Uncertainty in anticipation of uncomfortable rectal distension is modulated by the autonomic nervous system--a fMRI study in healthy volunteers

The effect of unpredictability on the perception of pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Despite being widely assumed, the worsening impact of unpredictability on pain perception remains unclear because of conflicting empirical evidence, and a lack of systematic integration of past research findings. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on the effect of unpredictability on pain perception. We also conducted meta-regression analyses to examine the moderating effect of several moderators associated with pain and unpredictability: stimulus duration, calibrated stimulus pain intensity, pain intensity expectation, controllability, anticipation delay, state and trait negative affectivity, sex/gender and age of the participants, type of unpredictability (intensity, onset, duration, location), and method of pain induction (thermal, electrical, mechanical pressure, mechanical distention). We included 73 experimental studies with adult volunteers manipulating the (un)predictability of painful stimuli and measuring perceived pain intensity and pain unpleasantness in predictable and unpredictable contexts. Because there are insufficient studies with patients, we focused on healthy volunteers. Our results did not reveal any effect of unpredictability on pain perception. However, several significant moderators were found, ie, targeted stimulus pain intensity, expected pain intensity, and state negative affectivity. Trait negative affectivity and uncontrollability showed no significant effect, presumably because of the low number of included studies. Thus, further investigation is necessary to clearly determine their role in unpredictable pain perception.

A mesocorticolimbic signature of pleasure in the human brain

Pleasure is a fundamental driver of human behaviour, yet its neural basis remains largely unknown. Rodent studies highlight opioidergic neural circuits connecting the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, insula and orbitofrontal cortex as critical for the initiation and regulation of pleasure, and human neuroimaging studies exhibit some translational parity. However, whether activation in these regions conveys a generalizable representation of pleasure regulated by opioidergic mechanisms remains unclear. Here we use pattern recognition techniques to develop a human functional magnetic resonance imaging signature of mesocorticolimbic activity unique to states of pleasure. In independent validation tests, this signature is sensitive to pleasant tastes and affect evoked by humour. The signature is spatially co-extensive with mu-opioid receptor gene expression, and its response is attenuated by the opioid antagonist naloxone. These findings provide evidence for a basis of pleasure in humans that is distributed across brain systems.

Cough Sensitivity to Several External Triggers is Associated with Multiple Non-respiratory Symptoms

PURPOSE

Enhanced responsiveness to external triggers is thought to reflect hypersensitivity of the cough reflex. It may involve an enhanced sensitivity of the afferent nerves in the airways and/or an abnormal processing of the afferent information by the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS processing of cough has been shown to involve the same regions as those in symptom amplification, a phenomenon that often manifests as multiple symptoms. The main purpose of the present study was to define whether the presence of several cough triggers is associated with multiple symptoms.

METHODS

2131 subjects with current cough responding to two email surveys filled in a comprehensive questionnaire about social background, lifestyle, general health, doctors' diagnoses and visits, symptoms, and medication. Multiple symptoms was defined as three or more non-respiratory, non-mental symptoms.

RESULTS

A carefully controlled multiple regression analysis revealed that the number of cough triggers was the only cough characteristic associating with multiple non-respiratory, non-mental symptoms [aOR 1.15 (1.12-1.19) per one trigger, p < 0.001]. Among the 268 subjects with current cough both in the first survey and in the follow-up survey 12 months later, the repeatability of the trigger sum was good with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.80 (0.75-0.84).

CONCLUSION

The association between the number of the cough triggers and multiple symptoms suggests that the CNS component of cough hypersensitivity may be a manifestation of non-specific alteration in the CNS interpretation of various body sensations. The number of cough triggers is a repeatable measure of cough sensitivity.

Gut Microbiome-Brain Alliance: A Landscape View into Mental and Gastrointestinal Health and Disorders

Gut microbiota includes a vast collection of microorganisms residing within the gastrointestinal tract. It is broadly recognized that the gut and brain are in constant bidirectional communication, of which gut microbiota and its metabolic production are a major component, and form the so-called gut microbiome-brain axis. Disturbances of microbiota homeostasis caused by imbalance in their functional composition and metabolic activities, known as dysbiosis, cause dysregulation of these pathways and trigger changes in the blood-brain barrier permeability, thereby causing pathological malfunctions, including neurological and functional gastrointestinal disorders. In turn, the brain can affect the structure and function of gut microbiota through the autonomic nervous system by regulating gut motility, intestinal transit and secretion, and gut permeability. Here, we examine data from the CAS Content Collection, the largest collection of published scientific information, and analyze the publication landscape of recent research. We review the advances in knowledge related to the human gut microbiome, its complexity and functionality, its communication with the central nervous system, and the effect of the gut microbiome-brain axis on mental and gut health. We discuss correlations between gut microbiota composition and various diseases, specifically gastrointestinal and mental disorders. We also explore gut microbiota metabolites with regard to their impact on the brain and gut function and associated diseases. Finally, we assess clinical applications of gut-microbiota-related substances and metabolites with their development pipelines. We hope this review can serve as a useful resource in understanding the current knowledge on this emerging field in an effort to further solving of the remaining challenges and fulfilling its potential.

The effect of information seeking behaviors in fear control

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Individuals experiencing conditioned fear reactions often resort to avoidance and escape behaviors as attempts to decrease fear. Nevertheless, these strategies are not always available. In such cases, people seek information to mitigate aversive events. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of information seeking behaviors on self-reported fear, predictability, and physiological responses.

METHODS

Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. In group one, individuals were given the choice to perform an instrumental behavior which provided information about the occurrence of either an aversive or a neutral event (100% contingency). In group two, individuals were also allowed to perform an instrumental behavior. However, such behavior provided partial information (50% contingency).

RESULTS

Individuals in group one presented lower levels of fear compared to individuals assigned to group two.

LIMITATIONS

The generalizability of the results may be restricted to undergraduate students.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggests that when avoidance and escape are not available, individuals seek information that provides control over fear. Clinical implications are discussed.

The Amplification of Symptoms in the Medically Ill

The mechanism of symptom amplification, developed in the study of somatization, may be helpful in caring for patients with symptoms that, while they have a demonstrable medical basis, are nonetheless disproportionately severe and distressing. Amplified medical symptoms are marked by disproportionate physical suffering, unduly negative thoughts and concerns about them, and elevated levels of health-related anxiety. They are accompanied by extensive and sustained illness behaviors, disproportionate difficulty compartmentalizing them and circumscribing their impact, and consequent problems and dissatisfaction with their medical care. A distinction has long been made between "medically explained" and "medically unexplained" symptoms. However, a more comprehensive view of symptom phenomenology undermines this distinction and places all symptoms along a smooth continuum regardless of cause: Recent findings in cognitive neuroscience suggest that all symptoms-regardless of origin-are processed through convergent pathways. The complete conscious experience of both medically "explained" and "unexplained" symptoms is an amalgam of a viscerosomatic sensation fused with its ascribed salience and the patient's ideas, expectations, and concerns about the sensation. This emerging empirical evidence furnishes a basis for viewing persistent, disproportionately distressing symptoms of demonstrable disease along a continuum with medically unexplained symptoms. Thus, therapeutic modalities developed for somatization and medically unexplained symptoms can be helpful in the care of seriously ill medical patients with amplified symptoms. These interventions include educational groups for coping with chronic illness, cognitive therapies for dysfunctional thoughts, behavioral strategies for maladaptive illness behaviors, psychotherapy for associated emotional distress, and consultation with mental health professionals to assist the primary care physician with difficulties in medical management.

A multistudy analysis reveals that evoked pain intensity representation is distributed across brain systems

Information is coded in the brain at multiple anatomical scales: locally, distributed across regions and networks, and globally. For pain, the scale of representation has not been formally tested, and quantitative comparisons of pain representations across regions and networks are lacking. In this multistudy analysis of 376 participants across 11 studies, we compared multivariate predictive models to investigate the spatial scale and location of evoked heat pain intensity representation. We compared models based on (a) a single most pain-predictive region or resting-state network; (b) pain-associated cortical-subcortical systems developed from prior literature ("multisystem models"); and (c) a model spanning the full brain. We estimated model accuracy using leave-one-study-out cross-validation (CV; 7 studies) and subsequently validated in 4 independent holdout studies. All spatial scales conveyed information about pain intensity, but distributed, multisystem models predicted pain 20% more accurately than any individual region or network and were more generalizable to multimodal pain (thermal, visceral, and mechanical) and specific to pain. Full brain models showed no predictive advantage over multisystem models. These findings show that multiple cortical and subcortical systems are needed to decode pain intensity, especially heat pain, and that representation of pain experience may not be circumscribed by any elementary region or canonical network. Finally, the learner generalization methods we employ provide a blueprint for evaluating the spatial scale of information in other domains.

Regional Gray Matter Volume Changes in Brains of Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are 2 subtypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Several studies have reported brain abnormalities in IBD patients. This study aims to identify differences of gray matter volume (GMV) between patients with UC and healthy controls (HCs).

METHODS

Fifty-seven patients with UC and 40 HCs underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Voxel-based morphometry method was used to detect GMV differences. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to investigate reliable biomarkers for identifying patients with UC from HCs. Regression analysis was used to examine relationships between the structure alternations and clinical symptoms.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, patients with UC showed decreased GMV in the insula, thalamus, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus/parahippocampus, amygdala, and temporal pole; they showed increased GMV in the putamen, supplementary motor area, periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, and precentral gyrus. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed the highest classification power of thalamus. The inclusion of anxiety and depression as covariates eliminated the differences in the right insula, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, and precentral gyrus. Most of the GMV changes were found in active patients with UC, with few changes in patients with UC in remission. We also found significantly negative correlation between UC duration and GMV in several regions.

CONCLUSION

The current neuroimaging findings were involved in visceral sensory pathways and were partially associated with the levels of anxiety and depression and clinical stage of patients with UC. This study might provide evidence for possible neuromechanisms of UC.

Predicting acupuncture efficacy for functional dyspepsia based on routine clinical features: a machine learning study in the framework of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine

Background

Acupuncture is safe and effective for functional dyspepsia (FD), while its efficacy varies among individuals. Predicting the response of different FD patients to acupuncture treatment in advance and therefore administering the tailored treatment to the individual is consistent with the principle of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3PM). In the current study, the individual efficacy prediction models were developed based on the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm and routine clinical features, aiming to predict the efficacy of acupuncture in treating FD and identify the FD patients who were appropriate to acupuncture treatment.

Methods

A total of 745 FD patients were collected from two clinical trials. All the patients received a 4-week acupuncture treatment. Based on the demographic and baseline clinical features of 80% of patients in trial 1, the SVM models were established to predict the acupuncture response and improvements of symptoms and quality of life (QoL) at the end of treatment. Then, the left 20% of patients in trial 1 and 193 patients in trial 2 were respectively applied to evaluate the internal and external generalizations of these models.

Results

These models could predict the efficacy of acupuncture successfully. In the internal test set, models achieved an accuracy of 0.773 in predicting acupuncture response and an R ² of 0.446 and 0.413 in the prediction of QoL and symptoms improvements, respectively. Additionally, these models had well generalization in the independent validation set and could also predict, to a certain extent, the long-term efficacy of acupuncture at the 12-week follow-up. The gender, subtype of disease, and education level were finally identified as the critical predicting features.

Conclusion

Based on the SVM algorithm and routine clinical features, this study established the models to predict acupuncture efficacy for FD patients. The prediction models developed accordingly are promising to assist doctors in judging patients' responses to acupuncture in advance, so that they could tailor and adjust acupuncture treatment plans for different patients in a prospective rather than the reactive manner, which could greatly improve the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment for FD and save medical expenditures.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13167-022-00271-8.

Aberrant functional brain network dynamics in patients with functional constipation

The aberrant static functional connectivity of brain network has been widely investigated in patients with functional constipation (FCon). However, the dynamics of brain functional connectivity in FCon patients remained unknown. This study aimed to detect the brain dynamics of functional connectivity states and network topological organizations of FCon patients and investigate the correlations of the aberrant brain dynamics with symptom severity. Eighty-three FCon patients and 80 healthy subjects (HS) were included in data analysis. The spatial group independent component analysis, sliding-window approach, k-means clustering, and graph-theoretic analysis were applied to investigate the dynamic temporal properties and coupling patterns of functional connectivity states, as well as the time-variation of network topological organizations in FCon patients. Four reoccurring functional connectivity states were identified in k-means clustering analysis. Compared to HS, FCon patients manifested the lower occurrence rate and mean dwell time in the state with a complex connection between default mode network and cognitive control network, as well as the aberrant anterior insula-cortical coupling patterns in this state, which were significantly correlated with the symptom severity. The graph-theoretic analysis demonstrated that FCon patients had higher sample entropy at the nodal efficiency of anterior insula than HS. The current findings provided dynamic perspectives for understanding the brain connectome of FCon and laid the foundation for the potential treatment of FCon based on brain connectomics.

Functional constipation is associated with alterations in thalamo-limbic/parietal structural connectivity

BACKGROUND

Functional constipation (FCon) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) with a high prevalence in clinical practice. Previous studies have identified that FCon is associated with functional and structural alterations in the primary brain regions involved in emotional arousal processing, sensory processing, somatic/motor-control, and self-referential processing. However, whether FCon is associated with abnormal structural connectivity (SC) among these brain regions remains unclear.

METHODS

We selected the brain regions with functional and structural abnormalities as seed regions and employed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with probabilistic tractography to investigate SC changes in 29 patients with FCon and 31 healthy controls (HC).

KEY RESULTS

Results showed lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the fibers connecting the thalamus, a region involved in sensory processing, with the amygdala (AMY), hippocampal gyrus (HIPP), precentral (PreCen) and postcentral gyrus (PostCen), supplementary motor area (SMA) and precuneus in patients with FCon compared with HC. FCon had higher mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) in the thalamus connected to the AMY and HIPP. In addition, FCon had significantly increased RD of the thalamus-SMA tract. Sensation of incomplete evacuation was negatively correlated with FA of the thalamus-PostCen and thalamus-HIPP tracts, and there was a negative correlation between difficulty of defecation and FA of the thalamus-SMA tract.

CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES

These findings reflected that FCon is associated with alterations in SC between the thalamus and limbic/parietal cortex, highlighting the integrative role of the thalamus in brain structural network.

Cortical morphometry alterations in brain regions involved in emotional, motor-control and self-referential processing in patients with functional constipation

Functional constipation (FC) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID). Neuroimaging studies on patients with FC showed brain functional abnormalities in regions involved in emotional process modulation, somatic and sensory processing and motor control. Brain structural imaging studies in patients with FGID have also shown disease-related alterations in cortical morphometry, but whether and how FC affects brain structure remains unclear. Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging and surface-based morphometry analysis were used to investigate the impact of FC on cortical morphometry in 29 patients with FC and 29 healthy controls (HC). Results showed that patients with FC compared to HC had significantly decreased cortical thickness in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), dorsomedial (DMPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal gyrus (VMPFC), right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and supplementary motor area (SMA) (P < 0.01). Correlation analysis showed that sensation of incomplete evacuation was negatively correlated with cortical thickness in the SMA (P < 0.0001). In addition, patients with FC also had decreased cortical volume than HC in the MTG, precentral gyrus (PreCen) and precuneus/cuneus (P < 0.01), as well as decreased cortical surface area in the PreCen (P < 0.01). No correlation was found between cortical volume/surface area and behavioral measures. These findings suggest that patients with FC are associated with cortical morphometric abnormalities in brain regions implicated in somatic/motor-control, emotional processing and self-referential processing.

Changes in the anterior cingulate cortex in Crohn's disease: A neuroimaging perspective

INTRODUCTION

Evidence suggests that Crohn's disease (CD) pathophysiology goes beyond the gastrointestinal tract and is also strongly associated with the brain. In particular, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which plays an integral role in the first brain as part of the default mode network (DMN) and pain matrix, shows abnormalities using multiple neuroimaging modalities. This review summarizes nine related studies that investigated changes in the ACC using structural magnetic resonance imaging, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

METHODS

An extensive PubMed literature search was conducted from 1980 to August 2020. In a review of the articles identified, particular attention was paid to analysis methods, technical protocol characteristics, and specific changes in the ACC.

RESULTS

In terms of morphology, a decrease in gray matter volume and cortical thickness was observed along with an increase in local gyrification index. In terms of function, functional connectivity (FC) within the DMN was increased. FC between the ACC and the amygdala was decreased. Higher amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation and graph theory results, including connectivity strength, clustering coefficient, and local efficiency, were detected. In terms of neurotransmitter changes, the concentrations of glutamate increased along with a decrease in gamma-aminobutyric acid, providing a rational explanation for abdominal pain. These changes may be attributed to stress, pain, and negative emotions, as well as changes in gut microbiota.

CONCLUSIONS

For patients with CD, the ACC demonstrates structural, functional, and metabolic changes. In terms of clinical findings, the ACC plays an important role in the onset of depression/anxiety and abdominal pain. Therefore, successful modulation of this pathway may guide treatment.

Imaging Brain Mechanisms of Functional Somatic Syndromes: Potential as a Biomarker?

When patients present with persistent bodily complaints that cannot be explained by a symptom-linked organic pathology (medically unexplained symptoms), they are diagnosed with 'functional' somatic syndromes (FSS). Despite their prevalence, the management of FSS is notoriously challenging in clinical practice. This may be because FSS are heterogeneous disorders in terms of etiopathogenesis. They include patients with primarily peripheral dysfunction, primarily centrally driven somatic symptoms, and a mix of both. Brain-imaging studies, particularly data-driven pattern recognition methods using machine learning algorithms, could provide brain-based biomarkers for these clinical conditions. In this review, we provide an overview of our brain imaging data on brain-body interactions in one of the most well-known FSS, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and discuss the possible development of a brain-based biomarker for FSS. Anticipation of unpredictable pain, which commonly elicits fear in FSS patients, induced increased activity in brain areas associated with hypervigilance during rectal distention and non-distention conditions in IBS. This was coupled with dysfunctional inhibitory influence of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) on stress regulation systems, resulting in the activated autonomic nervous system (ANS) and neuroendocrine system stimulated by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). IBS subjects with higher alexithymia, a risk factor for FSS, showed stronger activity in the insula during rectal distention but reduced subjective sensitivity. Reduced top-down regulation of the ANS and CRH system by mPFC and pACC, discordance between the insula response to stimulation and subjective sensation of pain, and stronger threat responses in hypervigilance-related areas may be a candidate brain-based biomarker.

Recent advances in neuroimaging of bladder, bowel and sexual function

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

In this review, we summarize recent advances in the understanding of the neural control of the bladder, bowel and sexual function, in both men and women.

RECENT FINDINGS

Evidence of supraspinal areas controlling the storage of urine and micturition in animals, such as the pontine micturition centre, emerged in the early 20th century. Neurological stimulation and lesion studies in humans provided additional indirect evidence for additional bladder-related brain areas. Thereafter, functional neuroimaging in humans with PET and fMRI provided more direct evidence of the involvement of these brain areas. The areas involved in the storage and expulsion of urine also seem to be involved in the central control of storage and expulsion of feces. Furthermore, most knowledge on the brain control of sexual function is obtained from dynamic imaging in human volunteers. Relatively little is known about the dysfunctional central circuits in patients with pelvic organ dysfunction.

SUMMARY

fMRI has been the most widely used functional neuroimaging technique in the last decade to study the central control of bladder function, anorectal function and sexual function. The studies described in this review show which sensory and motor areas are involved, including cortical and subcortical areas. We propose the existence of a switch-like phenomenon located in the pons controlling micturition, defecation and orgasm.

Anticipation and violated expectation of pain are influenced by trait rumination: An fMRI study

Rumination – as a stable tendency to focus repetitively on feelings related to distress – represents a transdiagnostic risk factor. Theories suggest altered emotional information processing as the key mechanism of rumination. However, studies on the anticipation processes in relation to rumination are scarce, even though expectation in this process is demonstrated to influence the processing of emotional stimuli. In addition, no published study has investigated violated expectation in relation to rumination yet. In the present study we examined the neural correlates of pain anticipation and perception using a fear conditioning paradigm with pain as the unconditioned stimulus in healthy subjects (N = 30). Rumination was assessed with the 10-item Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Widespread brain activation – extending to temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes along with activation in the cingulate cortex, insula, and putamen – showed a positive correlation with rumination, supporting our hypothesis that trait rumination influences anticipatory processes. Interestingly, with violated expectation (when an unexpected, non-painful stimulus follows a pain cue compared to when an expected, painful stimulus follows the same pain cue) a negative association between rumination and activation was found in the posterior cingulate cortex, which is responsible for change detection in the environment and subsequent behavioral modification. Our results suggest that rumination is associated with increased neural response to pain perception and pain anticipation, and may deteriorate the identification of an unexpected omission of aversive stimuli. Therefore, targeting rumination in cognitive behavioral therapy of chronic pain could have a beneficial effect.

Heart Rate Variability, Cue-Evoked Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortical Response, and Problem Alcohol Use in Adult Drinkers

BACKGROUND

Many studies employed cue exposure paradigms to investigate the neural processes underlying cue-elicited alcohol craving. Cue exposure elicits robust autonomic reactivity. However, whether or how cue-elicited autonomic response relates to the severity of alcohol misuse and the neural bases underlying the potential relationship remain unclear.

METHODS

We examined cue-related brain activations in association with heart rate variability, as indexed by the root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD), during alcohol versus neutral cue blocks in 50 adult alcohol drinkers (24 men). Imaging and heart rate variability data were collected and processed with published routines. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the interrelationship between regional activities, cue-elicited changes in RMSSD, and the severity of problem alcohol use, as assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).

RESULTS

The results showed higher RMSSD during alcohol than during neutral cue exposures, with alcohol (vs. neutral) cue-evoked RMSSD positively correlated with AUDIT score. Further, alcohol (vs. neutral) cue-elicited activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was negatively correlated both with increases in RMSSD and with the AUDIT score. Mediation analyses suggested that the RMSSD mediated the relationship between ventromedial prefrontal cortex cue activity and the AUDIT score.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings substantiate the neural correlates of the presumably parasympathetic response during alcohol cue exposure and the interrelationship among ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity, autonomic response, and problem alcohol use.

Concurrent amygdalar and ventromedial prefrontal cortical responses during emotion processing: a meta-analysis of the effects of valence of emotion and passive exposure versus active regulation

Anatomically interconnected, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala interact in emotion processing. However, no meta-analyses have focused on studies that reported concurrent vmPFC and amygdala activities. With activation likelihood estimation (ALE) we examined 100 experiments that reported concurrent vmPFC and amygdala activities, and distinguished responses to positive vs. negative emotions and to passive exposure to vs. active regulation of emotions. We also investigated whole-brain experiments for other regional activities. ALE and contrast analyses identified convergent anterior and posterior vmPFC response to passive positive and negative emotions, respectively, and a subregion in between to mixed emotions. A smaller area in the posterior ventral vmPFC is specifically involved in regulation of negative emotion. Whereas bilateral amygdala was involved during emotional exposure, only the left amygdala showed convergent activities during active regulation of negative emotions. Whole-brain analysis showed convergent activity in left ventral striatum for passive exposure to positive emotions and downregulation of negative emotions, and in the posterior cingulate cortex and ventral precuneus for passive exposure to negative emotions. These findings highlight contrasting, valence-specific subregional vmPFC as well as other regional responses during passive exposure to emotions. The findings also suggest that hyperactivation of the vmPFC is associated with diminished right amygdala activities during regulation of negative emotions. Together, the findings extend the literature by specifying the roles of subregional vmPFC and amygdala activities in emotion processing.

Regions of the brain activated in bladder filling vs rectal distention in healthy adults: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies

AIMS

Adults with pelvic floor disorders commonly present with overlapping bladder and bowel symptoms; however, the relationship between urinary and defecatory dysfunction is not well understood. Our aim was to compare and determine if overlapping brain regions are activated during bladder filling and rectal distention in healthy adults.

METHODS

We conducted separate Pubmed searches for neuroimaging studies investigating the effects of rectal distention and bladder filling on brain activation in healthy subjects. Coordinates of activated regions were extracted with cluster-level threshold P < .05 and compared using the activation likelihood estimate approach. Results from the various studies were pooled and a contrast analysis was performed to identify any common areas of activation between bladder filling and rectal distension.

RESULTS

We identified 96 foci of activation from 14 neuroimaging studies on bladder filling and 182 foci from 17 studies on rectal distension in healthy adults. Regions activated during bladder filling included right insula, right and left thalamus, and right periaqueductal grey. Regions activated during rectal distention included right and left insula, right and left thalamus, left postcentral gyrus, and right inferior parietal lobule. Contrast analysis revealed common activation of the right insula with both rectal distention and bladder filling.

CONCLUSION

Bladder filling and rectal distention activate several separate areas of the brain involved in sensory processing in healthy adults. The common activation of the insula, the region responsible for interoception, in these two conditions may offer an explanation for the coexistence of bladder and defecatory symptoms in pelvic floor disorders.

From Anticipation to the Experience of Pain: The Importance of Visceral Versus Somatic Pain Modality in Neural and Behavioral Responses to Pain-Predictive Cues

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare behavioral and neural anticipatory responses to cues predicting either somatic or visceral pain in an associative learning paradigm.

METHODS

Healthy women (N = 22) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. During an acquisition phase, two different visual cues repeatedly signalled either experimental visceral or somatic pain. In a subsequent extinction phase, identical cues were presented without pain. Before and after each phase, cue valence and contingency awareness were assessed on visual analog scales.

RESULTS

Visceral compared to somatic pain-predictive cues were rated as more unpleasant after acquisition (visceral, 32.18 ± 13.03 mm; somatic, -18.36 ± 10.36 mm; p = .021) with similarly accurate cue-pain contingencies. After extinction, cue valence returned to baseline for both modalities (visceral, 1.55 ± 9.81 mm; somatic, -18.45 ± 7.12; p = .41). During acquisition, analyses of cue-induced neural responses revealed joint neural activation engaging areas associated with attention processing and cognitive control. Enhanced deactivation of posterior insula to visceral cues was observed, which correlated with enhanced responses within the salience network (anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula) during visceral compared to somatic pain stimulation. During extinction, both pain modalities induced anticipatory neural activation in the extinction and salience network (all pFWE values < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Conditioned emotional responses to pain-predictive cues are modality specific and enhanced for the visceral modality, suggesting that pain anticipation is shaped by the salience of painful stimuli. Common but also modality-specific neural mechanisms are involved during cue-pain learning, whereas extinction of cued responses seems unaffected by modality. Future research should examine potential implications for the pathophysiology of chronic pain conditions, especially chronic visceral pain.

The central autonomic network at rest: Uncovering functional MRI correlates of time-varying autonomic outflow

Peripheral measures of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity at rest have been extensively employed as putative biomarkers of autonomic cardiac control. However, a comprehensive characterization of the brain-based central autonomic network (CAN) sustaining cardiovascular oscillations at rest is missing, limiting the interpretability of these ANS measures as biomarkers of cardiac control. We evaluated combined cardiac and fMRI data from 34 healthy subjects from the Human Connectome Project to detect brain areas functionally linked to cardiovagal modulation at rest. Specifically, we combined voxel-wise fMRI analysis with instantaneous heartbeat and spectral estimates obtained from inhomogeneous linear point-process models. We found exclusively negative associations between cardiac parasympathetic activity at rest and a widespread network including bilateral anterior insulae, right dorsal middle and left posterior insula, right parietal operculum, bilateral medial dorsal and ventrolateral posterior thalamic nuclei, anterior and posterior mid-cingulate cortex, medial frontal gyrus/pre-supplementary motor area. Conversely, we found only positive associations between instantaneous heart rate and brain activity in areas including frontopolar cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, anterior, middle and posterior cingulate cortices, superior frontal gyrus, and precuneus. Taken together, our data suggests a much wider involvement of diverse brain areas in the CAN at rest than previously thought, which could reflect a differential (both spatially and directionally) CAN activation according to the underlying task. Our insight into CAN activity at rest also allows the investigation of its impairment in clinical populations in which task-based fMRI is difficult to obtain (e.g., comatose patients or infants).

The gut-brain axis in health neuroscience: implications for functional gastrointestinal disorders and appetite regulation

Over the past few years, scientific interest in the gut-brain axis (i.e., the bidirectional communication system between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain) has exploded, mostly due to the identification of the gut microbiota as a novel key player in this communication. However, important progress has also been made in other aspects of gut-brain axis research, which has been relatively underemphasized in the review literature. Therefore, in this review, we provide a comprehensive, although not exhaustive, overview of recent research on the functional neuroanatomy of the gut-brain axis and its relevance toward the multidisciplinary field of health neuroscience, excluding studies on the role of the gut microbiota. More specifically, we first focus on irritable bowel syndrome, after which we outline recent findings on the role of the gut-brain axis in appetite and feeding regulation, primarily focusing on the impact of subliminal nutrient-related gut-brain signals. We conclude by providing future perspectives to facilitate translation of the findings from gut-brain axis neuroscientific research to clinical applications in these domains.

Brain MRI Lesions are Related to Bowel Incontinence in Multiple Sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Bowel incontinence in multiple sclerosis might be associated with specific lesion sites. This study intended to determine associations between bowel incontinence and cerebral multiple sclerosis lesions using a voxel-wise lesion symptom mapping analysis.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of multiple sclerosis patients with self-reported bowel incontinence and matched controls. Lesions were manually outlined on T2-weighted MRI scans and transformed into stereotaxic space. We performed a voxel-wise subtraction analysis subtracting the lesion overlap of patients without from patients with bowel incontinence. Finally, we compared the absence or presence of bowel incontinence between patients with and without lesions in a given voxel using the Liebermeister test.

RESULTS

A total of 51 patients were included in the study. The analysis yielded associations between bowel incontinence and lesions in the supramarginal gyrus of the left secondary somatosensory cortex and another lesion cluster in the right parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis indicates associations between bowel incontinence and lesions in the left supramarginal gyral area contributing to integrating anorectal-visceral sensation and in the right parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala contributing to generating visceral autonomic arousal states. Moreover, our results suggest left hemispheric dominance of sensory visceral integration, while limbic areas of the right hemisphere seem to contribute to the autonomic component of the defecation process. A limitation of our study is the retrospective evaluation of the bowel incontinence status based on medical records. Further research should evaluate the bowel incontinence status in multiple sclerosis patients prospectively to overcome the limitations of the current study.

Uncertain is worse: modulation of anxiety on pain anticipation by intensity uncertainty: evidence from the ERP study

To investigate the effect of uncertain information in the anticipation phase, this study used four cues to inform participants that they would face four kinds of subsequent electrical shocks: low-intensity shock, high-intensity shock, 50-50% chance of low-intensity or high-intensity shock, and no shock. Subjective evaluation on the anxiety elicited by different cues showed that uncertain cues aroused higher anxiety than certain cues, but the effect was observed only at low-intensity shock. The electroencephalogram data revealed that uncertain-shock cue elicited significantly larger stimulus-preceding negativity than certain-high-shock cue at the frontal site. The uncertain-shock cue and certain-high-shock cue both elicited significantly larger stimulus-preceding negativity than the cues of certain-low-shock and nonshock, respectively. Uncertain cues elicited significantly larger pain-evoked P2 than certain cues. The results implied that uncertainty of information regarding shock intensity captured more motivational engagement, aroused higher anxiety on anticipating for the electrical shock, and elicited higher perceived pain of shock stimulation.

The control of tonic pain by active relief learning

Tonic pain after injury characterises a behavioural state that prioritises recovery. Although generally suppressing cognition and attention, tonic pain needs to allow effective relief learning to reduce the cause of the pain. Here, we describe a central learning circuit that supports learning of relief and concurrently suppresses the level of ongoing pain. We used computational modelling of behavioural, physiological and neuroimaging data in two experiments in which subjects learned to terminate tonic pain in static and dynamic escape-learning paradigms. In both studies, we show that active relief-seeking involves a reinforcement learning process manifest by error signals observed in the dorsal putamen. Critically, this system uses an uncertainty ('associability') signal detected in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex that both controls the relief learning rate, and endogenously and parametrically modulates the level of tonic pain. The results define a self-organising learning circuit that reduces ongoing pain when learning about potential relief.

Generalizable representations of pain, cognitive control, and negative emotion in medial frontal cortex

The medial frontal cortex (MFC), including anterior midcingulate cortex, has been linked to multiple psychological domains, including cognitive control, pain, and emotion. However, it is unclear whether this region encodes representations of these domains that are generalizable across studies and subdomains. Additionally, if there are generalizable representations, do they reflect a single underlying process shared across domains, or multiple domain-specific processes? We decomposed multivariate patterns of fMRI activity from 270 participants across 18 studies into study-specific, subdomain-specific, and domain-specific components, and identified latent multivariate representations that generalized across subdomains but were specific to each domain. Pain representations were localized to anterior midcingulate cortex, negative emotion representations to ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and cognitive control representations to portions of the dorsal midcingulate. These findings provide evidence for MFC representations that generalize across studies and subdomains, but are specific to distinct psychological domains rather than reducible to a single underlying process.

Anxiety can significantly explain bolus perception in the context of hypotensive esophageal motility: Results of a large multicenter study in asymptomatic individuals

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have not been able to correlate manometry findings with bolus perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate correlation of different variables, including traditional manometric variables (at diagnostic and extreme thresholds), esophageal shortening, bolus transit, automated impedance manometry (AIM) metrics and mood with bolus passage perception in a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals.

METHODS

High resolution manometry (HRM) was performed in healthy individuals from nine centers. Perception was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale. Anxiety was evaluated using Hospitalized Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). Subgroup analysis was also performed classifying studies into normal, hypotensive, vigorous, and obstructive patterns.

KEY RESULTS

One hundred fifteen studies were analyzed (69 using HRM and 46 using high resolution impedance manometry (HRIM); 3.5% swallows in 9.6% of volunteers were perceived. There was no correlation of any of the traditional HRM variables, esophageal shortening, AIM metrics nor bolus transit with perception scores. There was no HRM variable showing difference in perception when comparing normal vs extreme values (percentile 1 or 99). Anxiety but not depression was correlated with perception. Among hypotensive pattern, anxiety was a strong predictor of variance in perception (R² up to .70).

CONCLUSION AND INFERENCES

Bolus perception is less common than abnormal motility among healthy individuals. Neither esophageal motor function nor bolus dynamics evaluated with several techniques seems to explain differences in bolus perception. Different mechanisms seem to be relevant in different manometric patterns. Anxiety is a significant predictor of bolus perception in the context of hypotensive motility.

Dread of uncertain pain: An event-related potential study

Humans experience more stress about uncertain situations than certain situations. However, the neural mechanism underlying the uncertainty of a negative stimulus has not been determined. In the present study, event-related potential was recorded to examine neural responses during the dread of unpredictable pain. We used a cueing paradigm in which predictable cues were always followed by electric shocks, unpredictable cues by electric shocks at a 50/50 ratio and safe cues by no electric shock. Visual analogue scales following electric shocks were presented to quantify subjective anxiety levels. The behavioral results showed that unpredictable cues evoked high-level anxiety compared with predictable cues in both painful and unpainful stimulation conditions. More importantly, the ERPs results revealed that unpredictable cues elicited a larger P200 at parietal sites than predictable cues. In addition, unpredictable cues evoked larger P200 compared with safe cues at frontal electrodes and compared with predictable cues at parietal electrodes. In addition, larger P3b and LPP were observed during perception of safe cues compared with predictable cues at frontal and central electrodes. The similar P3b effect was also revealed in the left sites. The present study underlined that the uncertain dread of pain was associated with threat appraisal process in pain system. These findings on early event-related potentials were significant for a neural marker and development of therapeutic interventions.

The relevance of uncertainty and goal conflict to mental disorders, their prevention and management: a unifying approach

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has been shown to underlie a range of disorders. Technological advances have produced a decline in our development of an ability to wait in the face of uncertainty. The paper provides an update on empirical, theoretical and neural research in IU. Einstein's extended trandiagnostic model of IU is described. This model is based on control theory. The research update and IU model propose specific tools which can be implemented within transdiagnostic treatment approaches.

Brain responses to uncertainty about upcoming rectal discomfort in quiescent Crohn's disease - a fMRI study

BACKGROUND

Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in remission are exposed to chronic psychological distress, due to the constant risk of relapse. This permanent situation of anticipation and uncertainty can lead to anxiety, which may, in turn, trigger relapse. We aimed to investigate the effects of uncertainty on behavioral and brain responses to anticipation of visceral discomfort in quiescent CD patients.

METHODS

Barostat-controlled rectal distensions were preceded by cued uncertain or certain anticipation in nine CD patients and nine matched healthy volunteers. Brain responses obtained before distension across the different anticipation conditions in regions of interest (ROI) involved in (anticipation of) pain were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging and compared between CD and controls. The association between anxiety-related psychological variables and cerebral anticipatory activity was tested.

KEY RESULTS

During uncertainty, CD patients had significantly stronger activations than controls in the cingulate cortex, insula, amygdala, and thalamus with trends in the hippocampus, prefrontal, and secondary somatosensory cortex. In patients, brain responses to uncertainty in the majority of ROI correlated positively with gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety, trait-anxiety, and intolerance of uncertainty.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

In a context of uncertainty regarding occurrence of uncomfortable visceral sensations, CD is associated with excessive reactivity in brain regions known to be involved in sensory, cognitive and emotional aspects of pain processing and modulation, and threat appraisal. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of emotional and cognitive processes in CD. This may, in turn, lead to the development of new (psycho)therapeutic approaches for management of symptoms and related anxiety.

Motor, cognitive, and affective areas of the cerebral cortex influence the adrenal medulla

Modern medicine has generally viewed the concept of "psychosomatic" disease with suspicion. This view arose partly because no neural networks were known for the mind, conceptually associated with the cerebral cortex, to influence autonomic and endocrine systems that control internal organs. Here, we used transneuronal transport of rabies virus to identify the areas of the primate cerebral cortex that communicate through multisynaptic connections with a major sympathetic effector, the adrenal medulla. We demonstrate that two broad networks in the cerebral cortex have access to the adrenal medulla. The larger network includes all of the cortical motor areas in the frontal lobe and portions of somatosensory cortex. A major component of this network originates from the supplementary motor area and the cingulate motor areas on the medial wall of the hemisphere. These cortical areas are involved in all aspects of skeletomotor control from response selection to motor preparation and movement execution. The second, smaller network originates in regions of medial prefrontal cortex, including a major contribution from pregenual and subgenual regions of anterior cingulate cortex. These cortical areas are involved in higher-order aspects of cognition and affect. These results indicate that specific multisynaptic circuits exist to link movement, cognition, and affect to the function of the adrenal medulla. This circuitry may mediate the effects of internal states like chronic stress and depression on organ function and, thus, provide a concrete neural substrate for some psychosomatic illness.

Effect of acupuncture and its influence on cerebral activity in functional dyspepsia patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent gastric disorder that is difficult to manage due to lack of satisfactory treatments. Acupuncture has been studied with regard to the rising need for treating FD, but the mechanism verifying its efficacy has not yet been fully revealed. The aim of this study is to explore the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture for FD compared with a sham group.

METHODS/DESIGN

We describe a proposal for a randomized, assessor-blind, sham-controlled trial with 70 eligible participants who will be randomly allocated either into an acupuncture or a sham group. Participants in the acupuncture group will receive 10 sessions of real acupuncture treatment and those in the sham group will be treated with identical sessions using a Streitberger needle. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and metabolomics studies will be implemented before and after 4 weeks of treatment to investigate the mechanism of acupuncture. The primary outcome is a proportion of responders with adequate symptom relief and the secondary outcomes include the Nepean Dyspepsia Index - Korean version, Functional Dyspepsia-Related Quality of Life questionnaire, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, perception of bodily sensation questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression Scale. The outcomes will be evaluated before and after the treatment.

DISCUSSION

This is the first large-scale trial evaluating the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture with fMRI and metabolomic methods. We will compare real acupuncture with the Streitberger sham needle to verify the specific effect of acupuncture. The results of this trial are expected to be relevant evidences affecting policy and decision-makers associated with routine healthcare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02358486 . Date of Registration: 21 January 2015.

Viewing the Personality Traits Through a Cerebellar Lens: a Focus on the Constructs of Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, and Alexithymia

The variance in the range of personality trait expression appears to be linked to structural variance in specific brain regions. In evidencing associations between personality factors and neurobiological measures, it seems evident that the cerebellum has not been up to now thought as having a key role in personality. This paper will review the most recent structural and functional neuroimaging literature that engages the cerebellum in personality traits, as novelty seeking and harm avoidance, and it will discuss the findings in the context of contemporary theories of affective and cognitive cerebellar function. By using region of interest (ROI)- and voxel-based approaches, we recently evidenced that the cerebellar volumes correlate positively with novelty seeking scores and negatively with harm avoidance scores. Subjects who search for new situations as a novelty seeker does (and a harm avoiding does not do) show a different engagement of their cerebellar circuitries in order to rapidly adapt to changing environments. The emerging model of cerebellar functionality may explain how the cerebellar abilities in planning, controlling, and putting into action the behavior are associated to normal or abnormal personality constructs. In this framework, it is worth reporting that increased cerebellar volumes are even associated with high scores in alexithymia, construct of personality characterized by impairment in cognitive, emotional, and affective processing. On such a basis, it seems necessary to go over the traditional cortico-centric view of personality constructs and to address the function of the cerebellar system in sustaining aspects of motivational network that characterizes the different temperamental traits.

Patterns of heart rate variability and cardiac autonomic modulations in controlled and uncontrolled asthmatic patients

BACKGROUND

Previous heart rate variability (HRV) studies in asthmatic subjects (AS) demonstrate predominance of parasympathetic drive concomitant with low HRV, which is against the general belief that enhanced parasympathetic modulation improves HRV. The aim of this study was to compare patterns of HRV and cardiac autonomic modulations of AS to healthy control subjects (HS).

METHODS

Eighty AS and forty HS were enrolled in the study. Asthma control test and spirometry were used to discriminate uncontrolled (UA) from controlled (CA) asthmatic patients. Natural logarithmic (Ln) scale of total power (TP), very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) were used to evaluate HRV. Normalized low frequency (LF Norm) and high frequency (HF Norm) were used to determine sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic modulations respectively.

RESULTS

CA patients achieved significantly higher LnTP, LnLF, LnHF and HF Norm but lower LF Norm and LnLF/HF compared with UA patients (p < 0.05). Although CA patients showed increased HRV and augmented vagal modulation compared with HS, these findings were no longer significant following adjustment for mean heart rates and anti-asthma treatment. All measured HRV parameters were not significantly different in UA patients compared with the HS (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

CA is associated with enhanced parasympathetic modulations and higher HRV compared with UA. However, neither CA nor UA patients had different autonomic modulations and/or HRV compared with HS.