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Patel M, Braun JA, Henderson LA, Dawood T, Macefield VG. The effects of electrical stimulation of ventromedial prefrontal cortex on skin sympathetic nerve activity. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae235. [PMID: 38839074 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae235] [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: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA) is primarily involved in thermoregulation and emotional expression; however, the brain regions involved in the generation of SSNA are not completely understood. In recent years, our laboratory has shown that blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal intensity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are positively correlated with bursts of SSNA during emotional arousal and increases in signal intensity in the vmPFC occurring with increases in spontaneous bursts of SSNA even in the resting state. We have recently shown that unilateral transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of the dlPFC causes modulation of SSNA but given that the current was delivered between electrodes over the dlPFC and the nasion, it is possible that the effects were due to current acting on the vmPFC. To test this, we delivered tACS to target the right vmPFC or dlPFC and nasion and recorded SSNA in 11 healthy participants by inserting a tungsten microelectrode into the right common peroneal nerve. The similarity in SSNA modulation between ipsilateral vmPFC and dlPFC suggests that the ipsilateral vmPFC, rather than the dlPFC, may be causing the modulation of SSNA during ipsilateral dlPFC stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariya Patel
- Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Joe A Braun
- Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
| | - Luke A Henderson
- School of Medical Sciences (Neuroscience), Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, 94 Mallett Street, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tye Dawood
- Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Vaughan G Macefield
- Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
- Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
- Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, The Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
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2
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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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3
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Dehghani A, Soltanian-Zadeh H, Hossein-Zadeh GA. Probing fMRI brain connectivity and activity changes during emotion regulation by EEG neurofeedback. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 16:988890. [PMID: 36684847 PMCID: PMC9853008 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.988890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the existence of several emotion regulation studies using neurofeedback, interactions among a small number of regions were evaluated, and therefore, further investigation is needed to understand the interactions of the brain regions involved in emotion regulation. We implemented electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback with simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using a modified happiness-inducing task through autobiographical memories to upregulate positive emotion. Then, an explorative analysis of whole brain regions was done to understand the effect of neurofeedback on brain activity and the interaction of whole brain regions involved in emotion regulation. The participants in the control and experimental groups were asked to do emotion regulation while viewing positive images of autobiographical memories and getting sham or real (based on alpha asymmetry) EEG neurofeedback, respectively. The proposed multimodal approach quantified the effects of EEG neurofeedback in changing EEG alpha power, fMRI blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activity of prefrontal, occipital, parietal, and limbic regions (up to 1.9% increase), and functional connectivity in/between prefrontal, parietal, limbic system, and insula in the experimental group. New connectivity links were identified by comparing the brain functional connectivity between experimental conditions (Upregulation and View blocks) and also by comparing the brain connectivity of the experimental and control groups. Psychometric assessments confirmed significant changes in positive and negative mood states in the experimental group by neurofeedback. Based on the exploratory analysis of activity and connectivity among all brain regions involved in emotion regions, we found significant BOLD and functional connectivity increases due to EEG neurofeedback in the experimental group, but no learning effect was observed in the control group. The results reveal several new connections among brain regions as a result of EEG neurofeedback which can be justified according to emotion regulation models and the role of those regions in emotion regulation and recalling positive autobiographical memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amin Dehghani
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States,*Correspondence: Amin Dehghani, ,
| | - Hamid Soltanian-Zadeh
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran,Medical Image Analysis Lab, Department of Radiology and Research Administration, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States,School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
| | - Gholam-Ali Hossein-Zadeh
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran,School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
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4
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Matteit I, Schlump A, Reisert M, von Zedtwitz K, Runge K, Nickel K, Schiele MA, Coenen VA, Domschke K, Tzschach A, Endres D. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in two patients with chromosomal disorders involving the X chromosome. World J Biol Psychiatry 2022:1-6. [PMID: 36484230 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2022.2147997] [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: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The etio-pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be explained using a biopsychosocial model. Little is known about obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in the context of chromosomal disorders involving the X chromosome. METHODS Case studies of two patients with chromosomal disorders involving the X chromosome (Patient 1 with a variant of Turner syndrome and Patient 2 with triple X syndrome). RESULTS Both patients were treated due to severe OCS. In the research MRI analysis, the most pronounced MRI change in both patients was a gray matter volume loss in the orbitofrontal cortex. Patient 1 additionally showed left mesiotemporal changes. Patient 2 presented with global gray matter volume reduction, slowing in EEG, and a reduced intelligence quotient. DISCUSSION OCS could occur in the context of Turner syndrome or triple X syndrome. The detected MRI changes would be compatible with dysfunction of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loops involved in OCD pathophysiology. Further studies with larger patient groups should investigate whether this association can be validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Matteit
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Schlump
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marco Reisert
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Physics, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina von Zedtwitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kimon Runge
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Nickel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Miriam A Schiele
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Volker A Coenen
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Deep Brain Stimulation, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, Center for Basics in Neuromodulation, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Faculty of Medicine, Center for Basics in Neuromodulation, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Tzschach
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Human Genetics, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dominique Endres
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Liebenow B, Jones R, DiMarco E, Trattner JD, Humphries J, Sands LP, Spry KP, Johnson CK, Farkas EB, Jiang A, Kishida KT. Computational reinforcement learning, reward (and punishment), and dopamine in psychiatric disorders. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:886297. [PMID: 36339844 PMCID: PMC9630918 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.886297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the DSM-5, psychiatric diagnoses are made based on self-reported symptoms and clinician-identified signs. Though helpful in choosing potential interventions based on the available regimens, this conceptualization of psychiatric diseases can limit basic science investigation into their underlying causes. The reward prediction error (RPE) hypothesis of dopamine neuron function posits that phasic dopamine signals encode the difference between the rewards a person expects and experiences. The computational framework from which this hypothesis was derived, temporal difference reinforcement learning (TDRL), is largely focused on reward processing rather than punishment learning. Many psychiatric disorders are characterized by aberrant behaviors, expectations, reward processing, and hypothesized dopaminergic signaling, but also characterized by suffering and the inability to change one's behavior despite negative consequences. In this review, we provide an overview of the RPE theory of phasic dopamine neuron activity and review the gains that have been made through the use of computational reinforcement learning theory as a framework for understanding changes in reward processing. The relative dearth of explicit accounts of punishment learning in computational reinforcement learning theory and its application in neuroscience is highlighted as a significant gap in current computational psychiatric research. Four disorders comprise the main focus of this review: two disorders of traditionally hypothesized hyperdopaminergic function, addiction and schizophrenia, followed by two disorders of traditionally hypothesized hypodopaminergic function, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Insights gained from a reward processing based reinforcement learning framework about underlying dopaminergic mechanisms and the role of punishment learning (when available) are explored in each disorder. Concluding remarks focus on the future directions required to characterize neuropsychiatric disorders with a hypothesized cause of underlying dopaminergic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Liebenow
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Rachel Jones
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Emily DiMarco
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Jonathan D. Trattner
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Joseph Humphries
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - L. Paul Sands
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Kasey P. Spry
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Christina K. Johnson
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Evelyn B. Farkas
- Georgia State University Undergraduate Neuroscience Institute, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Angela Jiang
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
| | - Kenneth T. Kishida
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
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6
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Mosayebi R, Dehghani A, Hossein-Zadeh GA. Dynamic functional connectivity estimation for neurofeedback emotion regulation paradigm with simultaneous EEG-fMRI analysis. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:933538. [PMID: 36188168 PMCID: PMC9524189 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.933538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Joint Analysis of EEG and fMRI datasets can bring new insight into brain mechanisms. In this paper, we employed the recently introduced Correlated Coupled Tensor Matrix Factorization (CCMTF) method for analysis of the emotion regulation paradigm based on EEG frontal asymmetry neurofeedback in the alpha frequency band with simultaneous fMRI. CCMTF method assumes that the co-variations of the common dimension (temporal dimension) between EEG and fMRI are correlated and not necessarily identical. The results of the CCMTF method suggested that EEG and fMRI had similar covariations during the transition of brain activities from resting states to task (view and upregulation) states and these covariations followed an increasing trend. The fMRI shared spatial component showed activations in the limbic system, DLPFC, OFC, and VLPC regions, which were consistent with the previous studies and were linked to EEG frequency patterns in the range of 1–15 Hz with a correlation value close to 0.75. The estimated regions from the CCMTF method were then used as the candidate nodes for dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) analysis, in which the changes in connectivity from view to upregulation states were examined. The results of the dFC analysis were compared with a Normalized Mutual information (NMI) based approach in two different frequency ranges (1–15 and 15–40 Hz) as the NMI method was applied to the vectors of dFC nodes of EEG and fMRI data. The results of the two methods illustrated that the relation between EEG and fMRI datasets was mostly in the frequency range of 1–15 Hz. These relations were both in the brain activations and the dFCs between the two modalities. This paper suggests that the CCMTF method is a capable approach for extracting the shared information between EEG and fMRI data and can reveal new information about brain functions and their connectivity without solving the EEG inverse problem or analyzing different frequency bands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raziyeh Mosayebi
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
- *Correspondence: Raziyeh Mosayebi,
| | - Amin Dehghani
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Gholam-Ali Hossein-Zadeh
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
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7
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Ghobadi-Azbari P, Mahdavifar Khayati R, Sangchooli A, Ekhtiari H. Task-Dependent Effective Connectivity of the Reward Network During Food Cue-Reactivity: A Dynamic Causal Modeling Investigation. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:899605. [PMID: 35813594 PMCID: PMC9263922 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.899605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural reactivity to food cues may play a central role in overeating and excess weight gain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have implicated regions of the reward network in dysfunctional food cue-reactivity, but neural interactions underlying observed patterns of signal change remain poorly understood. Fifty overweight and obese participants with self-reported cue-induced food craving viewed food and neutral cues during fMRI scanning. Regions of the reward network with significantly greater food versus neutral cue-reactivity were used to specify plausible models of task-related neural interactions underlying the observed blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal, and a bi-hemispheric winning model was identified in a dynamic causal modeling (DCM) framework. Neuro-behavioral correlations are investigated with group factor analysis (GFA) and Pearson’s correlation tests. The ventral tegmental area (VTA), amygdalae, and orbitofrontal cortices (OFC) showed significant food cue-reactivity. DCM suggests these activations are produced by largely reciprocal dynamic signaling between these regions, with food cues causing regional disinhibition and an apparent shifting of activity to the right amygdala. Intrinsic self-inhibition in the VTA and right amygdala is negatively correlated with measures of food craving and hunger and right-amygdalar disinhibition by food cues is associated with the intensity of cue-induced food craving, but no robust cross-unit latent factors were identified between the neural group and behavioral or demographic variable groups. Our results suggest a rich array of dynamic signals drive reward network cue-reactivity, with the amygdalae mediating much of the dynamic signaling between the VTA and OFCs. Neuro-behavioral correlations suggest particularly crucial roles for the VTA, right amygdala, and the right OFC-amygdala connection but the more robust GFA identified no cross-unit factors, so these correlations should be interpreted with caution. This investigation provides novel insights into dynamic circuit mechanisms with etiologic relevance to obesity, suggesting pathways in biomarker development and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rasoul Mahdavifar Khayati
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
- *Correspondence: Rasoul Mahdavifar Khayati,
| | - Arshiya Sangchooli
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamed Ekhtiari
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, MN, United States
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Coenen VA, Schlaepfer TE, Sajonz BEA, Reinacher PC, Döbrössy MD, Reisert M. “The Heart Asks Pleasure First”—Conceptualizing Psychiatric Diseases as MAINTENANCE Network Dysfunctions through Insights from slMFB DBS in Depression and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12040438. [PMID: 35447971 PMCID: PMC9028695 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12040438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
More than a decade ago, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the superolateral medial forebrain bundle (slMFB), as part of the greater MFB system, had been proposed as a putative yet experimental treatment strategy for therapy refractory depression (TRD) and later for obsessive–compulsive disorders (OCD). Antidepressant and anti-OCD efficacy have been shown in open case series and smaller trials and were independently replicated. The MFB is anato-physiologically confluent with the SEEKING system promoting euphoric drive, reward anticipation and reward; functions realized through the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system. Growing clinical experience concerning surgical and stimulation aspects from a larger number of patients shows an MFB functionality beyond SEEKING and now re-informs the scientific rationale concerning the MFB’s (patho-) physiology. In this white paper, we combine observations from more than 75 cases of slMFB DBS. We integrate these observations with a selected literature review to provide a new neuroethological view on the MFB. We here formulate a re-interpretation of the MFB as the main structure of an integrated SEEKING/MAINTENANCE circuitry, allowing for individual homeostasis and well-being through emotional arousal, basic and higher affect valence, bodily reactions, motor programing, vigor and flexible behavior, as the basis for the antidepressant and anti-OCD efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker A. Coenen
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (B.E.A.S.); (P.C.R.); (M.D.D.); (M.R.)
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
- Center for Deep Brain Stimulation, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Laboratory of Stereotaxy and Interventional Neurosciences, Department of Stereotactic and Functional, Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-761-270-50630; Fax: +49-761-270-50100
| | - Thomas E. Schlaepfer
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
- Center for Deep Brain Stimulation, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Interventional Biological Psychiatry, Medical Center of University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bastian E. A. Sajonz
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (B.E.A.S.); (P.C.R.); (M.D.D.); (M.R.)
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
| | - Peter C. Reinacher
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (B.E.A.S.); (P.C.R.); (M.D.D.); (M.R.)
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
- Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT), 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Máté D. Döbrössy
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (B.E.A.S.); (P.C.R.); (M.D.D.); (M.R.)
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
- Laboratory of Stereotaxy and Interventional Neurosciences, Department of Stereotactic and Functional, Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marco Reisert
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center of Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (B.E.A.S.); (P.C.R.); (M.D.D.); (M.R.)
- Medical Faculty, Freiburg University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany;
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center of University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
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9
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Attenuated link between the medial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in children with autism spectrum disorder: Evidence from effective connectivity within the "social brain". Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 111:110147. [PMID: 33096157 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Although accumulating neuroimaging studies have reported that social behavior deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are commonly attributed to the dysfunction of social brain regions underlying social cognition, the dynamic interaction within the social brain network and its association with social deficits remain unclear. Here, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (I and II) were analyzed in 105 children with ASD and 102 demographically matched typically developing controls (TDCs) (age range: 7-12 years old). Term-based meta-analysis combined the prior reference and anatomical labeling were used to define the regions of interests of the social brain network, and multivariate Granger causality analysis with blind deconvolution was employed to assess the effective connectivity within the social brain network in the ASD and TDC groups. Between-group comparison revealed significantly attenuated effective connectivity from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the bilateral amygdala in children with the ASD group compared with TDC group. In addition, raw values of the effective connectivity from the mPFC to the bilateral amygdala were used to predict social deficits in ASD. Our findings indicate the impaired mPFC-amygdala pathway and its association with social deficits in children with ASD and provide a new perspective into the neuropathology of the developing autistic brain.
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10
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Alyan E, Saad NM, Kamel N. Effects of Workstation Type on Mental Stress: FNIRS Study. HUMAN FACTORS 2021; 63:1230-1255. [PMID: 32286888 DOI: 10.1177/0018720820913173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the workstation type on the severity of mental stress by means of measuring prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. BACKGROUND Workstation type is known to influence worker's health and performance. Despite the practical implications of ergonomic workstations, limited information is available regarding their impact on brain activity and executive functions. METHOD Ten healthy participants performed a Montreal imaging stress task (MIST) in ergonomic and nonergonomic workstations to investigate their effects on the severity of the induced mental stress. RESULTS Cortical hemodynamic changes in the PFC were observed during the MIST in both the ergonomic and nonergonomic workstations. However, the ergonomic workstation exhibited improved MIST performance, which was positively correlated with the cortical activation on the right ventrolateral and the left dorsolateral PFC, as well as a marked decrease in salivary alpha-amylase activity compared with that of the nonergonomic workstation. Further analysis using the NASA Task Load Index revealed a higher weighted workload score in the nonergonomic workstation than that in the ergonomic workstation. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that ergonomic workstations could significantly improve cognitive functioning and human capabilities at work compared to a nonergonomic workstation. APPLICATION Such a study could provide critical information on workstation design and development of mental stress that can be overlooked during traditional workstation design and mental stress assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emad Alyan
- 61772 Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
| | - Naufal M Saad
- 61772 Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
| | - Nidal Kamel
- 61772 Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
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11
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Evrard MR, Li M, Shen H, Smith SS. Preventing adolescent synaptic pruning in mouse prelimbic cortex via local knockdown of α4βδ GABA A receptors increases anxiety response in adulthood. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21059. [PMID: 34702942 PMCID: PMC8548505 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99965-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Anxiety is increasingly reported, especially in adolescent females. The etiology is largely unknown, which limits effective treatment. Layer 5 prelimbic cortex (L5PL) increases anxiety responses but undergoes adolescent synaptic pruning, raising the question of the impact of pruning on anxiety. Here we show that preventing L5PL pruning increases anxiety in response to an aversive event in adolescent and adult female mice. Spine density of Golgi-stained neurons decreased ~ 63% from puberty (~ PND35, vaginal opening) to post-puberty (PND56, P < 0.0001). Expression of α4βδ GABAA receptors (GABARs) transiently increased tenfold in L5PL at puberty (P < 0.00001), but decreased post-pubertally. Both global and local knockdown of these receptors during puberty prevented pruning, increasing spine density post-pubertally (P < 0.0001), an effect reversed by blocking NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Pubertal expression of the NMDAR-dependent spine protein kalirin7 decreased (50%, P < 0.0001), an effect prevented by α4 knock-out, suggesting that α4βδ-induced reductions in kalirin7 underlie pruning. Increased spine density due to local α4 knockdown at puberty decreased open arm time on the elevated plus maze post-pubertally (62%, P < 0.0001) in response to an aversive stimulus, suggesting that increases in L5PL synapses increase anxiety responses. These findings suggest that prelimbic synaptic pruning is necessary to limit anxiety in adulthood and may suggest novel therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Evrard
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.,Graduate Program in Neural and Behavioral Science, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA
| | - Michael Li
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.,College of Arts and Sciences, Hunter College, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Hui Shen
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.,School of Biomedical Engineering, Tianjin Medical University, No. 22 Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin, 300070, China
| | - Sheryl S Smith
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.
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12
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Differential Modulation of Effective Connectivity in the Brain's Extended Face Processing System by Fearful and Sad Facial Expressions. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0380-20.2021. [PMID: 33658311 PMCID: PMC8174049 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0380-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The processing of emotional facial expressions is underpinned by the integration of information from a distributed network of brain regions. Despite investigations into how different emotional expressions alter the functional relationships within this network, there remains limited research examining which regions drive these interactions. This study investigated effective connectivity during the processing of sad and fearful facial expressions to better understand how these stimuli differentially modulate emotional face processing circuitry. Ninety-eight healthy human adolescents and young adults, aged between 15 and 25 years, underwent an implicit emotional face processing fMRI task. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we examined five brain regions implicated in face processing. These were restricted to the right hemisphere and included the occipital and fusiform face areas, amygdala, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Processing sad and fearful facial expressions were associated with greater positive connectivity from the amygdala to dlPFC. Only the processing of fearful facial expressions was associated with greater negative connectivity from the vmPFC to amygdala. Compared with processing sad faces, processing fearful faces was associated with significantly greater connectivity from the amygdala to dlPFC. No difference was found between the processing of these expressions and the connectivity from the vmPFC to amygdala. Overall, our findings indicate that connectivity from the amygdala and dlPFC appears to be responding to dimensional features which differ between these expressions, likely those relating to arousal. Further research is necessary to examine whether this relationship is also observable for positively valenced emotions.
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13
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Dundon NM, Shapiro AD, Babenko V, Okafor GN, Grafton ST. Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Sympathetic Allostasis During Value-Based Ambivalence. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:615796. [PMID: 33692674 PMCID: PMC7937876 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.615796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety is characterized by low confidence in daily decisions, coupled with high levels of phenomenological stress. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) plays an integral role in maladaptive anxious behaviors via decreased sensitivity to threatening vs. non-threatening stimuli (fear generalization). vmPFC is also a key node in approach-avoidance decision making requiring two-dimensional integration of rewards and costs. More recently, vmPFC has been implicated as a key cortical input to the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. However, little is known about the role of this brain region in mediating rapid stress responses elicited by changes in confidence during decision making. We used an approach-avoidance task to examine the relationship between sympathetically mediated cardiac stress responses, vmPFC activity and choice behavior over long and short time-scales. To do this, we collected concurrent fMRI, EKG and impedance cardiography recordings of sympathetic drive while participants made approach-avoidance decisions about monetary rewards paired with painful electric shock stimuli. We observe first that increased sympathetic drive (shorter pre-ejection period) in states lasting minutes are associated with choices involving reduced decision ambivalence. Thus, on this slow time scale, sympathetic drive serves as a proxy for "mobilization" whereby participants are more likely to show consistent value-action mapping. In parallel, imaging analyses reveal that on shorter time scales (estimated with a trial-to-trial GLM), increased vmPFC activity, particularly during low-ambivalence decisions, is associated with decreased sympathetic state. Our findings support a role of sympathetic drive in resolving decision ambivalence across long time horizons and suggest a potential role of vmPFC in modulating this response on a moment-to-moment basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil M Dundon
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States.,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Allison D Shapiro
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Viktoriya Babenko
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Gold N Okafor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Scott T Grafton
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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14
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Liu T, Ke J, Qi R, Zhang L, Zhang Z, Xu Q, Zhong Y, Lu G, Chen F. Altered functional connectivity of the amygdala and its subregions in typhoon-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e01952. [PMID: 33205889 PMCID: PMC7821579 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND New evidence suggests that the centromedial amygdala (CMA) and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) play different roles in threat processing. Our study aimed to investigate the effects of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the functional connectivity (FC) of the amygdala and its subregions. METHODS Twenty-seven patients with typhoon-related PTSD, 33 trauma-exposed controls (TEC), and 30 healthy controls (HC) were scanned with a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The FCs of the BLA, the CMA, and the amygdala as a whole were examined using a seed-based approach, and then, the analysis of variance was used to compare the groups. RESULTS We demonstrated that the BLA had a stronger connectivity with the prefrontal cortices (PFCs) and angular gyrus in the PTSD group than in the TEC group. Additionally, compared with the PTSD and the HC groups, the TEC group exhibited decreased and increased BLA FC with the ventromedial PFC and postcentral gyrus (PoCG), respectively. Furthermore, the PTSD group showed abnormal FC between the salience network and default-mode network, as well as the executive control network. Compared with the HC group, the TEC group and the PTSD group both showed decreased BLA FC with the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Finally, the FCs between the bilateral amygdala (as a whole) and the vmPFC, and between the BLA and the vmPFC have a negative correlation with the severity of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS Decreased BLA-vmPFC FC and increased BLA-PoCG FC may reflect PTSD resilience factors. Trauma leads to decreased connectivity between the BLA and the STG, which could be further aggravated by PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liu
- Department of Neurology, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Hospital Affiliated to Hainan Medical College), Haikou, Hainan Province, China
| | - Jun Ke
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Rongfeng Qi
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Zhiqiang Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Qiang Xu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yuan Zhong
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Guangming Lu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Radiology, Hainan General Hospital (Hainan Hospital Affiliated to Hainan Medical College), Haikou, Hainan Province, China
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15
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Matyi MA, Spielberg JM. Differential spatial patterns of structural connectivity of amygdala nuclei with orbitofrontal cortex. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:1391-1405. [PMID: 33270320 PMCID: PMC7927308 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)‐amygdala circuit is critical to goal‐directed behavior, learning, and valuation. However, our understanding of the OFC‐amygdala connections that support these emergent processes is hampered by our reliance on the primate literature and insufficient knowledge regarding the connectivity patterns between regions of OFC and amygdala nuclei, each of which is differentially involved in these processes in humans. Thus, we examined structural connectivity between different OFC regions and four amygdala nuclei in healthy adults (n = 1,053) using diffusion‐based anatomical networks and probabilistic tractography in four conceptually distinct ways. First, we identified the OFC regions that connect with each nucleus. Second, we identified the OFC regions that were more likely to connect with a given nucleus than the others. Finally, we developed probabilistic and rank‐order maps of OFC (one for each nucleus) based upon the likelihood of each OFC voxel exhibiting preferential connectivity with each nucleus and the relative density of connectivity between each OFC voxel and each nucleus, respectively. The first analyses revealed that the connections of each nucleus spanned all of OFC, reflecting widespread overall amygdala linkage with OFC. Analysis of preferential connectivity and probabilistic and rank‐order maps of OFC converged to reveal differential patterns of connectivity between OFC and each nucleus. Present findings illustrate the importance of accounting for spatial specificity when examining links between OFC and amygdala. This fine‐grained examination of OFC‐amygdala connectivity can be applied to understand how such connectivity patterns support a range of emergent functions including affective and motivational processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie A Matyi
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Spielberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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16
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Bracht T, Viher PV, Stegmayer K, Strik W, Federspiel A, Wiest R, Walther S. Increased structural connectivity of the medial forebrain bundle in schizophrenia spectrum disorders is associated with delusions of paranoid threat and grandiosity. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:102044. [PMID: 31678911 PMCID: PMC6978276 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Increased FA of bilateral slMFB can be found in delusional SSD-patients. Findings are supported by a psychopathological model of paranoia and grandiosity. Findings are in line with a model of underlying network physiology (slMFB).
In many cases delusions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are driven by strong emotions such as feelings of paranoia or grandiosity. We refer to these extreme emotional experiences as psychotic affectivity. We hypothesized that increased structural connectivity of the supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle (slMFB), a major tract of the reward system, is associated with delusional psychotic affectivity. Forty-six patients with SSD and 44 healthy controls (HC) underwent diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI)-scans. The slMFB and a comparison tract (corticospinal tract) were reconstructed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based tractography. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was sampled across the tracts. We used a mixed-model analyses of variance controlling for age and gender to compare FA of bilateral slMFB between SSD-patients and HC. Correlations of FA of bilateral slMFB and the PANSS-positive item delusions were calculated. In addition, FA was compared between three clinically homogeneous SSD-subgroups in terms of psychotic affectivity (severe, mild and no PA, sPA, mPA, nPA) and HC. FA of the slMFB did not differ between all SSD-patients and HC. In SSD-patients there was a positive correlation between delusions and FA in bilateral slMFB. Likewise, SSD-subgroups of psychotic affectivity and HC differed significantly in FA of the slMFB. Results were driven by higher FA in the right slMFB in sPA as compared to nPA and to HC. There was no significant effect for the comparison tract. In conclusion, increased structural connectivity of the slMFB may underlie delusional experiences of paranoia and grandiosity in SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Petra V Viher
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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17
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Rousseau P, El Khoury-Malhame M, Reynaud E, Zendjidjian X, Samuelian J, Khalfa S. Neurobiological correlates of EMDR therapy effect in PTSD. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TRAUMA & DISSOCIATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejtd.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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18
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Kneer J, Borchardt V, Kärgel C, Sinke C, Massau C, Tenbergen G, Ponseti J, Walter H, Beier KM, Schiffer B, Schiltz K, Walter M, Kruger THC. Diminished fronto-limbic functional connectivity in child sexual offenders. J Psychiatr Res 2019. [PMID: 29530321 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Child sexual abuse and neglect have been related to an increased risk for the development of a wide range of behavioral, psychological, and sexual problems and increased rates of suicidal behavior. Contrary to the large amount of research focusing on the negative mental health consequences of child sexual abuse, very little is known about the characteristics of child sexual offenders and the neuronal underpinnings contributing to child sexual offending. METHODS AND SAMPLE This study investigates differences in resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) between non-pedophilic child sexual offenders (N = 20; CSO-P) and matched healthy controls (N = 20; HC) using a seed-based approach. The focus of this investigation of rs-FC in CSO-P was put on prefrontal and limbic regions highly relevant for emotional and behavioral processing. RESULTS Results revealed a significant reduction of rs-FC between the right centromedial amygdala and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in child sexual offenders compared to controls. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS Given that, in the healthy brain, there is a strong top-down inhibitory control of prefrontal over limbic structures, these results suggest that diminished rs-FC between the amygdala and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and may foster sexual deviance and sexual offending. A profound understanding of these concepts should contribute to a better understanding of the occurrence of child sexual offending, as well as further development of more differentiated and effective interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Kneer
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Viola Borchardt
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory, Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Department of Behavioral Neurology, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Christian Kärgel
- LWL-University Hospital Bochum, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Alexandrinenstr. 1-3, 44791 Bochum, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Claudia Massau
- LWL-University Hospital Bochum, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Alexandrinenstr. 1-3, 44791 Bochum, Germany
| | - Gilian Tenbergen
- Department of Psychology, SUNY College at Oswego, Oswego, NY, USA
| | - Jorge Ponseti
- Institute of Sexual Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kiel University, Medical School, Kiel, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Division of Mind and Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus M Beier
- Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Boris Schiffer
- LWL-University Hospital Bochum, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Alexandrinenstr. 1-3, 44791 Bochum, Germany
| | - Kolja Schiltz
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, München, Germany; (j)Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Department of Psychiatry, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Department of Psychiatry University of Tübingen Osianderstr. 24, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tillmann H C Kruger
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Sexual Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Strasse 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany
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19
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Sevenster D, Visser RM, D'Hooge R. A translational perspective on neural circuits of fear extinction: Current promises and challenges. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 155:113-126. [PMID: 29981423 PMCID: PMC6805216 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Fear extinction is the well-known process of fear reduction through repeated re-exposure to a feared stimulus without the aversive outcome. The last two decades have witnessed a surge of interest in extinction learning. First, extinction learning is observed across species, and especially research on rodents has made great strides in characterising the physical substrate underlying extinction learning. Second, extinction learning is considered of great clinical significance since it constitutes a crucial component of exposure treatment. While effective in reducing fear responding in the short term, extinction learning can lose its grip, resulting in a return of fear (i.e., laboratory model for relapse of anxiety symptoms in patients). Optimization of extinction learning is, therefore, the subject of intense investigation. It is thought that the success of extinction learning is, at least partly, determined by the mismatch between what is expected and what actually happens (prediction error). However, while much of our knowledge about the neural circuitry of extinction learning and factors that contribute to successful extinction learning comes from animal models, translating these findings to humans has been challenging for a number of reasons. Here, we present an overview of what is known about the animal circuitry underlying extinction of fear, and the role of prediction error. In addition, we conducted a systematic literature search to evaluate the degree to which state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods have contributed to translating these findings to humans. Results show substantial overlap between networks in animals and humans at a macroscale, but current imaging techniques preclude comparisons at a smaller scale, especially in sub-cortical areas that are functionally heterogeneous. Moreover, human neuroimaging shows the involvement of numerous areas that are not typically studied in animals. Results obtained in research aimed to map the extinction circuit are largely dependent on the methods employed, not only across species, but also across human neuroimaging studies. Directions for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieuwke Sevenster
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium; Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Renée M Visser
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Rudi D'Hooge
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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20
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Delli Pizzi S, Chiacchiaretta P, Mantini D, Bubbico G, Edden RA, Onofrj M, Ferretti A, Bonanni L. GABA content within medial prefrontal cortex predicts the variability of fronto-limbic effective connectivity. Brain Struct Funct 2017; 222:3217-3229. [PMID: 28386778 PMCID: PMC5630505 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1399-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in social behavior. The amygdala and mPFC are bidirectionally connected, functionally and anatomically, via the uncinate fasciculus. Recent evidence suggests that GABA-ergic neurotransmission within the mPFC could be central to the regulation of amygdala activity related to emotions and anxiety processing. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within amygdala-mPFC circuits are unclear. In the current study, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging techniques were combined to investigate effective connectivity within the amygdala-mPFC network and its relationship with mPFC neurotransmission in 22 healthy subjects aged between 41 and 88 years. Effective connectivity in the amygdala-mPFC circuit was assessed on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data using spectral dynamic causal modelling. State and trait anxiety were also assessed. The mPFC was shown to be the target of incoming outputs from the amygdalae and the source of exciting inputs to the limbic system. The amygdalae were reciprocally connected by excitatory projections. About half of the variance relating to the strength of top-down endogenous connection between right amygdala and mPFC was explained by mPFC GABA levels. State anxiety was correlated with the strength of the endogenous connections between right amygdala and mPFC. We suggest that mPFC GABA content predicts variability in the effective connectivity within the mPFC-amygdala circuit, providing new insights on emotional physiology and the underlying functional and neurochemical interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Delli Pizzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Piero Chiacchiaretta
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Neural Control of Movement Lab, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Giovanna Bubbico
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Richard A Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Marco Onofrj
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Laura Bonanni
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy.
- Center of Aging Sciences and Translational Medicine (CeSI-MeT), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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Sarapas C, Weinberg A, Langenecker SA, Shankman SA. Relationships among attention networks and physiological responding to threat. Brain Cogn 2016; 111:63-72. [PMID: 27816781 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2016.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Although researchers have long hypothesized a relationship between attention and anxiety, theoretical and empirical accounts of this relationship have conflicted. We attempted to resolve these conflicts by examining relationships of attentional abilities with responding to predictable and unpredictable threat - related but distinct motivational process implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Eighty-one individuals completed a behavioral task assessing efficiency of three components of attention - alerting, orienting, and executive control (Attention Network Test - Revised). We also assessed startle responding during anticipation of both predictable, imminent threat (of mild electric shock) and unpredictable contextual threat. Faster alerting and slower disengaging from non-emotional attention cues were related to heightened responding to unpredictable threat, whereas poorer executive control of attention was related to heightened responding to predictable threat. This double dissociation helps to integrate models of attention and anxiety and may be informative for treatment development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey Sarapas
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States.
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States.
| | - Scott A Langenecker
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
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22
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Abstract
Impaired emotion regulation contributes to the development and severity of substance use disorders (substance disorders). This review summarizes the literature on alterations in emotion regulation neural circuitry in substance disorders, particularly in relation to disorders of negative affect (without substance disorder), and it presents promising areas of future research. Emotion regulation paradigms during functional magnetic resonance imaging are conceptualized into four dimensions: affect intensity and reactivity, affective modulation, cognitive modulation, and behavioral control. The neural circuitry associated with impaired emotion regulation is compared in individuals with and without substance disorders, with a focus on amygdala, insula, and prefrontal cortex activation and their functional and structural connectivity. Hypoactivation of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (rACC/vmPFC) is the most consistent finding across studies, dimensions, and clinical populations (individuals with and without substance disorders). The same pattern is evident for regions in the cognitive control network (anterior cingulate and dorsal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices) during cognitive modulation and behavioral control. These congruent findings are possibly related to attenuated functional and/or structural connectivity between the amygdala and insula and between the rACC/vmPFC and cognitive control network. Although increased amygdala and insula activation is associated with impaired emotion regulation in individuals without substance disorders, it is not consistently observed in substance disorders. Emotion regulation disturbances in substance disorders may therefore stem from impairments in prefrontal functioning, rather than excessive reactivity to emotional stimuli. Treatments for emotion regulation in individuals without substance disorders that normalize prefrontal functioning may offer greater efficacy for substance disorders than treatments that dampen reactivity.
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Bracht T, Linden D, Keedwell P. A review of white matter microstructure alterations of pathways of the reward circuit in depression. J Affect Disord 2015; 187:45-53. [PMID: 26318270 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.06.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Revised: 05/30/2015] [Accepted: 06/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depressed mood, anhedonia, psychomotor retardation and alterations of circadian rhythm are core features of the depressive syndrome. Its neural correlates can be located within a frontal-striatal-tegmental neural network, commonly referred to as the reward circuit. It is the aim of this article to review literature on white matter microstructure alterations of the reward system in depression. METHOD We searched for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-studies that have explored neural deficits within the cingulum bundle, the uncinate fasciculus and the supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle/anterior thalamic radiation - in adolescent and adult depression (acute and remitted), melancholic depression, treatment-resistant depression and those at familial risk of depression. The relevant diffusion MRI literature was identified using PUBMED. RESULTS Thirty-five studies were included. In people at familial risk for depression the main finding was reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the cingulum bundle. Both increases and decreases of FA have been reported in the uncinate fasciculus in adolescents. Reductions of FA in the uncinate fasciculus and the anterior thalamic radiation/supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle during acute depressive episodes in adults were most consistently reported. LIMITATIONS Non-quantitative approach. CONCLUSIONS Altered cingulum bundle microstructure in unaffected relatives may either indicate resilience or vulnerability to depression. Uncinate fasciculus and supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle microstructure may be altered during depressive episodes in adult MDD. Future studies call for a careful clinical stratification of clinically meaningful subgroups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - David Linden
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatry Genetics & Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Keedwell
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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Ahmed SP, Bittencourt-Hewitt A, Sebastian CL. Neurocognitive bases of emotion regulation development in adolescence. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2015; 15:11-25. [PMID: 26340451 PMCID: PMC6989808 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 282] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Revised: 06/09/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion regulation is the ability to recruit processes to influence emotion generation. In recent years there has been mounting interest in how emotions are regulated at behavioural and neural levels, as well as in the relevance of emotional dysregulation to psychopathology. During adolescence, brain regions involved in affect generation and regulation, including the limbic system and prefrontal cortex, undergo protracted structural and functional development. Adolescence is also a time of increasing vulnerability to internalising and externalising psychopathologies associated with poor emotion regulation, including depression, anxiety and antisocial behaviour. It is therefore of particular interest to understand how emotion regulation develops over this time, and how this relates to ongoing brain development. However, to date relatively little research has addressed these questions directly. This review will discuss existing research in these areas in both typical adolescence and in adolescent psychopathology, and will highlight opportunities for future research. In particular, it is important to consider the social context in which adolescent emotion regulation develops. It is possible that while adolescence may be a time of vulnerability to emotional dysregulation, scaffolding the development of emotion regulation during this time may be a fruitful preventative target for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saz P Ahmed
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
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25
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Stoeter P, Roa-Sanchez P, Speckter H, Perez-Then E, Foerster B, Vilchez C, Oviedo J, Rodriguez-Raecke R. Changes of cerebral white matter in patients suffering from Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration (PKAN): A diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2015; 21:577-81. [PMID: 25819806 DOI: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Revised: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 03/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To look for microstructural white matter alterations in patients with dystonia due to Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration. MATERIAL AND METHODS We examined 21 genetically confirmed patients and an age-matched group of 21 healthy controls by diffusion tensor imaging. Evaluation of data was performed by tract-based spatial statistics analysis and a voxel-wise comparison of calculated maps of fractional anisotropy. Findings were compared between groups and correlated to the dystonia score of the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Scale (p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS Patients showed reductions of fractional anisotropy mainly in the periventricular substance surrounding the third ventricle, in the medial part of both putamina and in the frontal white matter including the anterior limbs of the internal capsules and the corpus callosum. Infratentorially, the cerebellar white matter and dorsal parts of the pons and medulla were affected. CONCLUSION In addition to cortical grey matter changes, we now have a second structural finding pointing to a more widespread affection of cerebral tissue in PKAN dystonia than just the lesion and iron accumulation in the globus pallidus.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Stoeter
- Dep. of Radiology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
| | - P Roa-Sanchez
- Dep. of Neurology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - H Speckter
- Dep. of Radiology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - E Perez-Then
- Dep. of Medical Science, CEDIMAT, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - B Foerster
- Philips Medical Systems LatAm, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - C Vilchez
- Dep. of Radiology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - J Oviedo
- Dep. of Radiology, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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Clewett D, Bachman S, Mather M. Age-related reduced prefrontal-amygdala structural connectivity is associated with lower trait anxiety. Neuropsychology 2014; 28:631-42. [PMID: 24635708 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A current neuroanatomical model of anxiety posits that greater structural connectivity between the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) facilitates regulatory control over the amygdala and helps reduce anxiety. However, some neuroimaging studies have reported contradictory findings, demonstrating a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and amygdala-vPFC white matter integrity. To help reconcile these findings, we tested the regulatory hypothesis of anxiety circuitry using aging as a model of white matter decline in the amygdala-vPFC pathway. METHODS We used probabilistic tractography to trace connections between the amygdala and vPFC in 21 younger, 18 middle-aged, and 15 healthy older adults. The resulting tract estimates were used to extract 3 indices of white-matter integrity: fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD). The relationship between these amygdala-vPFC structural connectivity measures and age and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores were assessed. RESULTS The tractography results revealed age-related decline in the FA (p = .005) and radial diffusivity (p = .002) of the amygdala-vPFC pathway. Contrary to the regulatory hypothesis, we found a positive rather than negative association between trait anxiety and right amygdala-vPFC FA (p = .01). CONCLUSION These findings argue against the notion that greater amygdala-vPFC structural integrity facilitates better anxiety outcomes in healthy adults. Instead, our results suggest that white matter degeneration in this network relates to lower anxiety in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Clewett
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California
| | - Shelby Bachman
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, University of Southern California
| | - Mara Mather
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California
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Bracht T, Horn H, Strik W, Federspiel A, Razavi N, Stegmayer K, Wiest R, Dierks T, Müller TJ, Walther S. White matter pathway organization of the reward system is related to positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2014; 153:136-42. [PMID: 24485586 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Revised: 12/10/2013] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The reward system in schizophrenia has been linked to the emergence of delusions on the one hand and to negative symptoms such as affective flattening on the other hand. Previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies reported white matter microstructure alterations of regions related to the reward system. The present study aimed at extending these findings by specifically investigating connection pathways of the reward system in schizophrenia. Therefore, 24 patients with schizophrenia and 22 healthy controls matched for age and gender underwent DTI-scans. Using a probabilistic fiber tracking approach we bilaterally extracted pathways connecting the ventral tegmental area (VTA) with the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortices (mOFC, lOFC), the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the amygdala; as well as pathways connecting NAcc with mOFC, lOFC, dlPFC and amygdala resulting in a total of 18 connections. Probability indices forming part of a bundle of interest (PIBI) were compared between groups using independent t-tests. In 6 connection pathways PIBI-values were increased in schizophrenia. In 3 of these pathways the spatial extension of connection pathways was decreased. In schizophrenia patients, there was a negative correlation of PIBI-values and PANSS negative scores in the left VTA-amygdala and in the left NAcc-mOFC connection. A sum score of delusions and hallucinations correlated positively with PIBI-values of the left amygdala-NAcc connection. Structural organization of specific segments of white matter pathways of the reward system in schizophrenia may contribute to the emergence of delusions and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Helge Horn
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Werner Strik
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Nadja Razavi
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Thomas Dierks
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Thomas J Müller
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Sebastian Walther
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
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McHugh MJ, Demers CH, Salmeron BJ, Devous MD, Stein EA, Adinoff B. Cortico-amygdala coupling as a marker of early relapse risk in cocaine-addicted individuals. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:16. [PMID: 24578695 PMCID: PMC3936467 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Addiction to cocaine is a chronic condition characterized by high rates of early relapse. This study builds on efforts to identify neural markers of relapse risk by studying resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in neural circuits arising from the amygdala, a brain region implicated in relapse-related processes including craving and reactivity to stress following acute and protracted withdrawal from cocaine. Whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity (6 min) was assessed in 45 cocaine-addicted individuals and 22 healthy controls. Cocaine-addicted individuals completed scans in the final week of a residential treatment episode. To approximate preclinical models of relapse-related circuitry, separate seeds were derived for the left and right basolateral (BLA) and corticomedial (CMA) amygdala. Participants also completed the Iowa Gambling Task, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Cocaine Craving Questionnaire, Obsessive-Compulsive Cocaine Use Scale and Personality Inventory. Relapse within the first 30 days post-treatment (n = 24) was associated with reduced rsFC between the left CMA and ventromedial prefrontal cortex/rostral anterior cingulate cortex (vmPFC/rACC) relative to cocaine-addicted individuals who remained abstinent (non-relapse, n = 21). Non-relapse participants evidenced reduced rsFC between the bilateral BLA and visual processing regions (lingual gyrus/cuneus) compared to controls and relapsed participants. Early relapse was associated with fewer years of education but unrelated to trait reactivity to stress, neurocognitive and clinical characteristics or cocaine use history. Findings suggest that rsFC within neural circuits implicated in preclinical models of relapse may provide a promising marker of relapse risk in cocaine-addicted individuals. Future efforts to replicate the current findings and alter connectivity within these circuits may yield novel interventions and improve treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meredith J. McHugh
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Catherine H. Demers
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Betty Jo Salmeron
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Elliot A. Stein
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bryon Adinoff
- VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
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29
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Bracht T, Horn H, Strik W, Federspiel A, Schnell S, Höfle O, Stegmayer K, Wiest R, Dierks T, Müller TJ, Walther S. White matter microstructure alterations of the medial forebrain bundle in melancholic depression. J Affect Disord 2014; 155:186-93. [PMID: 24252169 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.10.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2013] [Revised: 10/01/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The medial forebrain bundle (MFB) is a key structure of the reward system and connects the ventral tegmental area (VTA) with the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC, lOFC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in major depressive disorder point to white matter alterations of regions which may be incorporated in the MFB. Therefore, it was the aim of our study to probe white matter integrity of the MFB using a DTI-based probabilistic fibre tracking approach. METHODS 22 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) (12 melancholic-MDD patients, 10 non-melancholic-MDD patients) and 21 healthy controls underwent DTI scans. We used a bilateral probabilistic fibre tracking approach to extract pathways between the VTA and NACC, mOFC, lOFC, dlPFC respectively. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) values were used to compare structural connectivity between groups. RESULTS Mean-FA did not differ between healthy controls and all MDD patients. Compared to healthy controls melancholic MDD-patients had reduced mean-FA in right VTA-lOFC and VTA-dlPFC connections. Furthermore, melancholic-MDD patients had lower mean-FA than non-melancholic MDD-patients in the right VTA-lOFC connection. Mean-FA of these pathways correlated negatively with depression scale rating scores. LIMITATIONS Due to the small sample size and heterogeneous age group comparisons between melancholic and non-melancholic MDD-patients should be regarded as preliminary. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the melancholic subtype of MDD is characterized by white matter microstructure alterations of the MFB. White matter microstructure is associated with both depression severity and anhedonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
| | - Helge Horn
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Susanne Schnell
- Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, 737 N. Michigan Ave Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Oliver Höfle
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 3010, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Dierks
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Thomas J Müller
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
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Kellmeyer P, Ziegler W, Peschke C, Juliane E, Schnell S, Baumgaertner A, Weiller C, Saur D. Fronto-parietal dorsal and ventral pathways in the context of different linguistic manipulations. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2013; 127:241-250. [PMID: 24183468 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2013.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2012] [Revised: 08/20/2013] [Accepted: 09/30/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This study investigates structural connectivity between left fronto-parietal brain regions that were identified in a previous fMRI study which used different linguistic manipulation tasks. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired from 20 volunteers. Structural connectivity between brain regions from the fMRI study was computed using probabilistic fiber tracking. For suprasegmental manipulation, left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), pars opercularis, were connected by a dorsal pathway via the arcuate fascicle and superior longitudinal fascicle III. For segmental manipulation, left IPL and IFG, pars triangularis, were connected by a ventral pathway via the middle longitudinal fascicle and the extreme capsule. We conclude that the dorsal pathway provides a route for mapping from phonological memory in IPL to the inferior frontal articulatory network while the ventral pathway could facilitate the modulation of phonological units based on lexical-semantic aspects, mediate the complexity of auditory objects and the unification of actor-event schemata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kellmeyer
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, D-70196 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Str. 64, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.
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31
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Abstract
After a threatening event, the risk of developing social psychopathologies is increased in short-allele (s) carriers of the serotonin transporter gene. The amygdala becomes overresponsive to emotional stimuli, an effect that could be driven by local hypersensitivity or by reduced prefrontal regulation. This study distinguishes between these two hypotheses by using dynamic causal modeling of fMRI data acquired in a preselected cohort of human s-carriers and homozygous long-allele carriers. Increased amygdala activity in s-carriers originates from reduced prefrontal inhibitory regulation when social emotional behavior needs to be controlled, suggesting a mechanism for increased vulnerability to psychopathologies.
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32
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Li Z, Santhanam P, Coles CD, Lynch ME, Hamann S, Peltier S, Hu X. Prenatal cocaine exposure alters functional activation in the ventral prefrontal cortex and its structural connectivity with the amygdala. Psychiatry Res 2013; 213:47-55. [PMID: 23693086 PMCID: PMC3672335 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2011] [Revised: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is associated with arousal dysregulation, and alterations of amygdala activity in response to emotional arousal have previously been reported. However, voluntary regulation of emotional affect, enabling appropriate neural response to different streams of stimuli, must also engage prefrontal regions, yet the impact of PCE on these prefrontal mechanisms has not been investigated. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown the involvement of ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) in the modulation of amygdala reactivity and the mediation of effective emotional regulation. Based on these findings, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the present study compared functional activations of the vPFC as well as its structural connectivity with the amygdala between groups of PCE and control adolescents. In a working memory task with emotional distracters, the PCE adolescents exhibited less capability of increasing their vPFC activation in response to increased memory load, which corresponded with their less suppressed amygdala activation. Reduced structural connectivity between the vPFC and the amygdala was also observed from DTI measurement in the PCE group. In addition, correlations between amygdala activation and (i) vPFC activation, as well as (ii) amygdala-vPFC structural connectivity, were observed in the control but not in the PCE group. These data complement previous findings of the impact of PCE on the activity of the amygdala and extend our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effect of PCE on arousal dysregulation reported in human and animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Li
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Priya Santhanam
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Claire D. Coles
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Mary Ellen Lynch
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Stephan Hamann
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Scott Peltier
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30322, Georgia U.S.A.,Correspondence: Xiaoping Hu, PhD., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Woodruff Memorial Building, 101 Woodruff Circle, Suite 2001, Atlanta Georgia 30322, Tel: (404)-712-2615, Fax: (404)-712-2707,
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Sripada RK, Marx CE, King AP, Rampton JC, Ho S, Liberzon I. Allopregnanolone elevations following pregnenolone administration are associated with enhanced activation of emotion regulation neurocircuits. Biol Psychiatry 2013; 73:1045-53. [PMID: 23348009 PMCID: PMC3648625 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2012] [Revised: 11/16/2012] [Accepted: 12/09/2012] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The neurosteroid allopregnanolone is a potent allosteric modulator of the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor with anxiolytic properties. Exogenous administration of allopregnanolone reduces anxiety, and allopregnanolone blockade impairs social and affective functioning. However, the neural mechanism whereby allopregnanolone improves mood and reduces anxiety is unknown. In particular, brain imaging has not been used to link neurosteroid effects to emotion regulation neurocircuitry. METHODS To investigate the brain basis of allopregnanolone's impact on emotion regulation, participants were administered 400 mg of pregnenolone (n=16) or placebo (n=15) and underwent 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing the shifted-attention emotion appraisal task, which probes emotional processing and regulation. RESULTS Compared with placebo, allopregnanolone was associated with reduced activity in the amygdala and insula across all conditions. During the appraisal condition, allopregnanolone increased activity in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and enhanced connectivity between the amygdala and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, an effect that was associated with reduced self-reported anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that in response to emotional stimuli, allopregnanolone reduces activity in regions associated with generation of negative emotion. Furthermore, allopregnanolone may enhance activity in regions linked to regulatory processes. Aberrant activity in these regions has been linked to anxiety psychopathology. These results thus provide initial neuroimaging evidence that allopregnanolone may be a target for pharmacologic intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders and suggest potential future directions for research into neurosteroid effects on emotion regulation neurocircuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca K. Sripada
- Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,Corresponding author: Rebecca K. Sripada, 4250 Plymouth Road, 2702 Rachel Upjohn Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, , Tel : (734) 232-0190, Fax : (734) 936-7868
| | - Christine E. Marx
- Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC,Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
| | - Anthony P. King
- Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,Ann Arbor VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
| | | | - Shaun Ho
- Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Israel Liberzon
- Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI,Ann Arbor VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI
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Haas BW, Barnea-Goraly N, Sheau KE, Yamagata B, Ullas S, Reiss AL. Altered microstructure within social-cognitive brain networks during childhood in Williams syndrome. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 24:2796-806. [PMID: 23709644 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental condition caused by a hemizygous deletion of ∼26-28 genes on chromosome 7q11.23. WS is associated with a distinctive pattern of social cognition. Accordingly, neuroimaging studies show that WS is associated with structural alterations of key brain regions involved in social cognition during adulthood. However, very little is currently known regarding the neuroanatomical structure of social cognitive brain networks during childhood in WS. This study used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate the structural integrity of a specific set of white matter pathways (inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus [IFOF] and uncinate fasciculus [UF]) and associated brain regions [fusiform gyrus (FG), amygdala, hippocampus, medial orbitofrontal gyrus (MOG)] known to be involved in social cognition in children with WS and a typically developing (TD) control group. Children with WS exhibited higher fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity values and lower radial diffusivity and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values within the IFOF and UF, higher FA values within the FG, amygdala, and hippocampus and lower ADC values within the FG and MOG compared to controls. These findings provide evidence that the WS genetic deletion affects the development of key white matter pathways and brain regions important for social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian W Haas
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Naama Barnea-Goraly
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Kristen E Sheau
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Bun Yamagata
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Shruti Ullas
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Allan L Reiss
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Radiology, and Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94305-5795, USA
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Bracht T, Schnell S, Federspiel A, Razavi N, Horn H, Strik W, Wiest R, Dierks T, Müller TJ, Walther S. Altered cortico-basal ganglia motor pathways reflect reduced volitional motor activity in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2013; 143:269-76. [PMID: 23276479 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2012.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2012] [Revised: 11/09/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about the neurobiology of hypokinesia in schizophrenia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate alterations of white matter motor pathways in schizophrenia and to relate our findings to objectively measured motor activity. We examined 21 schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls using diffusion tensor imaging and actigraphy. We applied a probabilistic fibre tracking approach to investigate pathways connecting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the supplementary motor area proper (SMA-proper), the primary motor cortex (M1), the caudate nucleus, the striatum, the pallidum and the thalamus. Schizophrenia patients had lower activity levels than controls. In schizophrenia we found higher probability indices forming part of a bundle of interest (PIBI) in pathways connecting rACC, pre-SMA and SMA-proper as well as in pathways connecting M1 and pre-SMA with caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum and thalamus and a reduced spatial extension of motor pathways in schizophrenia. There was a positive correlation between PIBI and activity level in the right pre-SMA-pallidum and the left M1-thalamus connection in healthy controls, and in the left pre-SMA-SMA-proper pathway in schizophrenia. Our results point to reduced volitional motor activity and altered motor pathway organisation in schizophrenia. The identified associations between the amount of movement and structural connectivity of motor pathways suggest dysfunction of cortico-basal ganglia pathways in the pathophysiology of hypokinesia in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients may use cortical pathways involving the supplementary motor area to compensate for basal ganglia dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
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Bracht T, Federspiel A, Schnell S, Horn H, Höfle O, Wiest R, Dierks T, Strik W, Müller TJ, Walther S. Cortico-cortical white matter motor pathway microstructure is related to psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder. PLoS One 2012; 7:e52238. [PMID: 23284950 PMCID: PMC3527384 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2012] [Accepted: 11/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations of brain structure and function have been associated with psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the association of motor behaviour and white matter integrity of motor pathways in MDD is unclear. The aim of the present study was to first investigate structural connectivity of white matter motor pathways in MDD. Second, we explore the relation of objectively measured motor activity and white matter integrity of motor pathways in MDD. Therefore, 21 patients with MDD and 21 healthy controls matched for age, gender, education and body mass index underwent diffusion tensor imaging and 24 hour actigraphy (measure of the activity level) the same day. Applying a probabilistic fibre tracking approach we extracted connection pathways between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the SMA-proper, the primary motor cortex (M1), the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the pallidum and the thalamus. Patients had lower activity levels and demonstrated increased mean diffusivity (MD) in pathways linking left pre-SMA and SMA-proper, and right SMA-proper and M1. Exploratory analyses point to a positive association of activity level and mean-fractional anisotropy in the right rACC-pre-SMA connection in MDD. Only MDD patients with low activity levels had a negative linear association of activity level and mean-MD in the left dlPFC-pre-SMA connection. Our results point to structural alterations of cortico-cortical white matter motor pathways in MDD. Altered white matter organisation of rACC-pre-SMA and dlPFC-pre-SMA pathways may contribute to movement initiation in MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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Forbes CE, Cox CL, Schmader T, Ryan L. Negative stereotype activation alters interaction between neural correlates of arousal, inhibition and cognitive control. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2012; 7:771-81. [PMID: 21954239 PMCID: PMC3475352 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsr052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2010] [Accepted: 08/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Priming negative stereotypes of African Americans can bias perceptions toward novel Black targets, but less is known about how these perceptions ultimately arise. Examining how neural regions involved in arousal, inhibition and control covary when negative stereotypes are activated can provide insight into whether individuals attempt to downregulate biases. Using fMRI, White egalitarian-motivated participants were shown Black and White faces at fast (32 ms) or slow (525 ms) presentation speeds. To create a racially negative stereotypic context, participants listened to violent and misogynistic rap (VMR) in the background. No music (NM) and death metal (DM) were used as control conditions in separate blocks. Fast exposure of Black faces elicited amygdala activation in the NM and VMR conditions (but not DM), that also negatively covaried with activation in prefrontal regions. Only in VMR, however, did amygdala activation for Black faces persist during slow exposure and positively covary with activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while negatively covarying with activation in orbitofrontal cortex. Findings suggest that contexts that prime negative racial stereotypes seem to hinder the downregulation of amygdala activation that typically occurs when egalitarian perceivers are exposed to Black faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad E Forbes
- Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, 222 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
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Sripada RK, King AP, Garfinkel SN, Wang X, Sripada CS, Welsh RC, Liberzon I. Altered resting-state amygdala functional connectivity in men with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2012; 37:241-9. [PMID: 22313617 PMCID: PMC3380095 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.110069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 262] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging neuroimaging research suggests altered emotion neurocircuitry in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotion activation studies in these individuals have shown hyperactivation in emotion-related regions, including the amygdala and insula, and hypoactivation in emotion-regulation regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, few studies have examined patterns of connectivity at rest in individuals with PTSD, a potentially powerful method for illuminating brain network structure. METHODS Using the amygdala as a seed region, we measured resting-state brain connectivity using 3 T functional magnetic resonance imaging in returning male veterans with PTSD and combat controls without PTSD. RESULTS Fifteen veterans with PTSD and 14 combat controls enrolled in our study. Compared with controls, veterans with PTSD showed greater positive connectivity between the amygdala and insula, reduced positive connectivity between the amygdala and hippocampus, and reduced anticorrelation between the amygdala and dorsal ACC and rostral ACC. LIMITATIONS Only male veterans with combat exposure were tested, thus our findings cannot be generalized to women or to individuals with non-combat related PTSD. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that studies of functional connectivity during resting state can discern aberrant patterns of coupling within emotion circuits and suggest a possible brain basis for emotion-processing and emotion-regulation deficits in individuals with PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Chandra S. Sripada
- Correspondence to: R.K. Sripada, 4250 Plymouth Rd., 2702 Rachel Upjohn Bldg., Ann Arbor MI 48109;
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Tzarouchi LC, Xydis V, Zikou AK, Drougia A, Astrakas LG, Papastefanaki M, Andronikou S, Argyropoulou MI. Diffuse periventricular leukomalacia in preterm children: assessment of grey matter changes by MRI. Pediatr Radiol 2011; 41:1545-51. [PMID: 21901522 DOI: 10.1007/s00247-011-2223-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2011] [Revised: 06/09/2011] [Accepted: 06/09/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Preterm children may have cognitive deficits and behavioural disorders suggestive of grey matter (GM) injury. The prevalence is higher in preterm children with diffuse periventricular leukomalacia (dPVL). OBJECTIVE Evaluate changes in the volume of 116 GM areas in preterm children with dPVL. METHODS AND MATERIALS Eleven preterm children with dPVL, gestational age 32.8 ± 2.6 weeks, examined at corrected age 22.0 ± 18.2 months and 33 matched preterm controls with normal brain MRI were studied. Volumes of 116 individual GM areas, and white matter/cerebrospinal fluid (WM/CSF) ratio were calculated on T1-weighted high-resolution images after segmentation. RESULTS Relative to controls, children with dPVL had decreased GM volume of the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal lobes and temporal middle gyrus (P < 0.05); increased GM volume of the putamen, thalamus, globus pallidum, superior temporal gyrus and of the parietal and occipital lobes (P < 0.05) and lower WM volume/higher CSF volume (P < 0.05). WM/CSF ratios also differed (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Preterm children with dPVL have increased regional GM volume in some areas probably related with a process of brain plasticity-regeneration and reduced GM volume in areas associated with cognition and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- L C Tzarouchi
- Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
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40
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Mushtaq F, Bland AR, Schaefer A. Uncertainty and cognitive control. Front Psychol 2011; 2:249. [PMID: 22007181 PMCID: PMC3184613 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2011] [Accepted: 09/11/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing trend of neuroimaging, behavioral, and computational research has investigated the topic of outcome uncertainty in decision-making. Although evidence to date indicates that humans are very effective in learning to adapt to uncertain situations, the nature of the specific cognitive processes involved in the adaptation to uncertainty are still a matter of debate. In this article, we reviewed evidence suggesting that cognitive control processes are at the heart of uncertainty in decision-making contexts. Available evidence suggests that: (1) There is a strong conceptual overlap between the constructs of uncertainty and cognitive control; (2) There is a remarkable overlap between the neural networks associated with uncertainty and the brain networks subserving cognitive control; (3) The perception and estimation of uncertainty might play a key role in monitoring processes and the evaluation of the "need for control"; (4) Potential interactions between uncertainty and cognitive control might play a significant role in several affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faisal Mushtaq
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds Leeds, UK
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41
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Expectation and temperament moderate amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex responses to fear faces. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2011; 11:13-21. [PMID: 21264642 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-010-0007-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
A chronic tendency to avoid novelty is often the result of a temperamental bias called inhibited temperament, and is associated with increased risk for anxiety disorders. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that an inhibited temperament is associated with increased amygdalar blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) response to unfamiliar faces that were not expected; however, the effects of variations in expectancy remain unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we studied BOLD response to infrequently encountered fear faces that were either expected or not expected in 42 adults with an inhibited or an uninhibited temperament. Individuals with an inhibited temperament had greater amygdala, but less dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), BOLD response when the stimuli were expected. In contrast, those with an uninhibited temperament had a smaller amygdala but larger dorsal anterior cingulate cortex BOLD response when expecting to see fear faces. These findings demonstrate temperament differences in expectancy effects and provide preliminary evidence for the dACC as a neural substrate mediating differences in inhibited temperament. Enhanced amygdala sensitivity coupled with weak inhibitory control from the dACC may form a neural circuit mediating behaviors characteristic of inhibited temperament and risk for anxiety disorders.
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Seitz RJ, Gaebel W, Zielasek J. Modular networks involving the medial frontal cortex: towards the development of neuropsychiatry. World J Biol Psychiatry 2011; 12:249-59. [PMID: 21155633 DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2010.541284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The pathophysiology of mental disorders is largely unresolved. We propose that the identification of abnormalities in brain modular networks will provide a promising approach for the understanding of mental disorders. METHODS We review the current discussion on the neuroscientific basis of psychiatric diseases and review recent studies in functional neuroimaging and systems physiology on mental functions of the human brain. RESULTS We propose that brain functional units are organized in modular networks. Modular networks allow for flexibility within the modular processing units and across interconnected modules affording optimization of task performance and deficit compensation in disease. As an example it will be shown that differentiated modules in medial frontal cortex play a critical role for the control of behaviour. This will be contrasted to recent studies in neurological and psychiatric patients revealing behavioural abnormalities due to lesions or reversibly deprived functions in the medial frontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS These findings are conceptualized as starting points for a neuroscience based diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases at the border of psychiatry and neurology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger J Seitz
- Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Kim MJ, Loucks RA, Palmer AL, Brown AC, Solomon KM, Marchante AN, Whalen PJ. The structural and functional connectivity of the amygdala: from normal emotion to pathological anxiety. Behav Brain Res 2011; 223:403-10. [PMID: 21536077 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 607] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2011] [Accepted: 04/16/2011] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The dynamic interactions between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are usefully conceptualized as a circuit that both allows us to react automatically to biologically relevant predictive stimuli as well as regulate these reactions when the situation calls for it. In this review, we will begin by discussing the role of this amygdala-mPFC circuitry in the conditioning and extinction of aversive learning in animals. We will then relate these data to emotional regulation paradigms in humans. Finally, we will consider how these processes are compromised in normal and pathological anxiety. We conclude that the capacity for efficient crosstalk between the amygdala and the mPFC, which is represented as the strength of the amygdala-mPFC circuitry, is crucial to beneficial outcomes in terms of reported anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Justin Kim
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6207 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
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McCauley SR, Wilde EA, Bigler ED, Chu Z, Yallampalli R, Oni MB, Wu TC, Ramos MA, Pedroza C, Vásquez AC, Hunter JV, Levin HS. Diffusion tensor imaging of incentive effects in prospective memory after pediatric traumatic brain injury. J Neurotrauma 2011; 28:503-16. [PMID: 21250917 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2010.1555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Few studies exist investigating the brain-behavior relations of event-based prospective memory (EB-PM) impairments following traumatic brain injury (TBI). To address this, children with moderate-to-severe TBI performed an EB-PM test with two motivational enhancement conditions and underwent concurrent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 3 months post-injury. Children with orthopedic injuries (OI; n=37) or moderate-to-severe TBI (n=40) were contrasted. Significant group differences were found for fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient for orbitofrontal white matter (WM), cingulum bundles, and uncinate fasciculi. The FA of these WM structures in children with TBI significantly correlated with EB-PM performance in the high, but not the low motivation condition. Regression analyses within the TBI group indicated that the FA of the left cingulum bundle (p=0.003), left orbitofrontal WM (p<0.02), and left (p<0.02) and right (p<0.008) uncinate fasciculi significantly predicted EB-PM performance in the high motivation condition. We infer that the cingulum bundles, orbitofrontal WM, and uncinate fasciculi are important WM structures mediating motivation-based EB-PM responses following moderate-to-severe TBI in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R McCauley
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Alliance of Baylor College of Medicine and University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA.
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Deep and superficial amygdala nuclei projections revealed in vivo by probabilistic tractography. J Neurosci 2011; 31:618-23. [PMID: 21228170 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2744-10.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a homogenous macroscopic appearance on magnetic resonance images, subregions of the amygdala express distinct functional profiles as well as corresponding differences in connectivity. In particular, histological analysis shows stronger connections for superficial (i.e., centromedial and cortical), compared with deep (i.e., basolateral and other), amygdala nuclei to lateral orbitofrontal cortex and stronger connections of deep compared with superficial, nuclei to polymodal areas in the temporal pole. Here, we use diffusion weighted imaging with probabilistic tractography to investigate these connections in humans. We use a data-driven approach to segment the amygdala into two subregions using k-means clustering. The identified subregions are spatially contiguous and their location corresponds to deep and superficial nuclear groups. Quantification of the connection strength between these amygdala clusters and individual target regions corresponds to qualitative histological findings in non-human primates, indicating such findings can be extrapolated to humans. We propose that connectivity profiles provide a potentially powerful approach for in vivo amygdala parcellation and can serve as a guide in studies that exploit functional and anatomical neuroimaging.
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Rabinak CA, Angstadt M, Welsh RC, Kenndy AE, Lyubkin M, Martis B, Phan KL. Altered amygdala resting-state functional connectivity in post-traumatic stress disorder. Front Psychiatry 2011; 2:62. [PMID: 22102841 PMCID: PMC3214721 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2011] [Accepted: 10/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often characterized by aberrant amygdala activation and functional abnormalities in corticolimbic circuitry, as elucidated by functional neuroimaging. These "activation" studies have primarily relied on tasks designed to induce region-specific, and task-dependent brain responses in limbic (e.g., amygdala) and paralimbic brain areas through the use of aversive evocative probes. It remains unknown if these corticolimbic circuit abnormalities exist at baseline or "at rest," in the absence of fear/anxiety-related provocation and outside the context of task demands. Therefore the primary aim of the present experiment was to investigate aberrant amygdala functional connectivity patterns in combat-related PTSD patients during resting-state. Seventeen Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans with combat-related PTSD (PTSD group) and 17 combat-exposed OEF/OIF veterans without PTSD [combat-exposed control (CEC) group] underwent an 8-min resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Using an anatomically derived amygdala "seed" region we observed stronger functional coupling between the amygdala and insula in the PTSD group compared to the CEC group, but did not find group differences in amygdala-prefrontal connectivity. These findings suggest that the aberrant amygdala and insula activation to fear-evocative probes previously characterized in PTSD may be driven by an underlying enhanced connectivity between the amygdala, a region known for perceiving threat and generating fear responses, and the insula, a region known for processing the meaning and prediction of aversive bodily states. This enhanced amygdala-insula connectivity may reflect an exaggerated, pervasive state of arousal that exists outside the presence of an overt actual threat/danger. Studying amygdala functional connectivity "at rest" extends our understanding of the pathophysiology of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine A Rabinak
- Mental Health Service, Veteran's Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Silveri MM, Rogowska J, McCaffrey A, Yurgelun-Todd DA. Adolescents at risk for alcohol abuse demonstrate altered frontal lobe activation during Stroop performance. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2010; 35:218-28. [PMID: 21073483 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01337.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children and adolescents, family history positive (FH+) for alcoholism, exhibit differences in brain structure and functional activation when compared to family history negative (FH-) counterparts. Given that frontal brain regions, and associated reciprocal connections with limbic structures, undergo the most dramatic maturational changes during adolescence, the objective of this study was to compare functional brain activation during a frontally mediated test of response inhibition in 32 adolescents separated into low-risk (FH-) and high-risk (FH+) groups. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) blood oxygen level-dependent data were acquired at 1.5 Tesla during performance of Stroop Color Naming, Word Reading, and Interference. Preprocessing and statistical analyses, covaried for age, were conducted in SPM99 using a search territory that included superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri (trigone region), anterior cingulate gyrus (CG), and left and right amygdala. RESULTS Significantly greater activation in the fronto-limbic search territory was observed in FH+ relative to FH- subjects during Stroop Interference. In addition, a significant regression between brain activation and family history density was observed, with a greater density being associated with increased activation in regions including middle frontal gyrus (BA9) and CG (BA24). CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate a significant influence of FH status on brain activation during the performance of a response inhibition task, perhaps reflecting a neurobiological vulnerability associated with FH status that may include reduced neuronal efficiency and/or recruitment of additional neuronal resources. These findings are important given that the adolescent developmental period is already associated with reduced inhibitory capacity, even prior to the onset of alcohol use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa M Silveri
- Brain Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478, USA.
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Rüsch N, Bracht T, Kreher BW, Schnell S, Glauche V, Il'yasov KA, Ebert D, Lieb K, Hennig J, Saur D, van Elst LT. Reduced interhemispheric structural connectivity between anterior cingulate cortices in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Res 2010; 181:151-4. [PMID: 20079614 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2008] [Revised: 06/14/2009] [Accepted: 08/28/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Functional and structural alterations of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a key region for emotional and cognitive processing, are associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, the interhemispheric structural connectivity between the left and right ACC and between other prefrontal regions in this condition is unknown. We acquired diffusion-tensor imaging data from 20 healthy women and 19 women with BPD and comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interhemispheric structural connectivity between both sides of the ACC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and medial orbitofrontal cortices was assessed by a novel probabilistic diffusion tensor-based fiber tracking method. In the BPD group as compared with healthy controls, we found decreased interhemispheric structural connectivity between both ACCs in fiber tracts that pass through the anterior corpus callosum and connect dorsal areas of the ACCs. Decreased interhemispheric structural connectivity between both ACCs may be a structural correlate of BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Rüsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany.
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