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Staniloiu A, Markowitsch HJ. Dissociative Amnesia: Remembrances Under Cover. Top Cogn Sci 2024. [PMID: 38728576 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12734] [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: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The existence or questionability of "repressed memories" can be discussed as being a matter of definition. It seems, however, far-fetched to consider all "lost" memories as caused by encoding problems, brain damage, forgetfulness, failure to disclose events, and so on. We argue that dissociative amnesia (DA) (or "psychogenic amnesia," or "functional amnesia," or, as we favor to call it, "mnestic block syndrome") is caused by psychic alterations, but ultimately they can be traced to changes in the physiology of the brain, as we are of the opinion that all memory processes-positive or negative-alter brain functions, sometimes more permanently, sometimes transiently. We have proven this idea using functional imaging techniques, in particular fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography. Having investigated dozens of patients with severe and long-lasting DA conditions, we believe it to be disrespectful to many (but not to all) of the affected patients to question their disease condition, which can be proven to be not caused by feigning, malingering, or direct brain damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelica Staniloiu
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld
- Department of Psychology, University of Bucharest
- Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, Oberberg Clinic Hornberg
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Vásquez CE, Knak Guerra KT, Renner J, Rasia-Filho AA. Morphological heterogeneity of neurons in the human central amygdaloid nucleus. J Neurosci Res 2024; 102:e25319. [PMID: 38629777 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25319] [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: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
The central amygdaloid nucleus (CeA) has an ancient phylogenetic development and functions relevant for animal survival. Local cells receive intrinsic amygdaloidal information that codes emotional stimuli of fear, integrate them, and send cortical and subcortical output projections that prompt rapid visceral and social behavior responses. We aimed to describe the morphology of the neurons that compose the human CeA (N = 8 adult men). Cells within CeA coronal borders were identified using the thionine staining and were further analyzed using the "single-section" Golgi method followed by open-source software procedures for two-dimensional and three-dimensional image reconstructions. Our results evidenced varied neuronal cell body features, number and thickness of primary shafts, dendritic branching patterns, and density and shape of dendritic spines. Based on these criteria, we propose the existence of 12 morphologically different spiny neurons in the human CeA and discuss the variability in the dendritic architecture within cellular types, including likely interneurons. Some dendritic shafts were long and straight, displayed few collaterals, and had planar radiation within the coronal neuropil volume. Most of the sampled neurons showed a few to moderate density of small stubby/wide spines. Long spines (thin and mushroom) were observed occasionally. These novel data address the synaptic processing and plasticity in the human CeA. Our morphological description can be combined with further transcriptomic, immunohistochemical, and electrophysiological/connectional approaches. It serves also to investigate how neurons are altered in neurological and psychiatric disorders with hindered emotional perception, in anxiety, following atrophy in schizophrenia, and along different stages of Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos E Vásquez
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Kétlyn T Knak Guerra
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Josué Renner
- Department of Basic Sciences/Physiology and Graduate Program in Biosciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Alberto A Rasia-Filho
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Department of Basic Sciences/Physiology and Graduate Program in Biosciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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Palmer JD, Perlow HK, Lehrer EJ, Wardak Z, Soliman H. Novel radiotherapeutic strategies in the management of brain metastases: Challenging the dogma. Neuro Oncol 2024; 26:S46-S55. [PMID: 38437668 PMCID: PMC10911796 DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noad260] [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] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of radiation therapy in the management of brain metastasis is evolving. Advancements in machine learning techniques have improved our ability to both detect brain metastasis and our ability to contour substructures of the brain as critical organs at risk. Advanced imaging with PET tracers and magnetic resonance imaging-based artificial intelligence models can now predict tumor control and differentiate tumor progression from radiation necrosis. These advancements will help to optimize dose and fractionation for each patient's lesion based on tumor size, histology, systemic therapy, medical comorbidities/patient genetics, and tumor molecular features. This review will discuss the current state of brain directed radiation for brain metastasis. We will also discuss future directions to improve the precision of stereotactic radiosurgery and optimize whole brain radiation techniques to improve local tumor control and prevent cognitive decline without forming necrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D Palmer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Haley K Perlow
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Eric J Lehrer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Zabi Wardak
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Hany Soliman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Perlow HK, Nalin AP, Ritter AR, Addington M, Ward A, Liu M, Nappi C, Blakaj DM, Beyer SJ, Thomas EM, Grecula JC, Raval RR, Kotecha R, Boulter D, Dawson EL, Zoller W, Palmer JD. Advancing Beyond the Hippocampus to Preserve Cognition for Patients With Brain Metastases: Dosimetric Results From a Phase 2 Trial of Memory-Avoidance Whole Brain Radiation Therapy. Adv Radiat Oncol 2024; 9:101337. [PMID: 38405310 PMCID: PMC10885551 DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2023.101337] [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: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Recent advances to preserve neurocognitive function in patients treated for brain metastases include stereotactic radiosurgery, hippocampal avoidance whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), and memantine administration. The hippocampus, corpus callosum, fornix, and amygdala are key neurocognitive substructures with a low propensity for brain metastases. Herein, we report our preliminary experience using a "memory-avoidance" WBRT (MA-WBRT) approach that spares these substructures for patients with >15 brain metastases. Methods and Materials Ten consecutive patients treated with MA-WBRT on a phase 2 clinical trial were reviewed. In each patient, the hippocampi, amygdalae, corpus callosum, and fornix were contoured. Patients were not eligible for MA-WBRT if they had metastases in these substructures. A memory-avoidance region was created using a 5-mm volumetric expansion around these substructures. Hotspots were avoided in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Coverage of brain metastases was prioritized over memory avoidance dose constraints. Dose constraints for these avoidance structures included a D100% ≤ 9 Gy and D0.03 cm3 ≤ 16 Gy (variation acceptable to 20 Gy). LINAC-based volumetric modulated arc therapy plans were generated for a prescription dose of 30 Gy in 10 fractions. Results On average, the memory avoidance structure volume was 37.1 cm3 (range, 25.2-44.6 cm3), occupying 2.5% of the entire whole brain target volume. All treatment plans met the D100% dose constraint, and 8 of 10 plans met the D0.03 cm3 constraint, with priority given to tumor coverage for the remaining 2 cases. Target coverage (D98% > 25 Gy) and homogeneity (D2% ≤ 37.5 Gy) were achieved for all plans. Conclusions Modern volumetric modulated arc therapy techniques allow for sparing of the hippocampus, amygdala, corpus callosum, and fornix with good target coverage and homogeneity. After enrollment is completed, quality of life and cognitive data will be evaluated to assess the efficacy of MA-WBRT to mitigate declines in quality of life and cognition after whole brain radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley K. Perlow
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Ansel P. Nalin
- College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Alex R. Ritter
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Mark Addington
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Aubrie Ward
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Michal Liu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Collin Nappi
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Dukagjin M. Blakaj
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Sasha J. Beyer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Evan M. Thomas
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - John C. Grecula
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Raju R. Raval
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Rupesh Kotecha
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami, Florida
| | - Daniel Boulter
- Department of Radiology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Erica L. Dawson
- Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Wesley Zoller
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Joshua D. Palmer
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
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Xu R, Jin CY, Gu R, Shi Y, Jiang Y, Luo YJ. Emotional autobiographical memory retrieval in time domain. Memory 2023; 31:1062-1073. [PMID: 37428138 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2023.2220160] [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: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Autobiographical memory (AM) is an important psychological phenomenon that has significance for self-development and mental health. The psychological mechanisms of emotional AM retrieval and their association with individual emotional symptoms remain largely unclear in the literature. For this purpose, the current study provided cue words to elicit emotional AMs. Event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with the retrieval process of AMs were recorded and analyzed. We found that the ERP component N400 was sensitive to both emotional valence and retrieval state, such that its amplitude was larger for negative compared to positive AMs, and larger responses for unrecalled compared to recalled AMs. Further, the N400 amplitude in the positive recalled condition was correlated with individual difference in depression (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory). Another ERP component, the late positive potential (LPP), was also sensitive to emotional valence, such that its amplitude was larger (i.e., more positive-going) for positive compared to negative cues. No significant effect was observed on the early ERP components P1, N1, or P2. The current findings bring new understanding on the difference between positive and negative AMs retrieval in the time domain. Also, the importance of this difference to the individual level of depression is worth noting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Xu
- Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Christina Yi Jin
- Research Center for Augmented Intelligence, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuanyuan Shi
- Department of Tourism, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Jiang
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Institute for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, People's Republic of China
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Huang X, Zhuo Y, Wang X, Xu J, Yang Z, Zhou Y, Lv H, Ma X, Yan B, Zhao H, Yu H. Structural and functional improvement of amygdala sub-regions in postpartum depression after acupuncture. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1163746. [PMID: 37266323 PMCID: PMC10229903 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1163746] [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: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to analyze the changes in structure and function in amygdala sub-regions in patients with postpartum depression (PPD) before and after acupuncture. Methods A total of 52 patients with PPD (All-PPD group) were included in this trial, 22 of which completed 8 weeks of acupuncture treatment (Acu-PPD group). An age-matched control group of 24 healthy postpartum women (HPW) from the hospital and community were also included. Results from the 17-Hamilton Depression Scale (17-HAMD) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were evaluated, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans were performed at baseline and after the acupuncture treatment. Sub-regions of the amygdala were used as seed regions to measure gray matter volume (GMV) and analyzed for resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) values separately. Finally, correlation analyses were performed on all patients with PPD to evaluate association values between the clinical scale scores, GMV, and RSFC values, while controlling for age and education. Pearson's correlation analyses were conducted to investigate the relevance between GMV and RSFC values of brain regions that differed before and after acupuncture treatment and clinical scale scores in Acu-PPD patients. Results The HAMD scores for Acu-PPD were reduced after acupuncture treatment (P < 0.05), suggesting the positive effects of acupuncture on depression symptoms. Structurally, the All-PPD group showed significantly decreased GMV in the left lateral part of the amygdala (lAMG.L) and the right lateral part of the amygdala (lAMG.R) compared to the HPW group (P < 0.05). In addition, the GMV of lAMG.R was marginally increased in the Acu-PPD group after acupuncture (P < 0.05). Functionally, the Acu-PPD group showed a significantly enhanced RSFC between the left medial part of the amygdala (mAMG.L) and the left vermis_6, an increased RSFC between the right medial part of the amygdala (mAMG.R) and left vermis_6, and an increased RSFC between the lAMG.R and left cerebelum_crus1 (P < 0.05). Moreover, correlation studies revealed that the GMV in the lAMG.R was significantly related to the EPDS scores in the All-PPD group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that the structure of amygdala sub-regions is impaired in patients with PPD. Acupuncture may improve depressive symptoms in patients with PPD, and the mechanism may be attributed to changes in the amygdala sub-region structure and the functional connections of brain areas linked to the processing of negative emotions. The fMRI-based technique can provide comprehensive neuroimaging evidence to visualize the central mechanism of action of acupuncture in PPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingxian Huang
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuanyuan Zhuo
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xinru Wang
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jinping Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Zhuoxin Yang
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yumei Zhou
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hanqing Lv
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoming Ma
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bin Yan
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hong Zhao
- Luohu District of Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Haibo Yu
- Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China
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Markowitsch HJ, Staniloiu A. Behavioral, neurological, and psychiatric frailty of autobiographical memory. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2023; 14:e1617. [PMID: 35970754 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Autobiographical-episodic memory is considered to be the most complex of the five long-term memory systems. It is autonoetic, which means, self-reflective, relies on emotional colorization, and needs the features of place and time; it allows mental time traveling. Compared to the other four long-term memory systems-procedural memory, priming, perceptual, and semantic memory-it develops the latest in phylogeny and ontogeny, and is the most vulnerable of the five systems, being easily impaired by brain damage and psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, it is characterized by its fragility and proneness to distortion due to environmental influences and subsequent information. On the brain level, a distinction has to be made between memory encoding and consolidating, memory storage, and memory retrieval. For encoding, structures of the limbic system, with the hippocampus in its center, are crucial, for storage of widespread cortical networks, and for retrieval again a distributed recollection network, in which the prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role, is engaged. Brain damage and psychiatric diseases can lead to what is called "focal retrograde amnesia." In this context, the clinical picture of dissociative or functional or psychogenic amnesia is central, as it may result in autobiographical-emotional amnesia of the total past with the consequence of an impairment of the self as well. The social environment therefore can have a major impact on the brain and on autobiographical-episodic memory processing. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans J Markowitsch
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Angelica Staniloiu
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
- Oberberg Clinic, Hornberg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
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Markowitsch HJ, Staniloiu A, Wahl-Kordon A. Urbach-Wiethe disease in a young patient without apparent amygdala calcification. Neuropsychologia 2023; 183:108505. [PMID: 36775051 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108505] [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: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Urbach-Wiethe disease is an extremely rare genetically-based syndrome which usually leads to dermatological and neurological changes. Neurologically, the amygdaloid region is primarily bilaterally affected. Therefore, several functions modulated by the amygdala are changed in patients with Urbach-Wiethe disease. As the neurological alterations evolve only gradually, it is particularly important to determine the cognitive and brain status of a juvenile. The patient described here was seen briefly at age 9 and tested neuropsychologically at age 19; furthermore, computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of his head was done. There were no important abnormalities in the brain, which is unusual in the light of previous data from other patients. On the cognitive level, the patient was generally within normal limits. However, he had mild problems in attention and concentration, and more prominent problems in emotional processing domain, and in personality dimensions. It is concluded that amygdala calcifications in Urbach-Wiethe disease take place progressively-possibly underpinned by genetic and gender variables; this can subsequently allow psychosocial-social factors (such a proper education and socialization) and biological factors (compensatory neuroplasticity) to retard and diminish the development of socio-emotional and cognitive deteriorations, though the outcome of questionnaires indicates that such patients may develop substantial concerns as to their future life and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angelica Staniloiu
- University of Bielefeld, Germany; University of Bucharest, Romania; Oberberg Clinic Hornberg, Germany
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An N, Fu Y, Shi J, Guo HN, Yang ZW, Li YC, Li S, Wang Y, Yao ZJ, Hu B. Synergistic Effects of APOE and CLU May Increase the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: Acceleration of Atrophy in the Volumes and Shapes of the Hippocampus and Amygdala. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 80:1311-1327. [PMID: 33682707 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The volume loss of the hippocampus and amygdala in non-demented individuals has been reported to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Many neuroimaging genetics studies mainly focused on the individual effects of APOE and CLU on neuroimaging to understand their neural mechanisms, whereas their synergistic effects have been rarely studied. OBJECTIVE To assess whether APOE and CLU have synergetic effects, we investigated the epistatic interaction and combined effects of the two genetic variants on morphological degeneration of hippocampus and amygdala in the non-demented elderly at baseline and 2-year follow-up. METHODS Besides the widely-used volume indicator, the surface-based morphometry method was also adopted in this study to evaluate shape alterations. RESULTS Our results showed a synergistic effect of homozygosity for the CLU risk allele C in rs11136000 and APOEɛ4 on the hippocampal and amygdalar volumes during a 2-year follow-up. Moreover, the combined effects of APOEɛ4 and CLU C were stronger than either of the individual effects in the atrophy progress of the amygdala. CONCLUSION These findings indicate that brain morphological changes are caused by more than one gene variant, which may help us to better understand the complex endogenous mechanism of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na An
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Yu Fu
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Jie Shi
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Han-Ning Guo
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Zheng-Wu Yang
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Yong-Chao Li
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Shan Li
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Yin Wang
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Yao
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Bin Hu
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.,Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing, School of Information Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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Neuropsychological Evaluations in Limbic Encephalitis. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11050576. [PMID: 33947002 PMCID: PMC8145692 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Limbic encephalitis (LE) can cause dynamic and permanent impairment of cognition and behavior. In clinical practice, the question arises as to which cognitive and behavioral domains are affected by LE and which assessment is suited to monitor the disease progress and the success of treatment. Current findings on cognition and behavior in LE are reviewed and discussed based on current guidelines and consensus papers. In addition, we outline approaches for the neuropsychological monitoring of LE and its treatment. Dependent on disease acuity and severity, LE leads to episodic long-term memory dysfunction in different variants (e.g., anterograde memory impairment, accelerated long-term forgetting, and affection of autobiographical memory) and executive deficits. In addition, affective disorders are very common. More severe psychiatric symptoms may occur as well. In the course of the disease, dynamic phases with functional recovery must be differentiated from residual defect states. Evidence-based neuropsychological diagnostics should be conducted ideally before treatment initiation and reassessments are indicated when any progress is suggested, and when decisive anti-seizure or immunomodulatory treatment changes are made. Cognition and behavior may but must not run in synchrony with seizures, MRI pathology, or immune parameters. Cognitive and behavioral problems are integral aspects of LE and represent important biomarkers of disease acuity, progress, and therapy response beyond and in addition to parameters of immunology, neurological symptoms, and brain imaging. Thus, evidence-based neuropsychological assessments are essential for the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected or diagnosed limbic encephalitis, for treatment decisions, and disease and treatment monitoring.
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Neural meaning making, prediction, and prefrontal-subcortical development following early adverse caregiving. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 32:1563-1578. [PMID: 33427163 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Early adversities that are caregiving-related (crEAs) are associated with a significantly increased risk for mental health problems. Recent neuroscientific advances have revealed alterations in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-subcortical circuitry following crEAs. While this work has identified alterations in affective operations (e.g., perceiving, reacting, controlling, learning) associated with mPFC-subcortical circuitry, this circuitry has a much broader function extending beyond operations. It plays a primary role in affective meaning making, involving conceptual-level, schematized knowledge to generate predictions about the current environment. This function of mPFC-subcortical circuitry motivates asking whether mPFC-subcortical phenotypes following crEAs support semanticized knowledge content (or the concept-level knowledge) and generate predictive models. I present a hypothesis motivated by research findings across four different lines of work that converge on mPFC-subcortical neuroanatomy, including (a) the neurobiology supporting emotion regulation processes in adulthood, (b) the neurobiology that is activated by caregiving cues during development, (c) the neurobiology that is altered by crEAs, and (d) the neurobiology of semantic-based meaning making. I hypothesize that the affective behaviors following crEAs result in part from affective semantic memory processes supported by mPFC-subcortical circuitry that over the course of development, construct affective schemas that generate meaning making and guide predictions. I use this opportunity to review some of the literature on mPFC-subcortical circuit development following crEAs to illustrate the motivation behind this hypothesis. Long recognized by clinical science and cognitive neuroscience, studying schema-based processes may be particularly helpful for understanding how affective meaning making arises from developmental trajectories of mPFC-subcortical circuitry.
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Moore A. Make the Best of the Crisis Whilst it Lasts: Time to Think Like Never Before…. Bioessays 2020; 42:e2000239. [PMID: 32969056 PMCID: PMC7536893 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Bauer J, Grunwald T, Huppertz HJ, König K, Kohnen O, Shala J, Jokeit H. Social cognition in an adult epilepsy patient with developmental amnesia. Neurocase 2020; 26:231-240. [PMID: 32657245 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2020.1791904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Reports on social cognition in patients with developmental amnesia resulting from bilateral hippocampal lesions are rare, although the link between social cognition and temporal lobe structures is well established. We present the case of a 23-year-old male epilepsy patient, BM, with developmental amnesia due to perinatal cerebral hypoxia. The patient was examined with neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods and compared to IQ-matched patients with epilepsy to control for effects of epilepsy. In addition, we used a test battery that evaluates emotion recognition and theory of mind to study his social cognition abilities. Structural high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging showed bilateral hippocampal atrophy. The comparison to controls showed that, in addition to the well-documented memory disorders in developmental amnesia, BM showed remarkable deficits in 9 out of 17 social cognitive tasks assessing emotion recognition and theory of mind. In contrast, BM's performance on tasks of executive functions was largely preserved. The relevance of deficits in social cognition for patients with developmental amnesia is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Bauer
- Swiss Epilepsy Center , Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Hennric Jokeit
- Swiss Epilepsy Center , Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich , Zurich, Switzerland
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Staniloiu A, Kordon A, Markowitsch HJ. Stress- and trauma-related blockade of episodic-autobiographical memory processing. Neuropsychologia 2020; 139:107364. [PMID: 32006541 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Memory disorders without a direct neural substrate still belong to the riddles in neuroscience. Although they were for a while dissociated from research and clinical arenas, risking becoming forgotten diseases, they sparked novel interests, paralleling the refinements in functional neuroimaging and neuropsychology. Although Endel Tulving has not fully embarked himself on exploring this field, he had published at least one article on functional amnesia (Schacter et al., 1982) and ignited a seminal article on amnesia with mixed etiology (Craver et al., 2014). Most importantly, the research of Endel Tulving has provided the researchers and clinicians in the field of dissociative or functional amnesia with the best framework for superiorly understanding these disorders through the lens of his evolving concept of episodic memory and five long term memory systems classification, which he developed and advanced. Herein we use the classification of long-term memory systems of Endel Tulving as well as his concepts and views on autonoetic consciousness, relationships between memory systems and relationship between episodic memory and emotion to describe six cases of dissociative amnesia that put a challenge for researchers and clinicians due to their atypicality. We then discuss their possible triggering and maintaining mechanisms, pointing to their clinical heterogeneity and multifaceted causally explanatory frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelica Staniloiu
- University of Bielefeld, Germany; University of Bucharest, Romania; Oberberg Clinic Hornberg, Germany
| | - Andreas Kordon
- Oberberg Clinic Hornberg, Germany; University of Freiburg, Germany
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Abstract
The integrative memory model formalizes a new conceptualization of memory in which interactions between representations and cognitive operations within large-scale cerebral networks generate subjective memory feelings. Such interactions allow to explain the complexity of memory expressions, such as the existence of multiples sources for familiarity and recollection feelings and the fact that expectations determine how one recognizes previously encountered information.
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Abstract
The memory impairment of neurological and psychiatric patients is seen as occurring mainly in the autobiographical-episodic memory domain and this is considered to depend on limbic structures such as the amygdala or the septal nuclei. Especially the amygdala is a hub for giving an emotional flavor to personal memories. Bastin et al. fail to include the amygdala in their integrative memory model.
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17
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Pando-Naude V, Barrios FA, Alcauter S, Pasaye EH, Vase L, Brattico E, Vuust P, Garza-Villarreal EA. Functional connectivity of music-induced analgesia in fibromyalgia. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15486. [PMID: 31664132 PMCID: PMC6820536 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51990-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Listening to self-chosen, pleasant and relaxing music reduces pain in fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic centralized pain condition. However, the neural correlates of this effect are fairly unknown. In our study, we wished to investigate the neural correlates of music-induced analgesia (MIA) in FM patients. To do this, we studied 20 FM patients and 20 matched healthy controls (HC) acquiring rs-fMRI with a 3T MRI scanner, and pain data before and after two 5-min auditory conditions: music and noise. We performed resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) seed-based correlation analyses (SCA) using pain and analgesia-related ROIs to determine the effects before and after the music intervention in FM and HC, and its correlation with pain reports. We found significant differences in baseline rs-FC between FM and HC. Both groups showed changes in rs-FC after the music condition. FM patients reported MIA that was significantly correlated with rs-FC decrease between the angular gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and rs-FC increase between amygdala and middle frontal gyrus. These areas are related to autobiographical and limbic processes, and auditory attention, suggesting MIA may arise as a consequence of top-down modulation, probably originated by distraction, relaxation, positive emotion, or a combination of these mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Pando-Naude
- Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", México City, México
- Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
- Center for Music in the Brain, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Fernando A Barrios
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Brain Mapping Lab, Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
| | - Sarael Alcauter
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Brain Mapping Lab, Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
| | - Erick H Pasaye
- Magnetic Resonance Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, México
| | - Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
- Danish Pain Research Center, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Elvira Brattico
- Center for Music in the Brain, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
- Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Eduardo A Garza-Villarreal
- Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría "Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz", México City, México.
- Center for Music in the Brain, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Laboratorio Nacional de Imagenología por Resonancia Magnética (LANIREM), Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) campus Juriquilla, Queretaro, Mexico.
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Huynh-Le MP, Karunamuni R, Moiseenko V, Farid N, McDonald CR, Hattangadi-Gluth JA, Seibert TM. Dose-dependent atrophy of the amygdala after radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol 2019; 136:44-49. [PMID: 31015128 PMCID: PMC7041546 DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2019.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The amygdalae are deep brain nuclei critical to emotional processing and the creation and storage of memory. It is not known whether the amygdalae are affected by brain radiotherapy (RT). We sought to quantify dose-dependent amygdala change one year after brain RT. MATERIALS AND METHODS 52 patients with primary brain tumors were retrospectively identified. Study patients underwent high-resolution, volumetric magnetic resonance imaging before RT and 1 year afterward. Images were processed using FDA-cleared software for automated segmentation of amygdala volume. Tumor, surgical changes, and segmentation errors were manually censored. Mean amygdala RT dose was tested for correlation with amygdala volume change 1 year after RT via the Pearson correlation coefficient. A linear mixed-effects model was constructed to evaluate potential predictors of amygdala volume change, including age, tumor hemisphere, sex, seizure history, and bevacizumab treatment during the study period. As 51 of 52 patients received chemotherapy, possible chemotherapy effects could not be studied. A two-tailed p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Mean amygdala RT dose (r = -0.28, p = 0.01) was significantly correlated with volume loss. On multivariable analysis, the only significant predictor of amygdala atrophy was radiation dose. The final linear mixed-effects model estimated amygdala volume loss of 0.17% for every 1 Gy increase in mean amygdala RT dose (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS The amygdala demonstrates dose-dependent atrophy one year after radiotherapy for brain tumors. Amygdala atrophy may mediate neuropsychological effects seen after brain RT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minh-Phuong Huynh-Le
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Roshan Karunamuni
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Vitali Moiseenko
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Nikdokht Farid
- Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Carrie R McDonald
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Jona A Hattangadi-Gluth
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Tyler M Seibert
- Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.
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Glachet O, El Haj M. Emotional and Phenomenological Properties of Odor-Evoked Autobiographical Memories in Alzheimer's Disease. Brain Sci 2019; 9:E135. [PMID: 31185649 PMCID: PMC6627121 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9060135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Autobiographical memory, which contains all personal memories relative to our identity, has been found to be impaired in Alzheimer' Disease (AD). Recent research has demonstrated that odor may serve as a powerful cue for the recovery of autobiographical memories in AD. Building on this research, we investigated emotional characteristics (arousal and valence) and subjective reliving of odor-evoked autobiographical memories in AD. We also investigated the relationship between these characteristics and depression. To this end, we invited participants with mild AD and controls to retrieve autobiographical memories after odor exposure or without odor. Results showed higher arousal, subjective reliving and more positive memories after odor exposure compared with the odor-free condition, these differences being observed only in AD participants. We also found that emotion (arousal and valence) and subjective reliving triggered by odor were associated with depressive symptoms in AD. These findings demonstrate that odor may be a useful cue to trigger more detailed, vivid and positive events in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ophélie Glachet
- University of Lille, CNRS, CHU Lille, UMR 9193 SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France.
| | - Mohamad El Haj
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (EA 4638), Université de Nantes, F-44000 Nantes, France.
- Unité de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalier de Tourcoing, F- 59200 Tourcoing, France.
- Institut Universitaire de France, F-75000 Paris, France.
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20
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Burges Watson D, Lewis S, Campbell M, Bryant V, Storey S, Deary V. Food play: A novel research methodology for visceral geographers and health researchers. Health Place 2019; 57:139-146. [DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Helmstaedter C, Winter B, Melzer N, Lohmann H, Witt JA. Accelerated long-term forgetting in focal epilepsies with special consideration given to patients with diagnosed and suspected limbic encephalitis. Cortex 2019; 110:58-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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22
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Kaufman EA, Crowell SE. Biological and Behavioral Mechanisms of Identity Pathology Development: An Integrative Review. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1037/gpr0000138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Although identity disturbance is a transdiagnostic mental health problem, modern explanatory models for its emergence are limited. To date, the social, developmental, clinical, and neuropsychological literatures exploring identity processes are also largely disconnected. Existing theories have laid the foundation for understanding important components of identity pathology, yet many overlook biological, behavioral, and interactive processes by which these difficulties may emerge. In this integrative review, we explore how broad transdiagnostic vulnerabilities for psychopathology and more specific risky behavioral processes may reciprocally interact and be refined over time into an identity disturbance profile. Our primary purpose is to review behavioral and biosocial theories and derive a testable conceptual framework for how identity disturbance emerges over the course of development. We aim to describe and integrate several disparate lines of theory and research in order to illuminate potential etiological pathways to identity pathology.
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23
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Spanhel K, Wagner K, Geiger MJ, Ofer I, Schulze-Bonhage A, Metternich B. Flashbulb memories: Is the amygdala central? An investigation of patients with amygdalar damage. Neuropsychologia 2018; 111:163-171. [PMID: 29317322 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Flashbulb memories (FM) are a subgroup of autobiographical memories referring to the circumstances in which a person first heard of a surprising, emotionally arousing event. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have been reported to be impaired in FM recall. As emotional arousal is central to FM, various authors have suggested a crucial role of the amygdala. However, to date, no studies have directly addressed this hypothesis. In this study, 33 TLE patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were tested on an FM task twice with a minimum interval of two months. FM recall quality was measured as consistency of the answers. Patients were grouped according to the presence as well as the lateralisation of amygdalar damage, using information of brain imaging and intracranial electroencephalography-recordings. Analyses revealed that, relative to HC, patients with amygdalar damage had significantly diminished FM recall quality, whereas patients with intact amygdalae did not. Particularly patients with amygdalar damage in the non-language-dominant hemisphere performed significantly worse than HC. Findings suggest a negative influence of amygdalar damage, possibly especially in the non-dominant hemisphere, on FM retrieval quality. Given the shocking character of events evoking FM, a rapid emotion detection system involving the right (i.e. non-dominant) amygdala could be influential to FM formation. Thus, the present findings support previous, not yet examined, hypotheses concerning a crucial role of the amygdala in FM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kathrin Wagner
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Maximilian J Geiger
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Isabell Ofer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Schulze-Bonhage
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Birgitta Metternich
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany
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24
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Mutluer T, Şar V, Kose-Demiray Ç, Arslan H, Tamer S, Inal S, Kaçar AŞ. Lateralization of Neurobiological Response in Adolescents with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Related to Severe Childhood Sexual Abuse: the Tri-Modal Reaction (T-MR) Model of Protection. J Trauma Dissociation 2018; 19:108-125. [PMID: 28281921 DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2017.1304489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This study inquires into neurobiological response to stress and its clinical correlates among adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of cerebral anatomy were carried out on 23 female adolescents with PTSD related to severe childhood sexual abuse and 21 matched healthy controls. Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents, Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Beck Depression Scale, and a set of neuro-cognitive tests were administered to all participants. Compared to controls, PTSD group bilaterally had smaller amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate, and thinner prefrontal cortex but normal thalamus. Further analyses within the PTSD group suggested an association between symptoms of PTSD and sizes of right brain structures including smaller amygdala but larger hippocampus and anterior cingulate. Thinner right prefrontal cortex and larger right thalamus seemed to be related to denial and response prevention, respectively. Being related to both hemispheres, dissociative amnesia was negatively associated with proportion of the right amygdala to right thalamus and to both left and right prefrontal cortex. Suggesting a neuro-protective effect against traumatic stress at least through adolescence, depersonalization-derealization and identity alteration were correlated with thicker left prefrontal cortex. Unlike the lateralization within PTSD group, correlations between regions of interest were rather symmetrical in controls. The graded response to stress seemed to be aimed at mental protection by lateralization of brain functions and possibly diminished connection between two hemispheres. A Tri-Modal Reaction (T-MR) Model of protection is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuba Mutluer
- a Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , Koc University Hospital , Istanbul , Turkey
| | - Vedat Şar
- b Department of Psychiatry , Koc University School of Medicine (KUSOM) , Istanbul , Turkey
| | | | - Harun Arslan
- d Department of Radiology , Van Yuzuncu Yıl University School of Medicine , Van , Turkey
| | - Sibel Tamer
- e Department of Neurology , Sincan Koru Hospital , Ankara , Turkey
| | - Serap Inal
- f Psychology Unit , Van Regional Research and Education Hospital , Van , Turkey
| | - Anıl Ş Kaçar
- g Department of Psychiatry, Koc University School of Medicine (KUSOM) , Istanbul , Turkey
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van der Westhuizen D, Moore J, Solms M, van Honk J. Testosterone facilitates the sense of agency. Conscious Cogn 2017; 56:58-67. [PMID: 29065316 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Sense of agency (SoA) refers to feelings of being in control of one's actions. Evidence suggests that SoA might contribute towards higher-order feelings of personal control - a key attribute of powerful individuals. Whether testosterone, a steroid hormone linked to power in dominance hierarchies, also influences the SoA is not yet established. In a repeated-measures design, 26 females participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test the effects of 0.5 mg testosterone on SoA, using an implicit measure based upon perceived shifts in time between a voluntary action and its outcome. Illusions of control, as operationalized by optimism in affective forecasting, were also assessed. Testosterone increased action binding but there was no significant effect on tone binding. Affective forecasting was found to be significantly more positive on testosterone. SoA and optimistic expectations are basic manifestations of power which may contribute to feelings of infallibility often associated with dominance and testosterone.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jack van Honk
- Utrecht University, Netherlands; University of Cape Town, South Africa
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26
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Ramirez-Carmona R, Garcia-Lazaro HG, Dominguez-Corrales B, Aguilar-Castañeda E, Roldan-Valadez E. Main effects and interactions of cerebral hemispheres, gender, and age in the calculation of volumes and asymmetries of selected structures of episodic memory. FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGY 2017; 31:257-264. [PMID: 28072386 DOI: 10.11138/fneur/2016.31.4.257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to clarify the influence of anatomical (cerebral hemisphere) and demographic (age and gender) variables on the gray matter (GM) volumes and volumetric asymmetry indices (VAIs) of selected structures involved in episodic memory. A cross-sectional study was performed in 47 healthy volunteers. Neuropsychological evaluation revealed similar IQs across the sample. Using SPM-based software, brain segmentation, labeling and volume measurements of the hippocampus, amygdala, middle temporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus were performed in each cerebral hemisphere. A two-way between-groups multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was applied to GM volumes and VAIs. The main effects of gender and cerebral hemisphere on GM volumes were significant (p < .001), while there was no significant interaction effect between gender and cerebral hemisphere. VAI measurements showed a nonsignificant effect of gender, but a significant influence of age (p = .015). The linear model of interactions and main effects explained 33% of the variance influencing the GM volume quantification. While cerebral hemisphere and gender were found to affect the volumes of brain structures involved in episodic memory, the calculation of VAIs was affected only by age. A comprehensive understanding of the main effects and interaction effects of cerebral hemisphere, gender and age on the volumes and asymmetries of structures related to episodic memory might help neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians and other neuroscientists in the study of degenerative brain diseases.
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27
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Stephan-Otto C, Siddi S, Senior C, Muñoz-Samons D, Ochoa S, Sánchez-Laforga AM, Brébion G. Visual Imagery and False Memory for Pictures: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Healthy Participants. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0169551. [PMID: 28046076 PMCID: PMC5207728 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Visual mental imagery might be critical in the ability to discriminate imagined from perceived pictures. Our aim was to investigate the neural bases of this specific type of reality-monitoring process in individuals with high visual imagery abilities. Methods A reality-monitoring task was administered to twenty-six healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging. During the encoding phase, 45 words designating common items, and 45 pictures of other common items, were presented in random order. During the recall phase, participants were required to remember whether a picture of the item had been presented, or only a word. Two subgroups of participants with a propensity for high vs. low visual imagery were contrasted. Results Activation of the amygdala, left inferior occipital gyrus, insula, and precuneus were observed when high visual imagers encoded words later remembered as pictures. At the recall phase, these same participants activated the middle frontal gyrus and inferior and superior parietal lobes when erroneously remembering pictures. Conclusions The formation of visual mental images might activate visual brain areas as well as structures involved in emotional processing. High visual imagers demonstrate increased activation of a fronto-parietal source-monitoring network that enables distinction between imagined and perceived pictures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Stephan-Otto
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Siddi
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- Section of Clinical Psychology, Department of Education, Psychology, and Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
- Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carl Senior
- School of Life & Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | | | - Susana Ochoa
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Gildas Brébion
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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28
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Deconstructing the process of change in cognitive behavioral therapy: An alternative approach focusing on the episodic retrieval mode. Behav Brain Sci 2016; 38:e26. [PMID: 26050690 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x14000302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Lane et al. view the process of memory reconsolidation as a main ingredient of psychotherapeutic change. They ascertain that in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) high priority is given to the "semantic structure." We argue that memory-related mechanisms of change in CBT are more nuanced than the target article presents. Furthermore, we propose to partially shift the focus from the process of reconsolidation to the retrieval operations.
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29
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Abstract
The amygdala nuclei appear to be critically implicated in emotional memory. However, in most studies, encoding and consolidation processes cannot be analyzed separately. We thus studied the verbal emotional memory in a young woman with a ganglioglioma of the left amygdala and analyzed its impact (1) on each step of the memory process (encoding, retrieval, and recognition) (2) on short- and long-term consolidation (1-hour and 1-week delay) and (3) on processing of valence (positive and negative items compared to neutral words). Results showed emotional encoding impairments and, after encoding was controlled for, emotional long-term consolidation. Finally, although the negative words were not acknowledged as emotionally arousing by the patient, these words were specifically poorly encoded, recalled, and consolidated. Our data suggest that separate cerebral networks support the processing of emotional versus neutral stimuli.
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30
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Burgess GH, Chadalavada B. Profound anterograde amnesia following routine anesthetic and dental procedure: a new classification of amnesia characterized by intermediate-to-late-stage consolidation failure? Neurocase 2016; 22:84-94. [PMID: 25978125 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2015.1046885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Anterograde amnesia caused by bilateral hippocampal or diencephalon damage manifests in characteristic symptoms of preserved intellect and implicit learning, and short span of awareness with complete and rapid forgetting of episodic material. A new case, WO, 38-year-old male with anterograde amnesia, in the absence of structural brain changes or psychological explanation is presented, along with four comparison cases from the extant literature that share commonalities between them including preserved intellect, span of awareness greater than working memory, and complete forgetting within hours or days following successful learning, including notably for both explicit and implicit material. WO's amnesia onset coincided with anesthetic injection and root canal procedure, with extended vasovagal-like incident. The commonalities between the five cases presented may suggest a shared biological mechanism involving the breakdown of intermediate-to-late-stage consolidation that does not depend on the structural integrity of the hippocampi. Speculation on the mechanism of consolidation breakdown and diagnostic implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerald H Burgess
- a Department of Clinical Psychology , University of Leicester , Leicester , UK
| | - Bhanu Chadalavada
- b Consultant Psychiatrist , Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust , Northampton , UK
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31
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Abstract
Retrograde amnesia is described as condition which can occur after direct brain damage, but which occurs more frequently as a result of a psychiatric illness. In order to understand the amnesic condition, content-based divisions of memory are defined. The measurement of retrograde memory is discussed and the dichotomy between "organic" and "psychogenic" retrograde amnesia is questioned. Briefly, brain damage-related etiologies of retrograde amnesia are mentioned. The major portion of the review is devoted to dissociative amnesia (also named psychogenic or functional amnesia) and to the discussion of an overlap between psychogenic and "brain organic" forms of amnesia. The "inability of access hypothesis" is proposed to account for most of both the organic and psychogenic (dissociative) patients with primarily retrograde amnesia. Questions such as why recovery from retrograde amnesia can occur in retrograde (dissociative) amnesia, and why long-term new learning of episodic-autobiographic episodes is possible, are addressed. It is concluded that research on retrograde amnesia research is still in its infancy, as the neural correlates of memory storage are still unknown. It is argued that the recollection of episodic-autobiographic episodes most likely involves frontotemporal regions of the right hemisphere, a region which appears to be hypometabolic in patients with dissociative amnesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- H J Markowitsch
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - A Staniloiu
- Department of Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
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32
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Diamond DM, Zoladz PR. Dysfunctional or hyperfunctional? The amygdala in posttraumatic stress disorder is the bull in the evolutionary China shop. J Neurosci Res 2015; 94:437-44. [PMID: 26511328 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2015] [Revised: 09/26/2015] [Accepted: 10/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Our motivation in writing this Review arose not only from the great value in contributing to this special issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research but also from the desire to express our opinion that the description of the amygdala as "dysfunctional" in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might not be appropriate. We acknowledge that excessive activation of the amygdala contributes to the cluster of PTSD symptoms, including hypervigilance, intrusive memories, and impaired sleep, that underlies the devastating mental and physical outcomes in trauma victims. The issue that we address is whether the symptoms of PTSD represent an impaired (dysfunctional) or sensitized (hyperfunctional) amygdala status. We propose that the amygdala in PTSD is hyperfunctional rather than dysfunctional in recognition of the fact that the individual has already survived one life-threatening attack and that another may be forthcoming. We therefore consider PTSD to be a state in which the amygdala is functioning optimally if the goal is to ensure a person's survival. The misery caused by a hyperfunctional amygdala in PTSD is the cost of inheriting an evolutionarily primitive mechanism that considers survival more important than the quality of one's life.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Diamond
- Medical Research Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Tampa, Florida.,Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.,Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.,Center for Preclinical and Clinical Research on PTSD, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
| | - Phillip R Zoladz
- Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Criminal Justice, Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio
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33
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Tzur G. Thinking in three dimensions: a different point of view for understanding autism. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:484. [PMID: 26441587 PMCID: PMC4561807 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Tzur
- Behavioral Science, Ruppin Academic Center Emek Hefer, Israel ; Association for Children at Risk Tel Aviv, Israel
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34
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Witt JA, Vogt VL, Widman G, Langen KJ, Elger CE, Helmstaedter C. Loss of Autonoetic Awareness of Recent Autobiographical Episodes and Accelerated Long-Term Forgetting in a Patient with Previously Unrecognized Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Antibody Related Limbic Encephalitis. Front Neurol 2015; 6:130. [PMID: 26106363 PMCID: PMC4460811 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
We describe a 35-year-old male patient presenting with depressed mood and emotional instability, who complained about severe anterograde and retrograde memory deficits characterized by accelerated long-term forgetting and loss of autonoetic awareness regarding autobiographical memories of the last 3 years. Months before he had experienced two breakdowns of unknown etiology giving rise to the differential diagnosis of epileptic seizures after various practitioners and clinics had suggested different etiologies such as a psychosomatic condition, burnout, depression, or dissociative amnesia. Neuropsychological assessment indicated selectively impaired figural memory performance. Extended diagnostics confirmed accelerated forgetting of previously learned and retrievable verbal material. Structural imaging showed bilateral swelling and signal alterations of temporomesial structures (left >right). Video-EEG monitoring revealed a left temporal epileptic focus and subclincal seizure, but no overt seizures. Antibody tests in serum and liquor were positive for glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies. These findings led to the diagnosis of glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody related limbic encephalitis. Monthly steroid pulses over 6 months led to recovery of subjective memory and to intermediate improvement but subsequent worsening of objective memory performance. During the course of treatment, the patient reported de novo paroxysmal non-responsive states. Thus, antiepileptic treatment was started and the patient finally became seizure free. At the last visit, vocational reintegration was successfully in progress. In conclusion, amygdala swelling, retrograde biographic memory impairment, accelerated long-term forgetting, and emotional instability may serve as indicators of limbic encephalitis, even in the absence of overt epileptic seizures. The monitoring of such patients calls for a standardized and concerted multilevel diagnostic approach with repeated assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Viola Lara Vogt
- Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany
| | - Guido Widman
- Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn , Bonn , Germany
| | - Karl-Josef Langen
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich , Jülich , Germany
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36
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The functional profile of the human amygdala in affective processing: Insights from intracranial recordings. Cortex 2014; 60:10-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Revised: 01/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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37
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Staniloiu A, Woermann FG, Markowitsch HJ. Impairments in Episodic-Autobiographical Memory and Emotional and Social Information Processing in CADASIL during Mid-Adulthood. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:227. [PMID: 25009481 PMCID: PMC4069576 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00227] [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: 02/27/2014] [Accepted: 06/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) - is the most common genetic source of vascular dementia in adults, being caused by a mutation in NOTCH3 gene. Spontaneous de novo mutations may occur, but their frequency is largely unknown. Ischemic strokes and cognitive impairments are the most frequent manifestations, but seizures affect up to 10% of the patients. Herein, we describe a 47-year-old male scholar with a genetically confirmed diagnosis of CADASIL (Arg133Cys mutation in the NOTCH3 gene) and a seemingly negative family history of CADASIL illness, who was investigated with a comprehensive neuropsychological testing battery and neuroimaging methods. The patient demonstrated on one hand severe and accelerated deteriorations in multiple cognitive domains such as concentration, long-term memory (including the episodic-autobiographical memory domain), problem solving, cognitive flexibility and planning, affect recognition, discrimination and matching, and social cognition (theory of mind). Some of these impairments were even captured by abbreviated instruments for investigating suspicion of dementia. On the other hand the patient still possessed high crystallized (verbal) intelligence and a capacity to put forth a façade of well-preserved intellectual functioning. Although no definite conclusions can be drawn from a single case study, our findings point to the presence of additional cognitive changes in CADASIL in middle adulthood, in particular to impairments in the episodic-autobiographical memory domain and social information processing (e.g., social cognition). Whether these identified impairments are related to the patient's specific phenotype or to an ascertainment bias (e.g., a paucity of studies investigating these cognitive functions) requires elucidation by larger scale research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelica Staniloiu
- Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
- Hanse Institute of Advanced Science, Delmenhorst, Germany
| | | | - Hans J. Markowitsch
- Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
- Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
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38
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Abstract
While the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder has been extensively researched, much less attention has been paid to the neural mechanisms underlying more covert but pervasive types of trauma (e.g., those involving disrupted relationships and insecure attachment). Here, we report on a neurobiological study documenting that mothers' attachment-related trauma, when unresolved, undermines her optimal brain response to her infant's distress. We examined the amygdala blood oxygenation level-dependent response in 42 first-time mothers as they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, viewing happy- and sad-face images of their own infant, along with those of a matched unknown infant. Whereas mothers with no trauma demonstrated greater amygdala responses to the sad faces of their own infant as compared to their happy faces, mothers who were classified as having unresolved trauma in the Adult Attachment Interview (Dynamic Maturational Model) displayed blunted amygdala responses when cued by their own infants' sadness as compared to happiness. Unknown infant faces did not elicit differential amygdala responses between the mother groups. The blunting of the amygdala response in traumatized mothers is discussed as a neural indication of mothers' possible disengagement from infant distress, which may be part of a process linking maternal unresolved trauma and disrupted maternal caregiving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohye Kim
- a Department of Pediatrics , Baylor College of Medicine , Houston , TX , USA
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Mukherjee P, Whalley HC, McKirdy JW, Sprengelmeyer R, Young AW, McIntosh AM, Lawrie SM, Hall J. Altered amygdala connectivity within the social brain in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2014; 40:152-60. [PMID: 23851067 PMCID: PMC3885300 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbt086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairments in social cognition have been described in schizophrenia and relate to core symptoms of the disorder. Social cognition is subserved by a network of brain regions, many of which have been implicated in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that deficits in connectivity between components of this social brain network may underlie the social cognition impairments seen in the disorder. METHODS We investigated brain activation and connectivity in a group of individuals with schizophrenia making social judgments of approachability from faces (n = 20), compared with a group of matched healthy volunteers (n = 24), using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Effective connectivity from the amygdala was estimated using the psychophysiological interaction approach. RESULTS While making approachability judgments, healthy participants recruited a network of social brain regions including amygdala, fusiform gyrus, cerebellum, and inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally and left medial prefrontal cortex. During the approachability task, healthy participants showed increased connectivity from the amygdala to the fusiform gyri, cerebellum, and left superior frontal cortex. In comparison to controls, individuals with schizophrenia overactivated the right middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and precuneus and had reduced connectivity between the amygdala and the insula cortex. DISCUSSION We report increased activation of frontal and medial parietal regions during social judgment in patients with schizophrenia, accompanied by decreased connectivity between the amygdala and insula. We suggest that the increased activation of frontal control systems and association cortex may reflect a compensatory mechanism for impaired connectivity of the amygdala with other parts of the social brain networks in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prerona Mukherjee
- *To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, US; tel: 773-916-7662, fax: 631-632-7876, e-mail:
| | | | | | | | - Andrew W. Young
- Department of Psychology and York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, UK
| | | | | | - Jeremy Hall
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK;,Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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40
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The spaces left over between REM sleep, dreaming, hippocampal formation, and episodic autobiographical memory. Behav Brain Sci 2013; 36:622-3; discussion 634-59. [PMID: 24304764 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x13001374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIt is argued that Llewellyn's hypothesis about the lack of rapid eye movement (REM)-sleep dreaming leading to loss of personal identity and deficits in episodic memory, affectivity, and prospection is insufficiently grounded because it does not integrate data from neurodevelopmental studies and makes reference to an outdated definition of episodic memory.
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41
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Schore AN. Regulation Theory and the Early Assessment of Attachment and Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Response to Voran's Clinical Case. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/15289168.2013.822741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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42
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Denkova E, Dolcos S, Dolcos F. The Effect of Retrieval Focus and Emotional Valence on the Medial Temporal Lobe Activity during Autobiographical Recollection. Front Behav Neurosci 2013; 7:109. [PMID: 24009565 PMCID: PMC3755273 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Laboratory-based episodic memory studies, using micro-events (pictures/words), point to a role of the amygdala (AMY), an emotion-based region, in the encoding and retrieval of emotionally valenced memories. However, autobiographical memory (AM) studies, using real-life personal events, do not conclusively support AMY’s involvement in AM recollection. This could be due to differences in instructions across the AM studies – i.e., whether emotional aspects were explicitly emphasized or not. The present study investigated the effect of retrieval focus on activity in emotion (AMY) and memory (hippocampus – HC) based regions of the medial temporal lobe in 17 subjects, who remembered emotional AMs while event-related fMRI data were recorded. The retrieval focus was manipulated by instructions to focus either on emotional (Emotion condition) or on other contextual (Context condition) details of the recollected AMs. The effect of retrieval focus according to the valence of AMs was also investigated by involving an equal proportion of positive and negative AMs. There were four main findings, showing both similarities and differences in retrieving positive and negative AMs. Regarding similarities, (1) focusing on Emotion was associated with increased scores of subjective re-experience of emotion and increased activity in the left AMY, for both positive and negative AMs, compared to focusing on Context; (2) the subjective emotional ratings were also positively correlated with bilateral AMY activity for both positive and negative AMs. Regarding differences, (3) focusing on Emotion was associated with increased activity for positive but not for negative AMs in the right AMY, and with (4) opposing patterns of activity linked to the valence of AMs in the left HC – i.e., increased activity for positive and decreased activity for negative AMs. These findings shed light on the role of AMY and HC in emotional AM recollection, linked to the retrieval focus and the valence of memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Denkova
- Alberta Cognitive Neuroscience Group, University of Alberta , Edmonton, AB , Canada
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43
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Douglas PK, Lau E, Anderson A, Head A, Kerr W, Wollner M, Moyer D, Li W, Durnhofer M, Bramen J, Cohen MS. Single trial decoding of belief decision making from EEG and fMRI data using independent components features. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:392. [PMID: 23914164 PMCID: PMC3728485 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [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: 12/26/2012] [Accepted: 07/04/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The complex task of assessing the veracity of a statement is thought to activate uniquely distributed brain regions based on whether a subject believes or disbelieves a given assertion. In the current work, we present parallel machine learning methods for predicting a subject's decision response to a given propositional statement based on independent component (IC) features derived from EEG and fMRI data. Our results demonstrate that IC features outperformed features derived from event related spectral perturbations derived from any single spectral band, yet were similar to accuracy across all spectral bands combined. We compared our diagnostic IC spatial maps with our conventional general linear model (GLM) results, and found that informative ICs had significant spatial overlap with our GLM results, yet also revealed unique regions like amygdala that were not statistically significant in GLM analyses. Overall, these results suggest that ICs may yield a parsimonious feature set that can be used along with a decision tree structure for interpretation of features used in classifying complex cognitive processes such as belief and disbelief across both fMRI and EEG neuroimaging modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela K. Douglas
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Edward Lau
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ariana Anderson
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Austin Head
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Wesley Kerr
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Margalit Wollner
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Moyer
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Wei Li
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mike Durnhofer
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Bramen
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mark S. Cohen
- LINT Laboratory, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
- California Nanosystems Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
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44
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Staniloiu A, Borsutzky S, Woermann FG, Markowitsch HJ. Social cognition in a case of amnesia with neurodevelopmental mechanisms. Front Psychol 2013; 4:342. [PMID: 23805111 PMCID: PMC3690456 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2012] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic-autobiographical memory (EAM) is considered to emerge gradually in concert with the development of other cognitive abilities (such as executive functions, personal semantic knowledge, emotional knowledge, theory of mind (ToM) functions, language, and working memory). On the brain level its emergence is accompanied by structural and functional reorganization of different components of the so-called EAM network. This network includes the hippocampal formation, which is viewed as being vital for the acquisition of memories of personal events for long-term storage. Developmental studies have emphasized socio-cultural-linguistic mechanisms that may be unique to the development of EAM. Furthermore it was hypothesized that one of the main functions of EAM is the social one. In the research field, the link between EAM and social cognition remains however debated. Herein we aim to bring new insights into the relation between EAM and social information processing (including social cognition) by describing a young adult patient with amnesia with neurodevelopmental mechanisms due to perinatal complications accompanied by hypoxia. The patient was investigated medically, psychiatrically, and with neuropsychological and neuroimaging methods. Structural high resolution magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant bilateral hippocampal atrophy as well as indices for degeneration in the amygdalae, basal ganglia, and thalamus, when a less conservative threshold was applied. In addition to extensive memory investigations and testing other (non-social) cognitive functions, we employed a broad range of tests that assessed social information processing (social perception, social cognition, social regulation). Our results point to both preserved (empathy, core ToM functions, visual affect selection, and discrimination, affective prosody discrimination) and impaired domains of social information processing (incongruent affective prosody processing, complex social judgments). They support proposals for a role of the hippocampal formation in processing more complex social information that likely requires multimodal relational handling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabine Borsutzky
- Physiological Psychology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Hans J. Markowitsch
- Physiological Psychology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Advanced ScienceDelmenhorst, Germany
- Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
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45
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Markowitsch HJ. Memory and self-neuroscientific landscapes. ISRN NEUROSCIENCE 2013; 2013:176027. [PMID: 24967303 PMCID: PMC4045540 DOI: 10.1155/2013/176027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Relations between memory and the self are framed from a number of perspectives-developmental aspects, forms of memory, interrelations between memory and the brain, and interactions between the environment and memory. The self is seen as dividable into more rudimentary and more advanced aspects. Special emphasis is laid on memory systems and within them on episodic autobiographical memory which is seen as a pure human form of memory that is dependent on a proper ontogenetic development and shaped by the social environment, including culture. Self and episodic autobiographical memory are seen as interlocked in their development and later manifestation. Aside from content-based aspects of memory, time-based aspects are seen along two lines-the division between short-term and long-term memory and anterograde-future-oriented-and retrograde-past-oriented memory. The state dependency of episodic autobiographical is stressed and implications of it-for example, with respect to the occurrence of false memories and forensic aspects-are outlined. For the brain level, structural networks for encoding, consolidation, storage, and retrieval are discussed both by referring to patient data and to data obtained in normal participants with functional brain imaging methods. It is elaborated why descriptions from patients with functional or dissociative amnesia are particularly apt to demonstrate the facets in which memory, self, and personal temporality are interwoven.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans J. Markowitsch
- Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, Universitaetsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
- Center of Excellence “Cognitive Interaction Technology” (CITEC), University of Bielefeld, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
- Hanse Institute of Advanced Science, P. O. Box 1344, 27733 Delmenhorst, Germany
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Pause BM, Zlomuzica A, Kinugawa K, Mariani J, Pietrowsky R, Dere E. Perspectives on episodic-like and episodic memory. Front Behav Neurosci 2013; 7:33. [PMID: 23616754 PMCID: PMC3629296 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2013] [Accepted: 04/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic memory refers to the conscious recollection of a personal experience that contains information on what has happened and also where and when it happened. Recollection from episodic memory also implies a kind of first-person subjectivity that has been termed autonoetic consciousness. Episodic memory is extremely sensitive to cerebral aging and neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimer’s disease deficits in episodic memory function are among the first cognitive symptoms observed. Furthermore, impaired episodic memory function is also observed in a variety of other neuropsychiatric diseases including dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, and Parkinson disease. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to induce and measure episodic memories in the laboratory and it is even more difficult to measure it in clinical populations. Presently, the tests used to assess episodic memory function do not comply with even down-sized definitions of episodic-like memory as a memory for what happened, where, and when. They also require sophisticated verbal competences and are difficult to apply to patient populations. In this review, we will summarize the progress made in defining behavioral criteria of episodic-like memory in animals (and humans) as well as the perspectives in developing novel tests of human episodic memory which can also account for phenomenological aspects of episodic memory such as autonoetic awareness. We will also define basic behavioral, procedural, and phenomenological criteria which might be helpful for the development of a valid and reliable clinical test of human episodic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina M Pause
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, University of Düsseldorf Düsseldorf, Germany
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47
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Risius UM, Staniloiu A, Piefke M, Maderwald S, Schulte FP, Brand M, Markowitsch HJ. Retrieval, monitoring, and control processes: a 7 tesla FMRI approach to memory accuracy. Front Behav Neurosci 2013; 7:24. [PMID: 23580061 PMCID: PMC3619143 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2012] [Accepted: 03/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
MEMORY RESEARCH HAS BEEN GUIDED BY TWO POWERFUL METAPHORS: the storehouse (computer) and the correspondence metaphor. The latter emphasizes the dependability of retrieved mnemonic information and draws upon ideas about the state dependency and reconstructive character of episodic memory. We used a new movie to unveil the neural correlates connected with retrieval, monitoring, and control processes, and memory accuracy (MAC), according to the paradigm of Koriat and Goldsmith (1996a,b). During functional magnetic resonance imaging, subjects performed a memory task which required (after an initial learning phase) rating true and false statements [retrieval phase (RP)], making confidence judgments in the respective statement [monitoring phase (MP)], and deciding for either venturing (volunteering) the respective answer or withholding the response [control phase (CP)]. Imaging data pointed to common and unique neural correlates. Activations in brain regions related to RP and MAC were observed in the precuneus, middle temporal gyrus, and left hippocampus. MP was associated with activation in the left anterior and posterior cingulate cortex along with bilateral medial temporal regions. If an answer was volunteered (as opposed to being withheld) during the CP, temporal, and frontal as well as middle and posterior cingulate areas and the precuneus revealed activations. Increased bilateral hippocampal activity was found during withholding compared to volunteering answers. The left caudate activation detected during withholding compared to venturing an answer supports the involvement of the left caudate in inhibiting unwanted responses. Contrary to expectations, we did not evidence prefrontal activations during withholding (as opposed to volunteering) answers. This may reflect our design specifications, but alternative interpretations are put forth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martina Piefke
- Physiological Psychology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
- Neurobiology and Behavioral Genetics, University Witten-HerdeckeWitten, Germany
| | - Stefan Maderwald
- Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance ImagingEssen, Germany
| | - Frank P. Schulte
- Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance ImagingEssen, Germany
- General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-EssenDuisburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Brand
- Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance ImagingEssen, Germany
- General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-EssenDuisburg, Germany
| | - Hans J. Markowitsch
- Physiological Psychology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
- Institute for Advanced ScienceDelmenhorst, Germany
- Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, University of BielefeldBielefeld, Germany
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48
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Ally BA, Hussey EP, Donahue MJ. A case of hyperthymesia: rethinking the role of the amygdala in autobiographical memory. Neurocase 2013; 19:166-81. [PMID: 22519463 PMCID: PMC3432421 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2011.654225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Much controversy has been focused on the extent to which the amygdala belongs to the autobiographical memory (AM) core network. Early evidence suggested the amygdala played a vital role in emotional processing, likely helping to encode emotionally charged stimuli. However, recent work has highlighted the amygdala's role in social and self-referential processing, leading to speculation that the amygdala likely supports the encoding and retrieval of AM. Here, cognitive as well as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging data was collected from an extremely rare individual with near-perfect AM, or hyperthymesia. Right amygdala hypertrophy (approximately 20%) and enhanced amygdala-to-hippocampus connectivity (>10 SDs) was observed in this volunteer relative to controls. Based on these findings and previous literature, we speculate that the amygdala likely charges AMs with emotional, social, and self-relevance. In heightened memory, this system may be hyperactive, allowing for many types of autobiographical information, including emotionally benign, to be more efficiently processed as self-relevant for encoding and storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon A Ally
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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Kinugawa K, Schumm S, Pollina M, Depre M, Jungbluth C, Doulazmi M, Sebban C, Zlomuzica A, Pietrowsky R, Pause B, Mariani J, Dere E. Aging-related episodic memory decline: are emotions the key? Front Behav Neurosci 2013; 7:2. [PMID: 23378831 PMCID: PMC3561617 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2012] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Episodic memory refers to the recollection of personal experiences that contain information on what has happened and also where and when these events took place. Episodic memory function is extremely sensitive to cerebral aging and neurodegerative diseases. We examined episodic memory performance with a novel test in young (N = 17, age: 21–45), middle-aged (N = 16, age: 48–62) and aged but otherwise healthy participants (N = 8, age: 71–83) along with measurements of trait and state anxiety. As expected we found significantly impaired episodic memory performance in the aged group as compared to the young group. The aged group also showed impaired working memory performance as well as significantly decreased levels of trait anxiety. No significant correlation between the total episodic memory and trait or state anxiety scores was found. The present results show an age-dependent episodic memory decline along with lower trait anxiety in the aged group. Yet, it still remains to be determined whether this difference in anxiety is related to the impaired episodic memory performance in the aged group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyoka Kinugawa
- Neurobiologie des Processus Adaptatifs, UMR 7102, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6 Paris, France ; CNRS, UMR 7102 Paris, France ; Institut de la longévité, AP-HP Hôpital Charles Foix, Ivry-sur-Seine Paris, France
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Lin HC, Gean PW, Wang CC, Chan YH, Chen PS. The amygdala excitatory/inhibitory balance in a valproate-induced rat autism model. PLoS One 2013; 8:e55248. [PMID: 23383124 PMCID: PMC3558482 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is an important structure contributing to socio-emotional behavior. However, the role of the amygdala in autism remains inconclusive. In this study, we used the 28-35 days valproate (VPA)-induced rat model of autism to observe the autistic phenotypes and evaluate their synaptic characteristics in the lateral nucleus (LA) of the amygdala. The VPA-treated offspring demonstrated less social interaction, increased anxiety, enhanced fear learning and impaired fear memory extinction. Slice preparation and electrophysiological recordings of the amygdala showed significantly enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) while stimulating the thalamic-amygdala pathway of the LA. In addition, the pair pulse facilitation (PPF) at 30- and 60-ms intervals decreased significantly. Whole-cell recordings of the LA pyramidal neurons showed an increased miniature excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) frequency and amplitude. The relative contributions of the AMPA receptor and NMDA receptor to the EPSCs did not differ significantly between groups. These results suggested that the enhancement of the presynaptic efficiency of excitatory synaptic transmission might be associated with hyperexcitibility and enhanced LTP in LA pyramidal neurons. Disruption of the synaptic excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance in the LA of VPA-treated rats might play certain roles in the development of behaviors in the rat that may be relevant to autism. Further experiments to demonstrate the direct link are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Ching Lin
- Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Po-Wu Gean
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chao-Chuan Wang
- Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Han Chan
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Center for Drug Evaluation, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Po See Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Addiction Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
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