1
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Bachmann HP, Japee S, Merriam EP, Liu TT. Emotion and anxiety interact to bias spatial attention. Emotion 2024; 24:1109-1124. [PMID: 38127536 PMCID: PMC11116080 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001322] [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: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Emotional expressions are an evolutionarily conserved means of social communication essential for social interactions. It is important to understand how anxious individuals perceive their social environments, including emotional expressions, especially with the rising prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety is often associated with an attentional bias for threat-related stimuli, such as angry faces. Yet the mechanisms by which anxiety enhances or impairs two key components of spatial attention-attentional capture and attentional disengagement-to emotional expressions are still unclear. Moreover, positive valence is often ignored in studies of threat-related attention and anxiety, despite the high occurrence of happy faces during everyday social interaction. Here, we investigated the relationship between anxiety, emotional valence, and spatial attention in 574 participants across two preregistered studies (data collected in 2021 and 2022; Experiment 1: n = 154, 54.5% male, Mage = 43.5 years; Experiment 2: n = 420, 58% male, Mage = 36.46 years). We found that happy faces capture attention more quickly than angry faces during the visual search experiment and found delayed disengagement from both angry and happy faces over neutral faces during the spatial cueing experiment. We also show that anxiety has a distinct impact on both attentional capture and disengagement of emotional faces. Together, our findings highlight the role of positively valenced stimuli in attracting and holding attention and suggest that anxiety is a critical factor in modulating spatial attention to emotional stimuli. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena P. Bachmann
- Computational Neuroimaging and Perception Group, Laboratory
of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD,
USA
| | - Shruti Japee
- Section on Learning and Plasticity, Laboratory of Brain and
Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Elisha P. Merriam
- Computational Neuroimaging and Perception Group, Laboratory
of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD,
USA
| | - Tina T. Liu
- Computational Neuroimaging and Perception Group, Laboratory
of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD,
USA
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2
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Lin R, Meng X, Chen F, Li X, Jensen O, Theeuwes J, Wang B. Neural evidence for attentional capture by salient distractors. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:932-944. [PMID: 38538771 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01852-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Salient objects often capture our attention, serving as distractors and hindering our current goals. It remains unclear when and how salient distractors interact with our goals, and our knowledge on the neural mechanisms responsible for attentional capture is limited to a few brain regions recorded from non-human primates. Here we conducted a multivariate analysis on human intracranial signals covering most brain regions and successfully dissociated distractor-specific representations from target-arousal signals in the high-frequency (60-100 Hz) activity. We found that salient distractors were processed rapidly around 220 ms, while target-tuning attention was attenuated simultaneously, supporting initial capture by distractors. Notably, neuronal activity specific to the distractor representation was strongest in the superior and middle temporal gyrus, amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, while there were smaller contributions from the parietal and frontal cortices. These results provide neural evidence for attentional capture by salient distractors engaging a much larger network than previously appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongqi Lin
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Xianghong Meng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shenzhen University General Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fuyong Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Hongkong Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Ole Jensen
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Jan Theeuwes
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Benchi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, South China Normal University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
- Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
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3
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Kunz L, Staresina BP, Reinacher PC, Brandt A, Guth TA, Schulze-Bonhage A, Jacobs J. Ripple-locked coactivity of stimulus-specific neurons and human associative memory. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:587-599. [PMID: 38366143 PMCID: PMC10917673 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01550-x] [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: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Associative memory enables the encoding and retrieval of relations between different stimuli. To better understand its neural basis, we investigated whether associative memory involves temporally correlated spiking of medial temporal lobe (MTL) neurons that exhibit stimulus-specific tuning. Using single-neuron recordings from patients with epilepsy performing an associative object-location memory task, we identified the object-specific and place-specific neurons that represented the separate elements of each memory. When patients encoded and retrieved particular memories, the relevant object-specific and place-specific neurons activated together during hippocampal ripples. This ripple-locked coactivity of stimulus-specific neurons emerged over time as the patients' associative learning progressed. Between encoding and retrieval, the ripple-locked timing of coactivity shifted, suggesting flexibility in the interaction between MTL neurons and hippocampal ripples according to behavioral demands. Our results are consistent with a cellular account of associative memory, in which hippocampal ripples coordinate the activity of specialized cellular populations to facilitate links between stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Kunz
- Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
- Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Bernhard P Staresina
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Peter C Reinacher
- Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Aachen, Germany
| | - Armin Brandt
- Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Tim A Guth
- Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Schulze-Bonhage
- Epilepsy Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Joshua Jacobs
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
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4
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Lind EB, Sweis BM, Asp AJ, Esguerra M, Silvis KA, David Redish A, Thomas MJ. A quadruple dissociation of reward-related behaviour in mice across excitatory inputs to the nucleus accumbens shell. Commun Biol 2023; 6:119. [PMID: 36717646 PMCID: PMC9886947 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04429-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) is critically important for reward valuations, yet it remains unclear how valuation information is integrated in this region to drive behaviour during reinforcement learning. Using an optogenetic spatial self-stimulation task in mice, here we show that contingent activation of different excitatory inputs to the NAcSh change expression of different reward-related behaviours. Our data indicate that medial prefrontal inputs support place preference via repeated actions, ventral hippocampal inputs consistently promote place preferences, basolateral amygdala inputs produce modest place preferences but as a byproduct of increased sensitivity to time investments, and paraventricular inputs reduce place preferences yet do not produce full avoidance behaviour. These findings suggest that each excitatory input provides distinct information to the NAcSh, and we propose that this reflects the reinforcement of different credit assignment functions. Our finding of a quadruple dissociation of NAcSh input-specific behaviours provides insights into how types of information carried by distinct inputs to the NAcSh could be integrated to help drive reinforcement learning and situationally appropriate behavioural responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin B Lind
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Brian M Sweis
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Pl, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Anders J Asp
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | - Manuel Esguerra
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Keelia A Silvis
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - A David Redish
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Mark J Thomas
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
- Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota, 3-432 McGuire Translational Research Facility, 2001 6th St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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5
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Kim H, Anderson BA. On the Relationship between Value- and Threat-Driven Attentional Capture and Approach-Avoidance Biases. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020158. [PMID: 36831701 PMCID: PMC9954098 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Reward learning and aversive conditioning have consequences for attentional selection, such that stimuli that come to signal reward and threat bias attention regardless of their valence. Appetitive and aversive stimuli have distinctive influences on response selection, such that they activate an approach and an avoidance response, respectively. However, whether the involuntary influence of reward- and threat-history-laden stimuli extends to the manner in which a response is directed remains unclear. Using a feedback-joystick task and a manikin task, which are common paradigms for examining valence-action bias, we demonstrate that reward- and threat-signalling stimuli do not modulate response selection. Stimuli that came to signal reward and threat via training biased attention and invigorated action in general, but they did not facilitate an approach and avoidance response, respectively. We conclude that attention can be biased towards a stimulus as a function of its prior association with reward or aversive outcomes without necessarily influencing approach vs. avoidance tendencies, such that the mechanisms underlying the involuntary control of attention and behaviour evoked by valent stimuli can be decoupled.
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6
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Elvira UKA, Seoane S, Janssen J, Janssen N. Contributions of human amygdala nuclei to resting-state networks. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278962. [PMID: 36576924 PMCID: PMC9797096 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is a brain region with a complex internal structure that is associated with psychiatric disease. Methodological limitations have complicated the study of the internal structure of the amygdala in humans. In the current study we examined the functional connectivity between nine amygdaloid nuclei and existing resting-state networks using a high spatial-resolution fMRI dataset. Using data-driven analysis techniques we found that there were three main clusters inside the amygdala that correlated with the somatomotor, ventral attention and default mode networks. In addition, we found that each resting-state networks depended on a specific configuration of amygdaloid nuclei. Finally, we found that co-activity in the cortical-nucleus increased with the severity of self-rated fear in participants. These results highlight the complex nature of amygdaloid connectivity that is not confined to traditional large-scale divisions, implicates specific configurations of nuclei with certain resting-state networks and highlights the potential clinical relevance of the cortical-nucleus in future studies of the human amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uriel K. A. Elvira
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Sara Seoane
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Joost Janssen
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- Ciber del Área de Salud Mental, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, UMCU Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Niels Janssen
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Biomedical Technologies, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, Universidad de la Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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7
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Kaskan PM, Nicholas MA, Dean AM, Murray EA. Attention to Stimuli of Learned versus Innate Biological Value Relies on Separate Neural Systems. J Neurosci 2022; 42:9242-9252. [PMID: 36319119 PMCID: PMC9761678 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0925-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural bases of attention, a set of neural processes that promote behavioral selection, is a subject of intense investigation. In humans, rewarded cues influence attention, even when those cues are irrelevant to the current task. Because the amygdala plays a role in reward processing, and the activity of amygdala neurons has been linked to spatial attention, we reasoned that the amygdala may be essential for attending to rewarded images. To test this possibility, we used an attentional capture task, which provides a quantitative measure of attentional bias. Specifically, we compared reaction times (RTs) of adult male rhesus monkeys with bilateral amygdala lesions and unoperated controls as they made a saccade away from a high- or low-value rewarded image to a peripheral target. We predicted that: (1) RTs will be longer for high- compared with low-value images, revealing attentional capture by rewarded stimuli; and (2) relative to controls, monkeys with amygdala lesions would exhibit shorter RT for high-value images. For comparison, we assessed the same groups of monkeys for attentional capture by images of predators and conspecifics, categories thought to have innate biological value. In performing the attentional capture task, all monkeys were slowed more by high-value relative to low-value rewarded images. Contrary to our prediction, amygdala lesions failed to disrupt this effect. When presented with images of predators and conspecifics, however, monkeys with amygdala lesions showed significantly diminished attentional capture relative to controls. Thus, separate neural pathways are responsible for allocating attention to stimuli with learned versus innate value.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Valuable objects attract attention. The amygdala is known to contribute to reward processing and the encoding of object reward value. We therefore examined whether the amygdala is necessary for allocating attention to rewarded objects. For comparison, we assessed the amygdala's contribution to attending to objects with innate biological value: predators and conspecifics. We found that the macaque amygdala is necessary for directing attention to images with innate biological value, but not for directing attention to recently learned reward-predictive images. These findings indicate that the amygdala makes selective contributions to attending to valuable objects. The data are relevant to mental health disorders, such as social anxiety disorders and small animal phobias, that arise from biased attention to select categories of objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Kaskan
- Leo M. Davidoff Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461
| | - Mark A Nicholas
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Aaron M Dean
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Elisabeth A Murray
- Section on Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
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8
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Calabro R, Lyu Y, Leong YC. Trial-by-trial fluctuations in amygdala activity track motivational enhancement of desirable sensory evidence during perceptual decision-making. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:5690-5703. [PMID: 36398723 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
People are biased toward seeing outcomes that they are motivated to see. For example, wanting their favored team to prevail biases sports fans to perceive an ambiguous foul in a manner that is favorable to the team they support. Here, we test the hypothesis that such motivational biases in perceptual decision-making are associated with amygdala activity. We used monetary incentives to experimentally manipulate participants to want to see one percept over another while they performed a categorization task involving ambiguous images. Participants were more likely to categorize an image as the category we motivated them to see, suggesting that wanting to see a particular percept biased their perceptual decisions. Heightened amygdala activity was associated with motivation consistent categorizations and tracked trial-by-trial enhancement of neural activity in sensory cortices encoding the desirable category. Analyses using a drift diffusion model further suggest that trial-by-trial amygdala activity was specifically associated with biases in the accumulation of sensory evidence. In contrast, frontoparietal regions commonly associated with biases in perceptual decision-making were not associated with motivational bias. Altogether, our results suggest that wanting to see an outcome biases perceptual decisions via distinct mechanisms and may depend on dynamic fluctuations in amygdala activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ren Calabro
- 5848 S University Avenue, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL 60637 , USA
| | - Yizhou Lyu
- 5848 S University Avenue, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL 60637 , USA
| | - Yuan Chang Leong
- 5848 S University Avenue, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL 60637 , USA
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9
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Liu TT, Fu JZ, Chai Y, Japee S, Chen G, Ungerleider LG, Merriam EP. Layer-specific, retinotopically-diffuse modulation in human visual cortex in response to viewing emotionally expressive faces. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6302. [PMID: 36273204 PMCID: PMC9588045 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33580-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Viewing faces that are perceived as emotionally expressive evokes enhanced neural responses in multiple brain regions, a phenomenon thought to depend critically on the amygdala. This emotion-related modulation is evident even in primary visual cortex (V1), providing a potential neural substrate by which emotionally salient stimuli can affect perception. How does emotional valence information, computed in the amygdala, reach V1? Here we use high-resolution functional MRI to investigate the layer profile and retinotopic distribution of neural activity specific to emotional facial expressions. Across three experiments, human participants viewed centrally presented face stimuli varying in emotional expression and performed a gender judgment task. We found that facial valence sensitivity was evident only in superficial cortical layers and was not restricted to the retinotopic location of the stimuli, consistent with diffuse feedback-like projections from the amygdala. Together, our results provide a feedback mechanism by which the amygdala directly modulates activity at the earliest stage of visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina T. Liu
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Jason Z Fu
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Yuhui Chai
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Shruti Japee
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Gang Chen
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Scientific and Statistical Computing Core, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Leslie G. Ungerleider
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
| | - Elisha P. Merriam
- grid.416868.50000 0004 0464 0574Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, 20892 MD USA
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10
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Zhang K, Bromberg-Martin ES, Sogukpinar F, Kocher K, Monosov IE. Surprise and recency in novelty detection in the primate brain. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2160-2173.e6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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11
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Jha A, Diehl B, Strange B, Miserocchi A, Chowdhury F, McEvoy AW, Nachev P. Orienting to fear under transient focal disruption of the human amygdala. Brain 2022; 146:135-148. [PMID: 35104842 PMCID: PMC9825557 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Responding to threat is under strong survival pressure, promoting the evolution of systems highly optimized for the task. Though the amygdala is implicated in 'detecting' threat, its role in the action that immediately follows-'orienting'-remains unclear. Critical to mounting a targeted response, such early action requires speed, accuracy, and resilience optimally achieved through conserved, parsimonious, dedicated systems, insured against neural loss by a parallelized functional organization. These characteristics tend to conceal the underlying substrate not only from correlative methods but also from focal disruption over time scales long enough for compensatory adaptation to take place. In a study of six patients with intracranial electrodes temporarily implanted for the clinical evaluation of focal epilepsy, we investigated gaze orienting to fear during focal, transient, unilateral direct electrical disruption of the amygdala. We showed that the amygdala is necessary for rapid gaze shifts towards faces presented in the contralateral hemifield regardless of their emotional expression, establishing its functional lateralization. Behaviourally dissociating the location of presented fear from the direction of the response, we implicated the amygdala not only in detecting contralateral faces, but also in automatically orienting specifically towards fearful ones. This salience-specific role was demonstrated within a drift-diffusion model of action to manifest as an orientation bias towards the location of potential threat. Pixel-wise analysis of target facial morphology revealed scleral exposure as its primary driver, and induced gamma oscillations-obtained from intracranial local field potentials-as its time-locked electrophysiological correlate. The amygdala is here reconceptualized as a functionally lateralized instrument of early action, reconciling previous conflicting accounts confined to detection, and revealing a neural organisation analogous to the superior colliculus, with which it is phylogenetically kin. Greater clarity on its role has the potential to guide therapeutic resection, still frequently complicated by impairments of cognition and behaviour related to threat, and inform novel focal stimulation techniques for the management of neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwani Jha
- Correspondence to: Ashwani Jha UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK E-mail:
| | - Beate Diehl
- UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Bryan Strange
- CTB-UPM and Department of Neuroimaging, Reina Sofia Centre for Alzheimer's Research, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Parashkev Nachev
- Correspondence may also be addressed to: Parashkev Nachev E-mail:
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12
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Murray EA, Fellows LK. Prefrontal cortex interactions with the amygdala in primates. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:163-179. [PMID: 34446829 PMCID: PMC8616954 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01128-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This review addresses functional interactions between the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, with emphasis on their contributions to behavior and cognition. The interplay between these two telencephalic structures contributes to adaptive behavior and to the evolutionary success of all primate species. In our species, dysfunction in this circuitry creates vulnerabilities to psychopathologies. Here, we describe amygdala-PFC contributions to behaviors that have direct relevance to Darwinian fitness: learned approach and avoidance, foraging, predator defense, and social signaling, which have in common the need for flexibility and sensitivity to specific and rapidly changing contexts. Examples include the prediction of positive outcomes, such as food availability, food desirability, and various social rewards, or of negative outcomes, such as threats of harm from predators or conspecifics. To promote fitness optimally, these stimulus-outcome associations need to be rapidly updated when an associative contingency changes or when the value of a predicted outcome changes. We review evidence from nonhuman primates implicating the PFC, the amygdala, and their functional interactions in these processes, with links to experimental work and clinical findings in humans where possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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13
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Domínguez-Borràs J, Vuilleumier P. Amygdala function in emotion, cognition, and behavior. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:359-380. [PMID: 35964983 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00015-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala is a core structure in the anterior medial temporal lobe, with an important role in several brain functions involving memory, emotion, perception, social cognition, and even awareness. As a key brain structure for saliency detection, it triggers and controls widespread modulatory signals onto multiple areas of the brain, with a great impact on numerous aspects of adaptive behavior. Here we discuss the neural mechanisms underlying these functions, as established by animal and human research, including insights provided in both healthy and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Domínguez-Borràs
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology & Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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14
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Leitão J, Burckhardt M, Vuilleumier P. Amygdala in Action: Functional Connectivity during Approach and Avoidance Behaviors. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 34:729-747. [PMID: 34860249 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Motivation is an important feature of emotion. By driving approach to positive events and promoting avoidance of negative stimuli, motivation drives adaptive actions and goal pursuit. The amygdala has been associated with a variety of affective processes, particularly the appraisal of stimulus valence that is assumed to play a crucial role in the generation of approach and avoidance behaviors. Here, we measured amygdala functional connectivity patterns while participants played a video game manipulating goal conduciveness through the presence of good, neutral, or bad monsters. As expected, good versus bad monsters elicited opposing motivated behaviors, whereby good monsters induced more approach and bad monsters triggered more avoidance. These opposing directional behaviors were paralleled by increased connectivity between the amygdala and medial brain areas, such as the OFC and posterior cingulate, for good relative to bad, and between amygdala and caudate for bad relative to good monsters. Moreover, in both conditions, individual connectivity strength between the amygdala and medial prefrontal regions was positively correlated with brain scores from a latent component representing efficient goal pursuit, which was identified by a partial least square analysis determining the multivariate association between amygdala connectivity and behavioral motivation indices during gameplay. At the brain level, this latent component highlighted a widespread pattern of amygdala connectivity, including a dorsal frontoparietal network and motor areas. These results suggest that amygdala-medial prefrontal interactions captured the overall subjective relevance of ongoing events, which could consecutively drive the engagement of attentional, executive, and motor circuits necessary for implementing successful goal-pursuit, irrespective of approach or avoidance directions.
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15
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Báez-Mendoza R, Vázquez Y, Mastrobattista EP, Williams ZM. Neuronal Circuits for Social Decision-Making and Their Clinical Implications. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:720294. [PMID: 34658766 PMCID: PMC8517320 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.720294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social living facilitates individual access to rewards, cognitive resources, and objects that would not be otherwise accessible. There are, however, some drawbacks to social living, particularly when competing for scarce resources. Furthermore, variability in our ability to make social decisions can be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. The neuronal mechanisms underlying social decision-making are beginning to be understood. The momentum to study this phenomenon has been partially carried over by the study of economic decision-making. Yet, because of the similarities between these different types of decision-making, it is unclear what is a social decision. Here, we propose a definition of social decision-making as choices taken in a context where one or more conspecifics are involved in the decision or the consequences of it. Social decisions can be conceptualized as complex economic decisions since they are based on the subjective preferences between different goods. During social decisions, individuals choose based on their internal value estimate of the different alternatives. These are complex decisions given that conspecifics beliefs or actions could modify the subject's internal valuations at every choice. Here, we first review recent developments in our collective understanding of the neuronal mechanisms and circuits of social decision-making in primates. We then review literature characterizing populations with neuropsychiatric disorders showing deficits in social decision-making and the underlying neuronal circuitries associated with these deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymundo Báez-Mendoza
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yuriria Vázquez
- Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Emma P. Mastrobattista
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ziv M. Williams
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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16
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Putnam PT, Chang SWC. Toward a holistic view of value and social processing in the amygdala: Insights from primate behavioral neurophysiology. Behav Brain Res 2021; 411:113356. [PMID: 33989727 PMCID: PMC8238892 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Located medially within the temporal lobes, the amygdala is a formation of heterogenous nuclei that has emerged as a target for investigations into the neural bases of both primitive and complex behaviors. Although modern neuroscience has eschewed the practice of assigning broad functions to distinct brain regions, the amygdala has classically been associated with regulating negative emotional processes (such as fear or aggression), primarily through research performed in rodent models. Contemporary studies, particularly those in non-human primate models, have provided evidence for a role of the amygdala in other aspects of cognition such as valuation of stimuli or shaping social behaviors. Consequently, many modern perspectives now also emphasize the amygdala's role in processing positive affect and social behaviors. Importantly, several recent experiments have examined the intersection of two seemingly autonomous domains; how both valence/value and social stimuli are simultaneously represented in the amygdala. Results from these studies suggest that there is an overlap between valence/value processing and the processing of social behaviors at the level of single neurons. These findings have prompted researchers investigating the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying social interactions to question what contributions reward-related processes in the amygdala make in shaping social behaviors. In this review, we will examine evidence, primarily from primate neurophysiology, suggesting that value-related processes in the amygdala interact with the processing of social stimuli, and explore holistic hypotheses about how these amygdalar interactions might be instantiated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T Putnam
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, United States.
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
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17
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Grabenhorst F, Schultz W. Functions of primate amygdala neurons in economic decisions and social decision simulation. Behav Brain Res 2021; 409:113318. [PMID: 33901436 PMCID: PMC8164162 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Long implicated in aversive processing, the amygdala is now recognized as a key component of the brain systems that process rewards. Beyond reward valuation, recent findings from single-neuron recordings in monkeys indicate that primate amygdala neurons also play an important role in decision-making. The reward value signals encoded by amygdala neurons constitute suitable inputs to economic decision processes by being sensitive to reward contingency, relative reward quantity and temporal reward structure. During reward-based decisions, individual amygdala neurons encode both the value inputs and corresponding choice outputs of economic decision processes. The presence of such value-to-choice transitions in single amygdala neurons, together with other well-defined signatures of decision computation, indicate that a decision mechanism may be implemented locally within the primate amygdala. During social observation, specific amygdala neurons spontaneously encode these decision signatures to predict the choices of social partners, suggesting neural simulation of the partner's decision-making. The activity of these 'simulation neurons' could arise naturally from convergence between value neurons and social, self-other discriminating neurons. These findings identify single-neuron building blocks and computational architectures for decision-making and social behavior in the primate amygdala. An emerging understanding of the decision function of primate amygdala neurons can help identify potential vulnerabilities for amygdala dysfunction in human conditions afflicting social cognition and mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Grabenhorst
- Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK.
| | - Wolfram Schultz
- Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3DY, UK.
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18
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Right Hemisphere Dominance for Unconscious Emotionally Salient Stimuli. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11070823. [PMID: 34206214 PMCID: PMC8301990 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The present review will focus on evidence demonstrating the prioritization in visual processing of fear-related signals in the absence of awareness. Evidence in hemianopic patients without any form of blindsight or affective blindsight in classical terms will be presented, demonstrating that fearful faces, via a subcortical colliculo-pulvinar-amygdala pathway, have a privileged unconscious visual processing and facilitate responses towards visual stimuli in the intact visual field. Interestingly, this fear-specific implicit visual processing in hemianopics has only been observed after lesions to the visual cortices in the left hemisphere, while no effect was found in patients with damage to the right hemisphere. This suggests that the subcortical route for emotional processing in the right hemisphere might provide a pivotal contribution to the implicit processing of fear, in line with evidence showing enhanced right amygdala activity and increased connectivity in the right colliculo-pulvinar-amygdala pathway for unconscious fear-conditioned stimuli and subliminal fearful faces. These findings will be discussed within a theoretical framework that considers the amygdala as an integral component of a constant and continuous vigilance system, which is preferentially invoked with stimuli signaling ambiguous environmental situations of biological relevance, such as fearful faces.
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19
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Warlow SM, Berridge KC. Incentive motivation: 'wanting' roles of central amygdala circuitry. Behav Brain Res 2021; 411:113376. [PMID: 34023307 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) mediates positively-valenced reward motivation as well as negatively-valenced fear. Optogenetic or neurochemical stimulation of CeA circuitry can generate intense incentive motivation to pursue and consume a paired natural food, sex, or addictive drug reward, and even create maladaptive 'wanting what hurts' such as attraction to a shock rod. Evidence indicates CeA stimulations selectively amplify incentive motivation ('wanting') but not hedonic impact ('liking') of the same reward. Further, valence flips can occur for CeA contributions to motivational salience. That is, CeA stimulation can promote either incentive motivation or fearful motivation, even in the same individual, depending on situation. These findings may carry implications for understanding CeA roles in neuropsychiatric disorders involving aberrant motivational salience, ranging from addiction to paranoia and anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley M Warlow
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Kent C Berridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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20
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Torrence RD, Troup LJ, Rojas DC, Carlson JM. Enhanced contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in occipitotemporal scalp regions underlie attentional bias to fearful faces. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 165:84-91. [PMID: 33892017 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Attending toward fearful faces and other threatening stimuli increase the chance of survival. The dot-probe task is a commonly used measure of spatial attention. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been found to be a reliable measure of attentional bias. The dot-probe literature suggests that posterior contralateral N170 amplitudes are more enhanced by fearful faces compared to ipsilateral amplitudes. However, ERP methods remove non-phase locked frequencies, which provides additional information about neural activity. Specifically, theta oscillations (5-7 Hz) have been linked to attentional processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between posterior contralateral theta oscillations and N170 amplitudes in the dot-probe task. A modified dot-probe task was used with fear and neutral facial expressions and EEG data was recorded from 33 electrodes. The ERP and time-frequency data were extracted from the P7 and P8 electrodes (left and right occipitotemporal regions). This study found enhanced N170 amplitude and theta oscillations in the electrodes posterior contralateral to the fearful face. Contralateral N170 amplitudes and theta oscillations were related such that greater N170 amplitudes were associated with greater theta oscillations. The results indicated that increased contralateral N170 and theta oscillations are related to each other and underlie attentional bias to fearful faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert D Torrence
- Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd st., Chicago, IL 60655, United States of America.
| | - Lucy J Troup
- Division of Psychology, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street, Paisley PA1 2BE, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Donald C Rojas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Behavioral Science Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States of America
| | - Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychology, Northern Michigan University, New Science Facility, Marquette, MI, 49855, United States of America
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21
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Ellena G, Starita F, Haggard P, Romei V, Làdavas E. Fearful faces modulate spatial processing in peripersonal space: An ERP study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 156:107827. [PMID: 33722572 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Peripersonal space (PPS) represents the region of space surrounding the body. A pivotal function of PPS is to coordinate defensive responses to threat. We have previously shown that a centrally-presented, looming fearful face, signalling a potential threat in one's surroundings, modulates spatial processing by promoting a redirection of sensory resources away from the face towards the periphery, where the threat may be expected - but only when the face is presented in near, rather than far space. Here, we use electrophysiological measures to investigate the neural mechanism underlying this effect. Participants made simple responses to tactile stimuli delivered on the cheeks, while watching task-irrelevant neutral or fearful avatar faces, looming towards them either in near or far space. Simultaneously with the tactile stimulation, a ball with a checkerboard pattern (probe) appeared to the left or right of the avatar face. Crucially, this probe could either be close to the avatar face, and thus more central in the participant's vision, or further away from the avatar face, and thus more peripheral in the participant's vision. Electroencephalography was continuously recorded. Behavioural results confirmed that in near space only, and for fearful relative to neutral faces, tactile processing was facilitated by the peripheral compared to the central probe. This behavioural effect was accompanied by a reduction of the N1 mean amplitude elicited by the peripheral probe for fearful relative to neutral faces. Moreover, the faster the participants responded to tactile stimuli with the peripheral probe, relative to the central, the smaller was their N1. Together these results, suggest that fearful faces intruding into PPS may increase expectation of a visual event occurring in the periphery. This fear-induced effect would enhance the defensive function of PPS when it is most needed, i.e., when the source of threat is nearby, but its location remains unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Ellena
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy.
| | - Francesca Starita
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy
| | - Patrick Haggard
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Roma, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Làdavas
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena, 47521, Cesena, Italy
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22
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Pettine WW, Louie K, Murray JD, Wang XJ. Excitatory-inhibitory tone shapes decision strategies in a hierarchical neural network model of multi-attribute choice. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008791. [PMID: 33705386 PMCID: PMC7987200 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We are constantly faced with decisions between alternatives defined by multiple attributes, necessitating an evaluation and integration of different information sources. Time-varying signals in multiple brain areas are implicated in decision-making; but we lack a rigorous biophysical description of how basic circuit properties, such as excitatory-inhibitory (E/I) tone and cascading nonlinearities, shape attribute processing and choice behavior. Furthermore, how such properties govern choice performance under varying levels of environmental uncertainty is unknown. We investigated two-attribute, two-alternative decision-making in a dynamical, cascading nonlinear neural network with three layers: an input layer encoding choice alternative attribute values; an intermediate layer of modules processing separate attributes; and a final layer producing the decision. Depending on intermediate layer E/I tone, the network displays distinct regimes characterized by linear (I), convex (II) or concave (III) choice indifference curves. In regimes I and II, each option's attribute information is additively integrated. In regime III, time-varying nonlinear operations amplify the separation between offer distributions by selectively attending to the attribute with the larger differences in input values. At low environmental uncertainty, a linear combination most consistently selects higher valued alternatives. However, at high environmental uncertainty, regime III is more likely than a linear operation to select alternatives with higher value. Furthermore, there are conditions where readout from the intermediate layer could be experimentally indistinguishable from the final layer. Finally, these principles are used to examine multi-attribute decisions in systems with reduced inhibitory tone, leading to predictions of different choice patterns and overall performance between those with restrictions on inhibitory tone and neurotypicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren Woodrich Pettine
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States of America
| | - Kenway Louie
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | - John D. Murray
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States of America
| | - Xiao-Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
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Correlates of Auditory Decision-Making in Prefrontal, Auditory, and Basal Lateral Amygdala Cortical Areas. J Neurosci 2020; 41:1301-1316. [PMID: 33303679 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2217-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial selective listening and auditory choice underlie important processes including attending to a speaker at a cocktail party and knowing how (or whether) to respond. To examine task encoding and the relative timing of potential neural substrates underlying these behaviors, we developed a spatial selective detection paradigm for monkeys, and recorded activity in primary auditory cortex (AC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the basolateral amygdala (BLA). A comparison of neural responses among these three areas showed that, as expected, AC encoded the side of the cue and target characteristics before dlPFC and BLA. Interestingly, AC also encoded the choice of the monkey before dlPFC and around the time of BLA. Generally, BLA showed weak responses to all task features except the choice. Decoding analyses suggested that errors followed from a failure to encode the target stimulus in both AC and dlPFC, but again, these differences arose earlier in AC. The similarities between AC and dlPFC responses were abolished during passive sensory stimulation with identical trial conditions, suggesting that the robust sensory encoding in dlPFC is contextually gated. Thus, counter to a strictly PFC-driven decision process, in this spatial selective listening task AC neural activity represents the sensory and decision information before dlPFC. Unlike in the visual domain, in this auditory task, the BLA does not appear to be robustly involved in selective spatial processing.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We examined neural correlates of an auditory spatial selective listening task by recording single-neuron activity in behaving monkeys from the amygdala, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and auditory cortex. We found that auditory cortex coded spatial cues and choice-related activity before dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or the amygdala. Auditory cortex also had robust delay period activity. Therefore, we found that auditory cortex could support the neural computations that underlie the behavioral processes in the task.
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Affect-biased attention and predictive processing. Cognition 2020; 203:104370. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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25
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Taswell CA, Costa VD, Basile BM, Pujara MS, Jones B, Manem N, Murray EA, Averbeck BB. Effects of Amygdala Lesions on Object-Based Versus Action-Based Learning in Macaques. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:529-546. [PMID: 32954409 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural systems that underlie reinforcement learning (RL) allow animals to adapt to changes in their environment. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that the amygdala would have a preferential role in learning the values of visual objects. We compared a group of monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with amygdala lesions to a group of unoperated controls on a two-armed bandit reversal learning task. The task had two conditions. In the What condition, the animals had to learn to select a visual object, independent of its location. And in the Where condition, the animals had to learn to saccade to a location, independent of the object at the location. In both conditions choice-outcome mappings reversed in the middle of the block. We found that monkeys with amygdala lesions had learning deficits in both conditions. Monkeys with amygdala lesions did not have deficits in learning to reverse choice-outcome mappings. Rather, amygdala lesions caused the monkeys to become overly sensitive to negative feedback which impaired their ability to consistently select the more highly valued action or object. These results imply that the amygdala is generally necessary for RL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig A Taswell
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Vincent D Costa
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Benjamin M Basile
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Maia S Pujara
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Breonda Jones
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Nihita Manem
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Elisabeth A Murray
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
| | - Bruno B Averbeck
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA
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26
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Abstract
Brain-wide circuits that coordinate affective and social behaviours intersect in the amygdala. Consequently, amygdala lesions cause a heterogeneous array of social and non-social deficits. Social behaviours are not localized to subdivisions of the amygdala even though the inputs and outputs that carry social signals are anatomically restricted to distinct subnuclear regions. This observation may be explained by the multidimensional response properties of the component neurons. Indeed, the multitudes of circuits that converge in the amygdala enlist the same subset of neurons into different ensembles that combine social and non-social elements into high-dimensional representations. These representations may enable flexible, context-dependent social decisions. As such, multidimensional processing may operate in parallel with subcircuits of genetically identical neurons that serve specialized and functionally dissociable functions. When combined, the activity of specialized circuits may grant specificity to social behaviours, whereas multidimensional processing facilitates the flexibility and nuance needed for complex social behaviour.
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27
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Guex R, Méndez-Bértolo C, Moratti S, Strange BA, Spinelli L, Murray RJ, Sander D, Seeck M, Vuilleumier P, Domínguez-Borràs J. Temporal dynamics of amygdala response to emotion- and action-relevance. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11138. [PMID: 32636485 PMCID: PMC7340782 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67862-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been proposed that the human amygdala may not only encode the emotional value of sensory events, but more generally mediate the appraisal of their relevance for the individual's goals, including relevance for action or task-based needs. However, emotional and non-emotional/action-relevance might drive amygdala activity through distinct neural signals, and the relative timing of both kinds of responses remains undetermined. Here, we recorded intracranial event-related potentials from nine amygdalae of patients undergoing epilepsy surgery, while they performed variants of a Go/NoGo task with faces and abstract shapes, where emotion- and action-relevance were orthogonally manipulated. Our results revealed early amygdala responses to emotion facial expressions starting ~ 130 ms after stimulus-onset. Importantly, the amygdala responded to action-relevance not only with face stimuli but also with abstract shapes (squares), and these relevance effects consistently occurred in later time-windows (starting ~ 220 ms) for both faces and squares. A similar dissociation was observed in gamma activity. Furthermore, whereas emotional responses habituated over time, the action-relevance effect increased during the course of the experiment, suggesting progressive learning based on the task needs. Our results support the hypothesis that the human amygdala mediates a broader relevance appraisal function, with the processing of emotion-relevance preceding temporally that of action-relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Guex
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Campus Biotech, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Pre-surgical Epilepsy Evaluation Unit, Clinic of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | | | - Stephan Moratti
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Bryan A Strange
- Laboratory for Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Biomedical Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Neuroimaging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre, Reina Sofia-CIEN Foundation, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laurent Spinelli
- Pre-surgical Epilepsy Evaluation Unit, Clinic of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ryan J Murray
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - David Sander
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Margitta Seeck
- Pre-surgical Epilepsy Evaluation Unit, Clinic of Neurology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Campus Biotech, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Judith Domínguez-Borràs
- Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Campus Biotech, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Neuronal Activity in the Primate Amygdala during Economic Choice. J Neurosci 2019; 40:1286-1301. [PMID: 31871277 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0961-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple lines of evidence link economic choices to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), but other brain regions may contribute to the computation and comparison of economic values. A particularly strong candidate is the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Amygdala lesions impair performance in reinforcer devaluation tasks, suggesting that the BLA contributes to value computation. Furthermore, previous studies of the BLA have found neuronal activity consistent with a value representation. Here, we recorded from the BLA of two male rhesus macaques choosing between different juices. Offered quantities varied from trial to trial, and relative values were inferred from choices. Approximately one-third of BLA cells were task-related. Our analyses revealed the presence of three groups of neurons encoding variables offer value, chosen value, and chosen juice In this respect, the BLA appeared similar to the OFC. The two areas differed for the proportion of neurons in each group, as the fraction of chosen value cells was significantly higher in the BLA. Importantly, the activity of these neurons reflected the subjective nature of value. Firing rates in the BLA were sustained throughout the trial and maximal after juice delivery. In contrast, firing rates in the OFC were phasic and maximal shortly after offer presentation. Our results suggest that the BLA supports economic choice and reward expectation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Economic choices rely on the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), but other brain regions may contribute to this behavior. A strong candidate is the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Previous results are consistent with a neuronal representation of value, but the role of the BLA in economic decisions remains unclear. Here, we recorded from monkeys choosing between juices. Neurons in the BLA encoded three decision variables: offer value, chosen value, and chosen juice These variables were also identified in the OFC. The two areas differed in the proportion of cells encoding each variable and in the activation timing. In the OFC, firing rates peaked shortly after offer presentation; in the BLA, firing rates were sustained and peaked after juice delivery. These results suggest that the BLA supports choices and reward expectation.
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Abstract
The brain circuits that create our sense of fear rely on ancient 'hard-wired' components of the limbic system, but also use sensory processing to determine what we become afraid of. A new study shows that, when viewing of simple oriented line stimuli is coupled with aversive experiences, neurons in primary visual cortex rapidly alter their responses in a manner that indicates the line stimuli become a source of fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melis Yilmaz
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Andrew D Huberman
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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Li Z, Yan A, Guo K, Li W. Fear-Related Signals in the Primary Visual Cortex. Curr Biol 2019; 29:4078-4083.e2. [PMID: 31668624 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Neuronal responses in the primary visual cortex (V1) are driven by simple stimuli, but these stimulus-evoked responses can be markedly modulated by non-sensory factors, such as attention and reward [1], and shaped by perceptual training [2]. In real-life situations, neutral visual stimuli can become emotionally tagged by experience, resulting in altered perceptual abilities to detect and discriminate these stimuli [3-5]. Human imaging [4] and electroencephalography (EEG) studies [6-9] have shown that visual fear learning (the acquisition of aversive emotion associated with a visual stimulus) affects the activities in visual cortical areas as early as in V1. However, it remains elusive as to whether the fear-related activities seen in the early visual cortex have to do with feedback influences from other cortical areas; it is also unclear whether and how the response properties of V1 cells are modified during the fear learning. In the current study, we addressed these issues by recording from V1 of awake monkeys implanted with an array of microelectrodes. We found that responses of V1 neurons were rapidly modified when a given orientation of grating stimulus was repeatedly associated with an aversive stimulus. The output visual signals from V1 cells conveyed, from their response outset, fear-related signals that were specific to the fear-associated grating orientation and visual-field location. The specific fear signals were independent of neurons' orientation preferences and were present even though the fear-associated stimuli were rendered invisible. Our findings suggest a bottom-up mechanism that allows for proactive labeling of visual inputs that are predictive of imminent danger.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - An Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Kun Guo
- School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK
| | - Wu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
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31
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Kim AJ, Anderson BA. Threat reduces value-driven but not salience-driven attentional capture. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 20:874-889. [PMID: 30869945 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
What we direct our attention to is strongly influenced by both bottom-up and top-down processes. Moreover, the control of attention is biased by prior learning, such that attention is automatically captured by stimuli previously associated with either reward or threat. It is unknown whether value-oriented and threat-oriented mechanisms of selective information processing function independently of one another, or whether they interact with each other in the selection process. Here, we introduced the threat of electric shock into the value-driven attentional capture paradigm to examine whether the experience of threat influences the attention capturing quality of previously reward-associated stimuli. The results showed that value-driven attentional capture was blunted by the experience of threat. This contrasts with previous reports of threat potentiating attentional capture by physically salient stimuli, which we replicate here. Our findings demonstrate that threat selectively interferes with value-based but not salience-based attentional priority, consistent with a competitive relationship between value-based and threat-based information processing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy Jeesu Kim
- Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University
| | - Brian A Anderson
- Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University
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32
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Ferbinteanu J. Memory systems 2018 - Towards a new paradigm. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 157:61-78. [PMID: 30439565 PMCID: PMC6389412 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The multiple memory systems theory (MMS) postulates that the brain stores information based on the independent and parallel activity of a number of modules, each with distinct properties, dynamics, and neural basis. Much of the evidence for this theory comes from dissociation studies indicating that damage to restricted brain areas cause selective types of memory deficits. MMS has been the prevalent paradigm in memory research for more than thirty years, even as it has been adjusted several times to accommodate new data. However, recent empirical results indicating that the memory systems are not always dissociable constitute a challenge to fundamental tenets of the current theory because they suggest that representations formed by individual memory systems can contribute to more than one type of memory-driven behavioral strategy. This problem can be addressed by applying a dynamic network perspective to memory architecture. According to this view, memory networks can reconfigure or transiently couple in response to environmental demands. Within this context, the neural network underlying a specific memory system can act as an independent unit or as an integrated component of a higher order meta-network. This dynamic network model proposes a way in which empirical evidence that challenges the idea of distinct memory systems can be incorporated within a modular memory architecture. The model also provides a framework to account for the complex interactions among memory systems demonstrated at the behavioral level. Advances in the study of dynamic networks can generate new ideas to experimentally manipulate and control memory in basic or clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Ferbinteanu
- Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology, Dept. of Neurology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave, Box 31, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
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Maeda K, Kunimatsu J, Hikosaka O. Amygdala activity for the modulation of goal-directed behavior in emotional contexts. PLoS Biol 2018; 16:e2005339. [PMID: 29870524 PMCID: PMC5988268 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Choosing valuable objects and rewarding actions is critical for survival. While such choices must be made in a way that suits the animal’s circumstances, the neural mechanisms underlying such context-appropriate behavior are unclear. To address this question, we devised a context-dependent reward-seeking task for macaque monkeys. Each trial started with the appearance of one of many visual scenes containing two or more objects, and the monkey had to choose the good object by saccade to get a reward. These scenes were categorized into two dimensions of emotional context: dangerous versus safe and rich versus poor. We found that many amygdala neurons were more strongly activated by dangerous scenes, by rich scenes, or by both. Furthermore, saccades to target objects occurred more quickly in dangerous than in safe scenes and were also quicker in rich than in poor scenes. Thus, amygdala neuronal activity and saccadic reaction times were negatively correlated in each monkey. These results suggest that amygdala neurons facilitate targeting saccades predictably based on aspects of emotional context, as is necessary for goal-directed and social behavior. The amygdala is known to control passive fear responses (e.g., freezing), but it is unclear if it also contributes to active behaviors. To reach certain goals, we (humans and animals) often need to go through fearful environments. We hypothesized that the amygdala contributes to such an active behavior and devised a new foraging task for macaque monkeys in which various emotional contexts changed across many environments. This “exciting” task provoked extremely fast learning and high-capacity memory of objects and environments, and thereby caused extremely fast goal-directed behaviors. We found that the goal-directed behavior was affected by the emotional context in two dimensions (dangerous–safe and rich–poor) separately from the object values. Then, many neurons in the amygdala responded to the environments before any object appeared and did so selectively, depending on the emotional context of the environment. The neuronal activity was tightly correlated with the reaction time of goal-directed behavior across the contexts: faster behavior in dangerous or rich context. These results suggest that the amygdala facilitates goal-directed behavior by focusing on emotional contexts. Such a function is also important for emotional–social behavior and its disorder, including averted eye gaze in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazutaka Maeda
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Jun Kunimatsu
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Okihide Hikosaka
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
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34
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Nougaret S, Ravel S. Dynamic Encoding of Effort and Reward throughout the Execution of Action by External Globus Pallidus Neurons in Monkeys. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1130-1144. [PMID: 29762102 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Humans and animals must evaluate the costs and expected benefits of their actions to make adaptive choices. Prior studies have demonstrated the involvement of the basal ganglia in this evaluation. However, little is known about the role of the external part of the globus pallidus (GPe), which is well positioned to integrate motor and reward-related information, in this process. To investigate this role, the activity of 126 neurons was recorded in the associative and limbic parts of the GPe of two monkeys performing a behavioral task in which different levels of force were required to obtain different amounts of liquid reward. The results first revealed that the activity of associative and limbic GPe neurons could be modulated not only by cognitive and limbic but also motor information at the same time, both during a single period or during different periods throughout the trial, mainly in an independent way. Moreover, as a population, GPe neurons encoded these types of information dynamically throughout the trial, when each piece of information was the most relevant for the achievement of the action. Taken together, these results suggest that GPe neurons could be dedicated to the parallel monitoring of task parameters essential to adjusting and maintaining goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Nougaret
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR7289 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, France
| | - Sabrina Ravel
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, UMR7289 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, France
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35
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Todd RM, Manaligod MG. Implicit guidance of attention: The priority state space framework. Cortex 2018; 102:121-138. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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36
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Krauzlis RJ, Bogadhi AR, Herman JP, Bollimunta A. Selective attention without a neocortex. Cortex 2018; 102:161-175. [PMID: 28958417 PMCID: PMC5832524 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Selective attention refers to the ability to restrict neural processing and behavioral responses to a relevant subset of available stimuli, while simultaneously excluding other valid stimuli from consideration. In primates and other mammals, descriptions of this ability typically emphasize the neural processing that takes place in the cerebral neocortex. However, non-mammals such as birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, which completely lack a neocortex, also have the ability to selectively attend. In this article, we survey the behavioral evidence for selective attention in non-mammals, and review the midbrain and forebrain structures that are responsible. The ancestral forms of selective attention are presumably selective orienting behaviors, such as prey-catching and predator avoidance. These behaviors depend critically on a set of subcortical structures, including the optic tectum (OT), thalamus and striatum, that are highly conserved across vertebrate evolution. In contrast, the contributions of different pallial regions in the forebrain to selective attention have been subject to more substantial changes and reorganization. This evolutionary perspective makes plain that selective attention is not a function achieved de novo with the emergence of the neocortex, but instead is implemented by circuits accrued and modified over hundreds of millions of years, beginning well before the forebrain contained a neocortex. Determining how older subcortical circuits interact with the more recently evolved components in the neocortex will likely be crucial for understanding the complex properties of selective attention in primates and other mammals, and for identifying the etiology of attention disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Krauzlis
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, USA.
| | | | - James P Herman
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, USA
| | - Anil Bollimunta
- Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, USA
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37
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The influence of emotional stimuli on the oculomotor system: A review of the literature. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 18:411-425. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-0590-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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38
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Greening SG, Mitchell DG, Smith FW. Spatially generalizable representations of facial expressions: Decoding across partial face samples. Cortex 2018; 101:31-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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39
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O'Neill PK, Gore F, Salzman CD. Basolateral amygdala circuitry in positive and negative valence. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2018; 49:175-183. [PMID: 29525574 PMCID: PMC6138049 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
All organisms must solve the same fundamental problem: they must acquire rewards and avoid danger in order to survive. A key challenge for the nervous system is therefore to connect motivationally salient sensory stimuli to neural circuits that engage appropriate valence-specific behavioral responses. Anatomical, behavioral, and electrophysiological data have long suggested that the amygdala plays a central role in this process. Here we review experimental efforts leveraging recent technological advances to provide previously unattainable insights into the functional, anatomical, and genetic identity of neural populations within the amygdala that connect sensory stimuli to valence-specific behavioral responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia-Kelsey O'Neill
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Felicity Gore
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - C Daniel Salzman
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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40
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Abstract
During value-based decision making, we often evaluate the value of each option sequentially by shifting our attention, even when the options are presented simultaneously. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been suggested to encode value during value-based decision making. Yet it is not known how its activity is modulated by attention shifts. We investigated this question by employing a passive viewing task that allowed us to disentangle effects of attention, value, choice and eye movement. We found that the attention modulated OFC activity through a winner-take-all mechanism. When we attracted the monkeys’ attention covertly, the OFC neuronal activity reflected the reward value of the newly attended cue. The shift of attention could be explained by a normalization model. Our results strongly argue for the hypothesis that the OFC neuronal activity represents the value of the attended item. They provide important insights toward understanding the OFC’s role in value-based decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Xie
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chechang Nie
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tianming Yang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
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41
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Development of the emotional brain. Neurosci Lett 2017; 693:29-34. [PMID: 29197573 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.11.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we highlight the importance of dynamic reorganization of neural circuitry during adolescence, as it relates to the development of emotion reactivity and regulation. We offer a neurobiological account of hierarchical, circuit-based changes that coincide with emotional development during this time. Recent imaging studies suggest that the development of the emotional brain involves a cascade of changes in limbic and cognitive control circuitry. These changes are particularly pronounced during adolescence, when the demand for self regulation across a variety of emotional and social situations may be greatest. We propose that hierarchical changes in circuitry, from subcortico-subcortical to subcortico-cortical to cortico-subcortical and finally to cortico-cortical, may underlie the gradual changes in emotion reactivity and regulation throughout adolescence into young adulthood, with changes at each level being necessary for the instantiation of changes at the next level.
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42
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Aday J, Carlson JM. Structural MRI-based measures of neuroplasticity in an extended amygdala network as a target for attention bias modification treatment outcome. Med Hypotheses 2017; 109:6-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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43
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Emergence of β-Band Oscillations in the Aged Rat Amygdala during Discrimination Learning and Decision Making Tasks. eNeuro 2017; 4:eN-NWR-0245-17. [PMID: 29034315 PMCID: PMC5629614 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0245-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Older adults tend to use strategies that differ from those used by young adults to solve decision-making tasks. MRI experiments suggest that altered strategy use during aging can be accompanied by a change in extent of activation of a given brain region, inter-hemispheric bilateralization or added brain structures. It has been suggested that these changes reflect compensation for less effective networks to enable optimal performance. One way that communication can be influenced within and between brain networks is through oscillatory events that help structure and synchronize incoming and outgoing information. It is unknown how aging impacts local oscillatory activity within the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA). The present study recorded local field potentials (LFPs) and single units in old and young rats during the performance of tasks that involve discrimination learning and probabilistic decision making. We found task- and age-specific increases in power selectively within the β range (15-30 Hz). The increased β power occurred after lever presses, as old animals reached the goal location. Periods of high-power β developed over training days in the aged rats, and was greatest in early trials of a session. β Power was also greater after pressing for the large reward option. These data suggest that aging of BLA networks results in strengthened synchrony of β oscillations when older animals are learning or deciding between rewards of different size. Whether this increased synchrony reflects the neural basis of a compensatory strategy change of old animals in reward-based decision-making tasks, remains to be verified.
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44
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Warlow SM, Robinson MJF, Berridge KC. Optogenetic Central Amygdala Stimulation Intensifies and Narrows Motivation for Cocaine. J Neurosci 2017; 37:8330-8348. [PMID: 28751460 PMCID: PMC5577851 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3141-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Revised: 06/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Addiction is often characterized by intense motivation for a drug, which may be narrowly focused at the expense of other rewards. Here, we examined the role of amygdala-related circuitry in the amplification and narrowing of motivation focus for intravenous cocaine. We paired optogenetic channelrhodopsin (ChR2) stimulation in either central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) or basolateral amygdala (BLA) of female rats with one particular nose-poke porthole option for earning cocaine infusions (0.3 mg/kg, i.v.). A second alternative porthole earned identical cocaine but without ChR2 stimulation. Consequently, CeA rats quickly came to pursue their CeA ChR2-paired cocaine option intensely and exclusively, elevating cocaine intake while ignoring their alternative cocaine alone option. By comparison, BLA ChR2 pairing failed to enhance cocaine motivation. CeA rats also emitted consummatory bites toward their laser-paired porthole, suggesting that higher incentive salience made that cue more attractive. A separate progressive ratio test of incentive motivation confirmed that CeA ChR2 amplified rats' motivation, raising their breakpoint effort price for cocaine by 10-fold. However, CeA ChR2 laser on its own lacked any reinforcement value: laser by itself was never self-stimulated, not even by the same rats in which it amplified motivation for cocaine. Conversely, CeA inhibition by muscimol/baclofen microinjections prevented acquisition of cocaine self-administration and laser preference, whereas CeA inhibition by optogenetic halorhodopsin suppressed cocaine intake, indicating that CeA circuitry is needed for ordinary cocaine motivation. We conclude that CeA ChR2 excitation paired with a cocaine option specifically focuses and amplifies motivation to produce intense pursuit and consumption focused on that single target.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In addiction, intense incentive motivation often becomes narrowly focused on a particular drug of abuse. Here we show that pairing central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) optogenetic stimulation with one option for earning intravenous cocaine makes that option almost the exclusive focus of intense pursuit and consumption. CeA stimulation also elevated the effort cost rats were willing to pay for cocaine and made associated cues become intensely attractive. However, we also show that CeA laser had no reinforcing properties at all when given alone for the same rats. Therefore, CeA laser pairing makes its associated cocaine option and cues become powerfully attractive in a nearly addictive fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley M Warlow
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, and
| | - Mike J F Robinson
- Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459
| | - Kent C Berridge
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, and
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45
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Saez RA, Saez A, Paton JJ, Lau B, Salzman CD. Distinct Roles for the Amygdala and Orbitofrontal Cortex in Representing the Relative Amount of Expected Reward. Neuron 2017; 95:70-77.e3. [PMID: 28683271 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The same reward can possess different motivational meaning depending upon its magnitude relative to other rewards. To study the neurophysiological mechanisms mediating assignment of motivational meaning, we recorded the activity of neurons in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of monkeys during a Pavlovian task in which the relative amount of liquid reward associated with one conditioned stimulus (CS) was manipulated by changing the reward amount associated with a second CS. Anticipatory licking tracked relative reward magnitude, implying that monkeys integrated information about recent rewards to adjust the motivational meaning of a CS. Upon changes in relative reward magnitude, neural responses to reward-predictive cues updated more rapidly in OFC than amygdala, and activity in OFC but not the amygdala was modulated by recent reward history. These results highlight a distinction between the amygdala and OFC in assessing reward history to support the flexible assignment of motivational meaning to sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Saez
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Alexandre Saez
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Joseph J Paton
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Brian Lau
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - C Daniel Salzman
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive Unit 87, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Interaction of Instrumental and Goal-Directed Learning Modulates Prediction Error Representations in the Ventral Striatum. J Neurosci 2017; 36:12650-12660. [PMID: 27974615 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1677-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2016] [Revised: 09/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Goal-directed and instrumental learning are both important controllers of human behavior. Learning about which stimulus event occurs in the environment and the reward associated with them allows humans to seek out the most valuable stimulus and move through the environment in a goal-directed manner. Stimulus-response associations are characteristic of instrumental learning, whereas response-outcome associations are the hallmark of goal-directed learning. Here we provide behavioral, computational, and neuroimaging results from a novel task in which stimulus-response and response-outcome associations are learned simultaneously but dominate behavior at different stages of the experiment. We found that prediction error representations in the ventral striatum depend on which type of learning dominates. Furthermore, the amygdala tracks the time-dependent weighting of stimulus-response versus response-outcome learning. Our findings suggest that the goal-directed and instrumental controllers dynamically engage the ventral striatum in representing prediction errors whenever one of them is dominating choice behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Converging evidence in human neuroimaging studies has shown that the reward prediction errors are correlated with activity in the ventral striatum. Our results demonstrate that this region is simultaneously correlated with a stimulus prediction error. Furthermore, the learning system that is currently dominating behavioral choice dynamically engages the ventral striatum for computing its prediction errors. This demonstrates that the prediction error representations are highly dynamic and influenced by various experimental context. This finding points to a general role of the ventral striatum in detecting expectancy violations and encoding error signals regardless of the specific nature of the reinforcer itself.
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Sato W, Kochiyama T, Uono S, Yoshimura S, Toichi M. Neural Mechanisms Underlying Conscious and Unconscious Gaze-Triggered Attentional Orienting in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:339. [PMID: 28701942 PMCID: PMC5487428 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Impaired joint attention represents the core clinical feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Behavioral studies have suggested that gaze-triggered attentional orienting is intact in response to supraliminally presented eyes but impaired in response to subliminally presented eyes in individuals with ASD. However, the neural mechanisms underlying conscious and unconscious gaze-triggered attentional orienting remain unclear. We investigated this issue in ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. The participants viewed cue stimuli of averted or straight eye gaze direction presented either supraliminally or subliminally and then localized a target. Reaction times were shorter when eye-gaze cues were directionally valid compared with when they were neutral under the supraliminal condition in both groups; the same pattern was found in the TD group but not the ASD group under the subliminal condition. The temporo–parieto–frontal regions showed stronger activation in response to averted eyes than to straight eyes in both groups under the supraliminal condition. The left amygdala was more activated while viewing averted vs. straight eyes in the TD group than in the ASD group under the subliminal condition. These findings provide an explanation for the neural mechanisms underlying the impairment in unconscious but not conscious gaze-triggered attentional orienting in individuals with ASD and suggest possible neurological and behavioral interventions to facilitate their joint attention behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Sato
- Department of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan
| | - Takanori Kochiyama
- Brain Activity Imaging Center, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute InternationalKyoto, Japan
| | - Shota Uono
- Department of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan
| | - Sayaka Yoshimura
- Department of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, Habilitation and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan
| | - Motomi Toichi
- Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan.,The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder ResearchKyoto, Japan
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48
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Truong G, Todd RM. SOAP Opera: Self as Object and Agent in Prioritizing Attention. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 29:937-952. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that multiple sources of salience tune attentional sets toward aspects of the environment, including affectively and motivationally significant categories of stimuli such as angry faces and reward-associated target locations. Recent evidence further indicates that objects that have gained personal significance through ownership can elicit similar attentional prioritization. Here we discuss current research on sources of attentional prioritization that shape our awareness of the visual world from moment to moment and the underlying neural systems and contextualize what is known about attentional prioritization of our possessions within that research. We review behavioral and neuroimaging research on the influence of self-relevance and ownership on cognition and discuss challenges to this literature stemming from different modes of conceptualizing and operationalizing the self. We argue that ownership taps into both “self-as-object,” which characterizes the self as an object with a constellation of traits and attributes, and “self-as-subject,” which characterizes the self as an agentic perceiver and knower. Despite an abundance of research probing neural and behavioral indices of self-as-object and its effects on attention, there exists a paucity of research on the influence of self-relevance of attention when self is operationalized from the perspective of a first-person subject. To begin to address this gap, we propose the Self as Ownership in Attentional Prioritization (SOAP) framework to explain how ownership increases salience through attention to external representations of self-identity (i.e., self as object) and attention to contextually mediated permission to act (i.e., self as subject).
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49
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Carlson JM, Rubin D, Mujica-Parodi LR. Lost emotion: Disrupted brain-based tracking of dynamic affective episodes in anxiety and depression. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2017; 260:37-48. [PMID: 28013067 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In our day-to-day lives we are confronted with dynamic sensory inputs that elicit a continuously evolving emotional response. Insight into the brain basis of the dynamic nature of emotional reactivity may be critical for understanding chronic symptoms of anxiety and depression. Here, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and healthy controls watched a video with dynamic affective content while fMRI activity was recorded. Across all participants there was a large-scale tracking of affective content in emotion processing regions and the default mode network. Anxious and depressed individuals displayed less brain-based coupling within these regions and the extent of this uncoupling correlated with variability in emotional numbing. Thus, abnormal neural tracking of affective information during dynamic emotional episodes appears to represent a disconnection between affective cues in the environment and an individual's response to these cues-providing a putative neural basis for context insensitive affective reactivity and emotional numbing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Carlson
- Department of Psychology, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI, USA.
| | - Denis Rubin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Lilianne R Mujica-Parodi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA; Department of Radiology, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
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50
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Hunt LT, Hayden BY. A distributed, hierarchical and recurrent framework for reward-based choice. Nat Rev Neurosci 2017; 18:172-182. [PMID: 28209978 PMCID: PMC5621622 DOI: 10.1038/nrn.2017.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Many accounts of reward-based choice argue for distinct component processes that are serial and functionally localized. In this Opinion article, we argue for an alternative viewpoint, in which choices emerge from repeated computations that are distributed across many brain regions. We emphasize how several features of neuroanatomy may support the implementation of choice, including mutual inhibition in recurrent neural networks and the hierarchical organization of timescales for information processing across the cortex. This account also suggests that certain correlates of value are emergent rather than represented explicitly in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence T Hunt
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, 309 Meliora Hall, Rochester, New York 14618, USA
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