1
|
Cornwell BR, Didier PR, Grogans SE, Anderson AS, Islam S, Kim HC, Kuhn M, Tillman RM, Hur J, Scott ZS, Fox AS, DeYoung KA, Smith JF, Shackman AJ. A shared threat-anticipation circuit is dynamically engaged at different moments by certain and uncertain threat. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.10.602972. [PMID: 39026814 PMCID: PMC11257510 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.10.602972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Temporal dynamics play a central role in models of emotion: "fear" is widely conceptualized as a phasic response to certain-and-imminent danger, whereas "anxiety" is a sustained response to uncertain-or-distal harm. Yet the underlying human neurobiology remains contentious. Leveraging an ethnoracially diverse sample, translationally relevant paradigm, and theory-driven modeling approach, we demonstrate that certain and uncertain threat recruit a shared threat-anticipation circuit. This circuit exhibits persistently elevated activation when anticipating uncertain threat encounters and a transient burst of activation in the moments before certain encounters. For many scientists and clinicians, feelings are the defining feature of human fear and anxiety. Here we used an independently validated brain signature to covertly decode the momentary dynamics of anticipatory distress for the first time. Results mirrored the dynamics of neural activation. These observations provide fresh insights into the neurobiology of threat-elicited emotions and set the stage for more ambitious clinical and mechanistic research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Brian R. Cornwell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20006 USA
| | - Paige R. Didier
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Shannon E. Grogans
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Allegra S. Anderson
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA
| | - Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478 USA
| | | | - Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Zachary S. Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Andrew S. Fox
- Department of Psychology , University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Department of California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Kathryn A. DeYoung
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Jason F. Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| | - Alexander J. Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
- Department of Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Karpov G, Lin MH, Headley DB, Baker TE. Oscillatory correlates of threat imminence during virtual navigation. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14551. [PMID: 38516942 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The Predatory Imminence Continuum Theory proposes that defensive behaviors depend on the proximity of a threat. While the neural mechanisms underlying this proposal are well studied in animal models, it remains poorly understood in humans. To address this issue, we recorded EEG from 24 (15 female) young adults engaged in a first-person virtual reality Risk-Reward interaction task. On each trial, participants were placed in a virtual room and presented with either a threat or reward conditioned stimulus (CS) in the same room location (proximal) or different room location (distal). Behaviorally, all participants learned to avoid the threat-CS, with most using the optimal behavior to actively avoid the proximal threat-CS (88% accuracy) and passively avoid the distal threat-CS (69% accuracy). Similarly, participants learned to actively approach the distal reward-CS (82% accuracy) and to remain passive to the proximal reward-CS (72% accuracy). At an electrophysiological level, we observed a general increase in theta power (4-8 Hz) over the right posterior channel P8 across all conditions, with the proximal threat-CS evoking the largest theta response. By contrast, distal cues induced two bursts of gamma (30-60 Hz) power over midline-parietal channel Pz (200 msec post-cue) and right frontal channel Fp2 (300 msec post-cue). Interestingly, the first burst of gamma power was sensitive to the distal threat-CS and the second burst at channel Fp2 was sensitive to the distal reward-CS. Together, these findings demonstrate that oscillatory processes differentiate between the spatial proximity information during threat and reward encoding, likely optimizing the selection of the appropriate behavioral response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Galit Karpov
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers State University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Mei-Heng Lin
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers State University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Drew B Headley
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers State University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Travis E Baker
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers State University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Merscher AS, Gamer M. Can I see it in the eyes? An investigation of freezing-like motion patterns in response to avoidable threat. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14567. [PMID: 38469631 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Freezing is one of the most extensively studied defensive behaviors in rodents. Both reduced body and gaze movements during anticipation of threat also occur in humans and have been discussed as translational indicators of freezing but their relationship remains unclear. We thus set out to elucidate body and eye movements and concomitant autonomic dynamics in anticipation of avoidable threat. Specifically, 50 participants viewed naturalistic pictures that were preceded by a colored fixation cross, signaling them whether to expect an inevitable (shock), no (safety), or a potential shock (flight) that could be avoided by a quick button press. Body sway, eye movements, the heart rate and skin conductance were recorded. We replicated previously described reductions in body sway, gaze dispersion, and the heart rate, and a skin conductance increase in flight trials. Stronger reductions in gaze but not in body sway predicted faster motor reactions on a trial-wise basis, highlighting their functional role in action preparation. We failed to find a trait-like relationship between body and gaze movements across participants, but their temporal profiles were positively related within individuals, suggesting that both metrics partly reflect the same construct. However, future research is desirable to assess these response patterns in naturalistic environments. A more ethological examination of different movement dynamics upon threat would not only warrant better comparability between rodent and human research but also help determine whether and how eye-tracking could be implemented as a proxy for fear-related movements in restricted brain imaging environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alma-Sophia Merscher
- Experimental Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Gamer
- Experimental Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Klaassen FH, de Voogd LD, Hulsman AM, O'Reilly JX, Klumpers F, Figner B, Roelofs K. The neurocomputational link between defensive cardiac states and approach-avoidance arbitration under threat. Commun Biol 2024; 7:576. [PMID: 38755409 PMCID: PMC11099143 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06267-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Avoidance, a hallmark of anxiety-related psychopathology, often comes at a cost; avoiding threat may forgo the possibility of a reward. Theories predict that optimal approach-avoidance arbitration depends on threat-induced psychophysiological states, like freezing-related bradycardia. Here we used model-based fMRI analyses to investigate whether and how bradycardia states are linked to the neurocomputational underpinnings of approach-avoidance arbitration under varying reward and threat magnitudes. We show that bradycardia states are associated with increased threat-induced avoidance and more pronounced reward-threat value comparison (i.e., a stronger tendency to approach vs. avoid when expected reward outweighs threat). An amygdala-striatal-prefrontal circuit supports approach-avoidance arbitration under threat, with specific involvement of the amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) in integrating reward-threat value and bradycardia states. These findings highlight the role of human freezing states in value-based decision making, relevant for optimal threat coping. They point to a specific role for amygdala/dACC in state-value integration under threat.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Felix H Klaassen
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Lycia D de Voogd
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Rapenburg 70, 2311 EZ, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Anneloes M Hulsman
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jill X O'Reilly
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Woodstock Road, OX2 6GG, Oxford, UK
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Bernd Figner
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Radboud University, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Thomas van Aquinostraat 4, 6525 GD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Kitt ER, Zacharek SJ, Odriozola P, Nardini C, Hommel G, Martino A, Anderson T, Spencer H, Broussard A, Dean J, Marin CE, Silverman WK, Lebowitz ER, Gee DG. Responding to threat: Associations between neural reactivity to and behavioral avoidance of threat in pediatric anxiety. J Affect Disord 2024; 351:818-826. [PMID: 38290579 PMCID: PMC10981528 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite broad recognition of the central role of avoidance in anxiety, a lack of specificity in its operationalization has hindered progress in understanding this clinically significant construct. The current study uses a multimodal approach to investigate how specific measures of avoidance relate to neural reactivity to threat in youth with anxiety disorders. METHODS Children with anxiety disorders (ages 6-12 years; n = 65 for primary analyses) completed laboratory task- and clinician-based measures of avoidance, as well as a functional magnetic resonance imaging task probing neural reactivity to threat. Primary analyses examined the ventral anterior insula (vAI), amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). RESULTS Significant but distinct patterns of association with task- versus clinician-based measures of avoidance emerged. Clinician-rated avoidance was negatively associated with right and left vAI reactivity to threat, whereas laboratory-based avoidance was positively associated with right vAI reactivity to threat. Moreover, left vAI-right amygdala and bilateral vmPFC-right amygdala functional connectivity were negatively associated with clinician-rated avoidance but not laboratory-based avoidance. LIMITATIONS These results should be considered in the context of the restricted range of our treatment-seeking sample, which limits the ability to draw conclusions about these associations across children with a broader range of symptomatology. In addition, the limited racial and ethnic diversity of our sample may limit the generalizability of findings. CONCLUSION These findings mark an important step towards bridging neural findings and behavioral patterns using a multimodal approach. Advancing understanding of behavioral avoidance in pediatric anxiety may guide future treatment optimization by identifying individual-specific targets for treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Grace Hommel
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Alyssa Martino
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Tess Anderson
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Hannah Spencer
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | | | - Janice Dean
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Carla E Marin
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | | | - Eli R Lebowitz
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wendt J, Kuhn M, Hamm AO, Lonsdorf TB. Recent advances in studying brain-behavior interactions using functional imaging: The primary startle response pathway and its affective modulation in humans. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14364. [PMID: 37402156 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
The startle response is a cross-species defensive reflex that is considered a key tool for cross-species translational emotion research. While the neural pathway mediating (affective) startle modulation has been extensively studied in rodents, human work on brain-behavior interactions has lagged in the past due to technical challenges, which have only recently been overcome through non-invasive simultaneous EMG-fMRI assessments. We illustrate key paradigms and methodological tools for startle response assessment in rodents and humans and review evidence for primary and modulatory neural circuits underlying startle responses and their affective modulation in humans. Based on this, we suggest a refined and integrative model for primary and modulatory startle response pathways in humans concluding that there is strong evidence from human work on the neurobiological pathway underlying the primary startle response while evidence for the modulatory pathway is still sparse. In addition, we provide methodological considerations to guide future work and provide an outlook on new and exciting perspectives enabled through technical and theoretical advances outlined in this work.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, University of Potsdam, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Tina B Lonsdorf
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Bielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Psychology, Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Elkjær E, Kuppens P, Mikkelsen MB, O'Toole MS. Can action tendencies be counteracted by inducing incompatible emotions? Considering instances of anxiety and anger. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e3247. [PMID: 37679879 PMCID: PMC10636385 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The incompatible response hypothesis suggests that emotions and other affective states can counteract each other when incompatible. With the present study, we focused on two negative emotions (anger and anxiety) associated with different action tendencies (approach vs. avoidance). Specifically, we wanted to investigate if an anxiety manipulation, subsequent to an anger manipulation, would show a counteracting effect of the approach action tendencies associated with the initial anger manipulation and vice versa for anxiety and avoidance tendencies. METHODS We conducted a preregistered online experiment (N = 173). We evaluated changes from when the individual (1) was presented with a task in relation to a specific goal (e.g., anxiety induction: recordings of students' view on climate changes), (2) received a subsequent emotion induction framed within an unrelated task and goal (e.g., anger induction: student feedback on changes to the economic student compensation system), (3) after which they were asked to return to the initial task (e.g., from the anger induction back to the anxiety induction). Primary outcomes included visual and verbal measures of action tendencies, and secondary outcomes included appraisals and emotion experience. RESULTS The results showed no evidence of a counteractive effect by inducing emotions unrelated to the initial task and with incompatible action tendencies. Rather, results pointed to spill-over effects, which should be seen in light of the anger conditions resulting not only in increase anger and irritability but also anxiety and nervousness. CONCLUSIONS The lack of counteractive effects could be due to either the mixed emotions induced by the anger condition or the compatibility of motivational context (i.e., threat) of anxiety and anger. Future research needs to refine the incompatible response hypothesis, honing the ways in which incompatibility is needed for emotion alteration, for instance by investigating the role of the motivational context.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Elkjær
- Department for Psychology and Behavioral SciencesAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| | - Peter Kuppens
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational SciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Mai B. Mikkelsen
- Department for Psychology and Behavioral SciencesAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| | - Mia S. O'Toole
- Department for Psychology and Behavioral SciencesAarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abend R. Understanding anxiety symptoms as aberrant defensive responding along the threat imminence continuum. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105305. [PMID: 37414377 PMCID: PMC10528507 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Threat-anticipatory defensive responses have evolved to promote survival in a dynamic world. While inherently adaptive, aberrant expression of defensive responses to potential threat could manifest as pathological anxiety, which is prevalent, impairing, and associated with adverse outcomes. Extensive translational neuroscience research indicates that normative defensive responses are organized by threat imminence, such that distinct response patterns are observed in each phase of threat encounter and orchestrated by partially conserved neural circuitry. Anxiety symptoms, such as excessive and pervasive worry, physiological arousal, and avoidance behavior, may reflect aberrant expression of otherwise normative defensive responses, and therefore follow the same imminence-based organization. Here, empirical evidence linking aberrant expression of specific, imminence-dependent defensive responding to distinct anxiety symptoms is reviewed, and plausible contributing neural circuitry is highlighted. Drawing from translational and clinical research, the proposed framework informs our understanding of pathological anxiety by grounding anxiety symptoms in conserved psychobiological mechanisms. Potential implications for research and treatment are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- School of Psychology, Reichman University, P.O. Box 167, Herzliya 4610101, Israel; Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Radostova D, Kuncicka D, Krajcovic B, Hejtmanek L, Petrasek T, Svoboda J, Stuchlik A, Brozka H. Incidental temporal binding in rats: A novel behavioral task. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0274437. [PMID: 37347773 PMCID: PMC10286974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We designed a behavioral task called One-Trial Trace Escape Reaction (OTTER), in which rats incidentally associate two temporally discontinuous stimuli: a neutral acoustic cue (CS) with an aversive stimulus (US) which occurs two seconds later (CS-2s-US sequence). Rats are first habituated to two similar environmental contexts (A and B), each consisting of an interconnected dark and light chamber. Next, rats experience the CS-2s-US sequence in the dark chamber of one of the contexts (either A or B); the US is terminated immediately after a rat escapes into the light chamber. The CS-2s-US sequence is presented only once to ensure the incidental acquisition of the association. The recall is tested 24 h later when rats are presented with only the CS in the alternate context (B or A), and their behavioral response is observed. Our results show that 59% of the rats responded to the CS by escaping to the light chamber, although they experienced only one CS-2s-US pairing. The OTTER task offers a flexible high throughput tool to study memory acquired incidentally after a single experience. Incidental one-trial acquisition of association between temporally discontinuous events may be one of the essential components of episodic memory formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dominika Radostova
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Daniela Kuncicka
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Branislav Krajcovic
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Lukas Hejtmanek
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Tomas Petrasek
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Jan Svoboda
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Ales Stuchlik
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Hana Brozka
- Institute of Physiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Buades-Rotger M, Smeijers D, Gallardo-Pujol D, Krämer UM, Brazil IA. Aggressive and psychopathic traits are linked to the acquisition of stable but imprecise hostile expectations. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:197. [PMID: 37296151 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02497-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals with hostile expectations (HEX) anticipate harm from seemingly neutral or ambiguous stimuli. However, it is unclear how HEX are acquired, and whether specific components of HEX learning can predict antisocial thought, conduct, and personality. In an online sample of healthy young individuals (n = 256, 69% women), we administered a virtual shooting task and applied computational modelling of behaviour to investigate HEX learning and its constellation of correlates. HEX acquisition was best explained by a hierarchical reinforcement learning mechanism. Crucially, we found that individuals with relatively higher self-reported aggressiveness and psychopathy developed stronger and less accurate hostile beliefs as well as larger prediction errors. Moreover, aggressive and psychopathic traits were associated with more temporally stable hostility representations. Our study thus shows that aggressiveness and psychopathy are linked with the acquisition of robust yet imprecise hostile beliefs through reinforcement learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Macià Buades-Rotger
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Danique Smeijers
- Division Diagnostics, Research, and Education, Forensic Psychiatric Center Pompestichting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - David Gallardo-Pujol
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ulrike M Krämer
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Inti A Brazil
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Division Diagnostics, Research, and Education, Forensic Psychiatric Center Pompestichting, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Lu J, Kemmerer SK, Riecke L, de Gelder B. Early threat perception is independent of later cognitive and behavioral control. A virtual reality-EEG-ECG study. Cereb Cortex 2023:7169129. [PMID: 37197766 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on social threat has shown influences of various factors, such as agent characteristics, proximity, and social interaction on social threat perception. An important, yet understudied aspect of threat exposure concerns the ability to exert control over the threat and its implications for threat perception. In this study, we used a virtual reality (VR) environment showing an approaching avatar that was either angry (threatening body expression) or neutral (neutral body expression) and informed participants to stop avatars from coming closer under five levels of control success (0, 25, 50, 75, or 100%) when they felt uncomfortable. Behavioral results revealed that social threat triggered faster reactions at a greater virtual distance from the participant than the neutral avatar. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed that the angry avatar elicited a larger N170/vertex positive potential (VPP) and a smaller N3 than the neutral avatar. The 100% control condition elicited a larger late positive potential (LPP) than the 75% control condition. In addition, we observed enhanced theta power and accelerated heart rate for the angry avatar vs. neutral avatar, suggesting that these measures index threat perception. Our results indicate that perception of social threat takes place in early to middle cortical processing stages, and control ability is associated with cognitive evaluation in middle to late stages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juanzhi Lu
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Selma K Kemmerer
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Lars Riecke
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| | - Beatrice de Gelder
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200 MD, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ince S, Steward T, Harrison BJ, Jamieson AJ, Davey CG, Agathos JA, Moffat BA, Glarin RK, Felmingham KL. Subcortical contributions to salience network functioning during negative emotional processing. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119964. [PMID: 36822252 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Core regions of the salience network (SN), including the anterior insula (aINS) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), coordinate rapid adaptive changes in attentional and autonomic processes in response to negative emotional events. In doing so, the SN incorporates bottom-up signals from subcortical brain regions, such as the amygdala and periaqueductal gray (PAG). However, the precise influence of these subcortical regions is not well understood. Using ultra-high field 7-Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging, this study investigated the bottom-up interactions of the amygdala and PAG with the SN during negative emotional salience processing. Thirty-seven healthy participants completed an emotional oddball paradigm designed to elicit a salient negative emotional response via the presentation of random, task-irrelevant negative emotional images. Negative emotional processing was associated with prominent activation in the SN, spanning the amygdala, PAG, aINS, and dACC. Consistent with previous research, analysis using dynamic causal modelling revealed an excitatory influence from the amygdala to the aINS, dACC, and PAG. In contrast, the PAG showed an inhibitory influence on amygdala, aINS and dACC activity. Our findings suggest that the amygdala may amplify the processing of negative emotional stimuli in the SN to enable upstream access to attentional resources. In comparison, the inhibitory influence of the PAG possibly reflects its involvement in modulating sympathetic-parasympathetic autonomic arousal mediated by the SN. This PAG-mediated effect may be driven by amygdala input and facilitate bottom-up processing of negative emotional stimuli. Overall, our results show that the amygdala and PAG modulate divergent functions of the SN during negative emotional processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sevil Ince
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
| | - Trevor Steward
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Alec J Jamieson
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - James A Agathos
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Bradford A Moffat
- The Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Rebecca K Glarin
- The Melbourne Brain Centre Imaging Unit, Department of Radiology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Kim L Felmingham
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Neumann N, Fullana MA, Radua J, Brandt T, Dieterich M, Lotze M. Common neural correlates of vestibular stimulation and fear learning: an fMRI meta-analysis. J Neurol 2023; 270:1843-1856. [PMID: 36723684 PMCID: PMC10025232 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-11568-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A bidirectional functional link between vestibular and fear-related disorders has been previously suggested. OBJECTIVE To test a potential overlap of vestibular and fear systems with regard to their brain imaging representation maps. METHODS By use of voxel-based mapping permutation of subject images, we conducted a meta-analysis of earlier functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies applying vestibular stimulation and fear conditioning in healthy volunteers. RESULTS Common clusters of concordance of vestibular stimulation and fear conditioning were found in the bilateral anterior insula cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right temporal pole, bilaterally in the adjacent ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, secondary somatosensory cortex, superior temporal and intraparietal lobe, supplementary motor area and premotor cortex, as well as subcortical areas, such as the bilateral thalamus, mesencephalic brainstem including the collicular complex, pons, cerebellar vermis and bilateral cerebellar hemispheres. Peak areas of high concordance for activations during vestibular stimulation but deactivations during fear conditioning were centered on the posterior insula and S2. CONCLUSIONS The structural overlap of both networks allows the following functional interpretations: first, the amygdala, superior colliculi, and antero-medial thalamus might represent a release of preprogramed sensorimotor patterns of approach or avoidance. Second, the activation (vestibular system) and deactivation (fear system) of the bilateral posterior insula is compatible with the view that downregulation of the fear network by acute vestibular disorders or unfamiliar vestibular stimulation makes unpleasant perceived body accelerations less distressing. This also fits the clinical observation that patients with bilateral vestibular loss suffer from less vertigo-related anxiety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Neumann
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Functional Imaging Unit, Institute of Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 46, 17475, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Miquel A Fullana
- Adult Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joaquim Radua
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thomas Brandt
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Marianne Dieterich
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- SyNergy-Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin Lotze
- Functional Imaging Unit, Institute of Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 46, 17475, Greifswald, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Rapuano M, Iachini T, Ruggiero G. Interaction with Virtual Humans and Effect of Emotional Expressions: Anger Matters! J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12041339. [PMID: 36835875 PMCID: PMC9962494 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12041339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Today we are experiencing a hybrid real-virtual society in which the interaction with virtual humans is normal and "quasi-social". Understanding the way we react to the interaction with virtual agents and the impact of emotions on social dynamics in the virtual world is fundamental. Therefore, in this study we investigated the implicit effect of emotional information by adopting a perceptual discrimination task. Specifically, we devised a task that explicitly required perceptual discrimination of a target while involving distance regulation in the presence of happy, neutral, or angry virtual agents. In two Immersive Virtual Reality experiments, participants were instructed to discriminate a target on the virtual agents' t-shirts, and they had to provide the response by stopping the virtual agents (or themselves) at the distance where they could identify the target. Thus, facial expressions were completely irrelevant to the perceptual task. The results showed that the perceptual discrimination implied a longer response time when t-shirts were worn by angry rather than happy or neutral virtual agents. This suggests that angry faces interfered with the explicit perceptual task people had to perform. From a theoretical standpoint, this anger-superiority effect could reflect an ancestral fear/avoidance mechanism that prompts automatic defensive reactions and bypasses other cognitive processes.
Collapse
|
15
|
Szeska C, Mohrmann H, Hamm AO. Facilitated extinction but impaired extinction recall by eye movement manipulation in humans - Indications for action mechanisms and the applicability of eye movement desensitization. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 184:64-75. [PMID: 36586670 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy utilizes the manipulation of eye movements to reduce affective distress during fear-exposure. Animal research recently suggested a potential neural mechanism underlying these effects, by which increased activity of the superior colliculus (SC), mediating visual attention, increases the inhibition of the basolateral amygdala (BLA), mediating defensive plasticity. We tested such mechanism in forty healthy humans using a multiple-day single-cue fear conditioning and extinction paradigm. The activity of the SC during extinction was experimentally manipulated by eye movements, as half of the participants executed saccadic eye movements (n = 20; major SC involvement), while the other half executed smooth eye pursuits (n = 20; minor SC involvement). Amygdala-mediated fear-potentiated startle responses and fear bradycardia, as well as threat expectancy was analyzed. Saccadic eye movements facilitated the extinction of fear bradycardia and fear-potentiated startle responses. Higher saccadic accuracy and range correlated with reduced fear-potentiated startle. However, during extinction recall, fear-potentiated startle and fear bradycardia resurged and partly reached levels obtained after fear acquisition. Threat expectancy was not affected by different eye movements and was not elevated during extinction recall. Within limitations, results support an inhibitory SC-BLA pathway in humans by which eye movements may reduce low-level defensive responding, but not threat expectancy. Yet, manipulating eye movements during extinction learning seems to impair extinction recall for behavioral and physiological defensive response indices. Thus, increasing SC activity might enhance initial efficacy of exposure treatment, but additional strategies seem necessary for sustained fear attenuation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Szeska
- University of Greifswald, Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology / Psychotherapy, Franz-Mehring-Strasse 47, 17487 Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Heino Mohrmann
- University of Greifswald, Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology / Psychotherapy, Franz-Mehring-Strasse 47, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- University of Greifswald, Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology / Psychotherapy, Franz-Mehring-Strasse 47, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Cain CK. Beyond Fear, Extinction, and Freezing: Strategies for Improving the Translational Value of Animal Conditioning Research. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 64:19-57. [PMID: 37532965 PMCID: PMC10840073 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Translational neuroscience for anxiety has had limited success despite great progress in understanding the neurobiology of Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction. This chapter explores the idea that conditioning paradigms have had a modest impact on translation because studies in animals and humans are misaligned in important ways. For instance, animal conditioning studies typically use imminent threats to assess short-duration fear states with single behavioral measures (e.g., freezing), whereas human studies typically assess weaker or more prolonged anxiety states with physiological (e.g., skin conductance) and self-report measures. A path forward may be more animal research on conditioned anxiety phenomena measuring dynamic behavioral and physiological responses in more complex environments. Exploring transitions between defensive brain states during extinction, looming threats, and post-threat recovery may be particularly informative. If care is taken to align paradigms, threat levels, and measures, this strategy may reveal stable patterns of non-conscious defense in animals and humans that correlate better with conscious anxiety. This shift in focus is also warranted because anxiety is a bigger problem than fear, even in disorders defined by dysfunctional fear or panic reactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher K Cain
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Vieira JB, Olsson A. Neural defensive circuits underlie helping under threat in humans. eLife 2022; 11:78162. [PMID: 36281636 PMCID: PMC9596154 DOI: 10.7554/elife.78162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy for others’ distress has long been considered the driving force of helping. However, when deciding to help others in danger, one must consider not only their distress, but also the risk to oneself. Whereas the role of self-defense in helping has been overlooked in human research, studies in other animals indicate defensive responses are necessary for the protection of conspecifics. In this pre-registered study (N=49), we demonstrate that human defensive neural circuits are implicated in helping others under threat. Participants underwent fMRI scanning while deciding whether to help another participant avoid aversive electrical shocks, at the risk of also being shocked. We found that higher engagement of neural circuits that coordinate fast escape from self-directed danger (including the insula, PAG, and ACC) facilitated decisions to help others. Importantly, using representational similarity analysis, we found that the strength with which the amygdala and insula uniquely represented the threat to oneself (and not the other’s distress) predicted helping. Our findings indicate that in humans, as other mammals, defensive mechanisms play a greater role in helping behavior than previously understood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana B Vieira
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Stimulation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex blocks the return of subcortically mediated fear responses. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:394. [PMID: 36127327 PMCID: PMC9489865 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02174-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) mediates the inhibition of defensive responses upon encounters of cues, that had lost their attribute as a threat signal via previous extinction learning. Here, we investigated whether such fear extinction recall can be facilitated by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Extinction recall was tested twenty-four hours after previously acquired fear was extinguished. Either anodal tDCS or sham stimulation targeting the vmPFC was applied during this test. After stimulation ceased, we examined return of fear after subjects had been re-exposed to aversive events. Fear was assessed by reports of threat expectancy and modulations of autonomic (skin conductance, heart rate) and protective reflex (startle potentiation) measures, the latter of which are mediated by subcortical defense circuits. While tDCS did not affect initial extinction recall, it abolished the return of startle potentiation and autonomic components of the fear response. Results suggest hierarchical multi-level vmPFC functions in human fear inhibition and indicate, that its stimulation might immunize against relapses into pathological subcortically mediated defensive activation.
Collapse
|
19
|
Bradford DE, Shireman JM, Sant’Ana SJ, Fronk GE, Schneck SE, Curtin JJ. Alcohol's effects during uncertain and uncontrollable stressors in the laboratory. Clin Psychol Sci 2022; 10:885-900. [PMID: 36111103 PMCID: PMC9472562 DOI: 10.1177/21677026211061355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol's effects on reactivity to stressors depends on the nature of the stressor and the reactivity being assessed. Research identifying characteristics of stressors that modulate reactivity and clarifies the neurobehavioral, cognitive, and affective components of this reactivity may help prevent, reduce or treat the negative impacts of acute and chronic alcohol use with implications for other psychopathology involving maladaptive reactivity to stressors. We used a novel, multi-measure, cued electric shock stressor paradigm in a greater university community sample of adult recreational drinkers to test how alcohol (N=64), compared to No-alcohol (N=64), effects reactivity to stressors that vary in both their perceived certainty and controllability. Preregistered analyses suggested alcohol significantly dampened subjective anxiety (self-report) and defensive reactivity (startle potentiation) more during uncertain than during certain stressors regardless of controllability, suggesting that stressor uncertainty -but not uncontrollability- may be sufficient to enhance alcohol's stress reactivity dampening and thus negative reinforcement potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E. Bradford
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
- School of Psychological Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Jack M. Shireman
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sarah J. Sant’Ana
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Gaylen E. Fronk
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Susan E. Schneck
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - John J. Curtin
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Functional MRI in Radiology—A Personal Review. Healthcare (Basel) 2022; 10:healthcare10091646. [PMID: 36141258 PMCID: PMC9498519 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10091646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We, here, provide a personal review article on the development of a functional MRI in the radiology departments of two German university medicine units. Although the international community for human brain mapping has met since 1995, the researchers fascinated by human brain function are still young and innovative. However, the impact of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on prognosis and treatment decisions is restricted, even though standardized methods have been developed. The tradeoff between the groundbreaking studies on brain function and the attempt to provide reliable biomarkers for clinical decisions is large. By describing some historical developments in the field of fMRI, from a personal view, the rise of this method in clinical neuroscience during the last 25 years might be understandable. We aim to provide some background for (a) the historical developments of fMRI, (b) the establishment of two research units for fMRI in the departments of radiology in Germany, and (c) a description of some contributions within the selected fields of systems neuroscience, clinical neurology, and behavioral psychology.
Collapse
|
21
|
Merscher AS, Tovote P, Pauli P, Gamer M. Centralized gaze as an adaptive component of defensive states in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220405. [PMID: 35582796 PMCID: PMC9114933 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Adequate defensive responding is crucial for mental health but scientifically not well understood. Specifically, it seems difficult to dissociate defense and approach states based on autonomic response patterns. We thus explored the robustness and threat-specificity of recently described oculomotor dynamics upon threat in anticipation of either threatening or rewarding stimuli in humans. While visually exploring naturalistic images, participants (50 per experiment) expected an inevitable, no, or avoidable shock (Experiment 1) or a guaranteed, no, or achievable reward (Experiment 2) that could be averted or gained by a quick behavioural response. We observed reduced heart rate (bradycardia), increased skin conductance, pupil dilation and globally centralized gaze when shocks were inevitable but, more pronouncedly, when they were avoidable. Reward trials were not associated with globally narrowed visual exploration, but autonomic responses resembled characteristics of the threat condition. While bradycardia and concomitant sympathetic activation reflect not only threat-related but also action-preparatory states independent of valence, global centralization of gaze seems a robust phenomenon during the anticipation of avoidable threat. Thus, instead of relying on single readouts, translational research in animals and humans should consider the multi-dimensionality of states in aversive and rewarding contexts, especially when investigating ambivalent, conflicting situations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alma-Sophia Merscher
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Philip Tovote
- Systems Neurobiology, Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 5, 97078 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Gamer
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Qiao Z, Pan DN, Hoid D, van Winkel R, Li X. When the approaching threat is uncertain: Dynamics of defensive motivation and attention in trait anxiety. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14049. [PMID: 35307851 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Uncertainty of threat has been linked to anxiety, but little is known about how neurophysiological responses change as uncertain threats approach and whether trait anxiety modulates these changes. The current study was designed to explore aspects of the dynamics of defensive motivation (startle reflex elicited by acoustic startle probes), attention (probe N100 component of event-related potentials elicited by acoustic startle probes), and autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate) when the approaching threat was certain or uncertain in a variant of the threat probability task. Behavioral results showed that high-trait anxious individuals reported higher levels of anxiety than low-trait anxious individuals only under the uncertain threat condition. Electromyographic data showed that high-trait anxious individuals tended to produce a more pronounced startle reflex, especially when the uncertain threat was proximal. This pattern was not observed in low-trait anxious individuals. By examining early attention engagement through probe N100, we observed a similar pattern in relation to defensive motivation. Moreover, under the uncertain threat condition, high-trait anxious individuals yielded a greater deceleration of heart rate than low-trait anxious individuals. These results indicate a distinct modulation effect of trait anxiety in the dynamics of defensive motivation, attention, and the autonomic nervous system during the anticipation of uncertain threats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiling Qiao
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,KU Leuven, Department of Neuroscience, Research Group Psychiatry, Center for Clinical Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dong-Ni Pan
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Delhii Hoid
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ruud van Winkel
- KU Leuven, Department of Neuroscience, Research Group Psychiatry, Center for Clinical Psychiatry, Leuven, Belgium.,UPC KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Xuebing Li
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Vogel F, Gensthaler A, Schwenck C. Frozen with Fear? Attentional Mechanisms in Children with Selective Mutism. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-021-10289-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Children with selective mutism (SM) are consistently unable to speak in certain social situations. Due to an overlap between SM and social anxiety disorder (SAD) in children, similar mechanisms could apply to both disorders. Especially biased attentional processing of threat and fear-induced reduced visual exploration (referred to as attentive freezing) appear promising in SM.
Methods
A total of N = 84 children (8–12 years, SM: n = 28, SAD: n = 28, typical development (TD): n = 28) participated in an eye-tracking paradigm with videos of a social counterpart expressing a question, a social evaluation or a neutral statement. We investigated gaze behavior towards the social counterpart’s eye-region and the extent of visual exploration (length of scanpath), across conditions.
Results
There were no group differences regarding gaze behavior on the eye region. Neither gaze behavior with respect to the eye region nor visual exploration were dependent on the video condition. Compared to children with TD, children with SM generally showed less visual exploration, however children with SAD did not.
Conclusion
Reduced visual exploration might be due to the mechanism of attentive freezing, which could be part of an extensive fear response in SM that might also affect speech-production. Interventions that counteract the state of freezing could be promising for the therapy of SM.
Collapse
|
24
|
Mello M, Dupont L, Engelen T, Acciarino A, de Borst AW, de Gelder B. The influence of body expression, group affiliation and threat proximity on interactions in virtual reality. CURRENT RESEARCH IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2022.100075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
|
25
|
Abend R, Ruiz SG, Bajaj MA, Harrewijn A, Linke JO, Atlas LY, Winkler AM, Pine DS. Threat imminence reveals links among unfolding of anticipatory physiological response, cortical-subcortical intrinsic functional connectivity, and anxiety. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 16:100428. [PMID: 35036479 PMCID: PMC8749274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive expression of fear responses in anticipation of threat occurs in anxiety, but understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is limited. Animal research indicates that threat-anticipatory defensive responses are dynamically organized by threat imminence and rely on conserved circuitry. Insight from basic neuroscience research in animals on threat imminence could guide mechanistic research in humans mapping abnormal function in this circuitry to aberrant defensive responses in pathological anxiety. 50 pediatric anxiety patients and healthy-comparisons (33 females) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task whereby cues signaled delivery of painful (threat) or non-painful (safety) thermal stimulation. Temporal changes in skin-conductance indexed anxiety effects on anticipatory responding as function of threat imminence. Multivariate network analyses of resting-state functional connectivity data from a subsample were used to identify intrinsic-function correlates of anticipatory-response dynamics, within a specific, distributed network derived from translational research on defensive responding. By considering threat imminence, analyses revealed specific anxiety effects. Importantly, pathological anxiety was associated with excessive deployment of anticipatory physiological response as threat, but not safety, outcomes became more imminent. Magnitude of increase in threat-anticipatory physiological responses corresponded with magnitude of intrinsic connectivity within a cortical-subcortical circuit. Moreover, more severe anxiety was associated with stronger associations between anticipatory physiological responding and connectivity that ventromedial prefrontal cortex showed with hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, regions implicated in animal models of anxiety. These findings link basic and clinical research, highlighting variations in intrinsic function in conserved defensive circuitry as a potential pathophysiological mechanism in anxiety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Sonia G. Ruiz
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Mira A. Bajaj
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Julia O. Linke
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Lauren Y. Atlas
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anderson M. Winkler
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Human defensive freezing: Associations with hair cortisol and trait anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 133:105417. [PMID: 34571456 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The anticipation of threat facilitates innate defensive behaviours including freezing reactions. Freezing in humans is characterised by reductions in body sway and heart rate. Limited evidence suggests that individual differences in freezing reactions are associated with predictors of anxiety-related psychopathology including trait anxiety and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. However, previous human studies focused on acutely circulating cortisol levels, leaving the link between freezing and more stable, individual trait markers of HPA axis activity unclear. We investigated whether individual differences in anticipatory freezing reactions are predicted by accumulated hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and trait anxiety, in a well-powered mixed sample of police recruits at the start of the police training, and age, sex and education matched controls (total N = 419, mean age = 24, Nwomen = 106, Npolice recruits = 337). Freezing-related reactions were assessed with posturographic and heart rate measurements during an active shooting task under threat of shock. The anticipation of threat of shock elicited the expected reductions in body sway and heart rate, indicative of human freezing. Individual differences in threat-related reductions in body sway, but not heart rate, were related to lower HCC and higher trait anxiety. The observed links between postural freezing and predictors of anxiety-related psychopathology suggest the potential value of defensive freezing as a somatic marker for individual differences in stress-vulnerability and resilience. DATA AVAILABILITY: The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
Collapse
|
27
|
Defensive freezing and its relation to approach-avoidance decision-making under threat. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12030. [PMID: 34103543 PMCID: PMC8187589 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90968-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful responding to acutely threatening situations requires adequate approach-avoidance decisions. However, it is unclear how threat-induced states-like freezing-related bradycardia-impact the weighing of the potential outcomes of such value-based decisions. Insight into the underlying computations is essential, not only to improve our models of decision-making but also to improve interventions for maladaptive decisions, for instance in anxiety patients and first-responders who frequently have to make decisions under acute threat. Forty-two participants made passive and active approach-avoidance decisions under threat-of-shock when confronted with mixed outcome-prospects (i.e., varying money and shock amounts). Choice behavior was best predicted by a model including individual action-tendencies and bradycardia, beyond the subjective value of the outcome. Moreover, threat-related bradycardia (high-vs-low threat) interacted with subjective value, depending on the action-context (passive-vs-active). Specifically, in action-contexts incongruent with participants' intrinsic action-tendencies, stronger bradycardia related to diminished effects of subjective value on choice across participants. These findings illustrate the relevance of testing approach-avoidance decisions in relatively ecologically valid conditions of acute and primarily reinforced threat. These mechanistic insights into approach-avoidance conflict-resolution may inspire biofeedback-related techniques to optimize decision-making under threat. Critically, the findings demonstrate the relevance of incorporating internal psychophysiological states and external action-contexts into models of approach-avoidance decision-making.
Collapse
|
28
|
Ridderbusch IC, Wroblewski A, Yang Y, Richter J, Hollandt M, Hamm AO, Wittchen HU, Ströhle A, Arolt V, Margraf J, Lueken U, Herrmann MJ, Kircher T, Straube B. Neural adaptation of cingulate and insular activity during delayed fear extinction: A replicable pattern across assessment sites and repeated measurements. Neuroimage 2021; 237:118157. [PMID: 34020017 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Adapting threat-related memories towards changing environments is a fundamental ability of organisms. One central process of fear reduction is suggested to be extinction learning, experimentally modeled by extinction training that is repeated exposure to a previously conditioned stimulus (CS) without providing the expected negative consequence (unconditioned stimulus, US). Although extinction training is well investigated, evidence regarding process-related changes in neural activation over time is still missing. Using optimized delayed extinction training in a multicentric trial we tested whether: 1) extinction training elicited decreasing CS-specific neural activation and subjective ratings, 2) extinguished conditioned fear would return after presentation of the US (reinstatement), and 3) results are comparable across different assessment sites and repeated measures. We included 100 healthy subjects (measured twice, 13-week-interval) from six sites. 24 h after fear acquisition training, extinction training, including a reinstatement test, was applied during fMRI. Alongside, participants had to rate subjective US-expectancy, arousal and valence. In the course of the extinction training, we found decreasing neural activation in the insula and cingulate cortex as well as decreasing US-expectancy, arousal and negative valence towards CS+. Re-exposure to the US after extinction training was associated with a temporary increase in neural activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (exploratory analysis) and changes in US-expectancy and arousal ratings. While ICCs-values were low, findings from small groups suggest highly consistent effects across time-points and sites. Therefore, this delayed extinction fMRI-paradigm provides a solid basis for the investigation of differences in neural fear-related mechanisms as a function of anxiety-pathology and exposure-based treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle C Ridderbusch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany.
| | - Adrian Wroblewski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
| | - Yunbo Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
| | - Jan Richter
- Institute for Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | - Maike Hollandt
- Institute for Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Institute for Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | - Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
- Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapie, Technichal University of Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Muenchen, Germany
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berliner Institut für Gesundheitsforschung, Germany
| | - Volker Arolt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Muenster, Germany
| | - Jürgen Margraf
- Chair in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), Germany
| | - Ulrike Lueken
- Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin J Herrmann
- Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Vagal control of the heart decreases during increasing imminence of interoceptive threat in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7960. [PMID: 33846417 PMCID: PMC8041829 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86867-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Theoretically, panic disorder and agoraphobia pathology can be conceptualized as a cascade of dynamically changing defensive responses to threat cues from inside the body. Guided by this trans-diagnostic model we tested the interaction between defensive activation and vagal control as a marker of prefrontal inhibition of subcortical defensive activation. We investigated ultra-short-term changes of vagally controlled high frequency heart rate variability (HRV) during a standardized threat challenge (entrapment) in n = 232 patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia, and its interaction with various indices of defensive activation. We found a strong inverse relationship between HRV and heart rate during threat, which was stronger at the beginning of exposure. Patients with a strong increase in heart rate showed a deactivation of prefrontal vagal control while patients showing less heart rate acceleration showed an increase in vagal control. Moreover, vagal control collapsed in case of imminent threat, i.e., when body symptoms increase and seem to get out of control. In these cases of defensive action patients either fled from the situation or experienced a panic attack. Active avoidance, panic attacks, and increased sympathetic arousal are associated with an inability to maintain vagal control over the heart suggesting that teaching such regulation strategies during exposure treatment might be helpful to keep prefrontal control, particularly during the transition zone from post-encounter to circa strike defense. Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN80046034.
Collapse
|
30
|
Livermore JJA, Klaassen FH, Bramson B, Hulsman AM, Meijer SW, Held L, Klumpers F, de Voogd LD, Roelofs K. Approach-Avoidance Decisions Under Threat: The Role of Autonomic Psychophysiological States. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:621517. [PMID: 33867915 PMCID: PMC8044748 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.621517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Acutely challenging or threatening situations frequently require approach-avoidance decisions. Acute threat triggers fast autonomic changes that prepare the body to freeze, fight or flee. However, such autonomic changes may also influence subsequent instrumental approach-avoidance decisions. Since defensive bodily states are often not considered in value-based decision-making models, it remains unclear how they influence the decision-making process. Here, we aim to bridge this gap by discussing the existing literature on the potential role of threat-induced bodily states on decision making and provide a new neurocomputational framework explaining how these effects can facilitate or bias approach-avoid decisions under threat. Theoretical accounts have stated that threat-induced parasympathetic activity is involved in information gathering and decision making. Parasympathetic dominance over sympathetic activity is particularly seen during threat-anticipatory freezing, an evolutionarily conserved response to threat demonstrated across species and characterized by immobility and bradycardia. Although this state of freezing has been linked to altered information processing and action preparation, a full theoretical treatment of the interactions with value-based decision making has not yet been achieved. Our neural framework, which we term the Threat State/Value Integration (TSI) Model, will illustrate how threat-induced bodily states may impact valuation of competing incentives at three stages of the decision-making process, namely at threat evaluation, integration of rewards and threats, and action initiation. Additionally, because altered parasympathetic activity and decision biases have been shown in anxious populations, we will end with discussing how biases in this system can lead to characteristic patterns of avoidance seen in anxiety-related disorders, motivating future pre-clinical and clinical research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James J. A. Livermore
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Felix H. Klaassen
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Bob Bramson
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Anneloes M. Hulsman
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd W. Meijer
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Leslie Held
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Lycia D. de Voogd
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Szeska C, Richter J, Wendt J, Weymar M, Hamm AO. Attentive immobility in the face of inevitable distal threat-Startle potentiation and fear bradycardia as an index of emotion and attention. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13812. [PMID: 33759212 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
During fear conditioning, a cue (CS) signals an inevitable distal threat (US) and evokes a conditioned response that can be described as attentive immobility (freezing). The organism remains motionless and monitors the source of danger while startle responses are potentiated, indicating a state of defensive hypervigilance. Although in animals vagally mediated fear bradycardia is also reliably observed under such circumstances, results are mixed in human fear conditioning. Using a single-cue fear conditioning and extinction protocol, we tested cardiac reactivity and startle potentiation indexing low-level defensive strategies in a fear-conditioned (n = 40; paired presentations of CS and US) compared with a non-conditioned control group (n = 40; unpaired presentations of CS and US). Additionally, we assessed shock expectancy ratings on a trial-by-trial basis indexing declarative knowledge of the previous contingencies. Half of each group underwent extinction under sham or active transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), serving as additional proof of concept. We found stronger cardiac deceleration during CS presentation in the fear learning relative to the control group. This learned fear bradycardia was positively correlated with conditioned startle potentiation but not with declarative knowledge of CS-US contingencies. TVNS abolished differences in heart rate changes between both groups and removed the significant correlation between late cardiac deceleration and startle potentiation in the fear learning group. Results suggest, fear-conditioned cues evoke attentive immobility in humans, characterized by cardiac deceleration and startle potentiation. Such defensive response pattern is elicited by cues predicting inevitable distal threat and resembles conditioned fear responses observed in rodents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Szeska
- Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jan Richter
- Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Julia Wendt
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Biological Psychology and Affective Science, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Physiological and Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Abend R, Bajaj MA, Harrewijn A, Matsumoto C, Michalska KJ, Necka E, Palacios-Barrios EE, Leibenluft E, Atlas LY, Pine DS. Threat-anticipatory psychophysiological response is enhanced in youth with anxiety disorders and correlates with prefrontal cortex neuroanatomy. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2021; 46:E212-E221. [PMID: 33703868 PMCID: PMC8061736 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.200110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Threat anticipation engages neural circuitry that has evolved to promote defensive behaviours; perturbations in this circuitry could generate excessive threat-anticipation response, a key characteristic of pathological anxiety. Research into such mechanisms in youth faces ethical and practical limitations. Here, we use thermal stimulation to elicit pain-anticipatory psychophysiological response and map its correlates to brain structure among youth with anxiety and healthy youth. Methods Youth with anxiety (n = 25) and healthy youth (n = 25) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task in which cues predicted nonpainful or painful thermal stimulation; we indexed psychophysiological response during the anticipation and experience of pain using skin conductance response. High-resolution brain-structure imaging data collected in another visit were available for 41 participants. Analyses tested whether the 2 groups differed in their psychophysiological cue-based pain-anticipatory and pain-experience responses. Analyses then mapped psychophysiological response magnitude to brain structure. Results Youth with anxiety showed enhanced psychophysiological response specifically during anticipation of painful stimulation (b = 0.52, p = 0.003). Across the sample, the magnitude of psychophysiological anticipatory response correlated negatively with the thickness of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (pFWE < 0.05); psychophysiological response to the thermal stimulation correlated positively with the thickness of the posterior insula (pFWE < 0.05). Limitations Limitations included the modest sample size and the cross-sectional design. Conclusion These findings show that threat-anticipatory psychophysiological response differentiates youth with anxiety from healthy youth, and they link brain structure to psychophysiological response during pain anticipation and experience. A focus on threat anticipation in research on anxiety could delineate relevant neural circuitry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Mira A Bajaj
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Chika Matsumoto
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Kalina J Michalska
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Elizabeth Necka
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Esther E Palacios-Barrios
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Lauren Y Atlas
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| | - Daniel S Pine
- From the Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Abend, Bajaj, Harrewijn, Matsumoto, Leibenluft, Pine); the Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA (Michalaska); the 3 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (Necka, Atlas); and the 1 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Palacios-Barrios)
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Limbachia C, Morrow K, Khibovska A, Meyer C, Padmala S, Pessoa L. Controllability over stressor decreases responses in key threat-related brain areas. Commun Biol 2021; 4:42. [PMID: 33402686 PMCID: PMC7785729 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01537-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Controllability over stressors has major impacts on brain and behavior. In humans, however, the effect of controllability on responses to stressors is poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated how controllability altered responses to a shock-plus-sound stressor with a between-group yoked design, where participants in controllable and uncontrollable groups experienced matched stressor exposure. Employing Bayesian multilevel analysis at the level of regions of interest and voxels in the insula, and standard voxelwise analysis, we found that controllability decreased stressor-related responses across threat-related regions, notably in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior insula. Posterior cingulate cortex, posterior insula, and possibly medial frontal gyrus showed increased responses during control over stressor. Our findings support the idea that the aversiveness of stressors is reduced when controllable, leading to decreased responses across key regions involved in anxiety-related processing, even at the level of the extended amygdala.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chirag Limbachia
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Kelly Morrow
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Anastasiia Khibovska
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Christian Meyer
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Luiz Pessoa
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Hulsman AM, Kaldewaij R, Hashemi MM, Zhang W, Koch SBJ, Figner B, Roelofs K, Klumpers F. Individual differences in costly fearful avoidance and the relation to psychophysiology. Behav Res Ther 2020; 137:103788. [PMID: 33422745 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Excessive avoidance behaviour is a cardinal symptom of anxiety disorders. Avoidance is not only associated with the benefits of avoiding threats, but also with the costs of missing out on rewards upon exploration. Psychological and psychophysiological mechanisms contributing to these costly avoidance decisions in prospect of mixed outcomes remain unclear. We developed a novel Fearful Avoidance Task (FAT) that resembles characteristics of real-life approach-avoidance conflicts, enabling to disentangle reward and threat effects. Using the FAT, we investigated individual differences in avoidance behaviour and anticipatory psychophysiological states (i.e. startle reflex and skin conductance) in a relatively large sample of 343 (78 females) participants. Avoidance under acute threat of shock depends on a trade-off between perceived reward and threat. Both increased startle and skin conductance in the absence of threat of shock emerged as predictors of increased avoidance (potentially indicative of fear generalization). Increased avoidance was also associated with female sex and trait anxiety, dependent on reward and threat levels. Our findings highlight distinct possible predictors of heightened avoidance and add to mechanistic understanding of how individual propensity for costly avoidance may emerge. Distinct avoidance typologies based on differential reward and threat sensitivities may have different mechanistic origins and thereby could benefit from different treatment strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anneloes M Hulsman
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Reinoud Kaldewaij
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Mahur M Hashemi
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Wei Zhang
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Saskia B J Koch
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Bernd Figner
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Rutherford AV, Tanovic E, Bradford DE, Joormann J. Psychophysiological correlates of anxious apprehension: Trait worry is associated with startle response to threat. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 158:136-142. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
36
|
Cardiac defensive reactions and orienting responses correspond to virtual withdrawal behavior choices in a virtual T-maze. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 158:73-85. [PMID: 33075429 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Trait or stimulus valence related differences in heart rate change have often been investigated in psychophysiological research. However, the influence of different behavioral responses during motivational contexts on cardiac response patterns has been neglected so far. In this manuscript, HR change during movement via joystick during the negatively valent motivational condition of a virtual T-maze was investigated in two studies. Concerning the behavior, two specific avoidance response types could be identified in previous studies: a backwards withdrawal and an approach to safety. HR change and skin conductance response were hypothesized to be differentially related to these response patterns. For HR changes, the proposed difference was found. Participants facing the safety zone during their avoidance showed cardiac responses associated with the defensive response. In contrast, participants facing the negative entity of the virtual T-maze during their backwards withdrawal yielded cardiac responses associated with orienting reactions. Interestingly, these differences were found independently of the stimuli used in the two paradigms (monster vs. man). These findings lead to the conclusion that the execution of different behavioral responses during motivational conditions is an important factor in analyzing psychophysiological patterns, because they change according to the executed behavior and the linked visual and motivational properties.
Collapse
|
37
|
Beligiannis N, Van Strien JW. Early posterior negativity in humans to pictures of snakes and spiders: effects of proximity. Exp Brain Res 2020; 238:2795-2804. [PMID: 33009915 PMCID: PMC7644447 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05925-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Snakes have proven to drive early attentional capture due to their evolutionary importance, as reflected by the early posterior negativity (EPN). The EPN snake effect might be partly driven by the proximity of the animal. In this study, by employing full-body (medium shot) and head-focused (close-up) pictures, we investigated whether the relative nearness (proximity) of the animal on the picture affects the snake EPN effect. We presented thirty participants with medium shot and close-up snake, spider and bird pictures in a rapid serial presentation paradigm at a presentation rate of three frames per second. We extracted the mean EPN activity from the 225–330 ms time frame after stimulus onset at the parietal–occipital cluster (PO3, O1, Oz, O2, PO4). The results indicate enhanced EPN for snake pictures as compared to spider and bird pictures. In addition, medium-shot snake pictures elicited higher EPN amplitudes than close-up snake pictures, suggesting that the EPN is higher when local, high spatial frequency attributes are visible. Spatial frequency analysis of the stimuli indicated that medium-shot snake pictures possess more power in the high spatial frequency bands, compared to medium-shot spider and bird pictures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nick Beligiannis
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Brain and Cognition, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jan W Van Strien
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Brain and Cognition, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Vieira JB, Schellhaas S, Enström E, Olsson A. Help or flight? Increased threat imminence promotes defensive helping in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201473. [PMID: 32842931 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans and other mammals, defensive responses to danger vary with threat imminence, but it is unknown how those responses affect decisions to help conspecifics. Here, we manipulated threat imminence to investigate the impact of different defensive states on human helping behaviour. Ninety-eight healthy adult participants made trial-by-trial decisions about whether to help a co-participant avoid an aversive shock, at the risk of receiving a shock themselves. Helping decisions were prompted under imminent or distal threat, based on temporal distance to the moment of shock administration to the co-participant. Results showed that, regardless of how likely participants were to also receive a shock, they helped the co-participant more under imminent than distal threat. Reaction times and cardiac changes during the task supported the efficacy of the threat imminence manipulation in eliciting dissociable defensive states, with faster responses and increased heart rate during imminent compared to distal threats. Individual differences in empathic concern were specifically correlated with helping during imminent threats. These results suggest that defensive states driving active escape from immediate danger may also facilitate decisions to help others, potentially by engaging neurocognitive systems implicated in caregiving across mammals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana B Vieira
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Sabine Schellhaas
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Erik Enström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Ridderbusch IC, Yang Y, Weber H, Reif A, Herterich S, Ströhle A, Pfleiderer B, Arolt V, Wittchen HU, Lueken U, Kircher T, Straube B. Neural correlates of NOS1 ex1f-VNTR allelic variation in panic disorder and agoraphobia during fear conditioning and extinction in fMRI. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 27:102268. [PMID: 32361414 PMCID: PMC7200443 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
NOS1 ex1f-VNTR is associated with neural correlates during fear extinction learning. Differential effects are prominent in amygdala and hippocampus. Patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia differ from healthy controls. Genotype associated effects were not altered after cognitive behavioral therapy.
Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS-I) impacts on fear/anxiety-like behavior in animals. In humans, the short (S) allele of a functional promotor polymorphism of NOS1 (NOS1 ex1f-VNTR) has been shown to be associated with higher anxiety and altered fear conditioning in healthy subjects in the amygdala and hippocampus (AMY/HIPP). Here, we explore the role of NOS1 ex1f-VNTR as a pathophysiological correlate of panic disorder and agoraphobia (PD/AG). In a sub-sample of a multicenter cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) randomized controlled trial in patients with PD/AG (n = 48: S/S-genotype n=15, S/L-genotype n=21, L/L-genotype n=12) and healthy control subjects, HS (n = 34: S/S-genotype n=7, S/L-genotype n=17, L/L-genotype=10), a differential fear conditioning and extinction fMRI-paradigm was used to investigate how NOS1 ex1f-VNTR genotypes are associated with differential neural activation in AMY/HIPP. Prior to CBT, L/L-allele carriers showed higher activation than S/S-allele carriers in AMY/HIPP. A genotype × diagnosis interaction revealed that the S-allele in HS was associated with a pronounced deactivation in AMY/HIPP, while patients showed contrary effects. The interaction of genotype × stimulus type (CS+, conditioned stimulus associated with an aversive stimulus vs. CS-, unassociated) showed effects on differential learning in AMY/HIPP. All effects were predominately found during extinction. Genotype associated effects in patients were not altered after CBT. Low statistical power due to small sample size in each subgroup is a major limitation. However, our findings provide first preliminary evidence for dysfunctional neural fear conditioning/extinction associated with NOS1 ex1f-VNTR genotype in the context of PD/AG, shedding new light on the complex interaction between genetic risk, current psychopathology and treatment-related effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle C Ridderbusch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Yunbo Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Heike Weber
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sabine Herterich
- Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina Pfleiderer
- Medical Faculty, University of Münster and Department Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Volker Arolt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), München, Germany
| | - Ulrike Lueken
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy & Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
The Neurofunctional Basis of Affective Startle Modulation in Humans: Evidence From Combined Facial Electromyography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:548-558. [PMID: 31547934 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The startle eye-blink is the cross-species translational tool to study defensive behavior in affective neuroscience with relevance to a broad range of neuropsychiatric conditions. It makes use of the startle reflex, a defensive response elicited by an immediate, unexpected sensory event, which is potentiated when evoked during threat and inhibited during safety. In contrast to skin conductance responses or pupil dilation, modulation of the startle reflex is valence specific. Rodent models implicate a modulatory pathway centering on the brainstem (i.e., nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis) and the centromedial amygdala as key hubs for flexibly integrating valence information into differential startle magnitude. Technical advances now allow for the investigation of this pathway using combined facial electromyography and functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans. METHODS We employed a multimethodological approach combining trial-by-trial facial eye-blink startle electromyography and brainstem- and amygdala-specific functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans. Validating the robustness and reproducibility of our findings, we provide evidence from two different paradigms (fear-potentiated startle, affect-modulated startle) in two independent studies (N = 43 and N = 55). RESULTS We provide key evidence for a conserved neural pathway for acoustic startle modulation between humans and rodents. Furthermore, we provide the crucial direct link between electromyography startle eye-blink magnitude and neural response strength. Finally, we demonstrate a dissociation between arousal-specific amygdala responding and triggered valence-specific amygdala responding. CONCLUSIONS We provide neurobiologically based evidence for the strong translational value of startle responding and argue that startle-evoked amygdala responding and its affective modulation may hold promise as an important novel tool for affective neuroscience and its clinical translation.
Collapse
|
41
|
Pittig A, Wong AH, Glück VM, Boschet JM. Avoidance and its bi-directional relationship with conditioned fear: Mechanisms, moderators, and clinical implications. Behav Res Ther 2020; 126:103550. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
|
42
|
Lefler Y, Campagner D, Branco T. The role of the periaqueductal gray in escape behavior. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 60:115-121. [PMID: 31864105 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Escape behavior is a defensive action deployed by animals in response to imminent threats. In mammalian species, a variety of different brain circuits are known to participate in this crucial survival behavior. One of these circuits is the periaqueductal gray, a midbrain structure that can command a variety of instinctive behaviors. Recent experiments using modern systems neuroscience techniques have begun to elucidate the specific role of the periaqueductal gray in controlling escape. These have shown that periaqueductal gray neurons are crucial units for gating and commanding the initiation of escape, specifically activated in situations of imminent, escapable threat. In addition, it is becoming clear that the periaqueductal gray integrates brain-wide information that can modulate escape initiation to generate flexible defensive behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaara Lefler
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Dario Campagner
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, London W1T 4JG, UK; UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, London W1T 4JG, UK
| | - Tiago Branco
- UCL Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, London W1T 4JG, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Diehl MM, Bravo-Rivera C, Quirk GJ. The study of active avoidance: A platform for discussion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:229-237. [PMID: 31509767 PMCID: PMC6936221 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Traditional active avoidance tasks have advanced the field of aversive learning and memory for decades and are useful for studying simple avoidance responses in isolation; however, these tasks have limited clinical relevance because they do not model several key features of clinical avoidance. In contrast, platform-mediated avoidance (PMA) more closely resembles clinical avoidance because the response i) is associated with an unambiguous safe location, ii) is not associated with an artificial termination of the warning signal, and iii) is associated with a decision-based appetitive cost. Recent findings on the neuronal circuits of PMA have confirmed that amygdala-striatal circuits are essential for avoidance. In PMA, however, the prelimbic cortex facilitates the avoidance response early during the warning signal, perhaps through disinhibition of the striatum. Future studies on avoidance should account for additional factors such as sex differences and social interactions that will advance our understanding of maladaptive avoidance contributing to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria M Diehl
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, PR, 00936, Puerto Rico; Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506 United States
| | | | - Gregory J Quirk
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, PR, 00936, Puerto Rico.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Panitz C, Keil A, Mueller EM. Extinction-resistant attention to long-term conditioned threat is indexed by selective visuocortical alpha suppression in humans. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15809. [PMID: 31676781 PMCID: PMC6825167 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52315-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous electrophysiological studies in humans have shown rapid modulations of visual attention after conditioned threat vs. safety cues (<500 ms post-stimulus), but it is unknown whether this attentional prioritization is sustained throughout later time windows and whether it is robust to extinction. To investigate sustained visual attention, we assessed visuocortical alpha suppression in response to conditioned and extinguished threat. We reanalysed data from N = 87 male participants that had shown successful long-term threat conditioning and extinction in self reports and physiological measures in a two-day conditioning paradigm. The current EEG time-frequency analyses on recall test data on Day 2 revealed that previously threat-conditioned vs. safety cues evoked stronger occipital alpha power suppression from 600 to 1200 ms. Notably, this suppression was resistant to previous extinction. The present study showed for the first time that threat conditioning enhances sustained modulation of visuocortical attention to threat in the long term. Long-term stability and extinction resistance of alpha suppression suggest a crucial role of visuocortical attention mechanisms in the maintenance of learned fears.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Panitz
- University of Marburg, Department of Psychology, Gutenbergstr. 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Andreas Keil
- University of Florida, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, 3063 Longleaf Road, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Erik M Mueller
- University of Marburg, Department of Psychology, Gutenbergstr. 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Ridderbusch IC, Richter J, Yang Y, Hoefler M, Weber H, Reif A, Hamm A, Pané-Farré CA, Gerlach AL, Stroehle A, Pfleiderer B, Arolt V, Wittchen HU, Gloster A, Lang T, Helbig-Lang S, Fehm L, Pauli P, Kircher T, Lueken U, Straube B. Association of rs7688285 allelic variation coding for GLRB with fear reactivity and exposure-based therapy in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2019; 29:1138-1151. [PMID: 31444036 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.07.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The gene coding for glycine receptor β subunits (GLRB) has been found to be related to panic disorder and agoraphobia (PD/AG) and to be associated with altered insular BOLD activation during fear conditioning, as an intermediate phenotype of defensive system reactivity in healthy subjects. In a multicenter clinical trial on PD/AG patients we investigated in three sub-samples whether GLRB allelic variation (A/G; A-allele identified as «risk») in the single nucleotide polymorphism rs7688285 was associated with autonomic (behavioral avoidance test BAT; n = 267 patients) and neural (differential fear conditioning; n = 49 patients, n = 38 controls) measures, and furthermore with responding towards exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT, n = 184 patients). An interaction of genotype with current PD/AG diagnosis (PD/AG vs. controls; fMRI data only) and their modification after CBT was tested as well. Exploratory fMRI results prior to CBT, revealed A-allele carriers irrespective of diagnostic status to show overall higher BOLD activation in the hippocampus, motor cortex (MC) and insula. Differential activation in the MC, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula was found in the interaction genotype X diagnosis. Differential activation in ACC and hippocampus was present in differential fear learning. ACC activation was modified after treatment, while no overall rs7688285 dependent effect on clinical outcomes was found. On the behavioral level, A-allele carriers showed pronounced fear reactivity prior to CBT which partially normalized afterwards. In sum, rs7688285 variation interacts in a complex manner with PD/AG on a functional systems level and might be involved in the development of PD/AG but not in their treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle C Ridderbusch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany.
| | - Jan Richter
- Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Yunbo Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - Michael Hoefler
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Heike Weber
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Alfons Hamm
- Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Christiane A Pané-Farré
- Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Alexander L Gerlach
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Andreas Stroehle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina Pfleiderer
- Medical Faculty, University of Münster and Department Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Volker Arolt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), München, Germany
| | - Andrew Gloster
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Intervention Science, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Lang
- Christoph-Dornier-Stiftung für Klinische Psychologie, Bremen, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sylvia Helbig-Lang
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lydia Fehm
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - Ulrike Lueken
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Pittig A. Incentive-based extinction of safety behaviors: Positive outcomes competing with aversive outcomes trigger fear-opposite action to prevent protection from fear extinction. Behav Res Ther 2019; 121:103463. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
|
47
|
Hamm AO. Fear, anxiety, and their disorders from the perspective of psychophysiology. Psychophysiology 2019; 57:e13474. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alfons O. Hamm
- Department of Psychology University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Terpou BA, Harricharan S, McKinnon MC, Frewen P, Jetly R, Lanius RA. The effects of trauma on brain and body: A unifying role for the midbrain periaqueductal gray. J Neurosci Res 2019; 97:1110-1140. [PMID: 31254294 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a diagnosis that may follow the experience of trauma, has multiple symptomatic phenotypes. Generally, individuals with PTSD display symptoms of hyperarousal and of hyperemotionality in the presence of fearful stimuli. A subset of individuals with PTSD; however, elicit dissociative symptomatology (i.e., depersonalization, derealization) in the wake of a perceived threat. This pattern of response characterizes the dissociative subtype of the disorder, which is often associated with emotional numbing and hypoarousal. Both symptomatic phenotypes exhibit attentional threat biases, where threat stimuli are processed preferentially leading to a hypervigilant state that is thought to promote defensive behaviors during threat processing. Accordingly, PTSD and its dissociative subtype are thought to differ in their proclivity to elicit active (i.e., fight, flight) versus passive (i.e., tonic immobility, emotional shutdown) defensive responses, which are characterized by the increased and the decreased expression of the sympathetic nervous system, respectively. Moreover, active and passive defenses are accompanied by primarily endocannabinoid- and opioid-mediated analgesics, respectively. Through critical review of the literature, we apply the defense cascade model to better understand the pathological presentation of defensive responses in PTSD with a focus on the functioning of lower-level midbrain and extended brainstem systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Braeden A Terpou
- Department of Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Margaret C McKinnon
- Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paul Frewen
- Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rakesh Jetly
- Canadian Forces, Health Services, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Ruth A Lanius
- Department of Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Lis S, Thome J, Kleindienst N, Mueller-Engelmann M, Steil R, Priebe K, Schmahl C, Hermans D, Bohus M. Generalization of fear in post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychophysiology 2019; 57:e13422. [PMID: 31206738 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Overgeneralization (i.e., the transfer of fear to stimuli not related to an aversive event) is part of alterations in associative fear learning in mental disorders. In the present experimental study, we investigated whether this holds true for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood abuse. We expected that fear generalization under experimental conditions reflects generalization of aversive stimuli to different social domains in real life. Sixty-four women with PTSD after childhood abuse and 30 healthy participants (HC) underwent a differential fear conditioning and generalization paradigm. Online risk ratings, reaction time, and fear-potentiated startle served as dependent variables. Based on the subjectively assessed generalization of triggered intrusions across different domains of life, PTSD participants were split into two groups reporting low (low-GEN) and high (high-GEN) generalization. PTSD patients reported a higher expectation of an aversive event. During fear conditioning, they assessed the risk of danger related to a safety cue slower and showed a blunted fear-potentiated startle toward the danger cue. During generalization testing, reaction time increased in the high-GEN patients and decreased in the HC group with increasing similarity of a stimulus with the conditioned safety cue. Alterations of fear learning in PTSD suggest impaired defensive responses in case of a high threat probability. Moreover, our findings bridge the gap between the generalization of aversive cues during everyday life and laboratory-based experimental parameters: impairments in the processing of cues signaling safety generalize particularly in those patients who report a spreading of PTSD symptoms across different domains of everyday life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Lis
- Institute for Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - J Thome
- Institute for Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Canada.,Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - N Kleindienst
- Institute for Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - M Mueller-Engelmann
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Intervention, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - R Steil
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Intervention, Institute of Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - K Priebe
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - C Schmahl
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - D Hermans
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Leuven University, Flanders, Belgium
| | - M Bohus
- Institute for Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.,McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Vieira JB, Pierzchajlo SR, Mitchell DGV. Neural correlates of social and non-social personal space intrusions: Role of defensive and peripersonal space systems in interpersonal distance regulation. Soc Neurosci 2019; 15:36-51. [PMID: 31151372 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1626763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Personal space regulation ensures the maintenance of a margin of safety between the individual and the surrounding world. However, little is known about the specific neural mechanisms implicated in regulating the distance from conspecifics versus non-social stimuli. Here, we investigated the neural correlates of personal space intrusions by social versus non-social stimuli. Thirty volunteers underwent fMRI scanning while viewing approaching or withdrawing faces (Social) and insects/arachnids (Non-social). Preferred distance to the stimuli was assessed behaviourally in a computerized task, and in real life. Results showed that approaching social and non-social stimuli of varying threat levels elicited activation of frontoparietal regions previously linked to peripersonal space, as well as of the midbrain periaqueductal gray, suggesting the engagement of defensive mechanisms by personal space intrusions. However, functional connectivity patterns of the midbrain differed for social and non-social stimuli, with enhanced coupling with the premotor cortex to approaching social stimuli. Additionally, connectivity strength between the midbrain and the premotor cortex was associated with preferred interpersonal distance. These findings highlight a common defensive architecture implicated in personal space regulation to social and non-social stimuli, and the specific neural mechanisms involved in regulating the distance from conspecifics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana B Vieira
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Stephen R Pierzchajlo
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Derek G V Mitchell
- Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|