H, Yoshizawa Y, Imai Y, Machida T, Akahane M, Shirouzu I, Konishi S. Lateral-Medial Dissociation in Orbitofrontal Cortex-Hypothalamus Connectivity. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:244. [PMID: 27303281 PMCID: PMC4880561 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in cognitive functions, and is also closely related to autonomic functions. The OFC is densely connected with the hypothalamus, a heterogeneous structure controlling autonomic functions that can be divided into two major parts: the lateral and the medial. Resting-state functional connectivity has allowed us to parcellate the cerebral cortex into putative functional areas based on the changes in the spatial pattern of connectivity in the cerebral cortex when a seed point is moved from one voxel to another. In the present high spatial-resolution fMRI study, we investigate the connectivity-based organization of the OFC with reference to the hypothalamus. The OFC was parcellated using resting-state functional connectivity in an individual subject approach, and then the functional connectivity was examined between the parcellated areas in the OFC and the lateral/medial hypothalamus. We found a functional double dissociation in the OFC: the lateral OFC (the lateral orbital gyrus) was more likely connected with the lateral hypothalamus, whereas the medial OFC (the medial orbital and rectal gyri) was more likely connected with the medial hypothalamus. These results demonstrate the fundamental heterogeneity of the OFC, and suggest a potential neural basis of the OFC–hypothalamic functional interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Hirose
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of MedicineTokyo, Japan; Department of Physiology, The University of Tokyo School of MedicineTokyo, Japan
| | - Takahiro Osada
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of MedicineTokyo, Japan; Department of Physiology, The University of Tokyo School of MedicineTokyo, Japan
| | - Akitoshi Ogawa
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaki Tanaka
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Wada
- Department of Radiology, NTT Medical Center Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Yoshio Imai
- Department of Radiology, NTT Medical Center Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toru Machida
- Department of Radiology, NTT Medical Center TokyoTokyo, Japan; International University of Health and WelfareTokyo, Japan
| | - Masaaki Akahane
- Department of Radiology, NTT Medical Center Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ichiro Shirouzu
- Department of Radiology, NTT Medical Center Tokyo Tokyo, Japan
| | - Seiki Konishi
- Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University School of MedicineTokyo, Japan; Department of Physiology, The University of Tokyo School of MedicineTokyo, Japan
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26
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Fong SS, Navarrete CD, Perfecto SE, Carr AR, Jimenez EE, Mendez MF. Behavioral and autonomic reactivity to moral dilemmas in frontotemporal dementia versus Alzheimer's disease. Soc Neurosci 2016; 12:409-418. [PMID: 27151065 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1186111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The personal/impersonal distinction of moral decision-making postulates intuitive emotional responses from medial frontal activity and rational evaluation from lateral frontal activity. This model can be analyzed in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a disorder characterized by impaired emotional intuitions, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) involvement, and relative sparing of lateral frontal regions. Moral dilemmas were presented to 10 bvFTD, 11 Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 9 healthy control (HC) participants while recording skin conductance responses, a measure of emotional arousal. We evaluated their personal versus impersonal conflict, subjective discomfort, and adherence to social norms. Replicating prior work, bvFTD participants were more willing to harm in the personal, but not the impersonal, dilemma compared to AD and HC groups. BvFTD participants had lower arousal and less of an increase in conflict on the personal versus the impersonal dilemma, in contrast to increased arousal and conflict for the AD and HC groups. Furthermore, bvFTD participants verbalized less discomfort, a correlate of low adherence to social norms. These findings support impaired emotional reactions to moral dilemmas in bvFTD and vmPFC lesions and the personal/impersonal model. It suggests a reversion to utilitarian-like considerations when emotional intuition is impaired in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia S Fong
- a Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine , University of California at Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , USA.,b Section of Neurology , V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | | | - Sean E Perfecto
- a Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine , University of California at Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Andrew R Carr
- b Section of Neurology , V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Elvira E Jimenez
- a Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine , University of California at Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , USA.,b Section of Neurology , V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA
| | - Mario F Mendez
- a Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine , University of California at Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , USA.,b Section of Neurology , V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center , Los Angeles , CA , USA.,d Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine , University of California at Los Angeles , Los Angeles , CA , USA
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27
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Lemche E, Sierra-Siegert M, David AS, Phillips ML, Gasston D, Williams SCR, Giampietro VP. Cognitive load and autonomic response patterns under negative priming demand in depersonalization-derealization disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2016; 43:971-8. [PMID: 26791018 PMCID: PMC4855951 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Revised: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have yielded evidence for cognitive processing abnormalities and alterations of autonomic functioning in depersonalization‐derealization disorder (DPRD). However, multimodal neuroimaging and psychophysiology studies have not yet been conducted to test for functional and effective connectivity under cognitive stress in patients with DPRD. DPRD and non‐referred control subjects underwent a combined Stroop/negative priming task, and the neural correlates of Stroop interference effect, negative priming effect, error rates, cognitive load span and average amplitude of skin conductance responses were ascertained for both groups. Evoked haemodynamic responses for basic Stroop/negative priming activations were compared. For basic Stroop to neutral contrast, patients with DPRD differed in the location (inferior vs. superior lobule) of the parietal region involved, but showed similar activations in the left frontal region. In addition, patients with DPRD also co‐activated the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (BA9) and posterior cingulate cortex (BA31), which were also found to be the main between‐group difference regions. These regions furthermore showed connectivity with frequency of depersonalization states. Evoked haemodynamic responses drawn from regions of interest indicated significant between‐group differences in 30–40% of time points. Brain‐behaviour correlations differed mainly in laterality, yet only slightly in regions. A reversal of autonomic patterning became evident in patients with DPRD for cognitive load spans, indicating less effective arousal suppression under cognitive stress – patients with DPRD showed positive associations of cognitive load with autonomic responses, whereas controls exhibit respective inverse association. Overall, the results of the present study show only minor executive cognitive peculiarities, but further support the notion of abnormalities in autonomic functioning in patients with DPRD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin Lemche
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Box PO69, Office 7.05, Basket 32, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Mauricio Sierra-Siegert
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Box PO69, Office 7.05, Basket 32, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Anthony S David
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Psychosis Studies, Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Box PO69, Office 7.05, Basket 32, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Mary L Phillips
- Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - David Gasston
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, UK
| | - Steven C R Williams
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, UK
| | - Vincent P Giampietro
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London, UK
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28
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Barratt Impulsivity and Neural Regulation of Physiological Arousal. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129139. [PMID: 26079873 PMCID: PMC4469608 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2015] [Accepted: 05/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Theories of personality have posited an increased arousal response to external stimulation in impulsive individuals. However, there is a dearth of studies addressing the neural basis of this association. Methods We recorded skin conductance in 26 individuals who were assessed with Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and performed a stop signal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging data were processed and modeled with Statistical Parametric Mapping. We used linear regressions to examine correlations between impulsivity and skin conductance response (SCR) to salient events, identify the neural substrates of arousal regulation, and examine the relationship between the regulatory mechanism and impulsivity. Results Across subjects, higher impulsivity is associated with greater SCR to stop trials. Activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) negatively correlated to and Granger caused skin conductance time course. Furthermore, higher impulsivity is associated with a lesser strength of Granger causality of vmPFC activity on skin conductance, consistent with diminished control of physiological arousal to external stimulation. When men (n = 14) and women (n = 12) were examined separately, however, there was evidence suggesting association between impulsivity and vmPFC regulation of arousal only in women. Conclusions Together, these findings confirmed the link between Barratt impulsivity and heightened arousal to salient stimuli in both genders and suggested the neural bases of altered regulation of arousal in impulsive women. More research is needed to explore the neural processes of arousal regulation in impulsive individuals and in clinical conditions that implicate poor impulse control.
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29
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Farr OM, Hu S, Matuskey D, Zhang S, Abdelghany O, Li CSR. The effects of methylphenidate on cerebral activations to salient stimuli in healthy adults. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2014; 22:154-65. [PMID: 24188171 PMCID: PMC4105943 DOI: 10.1037/a0034465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Detection of a salient stimulus is critical to cognitive functioning. A stimulus is salient when it appears infrequently, carries high motivational value, and/or when it dictates changes in behavior. Individuals with neurological conditions that implicate altered catecholaminergic signaling, such as those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are impaired in detecting salient stimuli, a deficit that can be remediated by catecholaminergic medications. However, the effects of these catecholaminergic agents on cerebral activities during saliency processing within the context of the stop-signal task are not clear. Here, we examined the effects of a single oral dose (45 mg) of methylphenidate in 24 healthy adults performing the stop-signal task during functional MRI (fMRI). Compared to 92 demographically matched adults who did not receive any medications, the methylphenidate group showed higher activations in bilateral caudate head, primary motor cortex, and the right inferior parietal cortex during stop as compared to go trials (p < .05, corrected for family-wise error of multiple comparisons). These results show that methylphenidate enhances saliency processing by promoting specific cerebral regional activities. These findings may suggest a neural basis for catecholaminergic treatment of attention disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia M. Farr
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
| | - Sien Hu
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - David Matuskey
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Osama Abdelghany
- Investigational Drug Service, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT 06519
| | - Chiang-shan R. Li
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520,Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519,Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
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30
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Enhanced sympathetic arousal in response to FMRI scanning correlates with task induced activations and deactivations. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72576. [PMID: 23967320 PMCID: PMC3744508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2013] [Accepted: 07/12/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been repeatedly shown that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) triggers distress and neuroendocrine response systems. Prior studies have revealed that sympathetic arousal increases, particularly at the beginning of the examination. Against this background it appears likely that those stress reactions during the scanning procedure may influence task performance and neural correlates. However, the question how sympathetic arousal elicited by the scanning procedure itself may act as a potential confounder of fMRI data remains unresolved today. Thirty-seven scanner naive healthy subjects performed a simple cued target detection task. Levels of salivary alpha amylase (sAA), as a biomarker for sympathetic activity, were assessed in samples obtained at several time points during the lab visit. SAA increased two times, immediately prior to scanning and at the end of the scanning procedure. Neural activation related to motor preparation and timing as well as task performance was positively correlated with the first increase. Furthermore, the first sAA increase was associated with task induced deactivation (TID) in frontal and parietal regions. However, these effects were restricted to the first part of the experiment. Consequently, this bias of scanner related sympathetic activation should be considered in future fMRI investigations. It is of particular importance for pharmacological investigations studying adrenergic agents and the comparison of groups with different stress vulnerabilities like patients and controls or adolescents and adults.
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31
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Rubia K, Lim L, Ecker C, Halari R, Giampietro V, Simmons A, Brammer M, Smith A. Effects of age and gender on neural networks of motor response inhibition: from adolescence to mid-adulthood. Neuroimage 2013; 83:690-703. [PMID: 23845427 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2013] [Revised: 06/19/2013] [Accepted: 06/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional inhibitory neural networks mature progressively with age. However, nothing is known about the impact of gender on their development. This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the effects of age, sex, and sex by age interactions on the brain activation of 63 healthy males and females, between 13 and 38 years, performing a Stop task. Increasing age was associated with progressively increased activation in typical response inhibition areas of right inferior and dorsolateral prefrontal and temporo-parietal regions. Females showed significantly enhanced activation in left inferior and superior frontal and striatal regions relative to males, while males showed increased activation relative to females in right inferior and superior parietal areas. Importantly, left frontal and striatal areas that showed increased activation in females, also showed significantly increased functional maturation in females relative to males, while the right inferior parietal activation that was increased in males showed significantly increased functional maturation relative to females. The findings demonstrate for the first time that sex-dimorphic activation patterns of enhanced left fronto-striatal activation in females and enhanced right parietal activation in males during motor inhibition appear to be the result of underlying gender differences in the functional maturation of these brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katya Rubia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
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32
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Error detection and error memory in spatial navigation as reflected by electrodermal activity. Cogn Process 2013; 14:377-89. [PMID: 23700191 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-013-0567-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2012] [Accepted: 05/08/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The study investigated spatial navigation by means of electrodermal activity (EDA). Two groups of healthy subjects (group 1, age <38; group 2, age ≥ 38) were recorded during navigation through two 3-D virtual mazes differing in difficulty, that is, Maze Simple (MazeS) and Maze Complex (MazeC). Our results show (1) an effect of difficulty, that is, larger skin conductance responses (SCRs) and slower velocity profiles while navigating through MazeC as compared to MazeS. (2) An effect of age, that is, larger SCRs and faster velocity profiles in younger subjects (group 1) compared to older subjects (group 2). (3) An effect of maze region, that is, SCRs increased when subjects entered dead ends with group 1 (young group) decreasing in velocity, whereas group 2 (old group) increased in velocity. (4) And an error memory effect, that is, subjects who remembered an error at a given decision point (crossroads preceding dead ends in MazeC) from previous trials, and then if they did not repeat that error, elicited decreased SCRs as compared to subjects who did not remember and subsequently repeated an error. The latter aspect is the most impactful as it shows that EDA is able to reflect error detection and memory during spatial navigation. Our data designate EDA as suitable monitoring tool for identification and differentiation of the affective correlates underlying spatial navigation, which has recently attracted researchers' attention due to its increased use in 3-D virtual environments.
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33
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Zhang S, Hu S, Chao HH, Ide JS, Luo X, Farr OM, Li CSR. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the regulation of physiological arousal. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:900-8. [PMID: 23620600 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies show a correlation between activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and skin conductance measurements. However, little is known whether this brain region plays a causal role in regulating physiological arousal. To address this question, we employed Granger causality analysis (GCA) to establish causality between cerebral blood oxygenation level-dependent and skin conductance signals in 24 healthy adults performing a cognitive task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results showed that activity of the vmPFC not only negatively correlated with skin conductance level (SCL) but also Granger caused SCL, thus establishing the direction of influence. Importantly, across participants, the strength of Granger causality was negatively correlated to phasic skin conductance responses elicited by external events during the behavioral task. In contrast, activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex positively correlated with SCL but did not show a causal relationship in GCA. These new findings indicate that the vmPFC plays a causal role in regulating physiological arousal. Increased vmPFC activity leads to a decrease in skin conductance. The findings may also advance our understanding of dysfunctions of the vmPFC in mood and anxiety disorders that involve altered control of physiological arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Sien Hu
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Herta H Chao
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Jaime S Ide
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Xi Luo
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Olivia M Farr
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Chiang-shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, USA, Department of Medicine, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, West Haven, CT 06516, USA, Department of Science and technology, University Federal De Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, and Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Glutamate concentration in the medial prefrontal cortex predicts resting-state cortical-subcortical functional connectivity in humans. PLoS One 2013; 8:e60312. [PMID: 23573246 PMCID: PMC3616113 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2012] [Accepted: 02/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication between cortical and subcortical regions is integral to a wide range of psychological processes and has been implicated in a number of psychiatric conditions. Studies in animals have provided insight into the biochemical and connectivity processes underlying such communication. However, to date no experiments that link these factors in humans in vivo have been carried out. To investigate the role of glutamate in individual differences in communication between the cortex--specifically the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)--and subcortical regions in humans, a combination of resting-state fMRI, DTI and MRS was performed. The subcortical target regions were the nucleus accumbens (NAc), dorsomedial thalamus (DMT), and periaqueductal grey (PAG). It was found that functional connectivity between the mPFC and each of the NAc and DMT was positively correlated with mPFC glutamate concentrations, whilst functional connectivity between the mPFC and PAG was negatively correlated with glutamate concentration. The correlations involving mPFC glutamate and FC between the mPFC and each of the DMT and PAG were mirrored by correlations with structural connectivity, providing evidence that the glutamatergic relationship may, in part, be due to direct connectivity. These results are in agreement with existing results from animal studies and may have relevance for MDD and schizophrenia.
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Luo X, Zhang S, Hu S, Bednarski SR, Erdman E, Farr OM, Hong KI, Sinha R, Mazure CM, Li CSR. Error processing and gender-shared and -specific neural predictors of relapse in cocaine dependence. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 136:1231-44. [PMID: 23485852 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Deficits in cognitive control are implicated in cocaine dependence. Previously, combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and a stop signal task, we demonstrated altered cognitive control in cocaine-dependent individuals. However, the clinical implications of these cross-sectional findings and, in particular, whether the changes were associated with relapse to drug use, were not clear. In a prospective study, we recruited 97 treatment-seeking individuals with cocaine dependence to perform the stop signal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging and participate in follow-up assessments for 3 months, during which time cocaine use was evaluated with timeline follow back and ascertained by urine toxicology tests. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analysed using general linear models as implemented in Statistical Parametric Mapping 8, with the contrast 'stop error greater than stop success trials' to index error processing. Using voxelwise analysis with logistic and Cox regressions, we identified brain activations of error processing that predict relapse and time to relapse. In females, decreased error-related activations of the thalamus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex predicted relapse and an earlier time to relapse. In males, decreased error-related activations of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and left insula predicted relapse and an earlier time to relapse. These regional activations were validated with data resampling and predicted relapse with an average area under the curve of 0.849 in receiver operating characteristic analyses. These findings provide direct evidence linking deficits in cognitive control to clinical outcome in a moderate-sized cohort of cocaine-dependent individuals. These results may provide a useful basis for future studies to examine how psychosocial factors interact with cognitive control to determine drug use and to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological or behavioural treatment in remediating deficits of cognitive control in cocaine addicts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Luo
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
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Farrow TFD, Johnson NK, Hunter MD, Barker AT, Wilkinson ID, Woodruff PWR. Neural correlates of the behavioral-autonomic interaction response to potentially threatening stimuli. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 6:349. [PMID: 23335893 PMCID: PMC3546317 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2012] [Accepted: 12/17/2012] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Subjective assessment of emotional valence is typically associated with both brain activity and autonomic arousal. Accurately assessing emotional salience is particularly important when perceiving threat. We sought to characterize the neural correlates of the interaction between behavioral and autonomic responses to potentially threatening visual and auditory stimuli. Twenty-five healthy male subjects underwent fMRI scanning whilst skin conductance responses (SCR) were recorded. One hundred and eighty pictures, sentences, and sounds were assessed as “harmless” or “threatening.” Individuals' stimulus-locked, phasic SCRs and trial-by-trial behavioral assessments were entered as regressors into a flexible factorial design to establish their separate autonomic and behavioral neural correlates, and convolved to examine psycho-autonomic interaction (PAI) effects. Across all stimuli, “threatening,” compared with “harmless” behavioral assessments were associated with mainly frontal and precuneus activation with specific within-modality activations including bilateral parahippocampal gyri (pictures), bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and frontal pole (sentences), and right Heschl's gyrus and bilateral temporal gyri (sounds). Across stimulus modalities SCRs were associated with activation of parieto-occipito-thalamic regions, an activation pattern which was largely replicated within-modality. In contrast, PAI analyses revealed modality-specific activations including right fusiform/parahippocampal gyrus (pictures), right insula (sentences), and mid-cingulate gyrus (sounds). Phasic SCR activity was positively correlated with an individual's propensity to assess stimuli as “threatening.” SCRs may modulate cognitive assessments on a “harmless–threatening” dimension, thereby modulating affective tone and hence behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom F D Farrow
- Sheffield Cognition and Neuroimaging Laboratory, Academic Clinical Psychiatry, University of Sheffield Sheffield, UK
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Winkler AD, Hu S, Li CSR. The influence of risky and conservative mental sets on cerebral activations of cognitive control. Int J Psychophysiol 2012; 87:254-61. [PMID: 22922525 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2011] [Revised: 08/09/2012] [Accepted: 08/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Mental set is known to influence cognitive functioning. Risk-seeking and risk-aversive mental sets alter cerebral responses to conflicting events. Here, building on our previous imaging work of the stop signal task, we introduced a "reward uncertainty" condition to elicit changes in participants' mental sets and examined how individual differences altered the neural responses to salient events. Approximately half of 27 adult participants - the Conservatives - became more risk-aversive in the "reward" as compared to the "standard" condition, by slowing down in go reaction time. We hypothesized that stop errors were more salient for these participants, as compared to the other subjects - the Riskys - who speeded up in go reaction time in the reward as compared to standard condition. With statistical parametric mapping, we showed greater activation of the retrosplenial cortex, somatosensory cortex, pre-supplementary motor area, and thalamus during stop error, in contrast to stop success trials, in the Conservatives as compared to Riskys. These results provided evidence that mental set influences cerebral activations during stop signal performance and extended the potential utility of the stop signal task in elucidating the contextual effects on cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa D Winkler
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
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