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Aukema RJ, Petrie GN, Matarasso AK, Baglot SL, Molina LA, Füzesi T, Kadhim S, Nastase AS, Rodriguez Reyes I, Bains JS, Morena M, Bruchas MR, Hill MN. Identification of a stress-responsive subregion of the basolateral amygdala in male rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024:10.1038/s41386-024-01927-x. [PMID: 39117904 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01927-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is reliably activated by psychological stress and hyperactive in conditions of pathological stress or trauma; however, subsets of BLA neurons are also readily activated by rewarding stimuli and can suppress fear and avoidance behaviours. The BLA is highly heterogeneous anatomically, exhibiting continuous molecular and connectivity gradients throughout the entire structure. A critical gap remains in understanding the anatomical specificity of amygdala subregions, circuits, and cell types explicitly activated by acute stress and how they are dynamically activated throughout stimulus exposure. Using a combination of topographical mapping for the activity-responsive protein FOS and fiber photometry to measure calcium transients in real-time, we sought to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of BLA activation in response to a range of novel stressors (shock, swim, restraint, predator odour) and non-aversive, but novel stimuli (crackers, citral odour). We report four main findings: (1) the BLA exhibits clear spatial activation gradients in response to novel stimuli throughout the medial-lateral and dorsal-ventral axes, with aversive stimuli strongly biasing activation towards medial aspects of the BLA; (2) novel stimuli elicit distinct temporal activation patterns, with stressful stimuli exhibiting particularly enhanced or prolonged temporal activation patterns; (3) changes in BLA activity are associated with changes in behavioural state; and (4) norepinephrine enhances stress-induced activation of BLA neurons via the ß-noradrenergic receptor. Moving forward, it will be imperative to combine our understanding of activation gradients with molecular and circuit-specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Aukema
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Gavin N Petrie
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Avi K Matarasso
- Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- UW Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Samantha L Baglot
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Leonardo A Molina
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Tamás Füzesi
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Sandra Kadhim
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Andrei S Nastase
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Itzel Rodriguez Reyes
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- UW Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Jaideep S Bains
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Maria Morena
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
- Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, European Center for Brain Research, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, 00143, Italy
| | - Michael R Bruchas
- Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- UW Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Matthew N Hill
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
- Mathison Centre for Mental Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
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Moscovitch DA, Moscovitch M, Sheldon S. Neurocognitive Model of Schema-Congruent and -Incongruent Learning in Clinical Disorders: Application to Social Anxiety and Beyond. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023; 18:1412-1435. [PMID: 36795637 PMCID: PMC10623626 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221141351] [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] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Negative schemas lie at the core of many common and debilitating mental disorders. Thus, intervention scientists and clinicians have long recognized the importance of designing effective interventions that target schema change. Here, we suggest that the optimal development and administration of such interventions can benefit from a framework outlining how schema change occurs in the brain. Guided by basic neuroscientific findings, we provide a memory-based neurocognitive framework for conceptualizing how schemas emerge and change over time and how they can be modified during psychological treatment of clinical disorders. We highlight the critical roles of the hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and posterior neocortex in directing schema-congruent and -incongruent learning (SCIL) in the interactive neural network that comprises the autobiographical memory system. We then use this framework, which we call the SCIL model, to derive new insights about the optimal design features of clinical interventions that aim to strengthen or weaken schema-based knowledge through the core processes of episodic mental simulation and prediction error. Finally, we examine clinical applications of the SCIL model to schema-change interventions in psychotherapy and provide cognitive-behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder as an illustrative example.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Moscovitch
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Mental Health Research & Treatment, University of Waterloo
| | - Morris Moscovitch
- Rotman Research Institute and Department of Psychology, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
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Ilyas U, Khan SD. Role of Parenting and Psychosocial Correlates Contributing to Social Anxiety in Asian Adolescents: A Systematic Review. INNOVATIONS IN CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 20:30-36. [PMID: 37817814 PMCID: PMC10561979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Background The purpose of the study was to explore social anxiety in adolescents as well as associated factors, such as parenting styles, self-esteem, quality of life, emotional intelligence, and brain activity, in social anxiety. Methods A systematic review of articles related to social anxiety in adolescents, associated factors, and brain activity from 2012 to 2022 was performed. Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct were used as research gates to find the relevant articles. Results Ten articles were sorted among 50 articles according to inclusion criteria. The included studies were based in Pakistan, India, and China, which indicated similar results. Social anxiety was directly related to low self-esteem, authoritarian parenting style, interbrain synchrony between parents and adolescents, low quality of life, weak emotional intelligence, and higher activity in the amygdala of the brain. Conclusion Social anxiety is common in male-dominant (patriarchal) societies where authoritarian parenting is practiced, which leads to low self-esteem, weak emotional intelligence, and low quality of life in adolescents. Social anxiety is also associated with higher activity in the amygdala and lower gamma interbrain synchrony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uzma Ilyas
- Ms. Ilyas is PhD Scholar, Centre for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, and Principal Lecturer, Psychology Department, University of Central Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Saima Dawood Khan
- Prof. Dr. Saima Dawood Khan is Director, Centre for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan
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Xia L, Xu P, Yang Z, Gu R, Zhang D. Impaired probabilistic reversal learning in anxiety: Evidence from behavioral and ERP findings. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2021; 31:102751. [PMID: 34242887 PMCID: PMC8271162 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
High and low anxious participants finish a probabilistic reversal learning task. High anxious participants showed a worse performance and less likely to lose-shift. Feedback-related negativity (FRN) was correlated with the frequency of lose-shift. High anxious participants showed a smaller FRN in response to lose-shift. Anxious people’s reversal learning is affected by impaired sensitivity to losses.
Background Reversal learning reflects an individual’s capacity to adapt to a dynamic environment with changing stimulus–reward contingencies. This study focuses on the potential influence of anxiety on reversal learning skills. Methods We asked 40 participants with a high level of trait anxiety (HTA) and 40 counterparts with a low anxiety level (LTA) to finish a probabilistic reversal learning task with event-related potential (ERP) recording, during which stimulus–reward contingencies are reversed after players have learned the optimal choice. Results We found that compared to their LTA counterparts, the HTA participants showed worse learning performance and were less likely to make lose-shift choices. The FRN amplitude might help interpret these behavioral results, which is suggested to be associated with punishment sensitivity and was positively correlated with the number of lose-shift in this study. Seeing that anxiety level predicted the FRN amplitude for lose-shift, we explain that anxious individuals’ inflexible behavioral responses to losses are due to their impaired sensitivity to negative feedback. Conclusions A higher level of anxiety is associated with weaker reversal learning performance, possibly because of abnormal sensitivity to negative outcomes. These findings have implications for the understanding of behavioral symptoms in anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisheng Xia
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China.
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518057, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnologies, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ziyan Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Dandan Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
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Bashford-Largo J, Aloi J, Lukoff J, Johnson K, White SF, Dobbertin M, Blair RJ, Blair KS. Reduced top-down attentional control in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e01994. [PMID: 33369286 PMCID: PMC7882153 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can significantly impair quality of life and is associated with a relatively poor long-term prognosis. Anxiety disorders are often associated with hyper-responsiveness to threat, perhaps coupled with impaired executive functioning. However, GAD, particularly adolescent GAD, has been the focus of little functional neuroimaging work compared to other anxiety disorders. Here, we examine the neural association of adolescent GAD with responsiveness to threat and response control. METHODS The study involved 35 adolescents with GAD and 34 healthy comparison individuals (N = 69) matched on age, gender, and IQ. Participants were scanned during an affective number Stroop task. RESULTS We found significant Group-by-Task Condition interactions in regions involved in response control/motor responding (bilateral precentral gyri and cerebellum) and/or cognitive control/attention (dorsomedial and lateral frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, cuneus, and precuneus). In line with predictions, the youth with GAD showed significantly less recruitment during task trials than the healthy comparison individuals. However, no indications of specific heightened responses to threat were seen. CONCLUSIONS GAD involves reduced capacity for engaging regions involved in response control/motor responding and/or cognitive control/attention. This might reflect either a secondary consequence of the patient's worry or an early risk factor for the development of worry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joseph Aloi
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jennie Lukoff
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Kimberly Johnson
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Stuart F White
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Robert James Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Karina S Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE, USA
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Bas-Hoogendam JM, van Steenbergen H, van der Wee NJA, Westenberg PM. Amygdala hyperreactivity to faces conditioned with a social-evaluative meaning- a multiplex, multigenerational fMRI study on social anxiety endophenotypes. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 26:102247. [PMID: 32247196 PMCID: PMC7125356 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) runs in families, but the neurobiological pathways underlying the genetic susceptibility towards SAD are largely unknown. Here, we employed an endophenotype approach, and tested the hypothesis that amygdala hyperreactivity to faces conditioned with a social-evaluative meaning is a candidate SAD endophenotype. We used data from the multiplex, multigenerational Leiden Family Lab study on Social Anxiety Disorder (eight families, n = 105) and investigated amygdala activation during a social-evaluative conditioning paradigm with high ecological validity in the context of SAD. Three neutral faces were repeatedly presented in combination with socially negative, positive or neutral sentences. We focused on two endophenotype criteria: co-segregation of the candidate endophenotype with the disorder within families, and heritability. Analyses of the fMRI data were restricted to the amygdala as a region of interest, and association analyses revealed that bilateral amygdala hyperreactivity in response to the conditioned faces co-segregated with social anxiety (SA; continuous measure) within the families; we found, however, no relationship between SA and brain activation in response to more specific fMRI contrasts. Furthermore, brain activation in a small subset of voxels within these amygdala clusters was at least moderately heritable. Taken together, these findings show that amygdala engagement in response to conditioned faces with a social-evaluative meaning qualifies as a neurobiological candidate endophenotype of social anxiety. Thereby, these data shed light on the genetic vulnerability to develop SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Nic J A van der Wee
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - P Michiel Westenberg
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Blair KS, Bashford-Largo J, Shah N, Lukoff J, Elowsky J, Vogel S, Emmert A, Zhang R, Dobbertin M, Pollak S, Blair JR. Sexual Abuse in Adolescents Is Associated With Atypically Increased Responsiveness Within Regions Implicated in Self-Referential and Emotional Processing to Approaching Animate Threats. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:345. [PMID: 32612545 PMCID: PMC7308525 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Childhood sexual abuse is associated with significant subsequent pathology and neurodevelopmental disruption. In particular, childhood sexual abuse has been associated with heightened threat sensitivity. However, little work has directly investigated this issue. In this study, we examine the association of childhood sexual abuse to neural and behavioral responses to looming, threatening face stimuli. The study involved 23 adolescents with significant past sexual abuse and 24 comparison individuals matched on IQ, age, and sex. Participants were scanned during a looming threat task that involved negative and neutral, human faces and animals that appeared to either loom toward or recede from the participant. We found that adolescents who had been previously subjected to sexual abuse, relative to comparison adolescents, showed increased neural responses to threatening looming stimuli in regions including rostral and superior frontal gyrus as well as posterior cingulate gyrus. In addition, they were significantly more slowed by looming stimuli, particularly if these were human faces, than adolescents who had not been exposed. These data demonstrate that prior sexual abuse was associated with heightened neural responsiveness to looming threats in a series of regions beyond the amygdala. These data are interpreted within models of rostromedial frontal and posterior cingulate cortices that stress their role in self-referential emotional processing and emotional maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina S Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Johannah Bashford-Largo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Niraj Shah
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Jennie Lukoff
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Jaimie Elowsky
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Steven Vogel
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Amanda Emmert
- Department of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, United States
| | - Ru Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
| | - Seth Pollak
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - James R Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, United States
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Fernández RS, Pedreira ME, Boccia MM, Kaczer L. Commentary: Forgetting the best when predicting the worst: preliminary observations on neural circuit function in adolescent social anxiety. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1088. [PMID: 30050477 PMCID: PMC6051016 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo S Fernández
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María E Pedreira
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariano M Boccia
- Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología de los Procesos de Memoria, Cátedra de Farmacología, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura Kaczer
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Koban L, Jepma M, Geuter S, Wager TD. What's in a word? How instructions, suggestions, and social information change pain and emotion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 81:29-42. [PMID: 29173508 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 02/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Instructions, suggestions, and other types of social information can have powerful effects on pain and emotion. Prominent examples include observational learning, social influence, placebo, and hypnosis. These different phenomena and their underlying brain mechanisms have been studied in partially separate literatures, which we discuss, compare, and integrate in this review. Converging findings from these literatures suggest that (1) instructions and social information affect brain systems associated with the generation of pain and emotion, and with reinforcement learning, and that (2) these changes are mediated by alterations in prefrontal systems responsible for top-down control and the generation of affective meaning. We argue that changes in expectation and appraisal, a process of assessing personal meaning and implications for wellbeing, are two potential key mediators of the effects of instructions and social information on affective experience. Finally, we propose a tentative model of how prefrontal regions, especially dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex may regulate affective processing based on instructions and socially transmitted expectations more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie Koban
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, United States; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, United States.
| | - Marieke Jepma
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, The Netherlands
| | - Stephan Geuter
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, United States; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
| | - Tor D Wager
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, United States; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
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Bedse G, Hartley ND, Neale E, Gaulden A, Patrick T, Kingsley P, Uddin MJ, Plath N, Marnett LJ, Patel S. Functional Redundancy Between Canonical Endocannabinoid Signaling Systems in the Modulation of Anxiety. Biol Psychiatry 2017; 82:488-499. [PMID: 28438413 PMCID: PMC5585044 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increasing the available repertoire of effective treatments for mood and anxiety disorders represents a critical unmet need. Pharmacological augmentation of endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) signaling has been suggested to represent a novel approach to the treatment of anxiety disorders; however, the functional interactions between two canonical eCB pathways mediated via anandamide (N-arachidonylethanolamine [AEA]) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the regulation of anxiety are not well understood. METHODS We utilized pharmacological augmentation and depletion combined with behavioral and electrophysiological approaches to probe the role of 2-AG signaling in the modulation of stress-induced anxiety and the functional redundancy between AEA and 2-AG signaling in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors in mice. RESULTS Selective 2-AG augmentation reduced anxiety in the light/dark box assay and prevented stress-induced increases in anxiety associated with limbic AEA deficiency. In contrast, acute 2-AG depletion increased anxiety-like behaviors, which was normalized by selective pharmacological augmentation of AEA signaling and via direct cannabinoid receptor 1 stimulation with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Electrophysiological studies revealed 2-AG modulation of amygdala glutamatergic transmission as a key synaptic correlate of the anxiolytic effects of 2-AG augmentation. CONCLUSIONS Although AEA and 2-AG likely subserve distinct physiological roles, a pharmacological and functional redundancy between these canonical eCB signaling pathways exists in the modulation of anxiety-like behaviors. These data support development of eCB-based treatment approaches for mood and anxiety disorders and suggest a potentially wider therapeutic overlap between AEA and 2-AG augmentation approaches than was previously appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Bedse
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Nolan D. Hartley
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA,Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Emily Neale
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Andrew Gaulden
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Toni Patrick
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Philip Kingsley
- Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacology, A.B. Hancock Jr. Memorial Laboratory for Cancer Research, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Md. Jashim Uddin
- Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacology, A.B. Hancock Jr. Memorial Laboratory for Cancer Research, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Lawrence J. Marnett
- Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Pharmacology, A.B. Hancock Jr. Memorial Laboratory for Cancer Research, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sachin Patel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.
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Debiec J, Olsson A. Social Fear Learning: from Animal Models to Human Function. Trends Cogn Sci 2017; 21:546-555. [PMID: 28545935 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2017] [Revised: 04/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Learning about potential threats is critical for survival. Learned fear responses are acquired either through direct experiences or indirectly through social transmission. Social fear learning (SFL), also known as vicarious fear learning, is a paradigm successfully used for studying the transmission of threat information between individuals. Animal and human studies have begun to elucidate the behavioral, neural and molecular mechanisms of SFL. Recent research suggests that social learning mechanisms underlie a wide range of adaptive and maladaptive phenomena, from supporting flexible avoidance in dynamic environments to intergenerational transmission of trauma and anxiety disorders. This review discusses recent advances in SFL studies and their implications for basic, social and clinical sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacek Debiec
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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