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Joue G, Navarro-Schröder T, Achtzehn J, Moffat S, Hennies N, Fuß J, Döller C, Wolbers T, Sommer T. Effects of estrogen on spatial navigation and memory. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1037-1063. [PMID: 38407638 PMCID: PMC11031496 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06539-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Animal studies suggest that the so-called "female" hormone estrogen enhances spatial navigation and memory. This contradicts the observation that males generally out-perform females in spatial navigation and tasks involving spatial memory. A closer look at the vast number of studies actually reveals that performance differences are not so clear. OBJECTIVES To help clarify the unclear performance differences between men and women and the role of estrogen, we attempted to isolate organizational from activational effects of estrogen on spatial navigation and memory. METHODS In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we tested the effects of orally administered estradiol valerate (E2V) in healthy, young women in their low-hormone menstrual cycle phase, compared to healthy, young men. Participants performed several first-person, environmentally rich, 3-D computer games inspired by spatial navigation and memory paradigms in animal research. RESULTS We found navigation behavior suggesting that sex effects dominated any E2 effects with men performing better with allocentric strategies and women with egocentric strategies. Increased E2 levels did not lead to general improvements in spatial ability in either sex but to behavioral changes reflecting navigation flexibility. CONCLUSION Estrogen-driven differences in spatial cognition might be better characterized on a spectrum of navigation flexibility rather than by categorical performance measures or skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Joue
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Tobias Navarro-Schröder
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Olav Kyrres Gate 9, 7030, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Johannes Achtzehn
- Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology (CVK), Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Scott Moffat
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 654 Cherry Street, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Nora Hennies
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Johannes Fuß
- Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Sex Research, University Duisburg-Essen, Hohlweg 26, 45147, Essen, Germany
| | - Christian Döller
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Olav Kyrres Gate 9, 7030, Trondheim, Norway
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1a, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thomas Wolbers
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Leipziger Straße 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Sommer
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
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Varshney A, Munns ME, Kasowski J, Zhou M, He C, Grafton ST, Giesbrecht B, Hegarty M, Beyeler M. Stress affects navigation strategies in immersive virtual reality. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5949. [PMID: 38467699 PMCID: PMC10928118 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56048-8] [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: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
There are known individual differences in both the ability to learn the layout of novel environments and the flexibility of strategies for navigating known environments. However, it is unclear how navigational abilities are impacted by high-stress scenarios. Here we used immersive virtual reality (VR) to develop a novel behavioral paradigm to examine navigation under dynamically changing situations. We recruited 48 participants (24 female; ages 17-32) to navigate a virtual maze (7.5 m × 7.5 m). Participants learned the maze by moving along a fixed path past the maze's landmarks (paintings). Subsequently, participants experienced either a non-stress condition, or a high-stress condition tasking them with navigating the maze. In the high-stress condition, their initial path was blocked, the environment was darkened, threatening music was played, fog obstructed more distal views of the environment, and participants were given a time limit of 20 s with a countdown timer displayed at the top of their screen. On trials where the path was blocked, we found self-reported stress levels and distance traveled increased while trial completion rate decreased (as compared to non-stressed control trials). On unblocked stress trials, participants were less likely to take a shortcut and consequently navigated less efficiently compared to control trials. Participants with more trait spatial anxiety reported more stress and navigated less efficiently. Overall, our results suggest that navigational abilities change considerably under high-stress conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apurv Varshney
- Department of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Mitchell E Munns
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Justin Kasowski
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Dynamical Neuroscience, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Mantong Zhou
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Chuanxiuyue He
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Scott T Grafton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Barry Giesbrecht
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Mary Hegarty
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Michael Beyeler
- Department of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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3
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Schinazi VR, Meloni D, Grübel J, Angus DJ, Baumann O, Weibel RP, Jeszenszky P, Hölscher C, Thrash T. Motivation moderates gender differences in navigation performance. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15995. [PMID: 37749312 PMCID: PMC10520045 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43241-4] [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: 05/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Gender differences in navigation performance are a recurrent and controversial topic. Previous research suggests that men outperform women in navigation tasks and that men and women exhibit different navigation strategies. Here, we investigate whether motivation to complete the task moderates the relationship between navigation performance and gender. Participants learned the locations of landmarks in a novel virtual city. During learning, participants could trigger a top-down map that depicted their current position and the locations of the landmarks. During testing, participants were divided into control and treatment groups and were not allowed to consult the map. All participants were given 16 minutes to navigate to the landmarks, but those in the treatment group were monetarily penalized for every second they spent completing the task. Results revealed a negative relationship between physiological arousal and the time required to locate the landmarks. In addition, gender differences in strategy were found during learning, with women spending more time with the map and taking 40% longer than men to locate the landmarks. Interestingly, an interaction between gender and treatment group revealed that women in the control group required more time than men and women in the treatment group to retrieve the landmarks. During testing, women in the control group also took more circuitous routes compared to men in the control group and women in the treatment group. These results suggest that a concurrent and relevant stressor can motivate women to perform similarly to men, helping to diminish pervasive gender differences found in the navigation literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor R Schinazi
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Psychology, Bond University, Robina, Australia.
- Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Dario Meloni
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jascha Grübel
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Chair of Geoinformation Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Douglas J Angus
- Department of Psychology, Bond University, Robina, Australia
| | - Oliver Baumann
- Department of Psychology, Bond University, Robina, Australia
| | - Raphael P Weibel
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Chair of Technology Marketing, Department of Management, Technology and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Péter Jeszenszky
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Centre for the Study of Language and Society, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Hölscher
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tyler Thrash
- Chair of Cognitive Science, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA
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4
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Akan O, Bierbrauer A, Axmacher N, Wolf OT. Acute stress impairs visual path integration. Neurobiol Stress 2023; 26:100561. [PMID: 37576349 PMCID: PMC10416025 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100561] [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: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute stress exerts substantial effects on episodic memory, which are often mediated by glucocorticoids, the end-product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Surprisingly little is known, however, about the influence of acute stress on human spatial navigation. One specific navigational strategy is path integration, which is linked to the medial entorhinal cortex, a region harboring glucocorticoid receptors and thus susceptible for stress effects. Here, we investigated effects of acute stress on path integration performance using a virtual homing task. We divided a sample of healthy young male participants into a stress group (nstress = 32) and a control group (ncontrol = 34). The stress group underwent the socially evaluated cold-pressor test, while the control group underwent a non-stressful control procedure. Stress induction was confirmed via physiological and subjective markers, including an increase of salivary cortisol concentrations. We applied linear mixed models to investigate the effect of acute stress on path integration depending on task difficulty and the presence or absence of spatial cues. These analyses revealed that stress impaired path integration especially in trials with high difficulty and led to greater decline of performance upon removal of spatial cues. Stress-induced deficits were strongly related to impaired distance estimation, and to a lesser extent to compromised rotation estimation. These behavioral findings are in accordance with the hypothesis that acute stress impairs path integration processes, potentially by affecting the entorhinal grid cell system. More generally, the current data suggests acute stress to impair cognitive functions mediated by medial temporal lobe regions outside the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osman Akan
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Anne Bierbrauer
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T. Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
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5
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Akan O, Bierbrauer A, Kunz L, Gajewski PD, Getzmann S, Hengstler JG, Wascher E, Axmacher N, Wolf OT. Chronic stress is associated with specific path integration deficits. Behav Brain Res 2023; 442:114305. [PMID: 36682499 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114305] [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: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Repeated exposure to stress (chronic stress) can cause excess levels of circulating cortisol and has detrimental influences on various cognitive functions including long-term memory and navigation. However, it remains an open question whether chronic stress affects path integration, a navigational strategy that presumably relies on the functioning of grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex. The entorhinal cortex is a brain region in the medial temporal lobe, which contains multiple cell types involved in spatial navigation (and episodic memory), and a high number of corticosteroid receptors, predisposing it as a potential target of cortisol effects. Here, our goal was to investigate the association between chronic stress and path integration performance. We assessed chronic stress via hair cortisol concentration (physiological measure) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (subjective measure) in 52 female participants aged 22-65 years. Path integration was measured using a virtual homing task. Linear mixed models revealed selective impairments associated with chronic stress that depended on error type and environmental features. When focusing on distance estimations in the path integration task, we observed a significant relationship to hair cortisol concentrations indicating impaired path integration particularly during trials with higher difficulty in participants with high hair cortisol concentrations. This relationship especially emerged in the absence of spatial cues (a boundary or a landmark), and particularly in participants who reported high levels of subjectively experienced chronic stress. The findings are in line with the hypothesis that chronic stress compromises path integration, possibly via an effect on the entorhinal grid cell system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osman Akan
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Anne Bierbrauer
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Lukas Kunz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Patrick D Gajewski
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of Dortmund, Germany
| | - Jan G Hengstler
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edmund Wascher
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Technical University of Dortmund, Germany
| | - Nikolai Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
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6
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He Q, Beveridge EH, Vargas V, Salen A, Brown TI. Effects of Acute Stress on Rigid Learning, Flexible Learning, and Value-Based Decision-Making in Spatial Navigation. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:552-567. [PMID: 36944163 DOI: 10.1177/09567976231155870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The current study investigated how stress affects value-based decision-making during spatial navigation and different types of learning underlying decisions. Eighty-two adult participants (42 females) first learned to find object locations in a virtual environment from a fixed starting location (rigid learning) and then to find the same objects from unpredictable starting locations (flexible learning). Participants then decided whether to reach goal objects from the fixed or unpredictable starting location. We found that stress impairs rigid learning in females, and it does not impair, and even improves, flexible learning when performance with rigid learning is controlled for. Critically, examining how earlier learning influences subsequent decision-making using computational models, we found that stress reduces memory integration, making participants more likely to focus on recent memory and less likely to integrate information from other sources. Collectively, our results show how stress impacts different memory systems and the communication between memory and decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiliang He
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
| | | | - Vanesa Vargas
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
| | - Ashley Salen
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
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7
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Grêt-Regamey A, Galleguillos-Torres M. Global urban homogenization and the loss of emotions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22515. [PMID: 36581684 PMCID: PMC9800410 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-27141-7] [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: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban expansion is generating unprecedented homogenization of landscapes across the world. This uniformization of urban forms brings along dramatic environmental, social, and health problems. Reverting such processes requires activating people's sense of place, their feeling of caring for their surroundings, and their community engagement. While emotions are known to have a modulating effect on behavior, their role in urban transformation is unknown. Drawing on large cognitive-psychological experiments in two countries, we demonstrate for the first time that urban homogenization processes lower people's affective bounds to places and ultimately their intentions to engage with their neighbourhoods. The dulled emotional responses in peri-urban areas compared to urban and rural areas can be explained by lower social cohesion and place attachment. The findings highlight the significance of considering emotions in shaping just, equitable, sustainable, and resilient cities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne Grêt-Regamey
- grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems, Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marcelo Galleguillos-Torres
- grid.5801.c0000 0001 2156 2780Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems, Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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8
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Richardson AE, VanderKaay Tomasulo MM. Stress-induced HPA activation in virtual navigation and spatial attention performance. BMC Neurosci 2022; 23:40. [PMID: 35764937 PMCID: PMC9241311 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-022-00722-y] [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: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous research has shown that spatial performance (e.g. navigation, visuospatial memory, attention) can be influenced by acute stress; however, studies have produced mixed findings sometimes showing an improvement after stress, other times showing impairment or no overall effect. Some of these discrepancies may be related to: the type of stress system activated by the stressor (sympathetic adrenal medulla [SAM] or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical [HPA]); whether cortisol responders vs. nonresponders are analyzed subsequent to main effects; and sex differences in stress responses. In the present study, we examine the influence of HPA activation from an acute laboratory stressor (Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor test [SECPT]) on performance during two spatial tasks: Useful Field of View (UFOV; a measure of spatial attention) and virtual reality (VR) navigation. We assigned 31 males and 30 females to either the SECPT or a Non-Stress condition prior to the two spatial tasks. Cardiovascular measures including heart rate and blood pressure, and salivary cortisol biosamples were obtained at specific time points. Results Participants in the Stress condition showed increases in heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure indicating sympathetic adrenal medulla (SAM) axis activation. Stress also led to increases in salivary cortisol, suggesting hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activation. Stress did not influence overall performance in the spatial attention UFOV or the VR navigation task. However, a sex difference in spatial attention was detected when participants were divided into Stress-cortisol responders and non-responders in the UFOV task. Male Stress-cortisol responders (n = 9) showed better UFOV accuracy than female Stress-cortisol responders (n = 6); no sex differences were found among the Non-Stress control group. Furthermore, for females in the stress condition (n = 14), higher cortisol responses were associated with lower spatial attention performance. Conclusions Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor stress resulted in no change in speed or accuracy in a VR navigation task. For the spatial attention task, the SECPT led to a sex difference among Stress-cortisol responders with males showing improved accuracy over females. The relationship between HPA activation and prefrontal cortex activity may be necessary to understand sex differences in spatial attention performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony E Richardson
- Department of Psychology, Saint Michael's College, One Winooski Park, Colchester, VT, 05439, USA.
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9
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Kähkönen JE, Krämer UM, Buades-Rotger M, Beyer F. Regulating interpersonal stress: the link between heart-rate variability, physical exercise and social perspective taking under stress. Stress 2021; 24:753-762. [PMID: 33818287 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2021.1907339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions can be stressful, especially if they involve provocation or ambiguity. At the same time, such interactions necessitate social cognition. The question thus arises how stress affects social cognition and how personality attributes modulate this effect. The aim of the current study was to investigate the link between emotional reactivity, physical exercise, and social cognition under stress. As a measure of social cognition, we used spontaneous perspective taking, i.e., the degree to which participants represented the mental state of another agent. Studying young female participants, we investigated how physiological regulation, measured through resting heart-rate variability, is related to spontaneous social perspective taking under stress, and to predicted anger in an ambiguous social scenario. When controlling for resting heart rate, vagally mediated heart-rate variability was negatively correlated with the effect of stress on perspective taking, indicating that good physiological regulation supports social cognition under stress. Further, participants who reported to exercise at least once a week showed higher perspective taking under stress than less active participants. Finally, we found tentative evidence for participants who exercised regularly to show reduced predicted anger in response to an ambiguous provocation. Our findings suggest that good physiological regulation and regular physical exercise support social cognition under stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenni E Kähkönen
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Ulrike M Krämer
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Macià Buades-Rotger
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Frederike Beyer
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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10
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Palmer D, Dumont JR, Dexter TD, Prado MAM, Finger E, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM. Touchscreen cognitive testing: Cross-species translation and co-clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 182:107443. [PMID: 33895351 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2020] [Revised: 02/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Translating results from pre-clinical animal studies to successful human clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease presents a significant challenge. While this issue is clearly multifaceted, the lack of reproducibility and poor translational validity of many paradigms used to assess cognition in animal models are central contributors to this challenge. Computer-automated cognitive test batteries have the potential to substantially improve translation between pre-clinical studies and clinical trials by increasing both reproducibility and translational validity. Given the structured nature of data output, computer-automated tests also lend themselves to increased data sharing and other open science good practices. Over the past two decades, computer automated, touchscreen-based cognitive testing methods have been developed for non-human primate and rodent models. These automated methods lend themselves to increased standardization, hence reproducibility, and have become increasingly important for the elucidation of the neurobiological basis of cognition in animal models. More recently, there have been increased efforts to use these methods to enhance translational validity by developing task batteries that are nearly identical across different species via forward (i.e., translating animal tasks to humans) and reverse (i.e., translating human tasks to animals) translation. An additional benefit of the touchscreen approach is that a cross-species cognitive test battery makes it possible to implement co-clinical trials-an approach developed initially in cancer research-for novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Co-clinical trials bring together pre-clinical and early clinical studies, which facilitates testing of novel treatments in mouse models with underlying genetic or other changes, and can help to stratify patients on the basis of genetic, molecular, or cognitive criteria. This approach can help to determine which patients should be enrolled in specific clinical trials and can facilitate repositioning and/or repurposing of previously approved drugs. This has the potential to mitigate the resources required to study treatment responses in large numbers of human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Palmer
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Julie R Dumont
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; BrainsCAN, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tyler D Dexter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco A M Prado
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, Ontario, Canada; Parkwood Institute, St. Josephs Health Care, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
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11
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Pike AC, Lowther M, Robinson OJ. The Importance of Common Currency Tasks in Translational Psychiatry. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2021; 8:1-10. [PMID: 33708469 PMCID: PMC7904709 DOI: 10.1007/s40473-021-00225-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Purpose of Review Common currency tasks are tasks that investigate the same phenomenon in different species. In this review, we discuss how to ensure the translational validity of common currency tasks, summarise their benefits, present recent research in this area and offer future directions and recommendations. Recent Findings We discuss the strengths and limitations of three specific examples where common currency tasks have added to our understanding of psychiatric constructs—affective bias, reversal learning and goal-based decision making. Summary Overall, common currency tasks offer the potential to improve drug discovery in psychiatry. We recommend that researchers prioritise construct validity above face validity when designing common currency tasks and suggest that the evidence for construct validity is summarised in papers presenting research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra C Pike
- Anxiety Lab, Neuroscience and Mental Health Group, University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, 17-19 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3AR UK
| | - Millie Lowther
- Anxiety Lab, Neuroscience and Mental Health Group, University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, 17-19 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3AR UK
| | - Oliver J Robinson
- Anxiety Lab, Neuroscience and Mental Health Group, University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, 17-19 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3AR UK.,Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology Department, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK
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12
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Henry M, Thomas KGF, Ross IL. Sleep, Cognition and Cortisol in Addison's Disease: A Mechanistic Relationship. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12:694046. [PMID: 34512546 PMCID: PMC8429905 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.694046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep is a critical biological process, essential for cognitive well-being. Neuroscientific literature suggests there are mechanistic relations between sleep disruption and memory deficits, and that varying concentrations of cortisol may play an important role in mediating those relations. Patients with Addison's disease (AD) experience consistent and predictable periods of sub- and supra-physiological cortisol concentrations due to lifelong glucocorticoid replacement therapy, and they frequently report disrupted sleep and impaired memory. These disruptions and impairments may be related to the failure of replacement regimens to restore a normal circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion. Available data provides support for existing theoretical frameworks which postulate that in AD and other neuroendocrine, neurological, or psychiatric disorders, disrupted sleep is an important biological mechanism that underlies, at least partially, the memory impairments that patients frequently report experiencing. Given the literature linking sleep disruption and cognitive impairment in AD, future initiatives should aim to improve patients' cognitive performance (and, indeed, their overall quality of life) by prioritizing and optimizing sleep. This review summarizes the literature on sleep and cognition in AD, and the role that cortisol concentrations play in the relationship between the two.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Henry
- Centre for Higher Education Development, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- *Correspondence: Michelle Henry,
| | | | - Ian Louis Ross
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Balietti M, Pugliese A, Conti F. In aged rats, differences in spatial learning and memory influence the response to late-life Environmental Enrichment. Exp Gerontol 2020; 146:111225. [PMID: 33388381 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2020.111225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 12/05/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
It has clearly been demonstrated that cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, and social engagement help counteract age-related cognitive decline. However, several important issues remain to be addressed. Given the wide differences in cognitive impairment found among individuals of the same age, identifying the subjects who will benefit most from late-life interventions is one such issue. Environmental Enrichment (EE) is a particularly valuable approach to do this. In this study, aged (21-month-old) rats were assigned to a better (BL) or a worse (WL) learner group (training phase) and to a non-impaired (NI) or an impaired (I) group (probe phase) by their performance on the Morris Water Maze, using the test performances of adult (12-month-old) rats as the cut-offs. The aged rats were retested after a 12-week EE or standard housing (SH) protocol. After 12 weeks, the performances of SH rats had deteriorated, whereas all rats benefited from EE, albeit in different ways. In particular, the animals assigned to the BL and the NI groups prior to EE still performed as well as the adult rats (performance preservation) whereas, critically, the animals assigned to the WL and the I groups before EE showed such improved performances that they reached the level of the adult rats (performance improvement), despite having aged further. EE seems to induce the preservation in BLs and the improvement in WLs of spatial search strategies and the preservation in NIs and the increase in Is of a focused and protract research of the escape point. Our findings suggest that late-life EE prevents spatial learning and memory decline in still cognitively preserved animals and stimulates residual functional reserve in already cognitively compromised animals. Future research should focus on individually tailored stimulation protocols to improve their effect and afford a better understanding of the underlying processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Balietti
- Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.
| | - Arianna Pugliese
- Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
| | - Fiorenzo Conti
- Center for Neurobiology of Aging, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy; Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
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Ladyka-Wojcik N, Barense MD. Reframing spatial frames of reference: What can aging tell us about egocentric and allocentric navigation? WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2020; 12:e1549. [PMID: 33188569 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Representations of space in mind are crucial for navigation, facilitating processes such as remembering landmark locations, understanding spatial relationships between objects, and integrating routes. A significant problem, however, is the lack of consensus on how these representations are encoded and stored in memory. Specifically, the nature of egocentric and allocentric frames of reference in human memory is widely debated. Yet, in recent investigations of the spatial domain across the lifespan, these distinctions in mnemonic spatial frames of reference have identified age-related impairments. In this review, we survey the ways in which different terms related to spatial representations in memory have been operationalized in past aging research and suggest a taxonomy to provide a common language for future investigations and theoretical discussion. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Memory Neuroscience > Cognition Psychology > Development and Aging.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Morgan D Barense
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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15
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Huzard D, Vouros A, Monari S, Astori S, Vasilaki E, Sandi C. Constitutive differences in glucocorticoid responsiveness are related to divergent spatial information processing abilities. Stress 2020; 23:37-49. [PMID: 31187686 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2019.1625885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The stress response facilitates survival through adaptation and is intimately related to cognitive processes. The Morris water maze task probes spatial learning and memory in rodents and glucocorticoids (i.e. corticosterone (CORT) in rats) have been suggested to elicit a facilitating action on memory formation. Moreover, the early aging period (around 16-18 months of age) is susceptible to stress- and glucocorticoid-mediated acceleration of cognitive decline. In this study, we tested three lines of rats selectively bred according to their individual differences in CORT responsiveness to repeated stress exposure during juvenility. We investigated whether endogenous differences in glucocorticoid responses influenced spatial learning, long-term memory, and reversal learning abilities in a Morris water maze task at early aging. Additionally, we assessed the quality of the different swimming strategies of the rats. Our results indicate that rats with differential CORT responsiveness exhibit similar spatial learning abilities but different long-term memory retention and reversal learning. Specifically, the high CORT responding line had a better long-term spatial memory, while the low CORT responding line was impaired for both long-term retention and reversal learning. Our modeling analysis of performance strategies revealed further important line-related differences. Therefore, our findings support the view that individuals with high CORT responsiveness would form stronger long-term memories to navigate in stressful environments. Conversely, individuals with low CORT responsiveness would be impaired at different phases of spatial learning and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Huzard
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Silvia Monari
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Simone Astori
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eleni Vasilaki
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Carmen Sandi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Ferguson TD, Livingstone-Lee SA, Skelton RW. Incidental learning of allocentric and egocentric strategies by both men and women in a dual-strategy virtual Morris Water Maze. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:281-295. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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17
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Weibel RP, Grübel J, Zhao H, Thrash T, Meloni D, Hölscher C, Schinazi VR. Virtual Reality Experiments with Physiological Measures. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 30222166 DOI: 10.3791/58318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) experiments are increasingly employed because of their internal and external validity compared to real-world observation and laboratory experiments, respectively. VR is especially useful for geographic visualizations and investigations of spatial behavior. In spatial behavior research, VR provides a platform for studying the relationship between navigation and physiological measures (e.g., skin conductance, heart rate, blood pressure). Specifically, physiological measures allow researchers to address novel questions and constrain previous theories of spatial abilities, strategies, and performance. For example, individual differences in navigation performance may be explained by the extent to which changes in arousal mediate the effects of task difficulty. However, the complexities in the design and implementation of VR experiments can distract experimenters from their primary research goals and introduce irregularities in data collection and analysis. To address these challenges, the Experiments in Virtual Environments (EVE) framework includes standardized modules such as participant training with the control interface, data collection using questionnaires, the synchronization of physiological measurements, and data storage. EVE also provides the necessary infrastructure for data management, visualization, and evaluation. The present paper describes a protocol that employs the EVE framework to conduct navigation experiments in VR with physiological sensors. The protocol lists the steps necessary for recruiting participants, attaching the physiological sensors, administering the experiment using EVE, and assessing the collected data with EVE evaluation tools. Overall, this protocol will facilitate future research by streamlining the design and implementation of VR experiments with physiological sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tyler Thrash
- Chair of Cognitive Science, ETH Zürich; Geographic Information Visualization and Analysis, University of Zürich; Digital Society Initiative, University of Zürich
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18
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Spriggs MJ, Kirk IJ, Skelton RW. Hex Maze: A new virtual maze able to track acquisition and usage of three navigation strategies. Behav Brain Res 2018; 339:195-206. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2017] [Revised: 11/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Miller JK, McDougall S, Thomas S, Wiener J. The Impact of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Gene on Trauma and Spatial Processing. J Clin Med 2017; 6:E108. [PMID: 29186896 PMCID: PMC5742797 DOI: 10.3390/jcm6120108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Revised: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The influence of genes and the environment on the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) continues to motivate neuropsychological research, with one consistent focus being the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gene, given its impact on the integrity of the hippocampal memory system. Research into human navigation also considers the BDNF gene in relation to hippocampal dependent spatial processing. This speculative paper brings together trauma and spatial processing for the first time and presents exploratory research into their interactions with BDNF. We propose that quantifying the impact of BDNF on trauma and spatial processing is critical and may well explain individual differences in clinical trauma treatment outcomes and in navigation performance. Research has already shown that the BDNF gene influences PTSD severity and prevalence as well as navigation behaviour. However, more data are required to demonstrate the precise hippocampal dependent processing mechanisms behind these influences in different populations and environmental conditions. This paper provides insight from recent studies and calls for further research into the relationship between allocentric processing, trauma processing and BDNF. We argue that research into these neural mechanisms could transform PTSD clinical practice and professional support for individuals in trauma-exposing occupations such as emergency response, law enforcement and the military.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica K Miller
- Faculty of Human, Social & Political Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK.
| | - Siné McDougall
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Sarah Thomas
- Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, Clinical Research Unit, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Jan Wiener
- Department of Psychology, Ageing and Dementia Research Centre, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
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20
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Maran T, Sachse P, Martini M, Weber B, Pinggera J, Zuggal S, Furtner M. Lost in Time and Space: States of High Arousal Disrupt Implicit Acquisition of Spatial and Sequential Context Information. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:206. [PMID: 29170634 PMCID: PMC5684831 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Biased cognition during high arousal states is a relevant phenomenon in a variety of topics: from the development of post-traumatic stress disorders or stress-triggered addictive behaviors to forensic considerations regarding crimes of passion. Recent evidence indicates that arousal modulates the engagement of a hippocampus-based "cognitive" system in favor of a striatum-based "habit" system in learning and memory, promoting a switch from flexible, contextualized to more rigid, reflexive responses. Existing findings appear inconsistent, therefore it is unclear whether and which type of context processing is disrupted by enhanced arousal. In this behavioral study, we investigated such arousal-triggered cognitive-state shifts in human subjects. We validated an arousal induction procedure (three experimental conditions: violent scene, erotic scene, neutral control scene) using pupillometry (Preliminary Experiment, n = 13) and randomly administered this method to healthy young adults to examine whether high arousal states affect performance in two core domains of contextual processing, the acquisition of spatial (spatial discrimination paradigm; Experiment 1, n = 66) and sequence information (learned irrelevance paradigm; Experiment 2, n = 84). In both paradigms, spatial location and sequences were encoded incidentally and both displacements when retrieving spatial position as well as the predictability of the target by a cue in sequence learning changed stepwise. Results showed that both implicit spatial and sequence learning were disrupted during high arousal states, regardless of valence. Compared to the control group, participants in the arousal conditions showed impaired discrimination of spatial positions and abolished learning of associative sequences. Furthermore, Bayesian analyses revealed evidence against the null models. In line with recent models of stress effects on cognition, both experiments provide evidence for decreased engagement of flexible, cognitive systems supporting encoding of context information in active cognition during acute arousal, promoting reduced sensitivity for contextual details. We argue that arousal fosters cognitive adaptation towards less demanding, more present-oriented information processing, which prioritizes a current behavioral response set at the cost of contextual cues. This transient state of behavioral perseverance might reduce reliance on context information in unpredictable environments and thus represent an adaptive response in certain situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Maran
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.,Department of Educational Sciences and Research, Alps-Adria University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria
| | - Pierre Sachse
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Markus Martini
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Barbara Weber
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jakob Pinggera
- Department of Computer Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Stefan Zuggal
- Department of Computer Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Marco Furtner
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.,Department of Entrepreneurship, University of Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
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21
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Cao Z, Wang Y, Zhang L. Real-time Acute Stress Facilitates Allocentric Spatial Processing in a Virtual Fire Disaster. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14616. [PMID: 29097754 PMCID: PMC5668298 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14910-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior studies have shown that spatial cognition is influenced by stress prior to task. The current study investigated the effects of real-time acute stress on allocentric and egocentric spatial processing. A virtual reality-based spatial reference rule learning (SRRL) task was designed in which participants were instructed to make a location selection by walking to one of three poles situated around a tower. A selection was reinforced by either an egocentric spatial reference rule (leftmost or rightmost pole relative to participant) or an allocentric spatial reference rule (nearest or farthest pole relative to the tower). In Experiment 1, 32 participants (16 males, 16 females; aged from 18 to 27) performed a SRRL task in a normal virtual reality environment (VRE). The hit rates and rule acquisition revealed no difference between allocentric and egocentric spatial reference rule learning. In Experiment 2, 64 participants (32 males, 34 females; aged from 19 to 30) performed the SRRL task in both a low-stress VRE (a mini virtual arena) and a high-stress VRE (mini virtual arena with a fire disaster). Allocentric references facilitated learning in the high-stressful VRE. The results suggested that acute stress facilitate allocentric spatial processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengcao Cao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Department of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Yamin Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Department of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China.
| | - Liang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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22
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Piber D, Nowacki J, Mueller SC, Wingenfeld K, Otte C. Sex effects on spatial learning but not on spatial memory retrieval in healthy young adults. Behav Brain Res 2017; 336:44-50. [PMID: 28847444 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Sex differences have been found in spatial learning and spatial memory, with several studies indicating that males outperform females. We tested in the virtual Morris Water Maze (vMWM) task, whether sex differences in spatial cognitive processes are attributable to differences in spatial learning or spatial memory retrieval in a large student sample. METHODS We tested 90 healthy students (45 women and 45 men) with a mean age of 23.5 years (SD=3.5). Spatial learning and spatial memory retrieval were measured by using the vMWM task, during which participants had to search a virtual pool for a hidden platform, facilitated by visual cues surrounding the pool. Several learning trials assessed spatial learning, while a separate probe trial assessed spatial memory retrieval. RESULTS We found a significant sex effect during spatial learning, with males showing shorter latency and shorter path length, as compared to females (all p<0.001). Yet, there was no significant sex effect in spatial memory retrieval (p=0.615). Furthermore, post-hoc analyses revealed significant sex differences in spatial search strategies (p<0.05), but no difference in the number of platform crossings (p=0.375). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that in healthy young adults, males show faster spatial learning in a virtual environment, as compared to females. Interestingly, we found no significant sex differences during spatial memory retrieval. Our study raises the question, whether men and women use different learning strategies, which nevertheless result in equal performances of spatial memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Piber
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jan Nowacki
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Otte
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
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23
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Impairment in active navigation from trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2017; 140:114-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2016] [Revised: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Piber D, Schultebraucks K, Mueller SC, Deuter CE, Wingenfeld K, Otte C. Mineralocorticoid receptor stimulation effects on spatial memory in healthy young adults: A study using the virtual Morris Water Maze task. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2016; 136:139-146. [PMID: 27725248 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Revised: 09/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Stress hormones such as cortisol are known to influence a wide range of cognitive functions, including hippocampal based spatial memory. In the brain, cortisol acts via two different receptors: the glucocorticoid (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). As the MR has a high density in the hippocampus, we examined the effects of pharmacological MR stimulation on spatial memory. METHODS Eighty healthy participants (40 women, 40 men, mean age=23.9years±SD=3.3) completed the virtual Morris Water Maze (vMWM) task to test spatial encoding and spatial memory retrieval after receiving 0.4mg fludrocortisone, a MR agonist, or placebo. RESULTS There was no effect of MR stimulation on spatial encoding during the vMWM task. However, participants who received fludrocortisone exhibited improved spatial memory retrieval performance. There was neither a main effect of sex nor a sex-by-treatment interaction. CONCLUSION In young healthy participants, MR stimulation improved hippocampal based spatial memory retrieval in a virtual Morris Water Maze task. Our study not only confirms the importance of MR function in spatial memory, but suggests beneficial effects of acute MR stimulation on spatial memory retrieval in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Piber
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Katharina Schultebraucks
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Christian Eric Deuter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Otte
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
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