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Robinson MD, Irvin RL, Asad MR. Threat sensitivity in emotion dynamics: Negativity effects and sex differences. Behav Res Ther 2024; 178:104542. [PMID: 38648683 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104542] [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: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Evolutionary theorizing has given rise to the idea that responding to any particular threat may be more mandatory than responding to any particular reward. The present three experiments (total N = 375) sought to provide support for this perspective in an emotion dynamics task in which participants continuously rated their affective state in response to appetitive (reward-related) versus aversive (threat-related) images. Even when equating images for arousal and extremity, several negativity effects (e.g., steeper reactivity slopes in response to aversive images) were found. These negativity effects can serve as an experimental model of threat sensitivity, which should predispose some individuals, more than others, to symptoms related to fear and anxiety. This point was made with respect to sex differences, given that women (relative to men) are diagnosed with anxiety disorders at higher rates. Sex differences were pronounced and extensions of this work, both basic and applied, are proposed.
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Lyu C, Lyu X, Gong Q, Gao B, Wang Y. Neural activation signatures in individuals with subclinical depression: A task-fMRI meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2024:S0165-0327(24)00971-6. [PMID: 38909758 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (task-fMRI) investigations have documented abnormal brain activation associated with subclinical depression (SD), defined as a clinically relevant level of depressive symptoms that does not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. However, these task-fMRI studies have not reported consistent conclusions. Performing a voxel-based meta-analysis of task-fMRI studies may yield reliable findings. METHODS We extracted the peak coordinates and t values of included studies and analyzed brain activation between individuals with SD and healthy controls (HCs) using anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping (AES-SDM). RESULTS A systematic literature search identified eight studies, including 266 individuals with SD and 281 HCs (aged 14 to 25). The meta-analysis showed that individuals with SD exhibited significantly greater activation in the right lenticular nucleus and putamen according to task-fMRI. The meta-regression analysis revealed a negative correlation between the proportion of females in a group and activation in the right striatum. LIMITATIONS The recruitment criteria for individuals with SD, type of tasks and MRI acquisition parameters of included studies were heterogeneous. The results should be interpreted cautiously due to insufficient included studies. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that individuals with SD exhibit increased activation in the right lenticular nucleus, putamen and striatum, which may indicate a compensatory increase in response to an impairment of insular and striatal function caused by depression. These results provide valuable insights into the potential pathophysiology of brain dysfunction in SD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cui Lyu
- Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China; Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
| | - Xinyue Lyu
- Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bo Gao
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
| | - Yiming Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
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Lan C, Kou J, Liu Q, Qing P, Zhang X, Song X, Xu D, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Zhou X, Kendrick KM, Zhao W. Oral oxytocin blurs sex differences in amygdala responses to emotional scenes. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00143-5. [PMID: 38852918 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The sex differences were co-shaped by innate biological differences and social environment, and were frequently observed in human emotional neural responses. Oral administration of oxytocin, as an alternative and noninvasive intake method, has been demonstrated to produce sex-dependent effects on emotional face processing. However, it is unclear whether oral oxytocin produces similar sex-dependent effects on processing continuous emotional scenes. METHODS Current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled neuro-psychopharmacological fMRI experiment was conducted in 147 healthy participants (oxytocin=74, male/female=37/37; placebo=73, male/female=36/37) to examine the oral oxytocin effect on plasma oxytocin concentrations and neural response to emotional scenes in both sexes. RESULTS At the neuroendocrine level, females showed lower endogenous oxytocin concentrations than males, but oral oxytocin equally increased the oxytocin concentrations in both sexes. Regarding neural activity, emotional scenes evoked opposite valence-independent effects on right amygdala activation (females>males) and its functional connectivity with the insula (males>females) in two sexes in the placebo group. This sex difference were either attenuated (amygdala response) or even completely eliminated (amygdala-insula functional connectivity) in the oxytocin group. The multivariate pattern analysis confirmed these findings by developing an accurate sex-predictive neural pattern that including the amygdala and the insula under the placebo but not oxytocin condition. CONCLUSION Present study suggests a pronounced sex-difference in neural responses to emotional scenes which is abolished by oral oxytocin, with it having opposite modulatory effects in two sexes. Possibly this may reflect oral OXT enhancing emotional regulation to continuous emotional stimuli in both sexes by facilitating appropriate changes in sex-specific amygdala-insula circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunmei Lan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Juan Kou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Qi Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Peng Qing
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Xinwei Song
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Dan Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Yingying Zhang
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, 89069, Germany
| | - Yuanshu Chen
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China.
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China; Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering of UESTC in Guangdong, Dongguan, 523808, China.
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Zhao B, Liu Y, Wang Z, Zhang Q, Bai X. Long-Term Bridge Training Induces Functional Plasticity Changes in the Brain of Early-Adult Individuals. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:469. [PMID: 38920802 PMCID: PMC11200855 DOI: 10.3390/bs14060469] [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: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of extended bridge expertise on rapid perceptual processing and brain functional plasticity in early adulthood, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this investigation, we compared 6 high-level college bridge players with 25 college students lacking bridge experience, assessing their intelligence and working memory. Additionally, we scrutinized behavioral performance and whole-brain activation patterns during an image perceptual judgment task. Findings indicated significant group and interaction effects at the behavioral level. Bridge players exhibited prolonged reaction times and enhanced accuracy on card tasks. At the neural level, the activation level of bridge players in the occipital lobe exceeded that of ordinary college students, with more pronounced group effects in the motor area and inferior parietal lobule during card tasks. This implies that bridge expertise in early adulthood induces functional plasticity changes in regions associated with visual processing and automated mathematical computation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjie Zhao
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Institute of Sports Science, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Zheng Wang
- Inner Mongolia Mental Health Center, Brain Hospital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot 010000, China
- School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010000, China
| | - Qihan Zhang
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Xuejun Bai
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
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Zhou Z, Gao Y, Bao W, Liang K, Cao L, Tang M, Li H, Hu X, Zhang L, Sun H, Roberts N, Gong Q, Huang X. Distinctive intrinsic functional connectivity alterations of anterior cingulate cortex subdivisions in major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105583. [PMID: 38365137 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105583] [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: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Evidence of whether the intrinsic functional connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and its subregions is altered in major depressive disorder (MDD) remains inconclusive. A systematic review and meta-analysis were therefore performed on the whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) studies using the ACC and its subregions as seed regions in MDD, in order to draw more reliable conclusions. Forty-four ACC-based rsFC studies were included, comprising 25 subgenual ACC-based studies, 11 pregenual ACC-based studies, and 17 dorsal ACC-based studies. Specific alterations of rsFC were identified for each ACC subregion in patients with MDD, with altered rsFC of subgenual ACC in emotion-related brain regions, of pregenual ACC in sensorimotor-related regions, and of dorsal ACC in cognition-related regions. Furthermore, meta-regression analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between the pgACC-caudate hypoconnectivity and percentage of female patients in the study cohort. This meta-analysis provides robust evidence of altered intrinsic functional connectivity of the ACC subregions in MDD, which may hold relevance to understanding the origin of, and treating, the emotional, sensorimotor and cognitive dysfunctions that are often observed in these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zilin Zhou
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yingxue Gao
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Weijie Bao
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kaili Liang
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lingxiao Cao
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mengyue Tang
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hailong Li
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xinyue Hu
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lianqing Zhang
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Huaiqiang Sun
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Chengdu, China
| | - Neil Roberts
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH), School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Chengdu, China; The Xiaman Key Lab of psychoradiology and neuromodulation, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Xiaoqi Huang
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Chengdu, China; The Xiaman Key Lab of psychoradiology and neuromodulation, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
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Labuschagne I, Dominguez JF, Grace S, Mizzi S, Henry JD, Peters C, Rabinak CA, Sinclair E, Lorenzetti V, Terrett G, Rendell PG, Pedersen M, Hocking DR, Heinrichs M. Specialization of amygdala subregions in emotion processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26673. [PMID: 38590248 PMCID: PMC11002533 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is important for human fear processing. However, recent research has failed to reveal specificity, with evidence that the amygdala also responds to other emotions. A more nuanced understanding of the amygdala's role in emotion processing, particularly relating to fear, is needed given the importance of effective emotional functioning for everyday function and mental health. We studied 86 healthy participants (44 females), aged 18-49 (mean 26.12 ± 6.6) years, who underwent multiband functional magnetic resonance imaging. We specifically examined the reactivity of four amygdala subregions (using regions of interest analysis) and related brain connectivity networks (using generalized psycho-physiological interaction) to fear, angry, and happy facial stimuli using an emotional face-matching task. All amygdala subregions responded to all stimuli (p-FDR < .05), with this reactivity strongly driven by the superficial and centromedial amygdala (p-FDR < .001). Yet amygdala subregions selectively showed strong functional connectivity with other occipitotemporal and inferior frontal brain regions with particular sensitivity to fear recognition and strongly driven by the basolateral amygdala (p-FDR < .05). These findings suggest that amygdala specialization to fear may not be reflected in its local activity but in its connectivity with other brain regions within a specific face-processing network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izelle Labuschagne
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- School of PsychologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
| | | | - Sally Grace
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Simone Mizzi
- School of Health and Biomedical ScienceRMIT UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Julie D. Henry
- School of PsychologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
| | - Craig Peters
- Department of Pharmacy PracticeWayne State UniversityDetroitMichiganUSA
| | | | - Erin Sinclair
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Valentina Lorenzetti
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Gill Terrett
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Peter G. Rendell
- Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health SciencesAustralian Catholic UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Mangor Pedersen
- Department of Psychology and NeuroscienceAuckland University of TechnologyAucklandNew Zealand
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthThe University of MelbourneMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Darren R. Hocking
- Institute for Health & SportVictoria UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of PsychologyAlbert‐Ludwigs‐University of FreiburgFreiburg im BreisgauGermany
- Freiburg Brain Imaging CenterUniversity Medical Center, Albert‐Ludwigs University of FreiburgFreiburg im BreisgauGermany
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Manzler CA, Gorka SM, Tabares JV, Bryan CJ. Impact of handgun ownership and biological sex on startle reactivity to predictable and unpredictable threats. Int J Psychophysiol 2024; 197:112297. [PMID: 38185419 PMCID: PMC10922634 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112297] [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: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Extant literature suggests that many individuals obtain firearms because they perceive the world as unsafe and believe that firearm ownership increases physical protection. Converging evidence suggests that firearm owners are vulnerable to uncertainty and experience chronic anticipatory anxiety in daily life; however, biological sex is thought to potentially moderate this association. Studies have yet to examine this hypothesis using objective markers of anticipatory anxiety. The present study therefore examined the impact of handgun ownership and biological sex on psychophysiological reactivity to predictable (P-) and unpredictable (U-) threat (N = 133). Male and female adult participants were classified into two groups: a) individuals who do not currently own any handguns (n = 52), and b) individuals who currently own one or more handguns (n = 81). Startle eyeblink potentiation was recorded as an index of aversive reactivity during a well-validated threat-of-shock paradigm designed to probe anticipatory anxiety (during U-threat) and fear (during P-threat). Results revealed no main effect of group on startle reactivity to P- or U-threat. Females displayed greater startle reactivity to threat (P- and U-) compared with males. The main effect was qualified by a significant group x biological sex interaction. Male handgun owners exhibited greater startle to U-threat, but not P-threat, relative to non-handgun owners. There was no effect of group on startle reactivity in females. Findings revealed that biological sex and threat type influenced threat reactivity. Male handgun owners displayed increased sensitivity to stressors that are uncertain, which may reflect an objective mechanism related to firearm ownership.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles A Manzler
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 3711 USF Citrus Drive, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- Suicide and Trauma Reduction InitiatiVE (STRIVE), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370 W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
| | - Jeffrey V Tabares
- Suicide and Trauma Reduction InitiatiVE (STRIVE), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370 W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Craig J Bryan
- Suicide and Trauma Reduction InitiatiVE (STRIVE), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370 W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Chaudhary S, Wong HK, Chen Y, Zhang S, Li CSR. Sex differences in the effects of individual anxiety state on regional responses to negative emotional scenes. Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:15. [PMID: 38351045 PMCID: PMC10863151 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00591-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Men and women are known to show differences in the incidence and clinical manifestations of mood and anxiety disorders. Many imaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of sex differences in emotion processing. However, it remains unclear how anxiety might impact emotion processing differently in men and women. METHOD We recruited 119 healthy adults and assessed their levels of anxiety using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) State score. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined regional responses to negative vs. neutral (Neg-Neu) picture matching in the Hariri task. Behavioral data were analyzed using regression and repeated-measures analysis of covariance with age as a covariate, and fMRI data were analyzed using a full-factorial model with sex as a factor and age as a covariate. RESULTS Men and women did not differ in STAI score, or accuracy rate or reaction time (RT) (Neg-Neu). However, STAI scores correlated positively with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Additionally, in women, STAI score correlated positively with lingual gyrus (LG) and negatively with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) activity during Neg vs. Neu trials. The parameter estimates (βs) of mPFC also correlated with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis in women revealed mPFC connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus, right SFG, and left parahippocampal gyrus during Neg vs. Neu trials in positive correlation with both STAI score and RT (Neg-Neu). In a mediation analysis, mPFC gPPI but not mPFC activity fully mediated the association between STAI scores and RT (Neg-Neu). CONCLUSION With anxiety affecting the behavioral and neural responses to negative emotions in women but not in men and considering the known roles of the mPFC in emotion regulation, we discussed heightened sensitivity and regulatory demands during negative emotion processing as neurobehavioral markers of anxiety in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shefali Chaudhary
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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Karibe H, Koeda M, Kato Y, Hama T, Tanaka S, Tateno A, Suzuki H, Okubo Y. Cerebral activation caused by dental sounds: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Odontology 2024:10.1007/s10266-023-00898-7. [PMID: 38308677 DOI: 10.1007/s10266-023-00898-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Dental drilling sounds can induce anxiety in some patients. This study aimed to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess the relationship between dental fear and auditory stimuli. Thirty-four right-handed individuals (21 women and 13 men; average age, 31.2 years) were selected. The level of dental fear was assessed using the dental fear survey (DFS). Based on a threshold DFS score > 52, participants were categorized into two groups: dental fear (DF) group (n = 12) and control group (n = 22). Two types of stimuli were presented in a single session: dental and neutral sounds. Cerebral activation during the presentation of these sounds was evaluated using contrast-enhanced blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI. In the DF group, dental sounds induced significantly stronger activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus and left caudate nucleus (one-sample t test, P < 0.001). In contrast, in the control group, significantly stronger activation was observed in the bilateral Heschl's gyri and left middle frontal gyrus (one-sample t test, P < 0.001). Additionally, a two-sample t test revealed that dental sounds induced a significantly stronger activation in the left caudate nucleus in the DF group than in the control group (P < 0.005). These findings suggest that the cerebral activation pattern in individuals with DF differs from that in controls. Increased activation of subcortical regions may be associated with sound memory during dental treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Karibe
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, The Nippon Dental University, 1-9-20 Fujimi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 102-8159, Japan.
| | - Michihiko Koeda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuichi Kato
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, The Nippon Dental University, 1-9-20 Fujimi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 102-8159, Japan
| | - Tomoko Hama
- Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ehime Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Ehime, Japan
| | - Satoshi Tanaka
- Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, The Nippon Dental University, 1-9-20 Fujimi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 102-8159, Japan
| | - Amane Tateno
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hidenori Suzuki
- Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshiro Okubo
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
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Mohamed NF, Jiun Ting T, Ab Manan N, Mohd Senari IF, Muhammad Firdaus Chan MF, Rahmatullah B, Govindasamy P, Abdulla K. Prevalence and predictors of social anxiety disorders among Malaysian secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the influence of internet gaming disorder and impulsivity. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024:13591045231206967. [PMID: 38163335 DOI: 10.1177/13591045231206967] [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: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of social anxiety disorder (SAD) among Malaysian secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore its correlations with demographic variables, impulsivity behavior, and internet gaming disorder (IGD). A total of 1574 participants from 12 government secondary schools across five Malaysian states, comprising 569 males and 1005 females, completed an online questionnaire containing validated Malay versions of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale - Short Form. The findings revealed a notable SAD prevalence rate of 40.53% among Malaysian adolescents. Logistic regression analysis unveiled significant associations between SAD and factors such as attention impulsiveness (OR = 2.58, p < .001), motor impulsiveness (OR = 1.47, p = .03), female gender (OR = 2, p < .001), Malay ethnicity, and IGD (OR = 1.08, p < .001). In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the extent of social anxiety experienced by Malaysian secondary school students during the pandemic, shedding light on the demographic and psychosocial factors linked to its emergence. Furthermore, the research underscores a robust link between IGD and SAD, emphasizing the need for comprehensive interventions addressing both issues concurrently. By recognizing the multifaceted nature of these associations, future interventions can be tailored to provide holistic support for adolescents' mental well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nor Firdous Mohamed
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Tan Jiun Ting
- Department of Psychology, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore
| | | | - Izatul Farhana Mohd Senari
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
| | | | - Bahbibi Rahmatullah
- Department of Software Engineering and Smart Technology, Faculty of Computer and Meta-Technology, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Priyalatha Govindasamy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Kahar Abdulla
- European Alliance Against Depression, Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
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11
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Chaudhary S, Wong HK, Chen Y, Zhang S, Li CSR. Sex differences in the effects of individual anxiety state on regional responses to negative emotional scenes. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3701951. [PMID: 38196586 PMCID: PMC10775373 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3701951/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Background Men and women are known to show differences in the incidence and clinical manifestations of mood and anxiety disorders. Many imaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of sex differences in emotion processing. However, it remains unclear how anxiety might impact emotion processing differently in men and women. Method We recruited 119 healthy adults and assessed their levels of anxiety using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) State score. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined regional responses to negative vs. neutral (Neg-Neu) picture matching in the Hariri task. Behavioral data were analyzed using regression and repeated-measures analysis of covariance with age as a covariate, and fMRI data were analyzed using a full-factorial model with sex as a factor and age as a covariate. Results Men and women did not differ in STAI score, or accuracy rate or reaction time (RT) (Neg-Neu). However, STAI scores correlated positively with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Additionally, in women, STAI score correlated positively with lingual gyrus (LG) and negatively with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) activity during Neg vs. Neu trials. The parameter estimates (β's) of mPFC also correlated with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis in women revealed mPFC connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus, right SFG, and left parahippocampal gyrus during Neg vs. Neu trials in positive correlation with both STAI score and RT (Neg-Neu). In a mediation analysis, mPFC gPPI but not mPFC activity fully mediated the association between STAI scores and RT (Neg-Neu). Conclusion With anxiety affecting the behavioral and neural responses to negative emotions in women but not in men and considering the known roles of the mPFC in emotion regulation, we discussed heightened sensitivity and regulatory demands during negative emotion processing as neurobehavioral markers of anxiety in women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Yale School of Medicine: Yale University School of Medicine
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Yale School of Medicine: Yale University School of Medicine
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12
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Palamarchuk IS, Slavich GM, Vaillancourt T, Rajji TK. Stress-related cellular pathophysiology as a crosstalk risk factor for neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders. BMC Neurosci 2023; 24:65. [PMID: 38087196 PMCID: PMC10714507 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-023-00831-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
In this narrative review, we examine biological processes linking psychological stress and cognition, with a focus on how psychological stress can activate multiple neurobiological mechanisms that drive cognitive decline and behavioral change. First, we describe the general neurobiology of the stress response to define neurocognitive stress reactivity. Second, we review aspects of epigenetic regulation, synaptic transmission, sex hormones, photoperiodic plasticity, and psychoneuroimmunological processes that can contribute to cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric conditions. Third, we explain mechanistic processes linking the stress response and neuropathology. Fourth, we discuss molecular nuances such as an interplay between kinases and proteins, as well as differential role of sex hormones, that can increase vulnerability to cognitive and emotional dysregulation following stress. Finally, we explicate several testable hypotheses for stress, neurocognitive, and neuropsychiatric research. Together, this work highlights how stress processes alter neurophysiology on multiple levels to increase individuals' risk for neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders, and points toward novel therapeutic targets for mitigating these effects. The resulting models can thus advance dementia and mental health research, and translational neuroscience, with an eye toward clinical application in cognitive and behavioral neurology, and psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iryna S Palamarchuk
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1H4, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Division of Neurology, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto Dementia Research Alliance, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - George M Slavich
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tracy Vaillancourt
- Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Tarek K Rajji
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1H4, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto Dementia Research Alliance, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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13
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Chaudhary S, Hu S, Hu K, Dominguez JC, Chao HH, Li CSR. Sex differences in the effects of trait anxiety and age on resting-state functional connectivities of the amygdala. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2023; 14:100646. [PMID: 38105798 PMCID: PMC10723810 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Numerous studies characterized how resting-state functional connectivities (rsFCs) of the amygdala were disrupted in emotional disorders and varied with emotional traits, including anxiety. With trait anxiety known to diminish with age, a critical issue concerns disambiguating the effects of age and anxiety on amygdala rsFCs in studying the neural bases of individual differences in anxiety. Methods Two-hundred adults (83 women) 19-85 years of age underwent fMRI and assessment for trait anxiety. Amygdala rsFC correlates were identified using multiple regression with age and anxiety in the same model for all and separately in men and women. The rsFC correlates were examined for age-anxiety interaction. Results Anxiety was negatively correlated with amygdala-temporooccipital gyri rsFC in all and in men alone. In women, amgydala rsFC with the thalamus/pallidum, angular/supramarginal gyri, inferior temporal gyrus, and posterior insula correlated positively and rsFC with calcarine cortex and caudate correlated negatively with anxiety. We also observed sex differences in age correlation of amgydala-posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and -insula/temporoparietal rsFCs, with stronger associations in women. In women alone, anxiety and age interacted to determine amygdala rsFC with the thalamus/pallidum, calcarine cortex, and caudate, with older age associated with stronger correlation between anxiety and the rsFCs. Limitations The findings need to be validated in an independent sample and further explored using task-based data. Conclusion Highlighting anxiety- and age- specific as well as interacting correlates of amygdala rsFCs and sex differences in the correlates, the findings may shed light on the neural markers of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shefali Chaudhary
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Sien Hu
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
| | - Kesong Hu
- Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA
| | | | - Herta H. Chao
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT 06516, USA
- Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R. Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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14
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Lettieri G, Handjaras G, Bucci E, Pietrini P, Cecchetti L. How Male and Female Literary Authors Write About Affect Across Cultures and Over Historical Periods. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2023; 4:770-780. [PMID: 38156253 PMCID: PMC10751284 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-023-00219-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
A wealth of literature suggests the existence of sex differences in how emotions are experienced, recognized, expressed, and regulated. However, to what extent these differences result from the put in place of stereotypes and social rules is still a matter of debate. Literature is an essential cultural institution, a transposition of the social life of people but also of their intimate affective experiences, which can serve to address questions of psychological relevance. Here, we created a large corpus of literary fiction enriched by authors' metadata to measure the extent to which culture influences how men and women write about emotion. Our results show that even though before the twenty-first century and across 116 countries women more than men have written about affect, starting from 2000, this difference has diminished substantially. Also, in the past, women's narratives were more positively laden and less arousing. While the difference in arousal is ubiquitous and still present nowadays, sex differences in valence vary as a function of culture and have dissolved in recent years. Altogether, these findings suggest that historic evolution is associated with men and women writing similarly about emotions and reveal a sizable impact of culture on the affective characteristics of the lexicon. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00219-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Lettieri
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology & Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Giacomo Handjaras
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Erika Bucci
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Molecular Mind Laboratory, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Luca Cecchetti
- Social and Affective Neuroscience Group, MoMiLab, IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
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15
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Serio B, Hettwer MD, Wiersch L, Bignardi G, Sacher J, Weis S, Eickhoff SB, Valk SL. Sex differences in intrinsic functional cortical organization reflect differences in network topology rather than cortical morphometry. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.23.568437. [PMID: 38045320 PMCID: PMC10690290 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.23.568437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Brain size robustly differs between sexes. However, the consequences of this anatomical dimorphism on sex differences in intrinsic brain function remain unclear. We investigated the extent to which sex differences in intrinsic cortical functional organization may be explained by differences in cortical morphometry, namely brain size, microstructure, and the geodesic distances of connectivity profiles. For this, we computed a low dimensional representation of functional cortical organization, the sensory-association axis, and identified widespread sex differences. Contrary to our expectations, observed sex differences in functional organization were not fundamentally associated with differences in brain size, microstructural organization, or geodesic distances, despite these morphometric properties being per se associated with functional organization and differing between sexes. Instead, functional sex differences in the sensory-association axis were associated with differences in functional connectivity profiles and network topology. Collectively, our findings suggest that sex differences in functional cortical organization extend beyond sex differences in cortical morphometry. Teaser Investigating sex differences in functional cortical organization and their association to differences in cortical morphometry.
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16
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Wang X, Xia Y, Yan R, Sun H, Huang Y, Zou H, Du Y, Hua L, Tang H, Zhou H, Yao Z, Lu Q. The sex differences in anhedonia in major depressive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study. J Affect Disord 2023; 340:555-566. [PMID: 37591350 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The external behavioural manifestations and internal neural mechanisms of anhedonia are sexually dimorphic. This study aimed to explore the sex differences in the regional brain neuroimaging features of anhedonia in the context of major depressive disorder (MDD). METHOD The resting-fMRI by applying amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method was estimated in 414 patients with MDD (281 high anhedonia [HA], 133 low anhedonia [LA]) and 213 healthy controls (HC). The effects of two factors in patients with MDD were analysed using a 2 (sex: male, female) × 2 (group: HA, LA) ANOVA concerning the brain regions in which statistical differences were identified between patients with MDD and HC. We followed up with patients with HA at baseline, and 43 patients completed a second fMRI scan in remission. Paired t-test was performed to compare the ALFF values of anhedonia-related brain regions between the baseline and remission periods. RESULTS For the sex-by-group interaction, the bilateral insula, right hippocampus, right post cingulum cortex, and left putamen showed significant differences. Furthermore, the abnormally elevated ALFF values in anhedonia-related brain regions at baseline decreased in remission. CONCLUSION Our findings point to the fact that the females showed unique patterns of anhedonia-related brain activity compared to males, which may have clinical implications for interfering with the anhedonia symptoms in MDD. Using task fMRI, we can further examine the distinct characteristics between consumption anhedonia and anticipation anhedonia in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqin Wang
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Yi Xia
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Rui Yan
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Hao Sun
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China; Nanjing Brain Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Yinghong Huang
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China; Nanjing Brain Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Haowen Zou
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China; Nanjing Brain Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Yishan Du
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Lingling Hua
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Hao Tang
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Hongliang Zhou
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Zhijian Yao
- The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 264 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, China; Nanjing Brain Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China; School of Biological Sciences and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, 2 sipailou, Nanjing 210096, China.
| | - Qing Lu
- School of Biological Sciences and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, 2 sipailou, Nanjing 210096, China; Child Development and Learning Science, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China.
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Kogler L, Müller VI, Moser E, Windischberger C, Gur RC, Habel U, Eickhoff SB, Derntl B. Testosterone and the Amygdala's Functional Connectivity in Women and Men. J Clin Med 2023; 12:6501. [PMID: 37892639 PMCID: PMC10607739 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12206501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdala contains androgen receptors and is involved in various affective and social functions. An interaction between testosterone and the amygdala's functioning is likely. We investigated the amygdala's resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) network in association with testosterone in 94 healthy young adult women and men (final data available for analysis from 42 women and 39 men). Across the whole sample, testosterone was positively associated with the rsFC between the right amygdala and the right middle occipital gyrus, and it further predicted lower agreeableness scores. Significant sex differences appeared for testosterone and the functional connectivity between the right amygdala and the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), showing higher testosterone levels with lower connectivity in women. Sex further predicted the openness and agreeableness scores. Our results show that testosterone modulates the rsFC between brain areas involved in affective processing and executive functions. The data indicate that the cognitive control of the amygdala via the frontal cortex is dependent on the testosterone levels in a sex-specific manner. Testosterone seems to express sex-specific patterns (1) in networks processing affect and cognition, and (2) in the frontal down-regulation of the amygdala. The sex-specific coupling between the amygdala and the frontal cortex in interaction with the hormone levels may drive sex-specific differences in a variety of behavioral phenomena that are further associated with psychiatric illnesses that show sex-specific prevalence rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) Partner Site, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Veronika I. Müller
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: Brain and Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; (V.I.M.); (S.B.E.)
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ewald Moser
- High-Field MR Center, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (E.M.); (C.W.)
| | - Christian Windischberger
- High-Field MR Center, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (E.M.); (C.W.)
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany;
- JARA BRAIN Institute I, Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: Brain and Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; (V.I.M.); (S.B.E.)
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) Partner Site, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Network, University of Tübingen, Walter-Simon-Straße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for the Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction (IMPRS-MMFD), Otfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Zhu LJ, Li F, Zhu DY. nNOS and Neurological, Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A 20-Year Story. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:1439-1453. [PMID: 37074530 PMCID: PMC10113738 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01060-7] [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: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
In the central nervous system, nitric oxide (NO), a free gas with multitudinous bioactivities, is mainly produced from the oxidation of L-arginine by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). In the past 20 years, the studies in our group and other laboratories have suggested a significant involvement of nNOS in a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, the interactions between the PDZ domain of nNOS and its adaptor proteins, including post-synaptic density 95, the carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS, and the serotonin transporter, significantly influence the subcellular localization and functions of nNOS in the brain. The nNOS-mediated protein-protein interactions provide new attractive targets and guide the discovery of therapeutic drugs for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we summarize the work on the roles of nNOS and its association with multiple adaptor proteins on neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Juan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Diseases, Ministry of Education, Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Fei Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Dong-Ya Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
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Kheloui S, Jacmin-Park S, Larocque O, Kerr P, Rossi M, Cartier L, Juster RP. Sex/gender differences in cognitive abilities. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105333. [PMID: 37517542 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Sex/gender differences in cognitive sciences are riddled by conflicting perspectives. At the center of debates are clinical, social, and political perspectives. Front and center, evolutionary and biological perspectives have often focused on 'nature' arguments, while feminist and constructivist views have often focused on 'nurture arguments regarding cognitive sex differences. In the current narrative review, we provide a comprehensive overview regarding the origins and historical advancement of these debates while providing a summary of the results in the field of sexually polymorphic cognition. In so doing, we attempt to highlight the importance of using transdisciplinary perspectives which help bridge disciplines together to provide a refined understanding the specific factors that drive sex differences a gender diversity in cognitive abilities. To summarize, biological sex (e.g., birth-assigned sex, sex hormones), socio-cultural gender (gender identity, gender roles), and sexual orientation each uniquely shape the cognitive abilities reviewed. To date, however, few studies integrate these sex and gender factors together to better understand individual differences in cognitive functioning. This has potential benefits if a broader understanding of sex and gender factors are systematically measured when researching and treating numerous conditions where cognition is altered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kheloui
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Silke Jacmin-Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Ophélie Larocque
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Philippe Kerr
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Mathias Rossi
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Louis Cartier
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada
| | - Robert-Paul Juster
- Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Canada; Center on Sex⁎Gender, Allostasis and Resilience, Canada.
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20
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Britz S, Rader L, Gauggel S, Mainz V. An English list of trait words including valence, social desirability, and observability ratings. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:2669-2686. [PMID: 35962307 PMCID: PMC10439032 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01921-5] [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] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
To enable flexible and controlled research on personality, information processing, and interactions in socio-emotional contexts, the availability of highly controlled stimulus material, especially trait words and related attributes, is indispensable. Existing word databases contain mainly nouns and rating dimensions, and their role in studies within socio-emotional contexts are limited. This study aimed to create an English list of traits (ELoT), a database containing 500 trait adjectives rated by a large sample (n = 822, 57.42% female). The rating categories refer to the perceived valence associated with the traits and their social desirability and observability. Participants of different ages (18 to 65 years of age) and educational levels rated the words in an online survey. Both valence and social desirability ratings showed a bimodal distribution, indicating that most traits were rated either positive (respectively socially desirable) or negative (respectively socially undesirable), with fewer words rated as neutral. For observability, a bell-shaped distribution was found. Results indicated a strong association between valence and social desirability, whereas observability ratings were only moderately associated with the other ratings. Valence and social desirability ratings were not related to participants' age or gender, but observability ratings were different for females and males, and for younger, middle-aged, and older participants. The ELoT is an extensive, freely available database of trait norms. The large sample and the balanced age and gender distributions allow to account for age- and gender-specific effects during stimulus selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Britz
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Lena Rader
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Siegfried Gauggel
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Verena Mainz
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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21
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Reed MB, Handschuh PA, Klöbl M, Konadu ME, Kaufmann U, Hahn A, Kranz GS, Spies M, Lanzenberger R. The influence of sex steroid treatment on insular connectivity in gender dysphoria. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 155:106336. [PMID: 37499299 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex-specific differences in brain connectivity were found in various neuroimaging studies, though little is known about sex steroid effects on insular functioning. Based on well-characterized sex differences in emotion regulation, interoception and higher-level cognition, gender-dysphoric individuals receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy represent an interesting cohort to investigate how sex hormones might influence insular connectivity and related brain functions. METHODS To analyze the potential effect of sex steroids on insular connectivity at rest, 11 transgender women, 14 transgender men, 20 cisgender women, and 11 cisgender men were recruited. All participants underwent two magnetic resonance imaging sessions involving resting-state acquisitions separated by a median time period of 4.5 months and also completed the Bermond-Vorst alexithymia questionnaire at the initial and final examination. Between scans, transgender subjects received gender-affirming hormone therapy. RESULTS A seed based functional connectivity analysis revealed a significant 2-way interaction effect of group-by-time between right insula, cingulum, left middle frontal gyrus and left angular gyrus. Post-hoc tests demonstrated an increase in connectivity for transgender women when compared to cisgender men. Furthermore, spectral dynamic causal modelling showed reduced effective connectivity from the posterior cingulum and left angular gyrus to the left middle frontal gyrus as well as from the right insula to the left middle frontal gyrus. Alexithymia changes were found after gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender women in both fantasizing and identifying. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a considerable influence of estrogen administration and androgen suppression on brain networks implicated in interoception, own-body perception and higher-level cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray B Reed
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Patricia A Handschuh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Klöbl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Melisande E Konadu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrike Kaufmann
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg S Kranz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria; Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Marie Spies
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
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Ulrich M, Pollali E, Çalışkan G, Stork O, Albrecht A. Sex differences in anxiety and threat avoidance in GAD65 knock-out mice. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 183:106165. [PMID: 37230180 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106165] [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: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders have been linked to a disbalance of excitation and inhibition in a network of brain structures comprising frontal cortical regions, the amygdala and the hippocampus, among others. Recent imaging studies suggest sex differences in the activation of this anxiety network during the processing of emotional information. Rodent models with genetically altered ϒ-amino butyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission allow studying the neuronal basis of such activation shifts and their relation to anxiety endophenotypes, but to date sex effects have rarely been addressed. Using mice with a null mutation of the GABA synthetizing enzyme glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GAD65-/-), we started to compare anxiety-like behavior and avoidance in male vs. female GAD65-/- mice and their wildtype littermates. In an open field, female GAD65-/- mice displayed increased activity, while male GAD65-/- mice showed an increased adaptation of anxiety-like behavior over time. GAD65-/- mice of both sexes had a higher preference for social interaction partners, which was further heightened in male mice. In male mice higher escape responses were observed during an active avoidance task. Together, female mice showed more stable emotional responses despite GAD65 deficiency. To gain insights into interneuron function in network structures controlling anxiety and threat perception, fast oscillations (10-45 Hz) were measured in ex vivo slice preparations of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). GAD65-/- mice of both sexes displayed increased gamma power in the ACC and a higher density of PV-positive interneurons, which are crucial for generating such rhythmic activity. In addition, GAD65-/- mice had lower numbers of somatostatin-positive interneurons in the basolateral amygdala and in the dorsal dentate gyrus especially in male mice, two key regions important for anxiety and active avoidance responses. Our data suggest sex differences in the configuration of GABAergic interneurons in a cortico-amygdala-hippocampal network controlling network activity patterns, anxiety and threat avoidance behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Ulrich
- Institute of Anatomy, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Evangelia Pollali
- Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Gürsel Çalışkan
- Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Research Group "Synapto-Oscillopathies", Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Oliver Stork
- Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Germany.
| | - Anne Albrecht
- Institute of Anatomy, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Universitätsplatz 2, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Germany.
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23
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Nakamura M, Kawata Y, Hirosawa M, Ota T, Shibata N. Differential effects of acute exercise on emotional memory in men and women. Front Sports Act Living 2023; 5:1062051. [PMID: 37234750 PMCID: PMC10208400 DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1062051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Exercise may change emotional memory, which is associated with the induction of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. This effect of exercise may be influenced by exercise-induced cortisol release. Depending on sex, cortisol exerts differential effects on emotional memory consolidation. However, whether acute exercise and exercise-induced cortisol release have sex-dependent effects on emotional memory has not been established. Therefore, first, we aimed to determine the effects of acute exercise on emotional memory, separately for men and women, in a within-subjects design. Second, we aimed to examine whether the effects of acute exercise on emotional memory are related to the effects of exercise-induced cortisol release, separately for men and women. Sixteen healthy men and 15 healthy women were presented with positive and negative emotional images, followed by either rest or a vigorous-intensity cycling exercise condition using a within-subjects design on separate days. Salivary cortisol was measured before presenting the emotional images presentation and 20 min after each intervention. Emotional memory was assessed two days later. Vigorous-intensity exercise decreased emotional memory in women, whereas there was no change in men after rest or exercise. Cortisol levels increased after exercise intervention in both men and women, although there was no association between cortisol levels and emotional memory. These findings demonstrate that the effect of a single bout of vigorous-intensity exercise on emotional memory differs between men and women and is associated with decreased emotional memory in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyuki Nakamura
- Institute of Health and Sports Science & Medicine, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yujiro Kawata
- Institute of Health and Sports Science & Medicine, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
- Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, Japan
- Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Masataka Hirosawa
- Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tsuneyoshi Ota
- Institute of Health and Sports Science & Medicine, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
- Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, Japan
- Graduate School of Health and Sports Science, Juntendo University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Nobuto Shibata
- Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
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24
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Lu L, Wang L. When mothers are more negative while fathers are less positive: Offspring's temporary feelings of depression affect parental work engagement via the asymmetric effects of emotions transmission. Psych J 2023. [PMID: 37037675 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
There is a sharp rise in depressive moods from childhood to adolescence. Since moods can cross over from a child to a parent and spill over from family to work, offspring's temporary feelings of depression represent potential risks for parents' occupational health and well-being. In the current study, the authors investigate the impacts of offspring's temporary feelings of depression on mothers' work engagement via the transfer of negative moods, and on fathers' work engagement via the transfer of positive moods. Participants were 265 full-time employees and their adolescent offspring. The results confirmed our hypotheses. Offspring's temporary feelings of depression were associated with less maternal work engagement via increased maternal negative moods and endangered paternal work engagement via decreased paternal positive moods. The finding implies that negative emotions may be related to the occupational health of working mothers, while positive emotions may be related to the occupational health of working fathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Lu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behaviour and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behaviour and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Gallup-Peking University Positive Psychology Center, Beijing, China
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25
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Davidov A, Razumnikova O, Bakaev M. Nature in the Heart and Mind of the Beholder: Psycho-Emotional and EEG Differences in Perception of Virtual Nature Due to Gender. Vision (Basel) 2023; 7:vision7020030. [PMID: 37092463 PMCID: PMC10123600 DOI: 10.3390/vision7020030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural environment experiences in virtual reality (VR) can be a feasible option for people unable to connect with real nature. Existing research mostly focuses on health and emotional advantages of the “virtual nature” therapy, but studies of its neuropsychological effects related to visual perception are rare. In our experiment, 20 subjects watched nature-related video content in VR headsets (3D condition) and on a computer screen (2D condition). In addition to the gender factor, we considered the individual Environmental Identity Index (EID) and collected the self-assessment of the emotional state per the components of Valence, Arousal, and Dominance in each experimental condition. Besides the psychometric data, we also registered brainwave activity (EEG) and analyzed it with the 7 frequency bands. For EID, which was considerably higher in women, we found significant positive correlation with Valence (i.e., beneficial effect of the natural stimuli on the psycho-emotional status). At the same time, the analysis of the EEG data suggests a considerable impact of the VR immersion itself, with higher relaxation alpha effect in 3D vs. 2D condition in men. The novel and most pronounced effect of the gender factor was found in the relation between the EID and the EEG powers in the high-frequency bands—that is, positive correlation of these variables in women (0.64 < Rs < 0.74) but negative correlation in men (−0.66 < Rs < −0.72). Our results imply individually different and gender-dependent effects of the natural stimulus in VR. Correspondingly, the video and VR content development should consider this and aim to provide a user characteristics-tailored experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem Davidov
- Department of Data Collection and Processing Systems, Novosibirsk State Technical University, 630073 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Olga Razumnikova
- Department of Data Collection and Processing Systems, Novosibirsk State Technical University, 630073 Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Maxim Bakaev
- Department of Data Collection and Processing Systems, Novosibirsk State Technical University, 630073 Novosibirsk, Russia
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26
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Neoh MJY, Bizzego A, Teng JH, Gabrieli G, Esposito G. Neural Processing of Sexist Comments: Associations between Perceptions of Sexism and Prefrontal Activity. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13040529. [PMID: 37190494 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13040529] [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: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexism is a widespread form of gender discrimination which includes remarks based on gender stereotypes. However, little is known about the neural basis underlying the experience of sexist-related comments and how perceptions of sexism are related to these neural processes. The present study investigated whether perceptions of sexism influence neural processing of receiving sexist-related comments. Participants (N = 67) read experimental vignettes describing scenarios of comments involving gender stereotypes while near-infrared spectroscopy recordings were made to measure the hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex. Results found a significant correlation between participants' perceptions of sexism and brain activation in a brain cluster including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. There was a significant gender difference where female participants showed a stronger negative correlation compared to male participants. Future research can expand on these initial findings by looking at subcortical structures involved in emotional processing and gender stereotype application as well as examining cultural differences in perceptions of gender stereotypes and sexism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Jin Yee Neoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
| | - Andrea Bizzego
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Jia Hui Teng
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
| | - Giulio Gabrieli
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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27
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Hanson JL, Adkins DJ, Nacewicz BM, Barry KR. Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Amygdala and Hippocampus Subdivisions in Children and Adolescents. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.10.532071. [PMID: 36993362 PMCID: PMC10054998 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.10.532071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood can impact behavioral and brain development. Past work has consistently focused on the amygdala and hippocampus, two brain areas critical for emotion and behavioral responding. While there are SES differences in amygdala and hippocampal volumes, there are many unanswered questions in this domain connected to neurobiological specificity, and for whom these effects may be more pronounced. We may be able to investigate some anatomical subdivisions of these brain areas, as well as if relations with SES vary by participant age and sex. No work to date has however completed these types of analyses. To overcome these limitations, here, we combined multiple, large neuroimaging datasets of children and adolescents with information about neurobiology and SES (N=2,765). We examined subdivisions of the amygdala and hippocampus and found multiple amygdala subdivisions, as well as the head of the hippocampus, were related to SES. Greater volumes in these areas were seen for higher-SES youth participants. Looking at age- and sex-specific subgroups, we tended to see stronger effects in older participants, for both boys and girls. Paralleling effects for the full sample, we see significant positive associations between SES and volumes for the accessory basal amygdala and head of the hippocampus. We more consistently found associations between SES and volumes of the hippocampus and amygdala in boys (compared to girls). We discuss these results in relation to conceptions of "sex-as-a-biological variable" and broad patterns of neurodevelopment across childhood and adolescence. These results fill in important gaps on the impact of SES on neurobiology critical for emotion, memory, and learning.
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28
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Ng ZZ, Li G, Flynn S, Yow WQ. How COVID-19 News Affect Older Adults' Mental Health-Evidence of a Positivity Bias. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:3950. [PMID: 36900959 PMCID: PMC10002267 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20053950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Media affects the trajectory of many individuals' mental health-with media news, individuals experience negative bias more than positive bias. However, there is also evidence of an age-related positivity effect, with negativity bias generally fading with age. With the rise of COVID-19 cases, older adults (aged 55 years and older) who consume media frequently are at a high risk for declining mental health. To date, there has been no research on the positivity vs. negativity bias of media news on older adults. Here, we investigated whether positivity or negativity bias plays a larger role in affecting how older adults react to COVID-19 news. METHODS Sixty-nine older adults (aged 55-95) answered questions about their weekly media consumption and how closely they followed news relating to COVID-19. They also completed a general health questionnaire. They were then randomly assigned to read either positive or negative COVID-19 news (n = 35 and 34, respectively). The adults were asked if the news made them feel happy or fearful, and if they wanted to read more about the news or ignore the news. RESULTS An analysis revealed that the more often older adults consumed media and the more closely they followed COVID-19 news, the more they felt unhappy and depressed. Importantly, older adults who read positive news reported stronger responses than those who read negative news. Older adults appeared to have a strong positivity bias for COVID-19 news, reporting feeling happy and wanting to read about positive news. In contrast, negative COVID-19 news did not evoke similar levels of response from the older adults. CONCLUSIONS Media consumption of COVID-19 news does negatively impact the mental well-being of older adults, but older adults appear to have a strong positivity bias and a lack of negativity bias for COVID-19 news. These findings suggest that older adults can remain hopeful and positive during periods of public health crises and intense stress, which is essential to sustaining their mental well-being during difficult times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Ziyi Ng
- Raffles Institution, 1 Raffles Institution Lane, Singapore 575954, Singapore
| | - Grace Li
- Palo Alto Senior High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
| | - Suzanne Flynn
- Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - W. Quin Yow
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore
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29
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Soiné A, Walla P. Sex-Determined Alteration of Frontal Electroencephalographic (EEG) Activity in Social Presence. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13020585. [PMID: 36836942 PMCID: PMC9961853 DOI: 10.3390/life13020585] [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: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
This study represents a follow-up event-related potential (ERP) analysis of a prior investigation. The previous results showed that participants had most negative-tending ERPs in the mid-frontal brain region during exposure to neutral emotion pictures (compared to negative and positive pictures) while being accompanied by a significant other person (social presence condition). The present analysis aimed at investigating potential sex differences related to this phenomenon. Female and male participants' brain activity data from the previous study were analyzed separately for one representative mid-frontal electrode location selected on the basis of having the highest significance level. As a result, only female participants showed significantly more negative-tending potentials in response to neutral pictures, compared to both other emotion categories (positive and negative) in the social presence condition. This was not found in male participants. The respective ERP effect was most dominant at 838 ms post stimulus onset, which is slightly later than the effect found in the prior study. However, this result is interpreted as evidence that the general effect from the prior study can be understood as a largely female phenomenon. In line with the prior study, the present results are interpreted as a predominantly female activation in the mid-frontal brain region in response to neutral picture stimuli while being accompanied by a significant other person (social presence condition). Although only speculative, this would align with previous studies demonstrating sex-related hormonal and structural differences in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In general, ACC activation has been associated with an integrative weighting function in ambiguous social settings, which makes sense given the ambiguous nature of neutral pictures in combination with a social presence condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Soiné
- CanBeLab, Psychology Department, Webster Vienna Private University, Praterstrasse 23, 1020 Vienna, Austria
- Medical Neurosciences, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter Walla
- Faculty of Psychology, Freud CanBeLab, Sigmund Freud University, Sigmund Freud Platz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria
- Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud University, Sigmund Freud Platz 3, 1020 Vienna, Austria
- School of Psychology, Newcastle University, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
- Correspondence:
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30
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François M, Delgado IC, Lafond A, Lewis EM, Kuromaru M, Hassouna R, Deng S, Thaker VV, Dölen G, Zeltser LM. Amygdala AVPR1A mediates susceptibility to chronic social isolation in females. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.15.528679. [PMID: 36824966 PMCID: PMC9948989 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.15.528679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Females are more sensitive to social exclusion, which could contribute to their heightened susceptibility to anxiety disorders. Chronic social isolation stress (CSIS) for at least 7 weeks after puberty induces anxiety-related behavioral adaptations in female mice. Here, we show that Arginine vasopressin receptor 1a ( Avpr1a )-expressing neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) mediate these sex-specific effects, in part, via projections to the caudate putamen. Loss of function studies demonstrate that AVPR1A signaling in the CeA is required for effects of CSIS on anxiety-related behaviors in females but has no effect in males or group housed females. This sex-specificity is mediated by AVP produced by a subpopulation of neurons in the posterodorsal medial nucleus of the amygdala that project to the CeA. Estrogen receptor alpha signaling in these neurons also contributes to preferential sensitivity of females to CSIS. These data support new therapeutic applications for AVPR1A antagonists in women.
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31
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Yang X, Chen L, Yang P, Yang X, Liu L, Li L. Negative emotion-conditioned prepulse induces the attentional enhancement of prepulse inhibition in humans. Behav Brain Res 2023; 438:114179. [PMID: 36330905 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114179] [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: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is a reduction of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) when the startling stimulus is preceded by a weaker and non-startling stimulus (i.e., prepulse). Previous studies have revealed that PPI can be top-down modulated by selective attention to the fear-conditioned prepulse in animals. However, few researchers have tested this assumption in humans. Thus, in this study, the negative emotional-conditioned prepulse (CS+) was used to explore whether it could improve participants' attention, and further improve the PPI. The results showed that the CS+ prepulse increased the PPI only in females, PPI produced by CS+ prepulse was larger in females than in males, and the perceptual spatial attention further improved the PPI in both females and males. The results suggested that the PPI was affected by emotional, perceptual spatial attention, and sex. These findings highlight an additional method to measure top-down attentional regulation of PPI in humans. Which may offer a useful route to enhance the diagnosis of affective disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqin Yang
- Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Liangjie Chen
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Pengcheng Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Xiaodong Yang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China
| | - Lei Liu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China.
| | - Liang Li
- Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Key Laboratory on Machine Perception (Ministry of Education), Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100080, China.
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Liu H, Cao J, Zhang J, Ragulskis M. Minimum spanning tree brain network topology reflects individual differences in the structure of affective experience. Neurocomputing 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neucom.2022.11.095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Pugh ZH, Huang J, Leshin J, Lindquist KA, Nam CS. Culture and gender modulate dlPFC integration in the emotional brain: evidence from dynamic causal modeling. Cogn Neurodyn 2023; 17:153-168. [PMID: 36704624 PMCID: PMC9871122 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-022-09805-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Past research has recognized culture and gender variation in the experience of emotion, yet this has not been examined on a level of effective connectivity. To determine culture and gender differences in effective connectivity during emotional experiences, we applied dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to electroencephalography (EEG) measures of brain activity obtained from Chinese and American participants while they watched emotion-evoking images. Relative to US participants, Chinese participants favored a model bearing a more integrated dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during fear v. neutral experiences. Meanwhile, relative to males, females favored a model bearing a less integrated dlPFC during fear v. neutral experiences. A culture-gender interaction for winning models was also observed; only US participants showed an effect of gender, with US females favoring a model bearing a less integrated dlPFC compared to the other groups. These findings suggest that emotion and its neural correlates depend in part on the cultural background and gender of an individual. To our knowledge, this is also the first study to apply both DCM and EEG measures in examining culture-gender interaction and emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary H. Pugh
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA
| | - Jiali Huang
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA
| | - Joseph Leshin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapell Hill, NC USA
| | - Kristen A. Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapell Hill, NC USA
| | - Chang S. Nam
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC USA
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Are women truly “more emotional” than men? Sex differences in an indirect model-based measure of emotional feelings. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04227-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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Álvarez-Fernández S, Andrade-González N, Simal P, Matias-Guiu JA, Gómez-Escalonilla C, Rodriguez-Jimenez R, Stiles BJ, Lahera G. Emotional processing in patients with single brain damage in the right hemisphere. BMC Psychol 2023; 11:8. [PMID: 36635763 PMCID: PMC9837967 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-01033-x] [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: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The interest in the relationship between brain damage and social cognition has increased in recent years. The objectives of the present study were the following: (1) to evaluate and compare emotional facial recognition and subjective emotional experience in patients who have suffered a single ischemic stroke in the right hemisphere (RH) and in healthy people, (2) to analyze the relationship between both variables in both groups of subjects, and (3) to analyze the association between the cerebral location of the stroke and these two variables. METHODS Emotional facial recognition and the subjective emotional experience of 41 patients who had suffered a single ischemic stroke in the RH and 45 volunteers without previous cerebrovascular pathology were evaluated. RESULTS Brain damaged patients performed lower in facial emotional recognition and had a less intense subjective emotional response to social content stimuli compared to healthy subjects. Likewise, among patients with RH ischemic stroke, we observed negative associations between facial recognition of surprise and reactivity to unpleasant images, and positive associations between recognition of disgust and reactivity to pleasant images. Finally, patients with damage in the caudate nucleus of the RH presented a deficit in the recognition of happiness and sadness, and those with damage in the frontal lobe exhibited a deficit in the recognition of surprise, compared to those injured in other brain areas. CONCLUSIONS Emotional facial recognition and subjective emotional experience are affected in patients who have suffered a single ischemic stroke in the RH. Professionals caring for stroke patients should improve their understanding of the general condition of affected persons and their environment, assess for risk of depression, and facilitate their adaptation to work, family, and social environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nelson Andrade-González
- grid.7159.a0000 0004 1937 0239Psychiatry and Mental Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain ,grid.464699.00000 0001 2323 8386Faculty of Medicine, Alfonso X el Sabio University, Villanueva de La Cañada, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Simal
- grid.411068.a0000 0001 0671 5785Stroke Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Jordi A. Matias-Guiu
- grid.411068.a0000 0001 0671 5785Stroke Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Gómez-Escalonilla
- grid.411068.a0000 0001 0671 5785Stroke Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos (IdISSC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rodriguez-Jimenez
- grid.4795.f0000 0001 2157 7667Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain ,grid.144756.50000 0001 1945 5329Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain ,grid.469673.90000 0004 5901 7501CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Bryan J. Stiles
- grid.10698.360000000122483208Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - Guillermo Lahera
- grid.7159.a0000 0004 1937 0239Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain ,IRyCIS, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain ,Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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Hirnstein M, Stuebs J, Moè A, Hausmann M. Sex/Gender Differences in Verbal Fluency and Verbal-Episodic Memory: A Meta-Analysis. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023; 18:67-90. [PMID: 35867343 PMCID: PMC9896545 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221082116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Women are thought to fare better in verbal abilities, especially in verbal-fluency and verbal-memory tasks. However, the last meta-analysis on sex/gender differences in verbal fluency dates from 1988. Although verbal memory has only recently been investigated meta-analytically, a comprehensive meta-analysis is lacking that focuses on verbal memory as it is typically assessed, for example, in neuropsychological settings. On the basis of 496 effect sizes and 355,173 participants, in the current meta-analysis, we found that women/girls outperformed men/boys in phonemic fluency (ds = 0.12-0.13) but not in semantic fluency (ds = 0.01-0.02), for which the sex/gender difference appeared to be category-dependent. Women/girls also outperformed men/boys in recall (d = 0.28) and recognition (ds = 0.12-0.17). Although effect sizes are small, the female advantage was relatively stable over the past 50 years and across lifetime. Published articles reported stronger female advantages than unpublished studies, and first authors reported better performance for members of their own sex/gender. We conclude that a small female advantage in phonemic fluency, recall, and recognition exists and is partly subject to publication bias. Considerable variance suggests further contributing factors, such as participants' language and country/region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Hirnstein
- Department of Biological and Medical
Psychology, University of Bergen
| | - Josephine Stuebs
- Department of Biological and Medical
Psychology, University of Bergen
- Department of Neuropsychology and
Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University
- Institute of Clinical Medicine,
University of Oslo
| | - Angelica Moè
- Department of General Psychology,
University of Padua
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Kustubayeva A, Eliassen J, Matthews G, Nelson E. FMRI study of implicit emotional face processing in patients with MDD with melancholic subtype. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1029789. [PMID: 36923587 PMCID: PMC10009191 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1029789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The accurate perception of facial expressions plays a vital role in daily life, allowing us to select appropriate responses in social situations. Understanding the neuronal basis of altered emotional face processing in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may lead to the appropriate choice of individual interventions to help patients maintain social functioning during depressive episodes. Inconsistencies in neuroimaging studies of emotional face processing are caused by heterogeneity in neurovegetative symptoms of depressive subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate brain activation differences during implicit perception of faces with negative and positive emotions between healthy participants and patients with melancholic subtype of MDD. The neurobiological correlates of sex differences of MDD patients were also examined. Methods Thirty patients diagnosed with MDD and 21 healthy volunteers were studied using fMRI while performing an emotional face perception task. Results Comparing general face activation irrespective of emotional content, the intensity of BOLD signal was significantly decreased in the left thalamus, right supramarginal gyrus, right and left superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus in patients with melancholic depression compared to healthy participants. We observed only limited mood-congruence in response to faces of differing emotional valence. Brain activation in the middle temporal gyrus was significantly increased in response to fearful faces in comparison to happy faces in MDD patients. Elevated activation was observed in the right cingulate for happy and fearful faces, in precuneus for happy faces, and left posterior cingulate cortex for all faces in depressed women compared to men. The Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology (IDS) score was inversely correlated with activation in the left subgenual gyrus/left rectal gyrus for sad, neutral, and fearful faces in women in the MDD group. Patients with melancholic features performed similarly to controls during implicit emotional processing but showed reduced activation. Discussion and conclusion This finding suggests that melancholic patients compensate for reduced brain activation when interpreting emotional content in order to perform similarly to controls. Overall, frontal hypoactivation in response to implicit emotional stimuli appeared to be the most robust feature of melancholic depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almira Kustubayeva
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States.,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Biophysics, Biomedicine, and Neuroscience, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.,National Centre for Neurosurgery, Astana, Kazakhstan
| | - James Eliassen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States.,Robert Bosch Automotive Steering, Florence, KY, United States
| | - Gerald Matthews
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States
| | - Erik Nelson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States
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Helman TJ, Headrick JP, Stapelberg NJC, Braidy N. The sex-dependent response to psychosocial stress and ischaemic heart disease. Front Cardiovasc Med 2023; 10:1072042. [PMID: 37153459 PMCID: PMC10160413 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1072042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is an important risk factor for modern chronic diseases, with distinct influences in males and females. The sex specificity of the mammalian stress response contributes to the sex-dependent development and impacts of coronary artery disease (CAD). Compared to men, women appear to have greater susceptibility to chronic forms of psychosocial stress, extending beyond an increased incidence of mood disorders to include a 2- to 4-fold higher risk of stress-dependent myocardial infarction in women, and up to 10-fold higher risk of Takotsubo syndrome-a stress-dependent coronary-myocardial disorder most prevalent in post-menopausal women. Sex differences arise at all levels of the stress response: from initial perception of stress to behavioural, cognitive, and affective responses and longer-term disease outcomes. These fundamental differences involve interactions between chromosomal and gonadal determinants, (mal)adaptive epigenetic modulation across the lifespan (particularly in early life), and the extrinsic influences of socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Pre-clinical investigations of biological mechanisms support distinct early life programming and a heightened corticolimbic-noradrenaline-neuroinflammatory reactivity in females vs. males, among implicated determinants of the chronic stress response. Unravelling the intrinsic molecular, cellular and systems biological basis of these differences, and their interactions with external lifestyle/socio-cultural determinants, can guide preventative and therapeutic strategies to better target coronary heart disease in a tailored sex-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa J. Helman
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, NSW, Sydney, Australia
- Correspondence: Tessa J. Helman
| | - John P. Headrick
- Schoolof Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Nady Braidy
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, NSW, Sydney, Australia
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Di S, Ma C, Wu X, Lei L. Gender differences in behavioral inhibitory control under evoked acute stress: An event-related potential study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1107935. [PMID: 36959995 PMCID: PMC10028078 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1107935] [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: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose This study investigated gender differences in behavioral inhibitory control among college students under acute stress state by using event-related potential technique. Methods Acute stress was evoked in 41 college students (22 males and 19 females) using the Trier Social Stress paradigm, and the neutral state was matched using out-of-speech reading, with subjects completing a two-choice Oddball task in each of the two states. In combination with the ERP technique, the area under the stress curve, reaction time, number of errors, and the difference waves between the two stimulus conditions in the frontal-central region N2 wave amplitude and the parietal-central region P3 wave amplitude were compared between the two groups of subjects in the stressful and neutral state. Results The results revealed that the area under the stress curve was larger under the stress condition compared to the neutral condition, and the area under the stress curve was larger in females than in males. Behavioral results showed no statistically significant differences in reaction time and number of errors between the two genders in the acute stress condition. The ERP results showed that the wave amplitudes of N2 and P3 decreased significantly in both genders in the acute stress state. The decrease in N2 amplitude was greater in females during the transition from neutral to stressful condition, while the difference in P3 amplitude was not statistically significant in both genders. Conclusion The findings suggest that evoked acute stress can promote behavioral inhibitory control in both genders and that females are more sensitive to acute stress state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Di
- Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- Center of Application of Psychological Research, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
| | - Xiaoguang Wu
- Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
| | - Liang Lei
- Normal College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
- *Correspondence: Liang Lei,
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40
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He Y, Sun Y. Breaking up with my idol: A qualitative study of the psychological adaptation process of renouncing fanship. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1030470. [PMID: 36591090 PMCID: PMC9803266 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1030470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction This study aimed to explore the psychological adaptation process of renouncing fanship due to para-loveshock in the context of fandom culture. Methods We adopted netnography to explore social media platforms used by fans in China (Weibo, WeChat, and Douban) as research fields for 3 years. Results (1) The process of "breaking up with" or renouncing an idol can be divided into three phases: the resistance phase with acute stress, the negotiation phase with bargaining, and the recovery phase with attachment reconstruction. In the resistance phase, fans displayed acute stress responses due to loveshock in psychological, physical, and behavioral aspects. In the negotiation phase, fans faced four barriers to renouncement: cognitive dissonance, emotional attachment, behavioral dependence, and social threat. They bargained within the three types of cognitive framework before deciding to "leave" or "re-follow" their idol. In the recovery phase, fans adopted two types of strategies to promote recovery: healing the past and facing the future. Healing the past involved public outcry, sharing their breakup plans, cognitive reconstruction, and seeking closure to the fan role. Facing the future involved switching environments, seeking new interests, and inhibiting the re-intrusion of trauma cues. (2) Internal factors affecting the psychological adaptation process of renouncement include the level of initiative, attribution styles, experience, attachment status and core belief systems, and alternative lifestyles; external factors include social support, peer pressure from the fan community, life stressors, and types and impact of traumatic events. (3) Based on the two dimensions of orientation and commitment, fans were classified into four types: short-term rational, short-term passionate, bounded loyal, and unconditionally loyal, corresponding to non-traumatic, stressful, accumulated, and traumatic breakup processes, respectively. (4) The post-renouncement growth of fans mainly manifested in the development of mental modes, coping skills toward trauma, emotional adaptation experience, and behavior patterns. Implications This investigation of the recovery process from para-loveshock after renouncement of fanship can provide theoretical and practical insights into the development of psychological resilience for fans, reduction of the psychological distress and negative outcomes, and public governance on social media platform and cyber pop culture industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqing He
- School of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
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41
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Dark HE, Harnett NG, Hurst DR, Wheelock MD, Wood KH, Goodman AM, Mrug S, Elliott MN, Emery ST, Schuster MA, Knight DC. Sex-related differences in violence exposure, neural reactivity to threat, and mental health. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:2221-2229. [PMID: 36030316 PMCID: PMC9630543 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01430-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala play an important role in emotional health. However, adverse life events (e.g., violence exposure) affect the function of these brain regions, which may lead to disorders such as depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety disproportionately affect women compared to men, and this disparity may reflect sex differences in the neural processes that underlie emotion expression and regulation. The present study investigated sex differences in the relationship between violence exposure and the neural processes that underlie emotion regulation. In the present study, 200 participants completed a Pavlovian fear conditioning procedure in which cued and non-cued threats (i.e., unconditioned stimuli) were presented during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Violence exposure was previously assessed at four separate time points when participants were 11-19 years of age. Significant threat type (cued versus non-cued) × sex and sex × violence exposure interactions were observed. Specifically, women and men differed in amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus reactivity to cued versus non-cued threat. Further, dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) reactivity to threat varied positively with violence exposure among women, but not men. Similarly, threat-elicited skin conductance responses varied positively with violence exposure among women. Finally, women reported greater depression and anxiety symptoms than men. These findings suggest that sex differences in threat-related brain and psychophysiological activity may have implications for mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Dark
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Danielle R Hurst
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kimberly H Wood
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Psychology, Samford University, Homewood, AL, USA
| | - Adam M Goodman
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Sylvie Mrug
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | | | - Susan Tortolero Emery
- Texas Prevention Research Center, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mark A Schuster
- Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - David C Knight
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
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42
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Sklivanioti Greenfield M, Wang Y, Msghina M. Similarities and differences in the induction and regulation of the negative emotions fear and disgust: A functional near infrared spectroscopy study. Scand J Psychol 2022; 63:581-593. [PMID: 35634652 PMCID: PMC9796661 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Affective processing, including induction and regulation of emotion, activates neural networks, induces physiological responses, and generates subjective experience. Dysregulation of these processes can lead to maladaptive behavior and even psychiatric morbidity. Multimodal studies of emotion thus not only help elucidate the nature of emotion, but also contribute to important clinical insights. In the present study, we compared the induction (EI) and effortful regulation (ER) with reappraisal of fear and disgust in healthy subjects using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in conjunction with electrodermal activity (EDA). During EI, there was significant activation in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) for fear and more widespread activation for disgust, with right lateral PFC significantly more active during disgust compared to fear. ER was equally effective for fear and disgust reducing subjective emotion rating by roughly 45%. Compared to baseline, there was no increased PFC activity for fear during ER, while for disgust lateral PFC was significantly more active. Significant differences between the two negative emotions were also observed in sympathetic nerve activity as reflected in EDA during EI, but not during ER. Lastly, compared to men, women had higher emotion rating for both fear and disgust without corresponding differences in EDA. In conclusion, in the present study we show that emotion induction was associated with differential activation in both PFC and sympathetic nerve activity for fear and disgust. These differences were however less prominent during emotion regulation. We discuss the potential interpretation of our results and their implications regarding our understanding of negative emotion processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yanlu Wang
- Department of Clinical ScienceIntervention, and Technology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden,MR Physics, Medical Radiation Physics and Nuclear MedicineKarolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
| | - Mussie Msghina
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience (CNS)Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden,Faculty of Medicine and HealthÖrebro UniversityÖrebroSweden
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43
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Kiyar M, Kubre MA, Collet S, Van Den Eynde T, T'Sjoen G, Guillamon A, Mueller SC. Gender-affirming hormonal treatment changes neural processing of emotions in trans men: An fMRI study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 146:105928. [PMID: 36155318 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some transgender people desire a transition through gender-affirming hormone treatment (GAHT). To date, it is unknown how GAHT changes emotion perception in transgender people. METHODS Thirty transgender men (TM), 30 cisgender men (CM), and 35 cisgender women (CW) underwent 3 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while passively viewing emotional faces (happy, angry, surprised faces) at two timepoints (T0 and T1). At T0 all participants were hormone-naïve, while TM immediately commenced testosterone supplementation at T0. The second scanning session (T1) occurred after 6-10 months of GAHT in TM. All 3 groups completed both T0 and T1 RESULTS: GAHT in TM shifted the neural profile whilst processing emotions from a sex-assigned at birth pattern at T0 (similar to CW) to a consistent with gender identity pattern at T1 (similar to CM). Overall, the brain patterns stayed the same for the cis people at T0 and T1. CONCLUSIONS These findings document the impact of hormone treatment, and testosterone supplementation specifically, on emotion perception in TM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meltem Kiyar
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| | - Mary-Ann Kubre
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Sarah Collet
- Department of Endocrinology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium
| | | | - Guy T'Sjoen
- Department of Endocrinology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium
| | - Antonio Guillamon
- Department of Psychobiology, National Distance Education University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
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44
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PILLEROVÁ M, PASTOREK M, BORBÉLYOVÁ V, RILJAK V, FRICK KM, HODOSY J, TÓTHOVÁ Ľ. Sex steroid hormones in depressive disorders as a basis for new potential treatment strategies. Physiol Res 2022; 71:S187-S202. [PMID: 36647907 PMCID: PMC9906660 DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.935001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The sex steroid hormones (SSHs) such as testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, and their metabolites have important organizational and activational impacts on the brain during critical periods of brain development and in adulthood. A variety of slow and rapid mechanisms mediate both organizational and activational processes via intracellular or membrane receptors for SSHs. Physiological concentrations and distribution of SSHs in the brain result in normal brain development. Nevertheless, dysregulation of hormonal equilibrium may result in several mood disorders, including depressive disorders, later in adolescence or adulthood. Gender differences in cognitive abilities, emotions as well as the 2-3 times higher prevalence of depressive disorders in females, were already described. This implies that SSHs may play a role in the development of depressive disorders. In this review, we discuss preclinical and clinical studies linked to SSHs and development of depressive disorders. Our secondary aim includes a review of up-to-date knowledge about molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders. Understanding these molecular mechanisms might lead to significant treatment adjustments for patients with depressive disorders and to an amelioration of clinical outcomes for these patients. Nevertheless, the impact of SSHs on the brain in the context of the development of depressive disorders, progression, and treatment responsiveness is complex in nature, and depends upon several factors in concert such as gender, age, comorbidities, and general health conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam PILLEROVÁ
- Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Michal PASTOREK
- Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Veronika BORBÉLYOVÁ
- Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Vladimír RILJAK
- Institute of Physiology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karyn M. FRICK
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Július HODOSY
- Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Ľubomíra TÓTHOVÁ
- Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
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Huffman LG, Oshri A. Continuity versus change in latent profiles of emotion regulation and working memory during adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101177. [PMID: 36436429 PMCID: PMC9706540 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Significant structural and functional brain development occurs during early adolescence. These changes underlie developments in central neurocognitive processes such as working memory (WM) and emotion regulation (ER). The preponderance of studies modeling trajectories of adolescent brain development use variable-centered approaches, omitting attention to individual differences that may undergird neurobiological embedding of early life stress and attendant psychopathology. This preregistered, data-driven study used latent transition analysis (LTA) to identify (1) latent profiles of neural function during a WM and implicit ER task, (2) transitions in profiles across 24 months, and 3) associations between transitions, parental support, and subsequent psychopathology. Using two waves of data from the ABCD Study (Mage T1 = 10; Mage T2 = 12), we found three unique profiles of neural function at both T1 and T2. The Typical, Emotion Hypo-response, and Emotion-Hyper response profiles were characterized by, respectively: moderate amygdala activation and fusiform deactivation; high ACC, fusiform, and insula deactivation; and high amygdala, ACC, and insula response to ER. While 69.5 % remained in the Typical profile from T1 to T2, 27.8 % of the sample moved from one profile at T1 to another at T2. However, neither latent profiles nor transitions exhibited associations between parental support or psychopathology symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Landry Goodgame Huffman
- Neuroscience Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Human Development & Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Assaf Oshri
- Neuroscience Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Human Development & Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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Fatima S, Arshad M, Mushtaq M. Religious coping and young adult's mental well-being during Covid-19: Testing a double moderated mediation model. ARCHIVE FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION = ARCHIV FUR RELIGIONSPSYCHOLOGIE 2022; 44:158-174. [PMID: 38603228 PMCID: PMC9465056 DOI: 10.1177/00846724221121685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The literature describes religious coping as an important predictor of mental well-being. Present study is aimed at extending this knowledge by assessing whether specific religious coping regulates specific cognitive emotional responses to improve well-being during Covid pandemic, an extreme international event with significant impacts on individuals and communities. A sample of young adults responded to self-report measures of negative and positive religious coping, positive reappraisal, self-blaming, and mental well-being. Results revealed that positive religious coping was a positive predictor of mental well-being and positive reappraisal mediated this positive link. Also, gender and physical health status significantly interacted with positive reappraisal to predict mental well-being in these mediational associations. More specifically, indirect effects of positive reappraisal were positive and significant for men and for participants with better physical health compared with women and those with poor physical health. However, negative religious coping was not a significant correlate of mental well-being but a positive correlate of self-blame. Results suggest that positive religious coping facilitates positive regulation of emotions for improved mental well-being in young adults and particularly young men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shameem Fatima
- Shameem Fatima, Department of Humanities,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Defence Road, Lahore PB 54000, Pakistan.
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Mehta ND, Stevens JS, Li Z, Fani N, Gillespie CF, Ravi M, Michopoulos V, Felger JC. Inflammation, amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal functional connectivity and symptoms of anxiety and PTSD in African American women recruited from an inner-city hospital: Preliminary results. Brain Behav Immun 2022; 105:122-130. [PMID: 35772683 PMCID: PMC11041384 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Inflammatory stimuli have been shown to impact brain regions involved in threat detection and emotional processing including amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and to increase anxiety. Biomarkers of endogenous inflammation, including inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP), are reliably elevated in a subset of patients with depression and anxiety-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and have been associated with high anxiety in population studies. We previously reported that plasma CRP and cytokines in patients with depression were negatively correlated with resting-state functional connectivity (FC) between right amygdala and vmPFC, as assessed using both ROI to voxel-wise and targeted FC approaches, in association with symptoms of anxiety, particularly in patients with comorbid anxiety disorders or PTSD. To determine whether relationships between inflammation, right amygdala-vmPFC FC, and anxiety are reproducible across patient samples and research settings, we employed an a priori, hypothesis-driven approach to examine relationships between inflammation, targeted right amygdala-vmPFC FC and anxiety in a cohort of African American (AA) women (n = 54) recruited from an inner-city hospital population reliably found to have higher levels of inflammation (median CRP ∼ 4 mg/L) as well as symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD. Higher concentrations of plasma CRP were associated with lower right amygdala-vmPFC FC (r = -0.32, p = 0.017), and this relationship remained significant when controlling for age, body mass index and number of lifetime trauma events experienced, as well as severity of PTSD and depression symptoms (all p < 0.05). This amygdala-vmPFC FC was similarly associated with a composite score of three inflammatory cytokines in a subset of women where plasma was available for analysis (n = 33, r = -0.33, p = 0.058; adjusted r = -0.43, p = 0.026 when controlling for covariates including PTSD and depression symptom severity). Lower right amygdala-vmPFC FC was in turn associated with higher levels of anxiety reported to be generally experienced on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, trait component (adjusted r = -0.32, p = 0.039 when controlling for covariates). Exploratory analyses also revealed a negative correlation between severity of childhood maltreatment and right amygdala-vmPFC FC (r = -0.32, p = 0.018) that was independent of CRP and its association with FC, as well as an association between low amygdala-vmPFC FC and severity of PTSD symptoms, specifically the re-experiencing/intrusive symptom subscale (adjusted r = -0.32, p = 0.028 when controlling for covariates). While CRP was not linearly associated with either anxiety or PTSD symptoms, CRP concentrations were higher in women reporting clinically significant anxiety or PTSD symptom severity when these symptoms were considered together (both p < 0.05), but with no interaction. These results support our primary hypothesis that higher inflammation was associated with lower amygdala-vmPFC FC, a relationship that was detected using a hypothesis-driven, targeted approach. Findings also support that this phenotype of high CRP and low vmPFC FC was observed in association with anxiety in primary analyses, as well as symptoms of PTSD in exploratory analyses, in a cohort recruited from an inner-city population of AA women enriched for high inflammation, history of trauma exposure, and symptom severity. Larger, longitudinal samples are required to fully tease apart causal relationships between inflammatory biomarkers, FC and PTSD-related symptoms in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neeti D Mehta
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Jennifer S Stevens
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Zhihao Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Sheng, 518060, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Sheng, 518060, China
| | - Negar Fani
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Charles F Gillespie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Meghna Ravi
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| | - Jennifer C Felger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
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Qiu F, Zhou Y, Zhang L, Zhang J, Liu H. Gender dimorphic M1 excitability during emotional processing: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13987. [PMID: 36061749 PMCID: PMC9438768 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13987] [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: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Background It is widely held that emotions prime the body for action. However, the influence of gender on primary motor cortex (M1) excitability during emotional processing is not well explored. Methods Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we stimulated the right or left M1 at 150 ms and 300 ms after emotional stimulation onset (presentation of negative, neutral, and positive pictures to male and female subjects). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) ratio induced by single-pulse TMS was used to assess changes in corticospinal excitability. Results In response to right M1 stimulation, males demonstrated higher MEP ratios following presentation of negative pictures at 150 ms while MEP ratios in response to presentation of positive pictures were greater at 300 ms. Furthermore, male subjects showed larger MEP ratios in right M1 versus left M1 at 300 ms after initiation of positive pictures, indicating lateralization of motor excitability in male subjects. Conclusions The current study thus provides neurophysiological evidence to support gender differences and functional lateralization of motor excitability in response to emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanghui Qiu
- Department of Physical Education, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yu Zhou
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qingdao University, China
| | - Lanlan Zhang
- Department of Leisure Sports and Management, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Shanghai Punan Hospital of Pudong New District, Shanghai, China
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Neuroanatomical Correlates of Perceived Stress Controllability in Adolescents and Emerging Adults. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:655-671. [PMID: 35091987 PMCID: PMC9308625 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-00985-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Stressful life events predict changes in brain structure and increases in psychopathology, but not everyone is equally affected by life stress. The learned helplessness theory posits that perceiving life stressors as uncontrollable leads to depression. Evidence supports this theory for youth, but the impact of perceived control diverges based on stressor type: perceived lack of control over dependent (self-generated) stressors is associated with greater depression symptoms when controlling for the frequency of stress exposure, but perceived control over independent (non-self-generated) stressors is not. However, it is unknown how perceived control over these stressor types is associated with brain structure. We tested whether perceived lack of control over dependent and independent life stressors, controlling for stressor exposure, is associated with gray matter (GM) in a priori regions of interest (ROIs; mPFC, hippocampus, amygdala) and across the cortex in a sample of 108 adolescents and emerging adults ages 14-22. There were no associations across the full sample between perceived control over either stressor type and GM in the ROIs. However, less perceived control over dependent stressors was associated with greater amygdala gray matter volume in female youth and greater medial prefrontal cortex thickness in male youth. Furthermore, whole-cortex analyses revealed less perceived control over dependent stressors was associated with greater GM thickness in cortical regions involved in cognitive and emotional regulation. Thus, appraisals of control have distinct associations with brain morphology while controlling for stressor frequency, highlighting the importance of differentiating between these aspects of the stress experience in future research.
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Zhang X, Guan M, Chen X, Zhang P, Wu J, Zhang X, Dong M. Identifying neuroimaging biomarkers for psychogenic erectile dysfunction by fusing multi‐level brain information: a resting‐state fMRI study. Andrology 2022; 10:1398-1410. [PMID: 35869867 DOI: 10.1111/andr.13238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education School of Life Science and Technology Xidian University Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
- Xian Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of tran‐Scale Life Information Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
| | - Min Guan
- Department of Cerebrovascular Disease Henan Provincial People's Hospital Zhengzhou 450003 China
| | - Xin Chen
- Department of Andrology Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zheng Zhou Henan 450003 China
| | - Peiming Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education School of Life Science and Technology Xidian University Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
- Xian Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of tran‐Scale Life Information Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
| | - Jia Wu
- School of Foreign Languages Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an Shaanxi China
| | - Xiangsheng Zhang
- Department of Andrology Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University Zheng Zhou Henan 450003 China
| | - Minghao Dong
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education School of Life Science and Technology Xidian University Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
- Xian Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of tran‐Scale Life Information Xi'an Shaanxi 710071 China
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Perception and Image Understanding of Ministry of Education, School of Artificial Intelligence Xidian University Xi'an China
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