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Zhu S, Liu Q, Zhang X, Zhou M, Zhou X, Ding F, Zhang R, Becker B, Kendrick KM, Zhao W. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation enhanced emotional inhibitory control via increasing intrinsic prefrontal couplings. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2024; 24:100462. [PMID: 38665809 PMCID: PMC11044052 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Inhibitory control represents a core executive function that critically facilitates adaptive behavior and survival in an ever-changing environment. Non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been hypothesized to improve behavioral inhibition performance, however the neurocomputational mechanism of taVNS-induced neuroenhancement remains elusive. Method In the current study, we investigated the efficacy of taVNS in a sham-controlled between-subject functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiment with an emotional face Go/No-Go paradigm in ninety healthy young adults. Results After a data quality check, eighty-two subjects were included in the final data analysis. Behaviorally, the taVNS improved No-Go response accuracy, together with computational modeling using Hierarchical Bayesian estimation of the Drift Diffusion Model (HDDM) indicating that it specifically reduced the information accumulation rate for Go responses, and this was negatively associated with increased accuracy of No-Go responses. On the neural level, taVNS enhanced engagement of the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during inhibition of angry expression faces and modulated functional couplings (FCs) within the prefrontal inhibitory control network. Mediation models revealed that taVNS-induced facilitation of inhibitory control was critically mediated by a decreased information accumulation for Go responses and concomitantly enhanced neurofunctional coupling between the inferior and orbital frontal cortex. Discussion Our findings demonstrate a potential for taVNS to improve emotional inhibitory control via reducing pre-potent responses and enhancing FCs within prefrontal inhibitory control networks, suggesting a promising therapeutic role in treating specific disorders characterized by inhibitory control deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Zhu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
- The Laboratory of Sport Psychology, School of Sport Training, Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Psychology and Behavior of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, PR China
| | - Qi Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
| | - Xiaolu Zhang
- Anhui Children's Hospital, Pediatric Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Hefei 230051, PR China
| | - Menghan Zhou
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, PR China
| | - Fangyuan Ding
- College of National Culture and Cognitive Science, Guizhou Minzu University, Guiyang, 550025, PR China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education of China, National Committee of Health and Family Planning of China and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, PR China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Department of Psychology, Hong Kong, 999077, PR China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
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Cen YS, Li W, Xia LX. Resting-state neural correlates of individual differences in ignored experience and its deleterious effect. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad433. [PMID: 37991321 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad433] [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: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Uncovering the neural mechanisms of ostracism experience (including its subclasses of excluded and ignored experiences) is important. However, the resting-state functional brain substrates responsible for individual differences in ostracism experience and its negative effects remain largely undefined. This study explored these issues in a sample of 198 Chinese college students by assessing the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and functional connectivity. The findings indicated a positive correlation between ignored experience and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in the right superior frontal gyrus and the functional connectivity between the right superior frontal gyrus and left cerebellum posterior lobe. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between ignored experience and the functional connectivity between the right superior frontal gyrus and the bilateral insula as well as the bilateral inferior parietal lobule. Moreover, the mediation analysis demonstrated that the effects of the functional connectivities of right superior frontal gyrus-left cerebellum posterior lobe and right superior frontal gyrus-right inferior parietal lobule on revenge intention were mediated by ignored experience. Our study offers novel insights into the neural correlates of both individual variations in ignored experience and its typical deleterious effect. These results could deepen our understanding of individual differences in negative experiences and inspire the development of targeted interventions for social stress from the perspective of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Shan Cen
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Wei Li
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Ling-Xiang Xia
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China
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Mercante B, Uccula A, Secchi E, Puggioni G, Loi N, Enrico P, Deriu F. Hand-blink reflex modulation: The role of primary emotions and attachment dimensions. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14432. [PMID: 37670673 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14432] [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: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
The hand-blink reflex (HBR) is a subcortical response elicited by the electrical stimulation of the median nerve. HBR magnitude is enhanced when the stimulated hand is close to the face and is modulated by high-level structures according to the perceived threat magnitude. Psychological factors may contribute to threat evaluation and possibly to HBR amplitude modulation. In this study, we assessed distinctively emotional and relational aspects of personality and evaluated their associations with the HBR response, or lack thereof, in healthy subjects. Seventy-one volunteers filled the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y questionnaires and underwent HBR recording. We found that the HBR could be evoked only in 50.7% of all subjects (responders). Non-responders subjects showed higher scores in the avoidance dimension (p = .005), and lower scores in the care dimension (p = .008), compared with responders. In responders, regression analysis showed a negative association of HBR amplitude (difference in near vs. far responses) with anger dimension and a positive association with state anxiety (R2 = 0.239). A positive association also emerged with HBR latency and fear dimension (R2 = 0.419). We conclude that primary emotional and relational factors may play an important role in the modulation of brainstem circuits mediating the HBR response. Our results may also contribute to the question about the absence of the HBR in about half of the subjects since high-level cognitive processes seem to play an important role in the differentiation between responder and non-responder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beniamina Mercante
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Arcangelo Uccula
- Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Eleonora Secchi
- Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Graziella Puggioni
- Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Nicola Loi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Paolo Enrico
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Franca Deriu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
- Unit of Endocrinology, Nutritional and Metabolic Disorders, AOU Sassari, Sassari, Italy
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Langerbeck M, Baggio T, Messina I, Bhat S, Grecucci A. Borderline shades: Morphometric features predict borderline personality traits but not histrionic traits. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 40:103530. [PMID: 37879232 PMCID: PMC10618757 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103530] [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: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is one of the most diagnosed disorders in clinical settings. Besides the fully diagnosed disorder, borderline personality traits (BPT) are quite common in the general population. Prior studies have investigated the neural correlates of BPD but not of BPT. This paper investigates the neural correlates of BPT in a subclinical population using a supervised machine learning method known as Kernel Ridge Regression (KRR) to build predictive models. Additionally, we want to determine whether the same brain areas involved in BPD are also involved in subclinical BPT. Recent attempts to characterize the specific role of resting state-derived macro networks in BPD have highlighted the role of the default mode network. However, it is not known if this extends to the subclinical population. Finally, we wanted to test the hypothesis that the same circuitry that predicts BPT can also predict histrionic personality traits. Histrionic personality is sometimes considered a milder form of BPD, and making a differential diagnosis between the two may be difficult. For the first time KRR was applied to structural images of 135 individuals to predict BPT, based on the whole brain, on a circuit previously found to correctly classify BPD, and on the five macro-networks. At a whole brain level, results show that frontal and parietal regions, as well as the Heschl's area, the thalamus, the cingulum, and the insula, are able to predict borderline traits. BPT predictions increase when considering only the regions limited to the brain circuit derived from a study on BPD, confirming a certain overlap in brain structure between subclinical and clinical samples. Of all the five macro networks, only the DMN successfully predicts BPD, confirming previous observations on its role in the BPD. Histrionic traits could not be predicted by the BPT circuit. The results have implications for the diagnosis of BPD and a dimensional model of personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Langerbeck
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN), Maastricht University, Netherlands
| | - Teresa Baggio
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Italy.
| | - Irene Messina
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Italy; Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy.
| | - Salil Bhat
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience (FPN), Maastricht University, Netherlands.
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Italy; Centre for Medical Sciences (CISMed), University of Trento, Italy.
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Shen J, Kim WS, Tsogt U, Odkhuu S, Liu C, Kang NI, Lee KH, Sui J, Kim SW, Chung YC. Neuronal signatures of anger and fear in patients with psychosis. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2023; 333:111658. [PMID: 37192564 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111658] [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: 07/24/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated the functional neuroanatomy in response to sentence stimuli related to anger-provoking situations and fear of negative evaluation in patients with psychosis. The tasks consisted of four active conditions, Self-Anger (SA), Self-Fear, Other-Anger (OA), and Other-Fear (OF), and two neutral conditions, Neutral-Anger (NA) and Neutral-Fear (NF). Several relevant clinical measures were obtained. Under all contrasts, significantly higher activation in the left inferior parietal gyrus or superior parietal gyrus and the left middle occipital gyrus or superior occipital gyrus was observed in patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). However, we observed significantly lower activation in the left angular gyrus (AG) and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) under the OA vs. NA contrast, as well as in the left precuneus and left posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) under the OF vs. NF contrast in patients. The mean beta values for the significant regions under the SA vs. NA and OF vs. NF contrasts were significantly associated with the total PI and PANSS scores, respectively. These findings indicate that patients with psychosis exhibit hypoactivation in the AG, MTG, precuneus, and PCG compared to HCs. The findings suggest that patients with psychosis are less efficient at recruiting neural responses in those regions for semantic processing and social evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Shen
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University, Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
| | - Woo-Sung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University, Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
| | - Uyanga Tsogt
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University, Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
| | - Soyolsaikhan Odkhuu
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University, Medical School, Jeonju, Korea
| | - Congcong Liu
- Center for Mental Health Education, Qingdao Institute of Technology, Shandong, China
| | - Nam-In Kang
- Department of Psychiatry, Maeumsarang Hospital, Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, Korea
| | - Keon-Hak Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Maeumsarang Hospital, Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, Korea
| | - Jing Sui
- State Key Lab of Brain Science and Learning at Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Sung-Wan Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Chul Chung
- Department of Psychiatry, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Korea.
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Grecucci A, Sorella S, Consolini J. Decoding individual differences in expressing and suppressing anger from structural brain networks: A supervised machine learning approach. Behav Brain Res 2023; 439:114245. [PMID: 36470420 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114245] [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: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Anger can be broken down into different elements: a transitory state (state anger), a stable personality feature (trait anger), a tendency to express it (anger-out), or to suppress it (anger-in), and the ability to regulate it (anger control). These elements are characterized by individual differences that vary across a continuum. Among them, the abilities to express and suppress anger are of particular relevance as they determine outcomes and enable successful anger management in daily situations. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that anger suppression and expression can be decoded by patterns of grey matter of specific well-known brain networks. To this aim, a supervised machine learning technique, known as Kernel Ridge Regression, was used to predict anger expression and suppression scores of 212 healthy subjects from the grey matter concentration. Results show that individual differences in anger suppression were predicted by two grey matter patterns associated with the Default-Mode Network and the Salience Network. Additionally, individual differences in anger expression were predicted by a circuit mainly involving subcortical and fronto-temporal regions when considering whole brain grey matter features. These results expand previous findings regarding the neural bases of anger by showing that individual differences in specific anger-related components can be predicted by the grey matter features of specific networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Grecucci
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Cli.A.N. Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences - DiPSCo, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy; Center for Medical Sciences, CISMed, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
| | - Sara Sorella
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Cli.A.N. Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences - DiPSCo, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Jennifer Consolini
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Cli.A.N. Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences - DiPSCo, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
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7
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Lee KS, Hagan CN, Hughes M, Cotter G, McAdam Freud E, Kircanski K, Leibenluft E, Brotman MA, Tseng WL. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Task-based fMRI Studies in Youths With Irritability. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2023; 62:208-229. [PMID: 35944754 PMCID: PMC9892288 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Childhood irritability, operationalized as disproportionate and frequent temper tantrums and low frustration tolerance relative to peers, is a transdiagnostic symptom across many pediatric disorders. Studies using task-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe neural dysfunction in irritability have increased. However, an integrated review summarizing the published methods and synthesized fMRI results remains lacking. METHOD We conducted a systematic search using irritability terms and task functional neuroimaging in key databases in March 2021, and identified 30 studies for our systematic review. Sample characteristics and fMRI methods were summarized. A subset of 28 studies met the criteria for extracting coordinate-based data for quantitative meta-analysis. Ten activation-likelihood estimations were performed to examine neural convergence across irritability measures and fMRI task domains. RESULTS Systematic review revealed small sample sizes (median = 58, mean age range = 8-16 years) with heterogeneous sample characteristics, irritability measures, tasks, and analytical procedures. Meta-analyses found no evidence for neural activation convergence of irritability across neurocognitive functions related to emotional reactivity, cognitive control, and reward processing, or within each domain. Sensitivity analyses partialing out variances driven by heterogeneous tasks, irritability measures, stimulus types, and developmental ages all yielded null findings. Results were compared with a review on irritability-related structural anomalies from 11 studies. CONCLUSION The lack of neural convergence suggests a need for common, standardized irritability assessments and more homogeneous fMRI tasks. Thoughtfully designed fMRI studies probing commonly defined neurocognitive functions may be more fruitful to elucidate the neural mechanisms of irritability. Open science practices, data mining in large neuroscience databases, and standardized analytical methods promote meaningful collaboration in irritability research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Shu Lee
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Mina Hughes
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Eva McAdam Freud
- Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.,University College London, United Kingdom, and Anna Freud National
Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
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Tonnaer F, van Zutphen L, Raine A, Cima M. Amygdala connectivity and aggression. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 197:87-106. [PMID: 37633721 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821375-9.00002-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Neurobiological models propose that reactive aggression is predicated on impairments in amygdala-prefrontal connectivity that subserves moral decision-making and emotion regulation. The amygdala is a key component within this neural network that modulates reactive aggression. We provide a review of amygdala dysfunctional brain networks leading to reactive aggressive behavior. We elaborate on key concepts, focusing on moral decision-making and emotion regulation in a developmental context, and brain network connectivity factors relating to amygdala (dys)function-factors which we suggest predispose to reactive aggression. We additionally discuss insights into the latest treatment interventions, providing the utilization of the scientific findings for practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franca Tonnaer
- Department of Research, Ventio Crime Prevention Science Institute, Rijckholt, The Netherlands
| | - Linda van Zutphen
- Department of Conditions for LifeLong Learning, Educational Sciences, Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands
| | - Adrian Raine
- Department of Criminology, Richard Perry University, Berkeley, CA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Maaike Cima
- Department of Research, Ventio Crime Prevention Science Institute, Rijckholt, The Netherlands; Department of Developmental Psychopathology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Research, VIGO Groep, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Hofhansel L, Weidler C, Clemens B, Habel U, Votinov M. Personal insult disrupts regulatory brain networks in violent offenders. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4654-4664. [PMID: 36124828 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac369] [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: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The failure to adequately regulate negative emotions represents a prominent characteristic of violent offenders. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we used technical, nonsocial frustration to elicit anger in violent offenders (n = 19) and then increased the provocation by adding personal insults (social provocation). The aim was to investigate neural connectivity patterns involved in anger processing, to detect the effect of increasing provocation by personal insult, and to compare anger-related connectivity patterns between offenders and noncriminal controls (n = 12). During technical frustration, the offenders showed increased neural connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex compared to the controls. Conversely, personal insults, and thus increased levels of provocation, resulted in a significant reduction of neural connectivity between regions involved in cognitive control in the offenders but not controls. We conclude that, when (nonsocially) frustrated, offenders were able to employ regulatory brain networks by displaying stronger connectivity between regulatory prefrontal and limbic regions than noncriminal controls. In addition, offenders seemed particularly sensitive to personal insults, which led to increased implicit aggression (by means of motoric responses) and reduced connectivity in networks involved in cognitive control (including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, middle/superior temporal regions).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Hofhansel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Carmen Weidler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Mikhail Votinov
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
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10
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Consolini J, Sorella S, Grecucci A. Evidence for lateralized functional connectivity patterns at rest related to the tendency of externalizing or internalizing anger. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:788-802. [PMID: 35612724 PMCID: PMC9294029 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01012-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Previous electroencephalographic and brain stimulation studies have shown that anger responses may be differently lateralized in the prefrontal cortex, with outward-oriented responses (externalized anger) linked to left prefrontal activity, and inward-oriented responses (internalized anger) linked to right prefrontal activity. However, the specific neural structures involved in this asymmetry, and how they interact to produce individual differences, remain unexplored. Furthermore, it is unclear whether such asymmetry may be explained by general behavioral tendencies, known as Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Inhibition Systems (BIS/BAS). Therefore, we analyzed the tendency of externalizing and internalizing anger, respectively measured by the Anger-Out and Anger-In subscales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, with the patterns of functional connectivity at rest of 71 participants. A left, prefrontal, resting-state, functional connectivity pattern was found for externalizing anger (Anger-Out), including the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left frontal eye fields. By contrast, a right, prefrontal, resting-state, functional connectivity pattern was found for internalizing anger (Anger-In), including the rostral and lateral prefrontal cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, the frontal pole, the superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri, and the anterior cingulate. Notably, these patterns were not associated with the BIS/BAS scores. In this study, for the first time, we provide evidence using fMRI functional connectivity for two specific lateralized circuits contributing to individual differences in externalizing and internalizing anger. These results confirm and extend the asymmetry hypothesis for anger and have notable implications in the treatment of anger-related problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Consolini
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Corso Bettini, 31, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
| | - Sara Sorella
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Corso Bettini, 31, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Corso Bettini, 31, Rovereto, TN, Italy
- Centre for Medical Sciences, CISMed, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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Harlé KM, Ho TC, Connolly CG, Simmons AN, Yang TT. The effect of obstructed action efficacy on reward-based decision-making in healthy adolescents: a novel functional MRI task to assay frustration. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:542-556. [PMID: 34966980 PMCID: PMC9090962 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00975-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Frustration is common in adolescence and often interferes with executive functioning, particularly reward-based decision-making, and yet very little is known about how incidental frustrating events (independent of task-based feedback) disrupt the neural circuitry of reward processing in this important age group. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 45 healthy adolescents played a card game in which they had to guess between two options to earn points, in low- and high-stake conditions. Functioning of button presses through which they made decisions was intermittently blocked, thereby increasing frustration potential. Neural deactivation of the precuneus, a Default Mode Network region, was observed during obstructed action blocks across stake conditions, but less so on high- relative to low-stake trials. Moreover, less deactivation in goal-directed reward processing regions (i.e., caudate), frontoparietal "task control" regions, and interoceptive processing regions (i.e., somatosensory cortex, thalamus) were observed on high-stake relative to low-stake trials. These findings are consistent with less disruption of goal-directed reward seeking during blocked action efficacy in high-stake conditions among healthy adolescents. These results provide a roadmap of neural systems critical to the processing of frustrating events during reward-based decision-making in youths and could help to characterize how frustration regulation is altered in a range of pediatric psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katia M Harlé
- VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Tiffany C Ho
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Colm G Connolly
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Alan N Simmons
- VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Tony T Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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12
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Doyle CM, Lane ST, Brooks JA, Wilkins RW, Gates KM, Lindquist KA. Unsupervised classification reveals consistency and degeneracy in neural network patterns of emotion. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:995-1006. [PMID: 35445241 PMCID: PMC9629478 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we used an unsupervised classification algorithm to reveal both consistency and degeneracy in neural network connectivity during anger and anxiety. Degeneracy refers to the ability of different biological pathways to produce the same outcomes. Previous research is suggestive of degeneracy in emotion, but little research has explicitly examined whether degenerate functional connectivity patterns exist for emotion categories such as anger and anxiety. Twenty-four subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to unpleasant music and self-generating experiences of anger and anxiety. A data-driven model building algorithm with unsupervised classification (subgrouping Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation) identified patterns of connectivity among 11 intrinsic networks that were associated with anger vs anxiety. As predicted, degenerate functional connectivity patterns existed within these overarching consistent patterns. Degenerate patterns were not attributable to differences in emotional experience or other individual-level factors. These findings are consistent with the constructionist account that emotions emerge from flexible functional neuronal assemblies and that emotion categories such as anger and anxiety each describe populations of highly variable instances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron M Doyle
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Stephanie T Lane
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Brooks
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 84720, USA,Hume AI, New York, NY 10010, USA
| | - Robin W Wilkins
- Gateway University of North Carolina Greensboro MRI Center, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA
| | - Kathleen M Gates
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Correspondence should be addressed to Kristen A. Lindquist, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, CB #3270, 230 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. E-mail:
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13
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Grecucci A, Lapomarda G, Messina I, Monachesi B, Sorella S, Siugzdaite R. Structural Features Related to Affective Instability Correctly Classify Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder. A Supervised Machine Learning Approach. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:804440. [PMID: 35295769 PMCID: PMC8918568 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.804440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous morphometric studies of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) reported inconsistent alterations in cortical and subcortical areas. However, these studies have investigated the brain at the voxel level using mass univariate methods or region of interest approaches, which are subject to several artifacts and do not enable detection of more complex patterns of structural alterations that may separate BPD from other clinical populations and healthy controls (HC). Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) is a whole-brain multivariate supervised machine learning method able to classify individuals and predict an objective diagnosis based on structural features. As such, this method can help identifying objective biomarkers related to BPD pathophysiology and predict new cases. To this aim, we applied MKL to structural images of patients with BPD and matched HCs. Moreover, to ensure that results are specific for BPD and not for general psychological disorders, we also applied MKL to BPD against a group of patients with bipolar disorder, for their similarities in affective instability. Results showed that a circuit, including basal ganglia, amygdala, and portions of the temporal lobes and of the orbitofrontal cortex, correctly classified BPD against HC (80%). Notably, this circuit positively correlates with the affective sector of the Zanarini questionnaire, thus indicating an involvement of this circuit with affective disturbances. Moreover, by contrasting BPD with BD, the spurious regions were excluded, and a specific circuit for BPD was outlined. These results support that BPD is characterized by anomalies in a cortico-subcortical circuit related to affective instability and that this circuit discriminates BPD from controls and from other clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Grecucci
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Center for Medical Sciences - CISMed, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Gaia Lapomarda
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Science Division, New York University of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Irene Messina
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Universitas Mercatorum, Rome, Italy
| | - Bianca Monachesi
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Sara Sorella
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Roma Siugzdaite
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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14
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At the Intersection of Anger, Chronic Pain, and the Brain: A Mini-Review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104558. [PMID: 35122780 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pain remains one of the most persistent healthcare challenges in the world. To advance pain treatment, experts have recently introduced research-driven subtypes of chronic pain based on proposed underlying mechanisms. Nociplastic pain (e.g., nonspecific chronic low back or fibromyalgia) is one such subtype which may involve a greater etiologic role for brain plasticity, painful emotions induced by life stress and trauma, and unhealthy emotion regulation. In particular, correlational and behavioral data link anger and the ways anger is regulated with the presence and severity of nociplastic pain. Functional neuroimaging studies also suggest nociplastic pain and healthy anger regulation demonstrate inverse patterns of activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala; thus, improving anger regulation could normalize activity in these regions. In this Mini-Review, we summarize these findings and propose a unified, biobehavioral model called the Anger, Brain, and Nociplastic Pain (AB-NP) Model, which can be tested in future research and may advance pain care by informing new treatments that address anger, anger regulation, and brain plasticity for nociplastic pain.
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15
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Yang J, Gu R, Liu J, Deng K, Huang X, Luo YJ, Cui F. To Blame or Not? Modulating Third-Party Punishment with the Framing Effect. Neurosci Bull 2022; 38:533-547. [PMID: 34988911 PMCID: PMC9106775 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-021-00808-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
People as third-party observers, without direct self-interest, may punish norm violators to maintain social norms. However, third-party judgment and the follow-up punishment might be susceptible to the way we frame (i.e., verbally describe) a norm violation. We conducted a behavioral and a neuroimaging experiment to investigate the above phenomenon, which we call the "third-party framing effect". In these experiments, participants observed an anonymous perpetrator deciding whether to keep her/his economic benefit while exposing a victim to a risk of physical pain (described as "harming others" in one condition and "not helping others" in the other condition), then they had a chance to punish that perpetrator at their own cost. Our results showed that the participants were more willing to execute third-party punishment under the harm frame compared to the help frame, manifesting a framing effect. Self-reported anger toward perpetrators mediated the relationship between empathy toward victims and the framing effect. Meanwhile, activation of the insula mediated the relationship between mid-cingulate cortex activation and the framing effect; the functional connectivity between these regions significantly predicted the size of the framing effect. These findings shed light on the psychological and neural mechanisms of the third-party framing effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiamiao Yang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Kexin Deng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Huang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Fang Cui
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. .,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
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16
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Sorella S, Vellani V, Siugzdaite R, Feraco P, Grecucci A. Structural and functional brain networks of individual differences in trait anger and anger control: An unsupervised machine learning study. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:510-527. [PMID: 34797003 PMCID: PMC9303475 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The ability to experience, use and eventually control anger is crucial to maintain well-being and build healthy relationships. Despite its relevance, the neural mechanisms behind individual differences in experiencing and controlling anger are poorly understood. To elucidate these points, we employed an unsupervised machine learning approach based on independent component analysis to test the hypothesis that specific functional and structural networks are associated with individual differences in trait anger and anger control. Structural and functional resting state images of 71 subjects as well as their scores from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory entered the analyses. At a structural level, the concentration of grey matter in a network including ventromedial temporal areas, posterior cingulate, fusiform gyrus and cerebellum was associated with trait anger. The higher the concentration, the higher the proneness to experience anger in daily life due to the greater tendency to orient attention towards aversive events and interpret them with higher hostility. At a functional level, the activity of the default mode network (DMN) was associated with anger control. The higher the DMN temporal frequency, the stronger the exerted control over anger, thus extending previous evidence on the role of the DMN in regulating cognitive and emotional functions in the domain of anger. Taken together, these results show, for the first time, two specialized brain networks for encoding individual differences in trait anger and anger control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sorella
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo)University of TrentoRoveretoItaly
| | - Valentina Vellani
- Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental PsychologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Paola Feraco
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES)University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo)University of TrentoRoveretoItaly,Centre for Medical Sciences (CISMed)University of TrentoTrentoItaly
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