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Tholl S, Sojer CA, Schmidt SNL, Mier D. How to elicit a negative bias? Manipulating contrast and saturation with the facial emotion salience task. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1284595. [PMID: 39268387 PMCID: PMC11390599 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1284595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Emotion recognition impairments and a tendency to misclassify neutral faces as negative are common in schizophrenia. A possible explanation for these deficits is aberrant salience attribution. To explore the possibility of salience driven emotion recognition deficits, we implemented a novel facial emotion salience task (FEST). Methods Sixty-six healthy participants with variations in psychometric schizotypy completed the FEST. In the FEST, we manipulated physical salience (FEST-1: contrast, FEST-2: saturation) of emotionally salient (positive, i.e., happy and negative, i.e., fearful) and non-salient (neutral) facial expressions. Results When salience was high (increased contrast), participants recognized negative facial expressions faster, whereas neutral faces were recognized more slowly and were more frequently misclassified as negative. When salience was low (decreased saturation), positive expressions were recognized more slowly. These measures were not associated with schizotypy in our sample. Discussion Our findings show that the match between physical and emotional salience influences emotion recognition and suggest that the FEST is suitable to simulate aberrant salience processing during emotion recognition in healthy participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Tholl
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | | | | | - Daniela Mier
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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2
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Kumar S, Davidson CA, Saini R, Jain R. The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Religiousness in Schizotypal Personality and Life Satisfaction: A Cross-Sectional Study. THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2024:1-19. [PMID: 39013006 DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2024.2372578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty is an important trans-diagnostic determinant of mental disorders. It is related to psychotic symptoms and religiousness. Religiousness is related to schizotypal personality and wellbeing. Therefore, in a cross-sectional study, we studied the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on schizotypal personality and the schizotypal personality-mediated effects of intolerance of uncertainty and religiousness on life satisfaction. On a sample of 734 college students (age, M = 20.3, SD = 3.48), intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, life satisfaction, and schizotypal personality were measured through paper-pencil questionnaires. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty had positive (direct) relationships with all schizotypal personality dimensions. However, intolerance of uncertainty had positive (mediated by ideas of reference and magical thinking) and negative (mediated by eccentric behavior) indirect effects on life satisfaction. Religiousness had direct as well as indirect (mediated by eccentric behavior) positive effects on life satisfaction. However, the behaving (mediated by ideas of reference) and belonging (mediated by magical thinking) sub-dimensions of religiousness had some indirect negative effects on life satisfaction. Thus, the present study shows that intolerance of uncertainty is an important contributor to psychotic proneness. Religiousness is largely health-enhancing. Moreover, there is a nuanced pattern of interactional relationship between intolerance of uncertainty, religiousness, schizotypal personality, and life satisfaction. We have discussed the theoretical and applied implications of the findings.
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Deng W, Tuominen L, Sussman R, Leathem L, Vinke LN, Holt DJ. Changes in responses of the amygdala and hippocampus during fear conditioning are associated with persecutory beliefs. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8173. [PMID: 38589562 PMCID: PMC11001942 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57746-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The persecutory delusion is the most common symptom of psychosis, yet its underlying neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood. Prior studies have suggested that abnormalities in medial temporal lobe-dependent associative learning may contribute to this symptom. In the current study, this hypothesis was tested in a non-clinical sample of young adults without histories of psychiatric treatment (n = 64), who underwent classical Pavlovian fear conditioning while fMRI data were collected. During the fear conditioning procedure, participants viewed images of faces which were paired (the CS+) or not paired (the CS-) with an aversive stimulus (a mild electrical shock). Fear conditioning-related neural responses were measured in two medial temporal lobe regions, the amygdala and hippocampus, and in other closely connected brain regions of the salience and default networks. The participants without persecutory beliefs (n = 43) showed greater responses to the CS- compared to the CS+ in the right amygdala and hippocampus, while the participants with persecutory beliefs (n = 21) failed to exhibit this response. These between-group differences were not accounted for by symptoms of depression, anxiety or a psychosis risk syndrome. However, the severity of subclinical psychotic symptoms overall was correlated with the level of this aberrant response in the amygdala (p = .013) and hippocampus (p = .033). Thus, these findings provide evidence for a disruption of medial temporal lobe-dependent associative learning in young people with subclinical psychotic symptoms, specifically persecutory thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wisteria Deng
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lauri Tuominen
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Rachel Sussman
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Logan Leathem
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Louis N Vinke
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daphne J Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th, St. Charlestown, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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4
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Hamati R, Ahrens J, Shvetz C, Holahan MR, Tuominen L. 65 years of research on dopamine's role in classical fear conditioning and extinction: A systematic review. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:1099-1140. [PMID: 37848184 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine, a catecholamine neurotransmitter, has historically been associated with the encoding of reward, whereas its role in aversion has received less attention. Here, we systematically gathered the vast evidence of the role of dopamine in the simplest forms of aversive learning: classical fear conditioning and extinction. In the past, crude methods were used to augment or inhibit dopamine to study its relationship with fear conditioning and extinction. More advanced techniques such as conditional genetic, chemogenic and optogenetic approaches now provide causal evidence for dopamine's role in these learning processes. Dopamine neurons encode conditioned stimuli during fear conditioning and extinction and convey the signal via activation of D1-4 receptor sites particularly in the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and striatum. The coordinated activation of dopamine receptors allows for the continuous formation, consolidation, retrieval and updating of fear and extinction memory in a dynamic and reciprocal manner. Based on the reviewed literature, we conclude that dopamine is crucial for the encoding of classical fear conditioning and extinction and contributes in a way that is comparable to its role in encoding reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rami Hamati
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jessica Ahrens
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Cecelia Shvetz
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matthew R Holahan
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lauri Tuominen
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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5
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Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Day HLL, Smith J, Alvaro GS, Large CH, Stevenson CW. Pharmacological modulation of Kv3 voltage-gated potassium channels regulates fear discrimination and expression in a response-dependent manner. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2023; 127:110829. [PMID: 37451593 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Various psychiatric diseases are characterized by aberrant cognition and emotional regulation. This includes inappropriately attributing affective salience to innocuous cues, which can be investigated using translationally relevant preclinical models of fear discrimination. Activity in the underpinning corticolimbic circuitry is governed by parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic interneurons, which also regulate fear discrimination. Kv3 voltage-gated potassium channels are highly expressed in these neurons and are important for controlling their activity, suggesting that pharmacological Kv3 modulation may regulate fear discrimination. We determined the effect of the positive Kv3 modulator AUT00206 given systemically to female rats undergoing limited or extended auditory fear discrimination training, which we have previously shown results in more discrimination or generalization, respectively, based on freezing at retrieval. We also characterized darting and other active fear-related responses. We found that limited training resulted in more discrimination based on freezing, which was unaffected by AUT00206. In contrast, extended training resulted in more generalization based on freezing and the emergence of discrimination based on darting during training and, to a lesser extent, at retrieval. Importantly, AUT00206 given before extended training had dissociable effects on fear discrimination and expression at retrieval depending on the response examined. While AUT00206 mitigated generalization without affecting expression based on freezing, it reduced expression without affecting discrimination based on darting, although darting levels were low overall. These results indicate that pharmacological Kv3 modulation regulates fear discrimination and expression in a response-dependent manner. They also raise the possibility that targeting Kv3 channels may ameliorate perturbed cognition and emotional regulation in psychiatric disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Stubbendorff
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Ed Hale
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Harriet L L Day
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Jessica Smith
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Giuseppe S Alvaro
- Autifony Therapeutics Limited, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2FX, UK
| | - Charles H Large
- Autifony Therapeutics Limited, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2FX, UK
| | - Carl W Stevenson
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK.
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6
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Hanewald B, Lockhofen DEL, Sammer G, Stingl M, Gallhofer B, Mulert C, Iffland JR. Functional connectivity in a monetary and social incentive delay task in medicated patients with schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1200860. [PMID: 37711426 PMCID: PMC10498543 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1200860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Numerous studies indicate impaired reward-related learning in individuals with schizophrenia, with various factors such as illness duration, medication, disease severity, and level of analysis (behavioral or neurophysiological data) potentially confounding the results. Patients with schizophrenia who are treated with second-generation antipsychotics have been found to have a less affected reward system. However, this finding does not explain the neural dysfunctions observed in previous studies. This study aimed to address the open question of whether the less impaired reward-related behavior is associated with unimpaired task-related functional connectivity or altered task-related functional connectivity. Methods The study included 23 participants diagnosed within the schizophrenia spectrum and 23 control participants matched in terms of age, sex, and education. Participants underwent an MRI while performing a monetary incentive delay task and a social incentive delay task. The collected data were analyzed in terms of behavior and functional connectivity. Results Both groups exhibited a main effect of reward type on behavioral performance, indicating faster reaction times in the social incentive delay task, but no main effect of reward level. Altered functional connectivity was observed in predictable brain regions within the patient group, depending on the chosen paradigm, but not when compared to healthy individuals. Discussion In addition to expected slower response times, patients with schizophrenia demonstrated similar response patterns to control participants at the behavioral level. The similarities in behavioral data may underlie different connectivity patterns. Our findings suggest that perturbations in reward processing do not necessarily imply disturbances in underlying connectivities. Consequently, we were able to demonstrate that patients with schizophrenia are indeed capable of exhibiting goal-directed, reward-responsive behavior, although there are differences depending on the type of reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernd Hanewald
- Center for Psychiatry, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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Tangmose K, Rostrup E, Bojesen KB, Sigvard A, Glenthøj BY, Nielsen MØ. Clinical response to treatment with a partial dopamine agonist is related to changes in reward processing. Psychiatry Res 2023; 326:115308. [PMID: 37399765 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Aberrant neuronal coding of reward processing has been linked to psychosis. It remains unresolved how treatment with a partial dopamine agonist affects reward processing, and whether treatment affects reward processing differently in patients responding and not responding to treatment. Here, 33 antipsychotic-naïve psychosis patients and 33 matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after patients received aripiprazole monotherapy for six weeks. Processing of motivational salient events and negative outcome evaluation (NOE) was examined using a monetary incentive delay task. Psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and responders were identified by having ≥30% reduction in positive symptoms (N=21). At baseline, patients displayed an increased NOE signal in the caudate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to healthy controls. In the caudate, the NOE signal was normalized at follow-up, and normalization was driven by responders. In responders only, there was a significant improvement in the motivational salience signal in the caudate at follow-up. Motivational salience and NOE signals in the caudate may be associated with a dopaminergic mechanism in patients characterized as responders which may not be the case in non-responders. Likewise, non-dopaminergic mechanism may underly abnormal NOE processing in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Tangmose
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Kirsten Borup Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anne Sigvard
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Y Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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8
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Tangmose K, Rostrup E, Bojesen KB, Sigvard A, Jessen K, Johansen LB, Glenthøj BY, Nielsen MØ. Reward disturbances in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis and their association to glutamate levels. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1629-1638. [PMID: 37010221 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721003305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant anticipation of motivational salient events and processing of outcome evaluation in striatal and prefrontal regions have been suggested to underlie psychosis. Altered glutamate levels have likewise been linked to schizophrenia. Glutamatergic abnormalities may affect the processing of motivational salience and outcome evaluation. It remains unresolved, whether glutamatergic dysfunction is associated with the coding of motivational salience and outcome evaluation in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis. METHODS Fifty-one antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis (22 ± 5.2 years, female/male: 31/20) and 52 healthy controls (HC) matched on age, sex, and parental education underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (3T) in one session. Brain responses to motivational salience and negative outcome evaluation (NOE) were examined using a monetary incentive delay task. Glutamate levels were estimated in the left thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex using LCModel. RESULTS Patients displayed a positive signal change to NOE in the caudate (p = 0.001) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; p = 0.003) compared to HC. No group difference was observed in motivational salience or in levels of glutamate. There was a different association between NOE signal in the caudate and DLPFC and thalamic glutamate levels in patients and HC due to a negative correlation in patients (caudate: p = 0.004, DLPFC: p = 0.005) that was not seen in HC. CONCLUSIONS Our findings confirm prior findings of abnormal outcome evaluation as a part of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The results also suggest a possible link between thalamic glutamate and NOE signaling in patients with first-episode psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Tangmose
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Kirsten B Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anne Sigvard
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kasper Jessen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Louise Baruël Johansen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Y Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Seitz BM, Hoang IB, DiFazio LE, Blaisdell AP, Sharpe MJ. Dopamine errors drive excitatory and inhibitory components of backward conditioning in an outcome-specific manner. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3210-3218.e3. [PMID: 35752165 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
For over two decades, phasic activity in midbrain dopamine neurons was considered synonymous with the prediction error in temporal-difference reinforcement learning.1-4 Central to this proposal is the notion that reward-predictive stimuli become endowed with the scalar value of predicted rewards. When these cues are subsequently encountered, their predictive value is compared to the value of the actual reward received, allowing for the calculation of prediction errors.5,6 Phasic firing of dopamine neurons was proposed to reflect this computation,1,2 facilitating the backpropagation of value from the predicted reward to the reward-predictive stimulus, thus reducing future prediction errors. There are two critical assumptions of this proposal: (1) that dopamine errors can only facilitate learning about scalar value and not more complex features of predicted rewards, and (2) that the dopamine signal can only be involved in anticipatory cue-reward learning in which cues or actions precede rewards. Recent work7-15 has challenged the first assumption, demonstrating that phasic dopamine signals across species are involved in learning about more complex features of the predicted outcomes, in a manner that transcends this value computation. Here, we tested the validity of the second assumption. Specifically, we examined whether phasic midbrain dopamine activity would be necessary for backward conditioning-when a neutral cue reliably follows a rewarding outcome.16-20 Using a specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) procedure,21-23 we show rats learn both excitatory and inhibitory components of a backward association, and that this association entails knowledge of the specific identity of the reward and cue. We demonstrate that brief optogenetic inhibition of VTADA neurons timed to the transition between the reward and cue reduces both of these components of backward conditioning. These findings suggest VTADA neurons are capable of facilitating associations between contiguously occurring events, regardless of the content of those events. We conclude that these data may be in line with suggestions that the VTADA error acts as a universal teaching signal. This may provide insight into why dopamine function has been implicated in myriad psychological disorders that are characterized by very distinct reinforcement-learning deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Seitz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Ivy B Hoang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Lauren E DiFazio
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Aaron P Blaisdell
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA.
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10
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Davidson P, Jönsson P, Johansson M. The association between mnemonic discrimination ability and differential fear learning. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2022; 75:101715. [PMID: 34959001 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2021.101715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES It is important to be able to learn which stimuli in our surroundings predict aversive outcomes. To maintain emotional well-being, it is similarly important to be able to learn which stimuli predict safety. The ability to discriminate between stimuli that predict danger and safety has been suggested to not only have an emotional component, but also a cognitive one. One such candidate mechanism is mnemonic discrimination (MD), the ability to differentiate between two memories that are similar but not identical. In the present study, we wanted to examine if MD performance helps to explain inter-individual differences in the ability to acquire a differentiated fear response during fear conditioning. METHODS Participants performed a task assessing MD ability, and then underwent a fear conditioning procedure. Fear responses were measured using skin conductance responses (SCRs). RESULTS Results revealed no support for MD ability being associated with to which degree a differentiated fear response was acquired, or with the time needed to acquire such a response. LIMITATIONS Our only outcome measurement was SCRs. Future studies need to include fear ratings, expectancy ratings and neural responses. Future studies also need to examine this using a stimulus material where the conditioned stimulus and the safety stimulus are more difficult to distinguish from each other. CONCLUSIONS If MD ability has a role in inhibiting overgeneralization of fear learning, this does not seem to be driven by MD already during the initial learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Per Davidson
- Department of Psychology, Lund University, Box 213, 221 00, Lund, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, CNY 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, CNY 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
| | - Peter Jönsson
- School of Education and Environment, Centre for Psychology, Kristianstad University, Elmetorpsvägen 15, 298 88, Kristianstad, Sweden
| | - Mikael Johansson
- Department of Psychology, Lund University, Box 213, 221 00, Lund, Sweden
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11
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Speers LJ, Schmidt R, Bilkey DK. Aberrant Phase Precession of Lateral Septal Cells in a Maternal Immune Activation Model of Schizophrenia Risk May Disrupt the Integration of Location with Reward. J Neurosci 2022; 42:4187-4201. [PMID: 35396329 PMCID: PMC9121831 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0039-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial memory and reward processing are known to be disrupted in schizophrenia. Since the lateral septum (LS) may play an important role in the integration of location and reward, we examined the effect of maternal immune activation (MIA), a known schizophrenia risk factor, on spatial representation in the rat LS. In support of a previous study, we found that spatial location is represented as a phase code in the rostral LS of adult male rats, so that LS cell spiking shifts systematically against the phase of the hippocampal, theta-frequency, local field potential as an animal moves along a track toward a reward (phase precession). Whereas shallow precession slopes were observed in control group cells, they were steeper in the MIA animals, such that firing frequently precessed across several theta cycles as the animal moved along the length of the apparatus, with subsequent ambiguity in the phase representation of location. Furthermore, an analysis of the phase trajectories of the control group cells revealed that the population tended to converge toward a common firing phase as the animal approached the reward location. This suggested that phase coding in these cells might signal both reward location and the distance to reward. By comparison, the degree of phase convergence in the MIA-group cells was weak, and the region of peak convergence was distal to the reward location. These findings suggest that a schizophrenia risk factor disrupts the phase-based encoding of location-reward relationships in the LS, potentially smearing reward representations across space.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It is unclear how spatial or contextual information generated by hippocampal cells is converted to a code that can be used to signal reward location in regions, such as the VTA. Here we provide evidence that the firing phase of cells in the lateral septum, a region that links the two areas, may code reward location in the firing phase of cells. This phase coding is disrupted in a maternal immune activation model of schizophrenia risk such that representations of reward may be smeared across space in maternal immune activation animals. This could potentially underlie erroneous reward processing and misattribution of salience in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucinda J Speers
- Psychology Department, Otago University, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Robert Schmidt
- Psychology Department, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - David K Bilkey
- Psychology Department, Otago University, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
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12
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Neural alterations of emotion processing in atypical trajectories of psychotic-like experiences. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2022; 8:40. [PMID: 35853901 PMCID: PMC9261083 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00250-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the neural bases of facial emotion processing before the onset of clinical psychotic symptoms in youth belonging to well-defined developmental trajectories of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). A unique sample of 86 youths was recruited from a population-based sample of over 3800 adolescents who had been followed from 13 to 17 years of age. Three groups were identified based on validated developmental trajectories: a control trajectory with low and decreasing PLEs, and two atypical trajectories with moderate to elevated baseline PLEs that subsequently decreased or increased. All had functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected during a facial emotion processing task. Functional activation and connectivity data were analyzed for different contrasts. The increasing PLE trajectory displayed more positive psychotic symptoms while the decreasing trajectory exhibited more negative symptoms relative to the control group. During face processing, both atypical trajectories displayed decreased activations of the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), while the increasing trajectory displayed a negative signal in the precentral gyrus. The increasing PLE trajectory also displayed impaired connectivity between the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and cerebellum, and between the IFG, precuneus, and temporal regions, while the decreasing trajectory exhibited reduced connectivity between the amygdala and visual regions during emotion processing. Both atypical PLE trajectories displayed alterations in brain regions involved in attention salience. While the increasing trajectory with more positive symptoms exhibited dysconnectivity in areas that influence emotion salience and face perception, the decreasing trajectory with more negative symptoms had impairments in visual information integration areas. These group-specific features might account for the differential symptom expression.
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13
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Hall J, Bray NJ. Schizophrenia Genomics: Convergence on Synaptic Development, Adult Synaptic Plasticity, or Both? Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:709-717. [PMID: 34974922 PMCID: PMC8929434 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Large-scale genomic studies of schizophrenia have identified hundreds of genetic loci conferring risk to the disorder. This progress offers an important route toward defining the biological basis of the condition and potentially developing new treatments. In this review, we discuss insights from recent genome-wide association study, copy number variant, and exome sequencing analyses of schizophrenia, together with functional genomics data from the pre- and postnatal brain, in relation to synaptic development and function. These data provide strong support for the view that synaptic dysfunction within glutamatergic and GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) neurons of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and other limbic structures is a central component of schizophrenia pathophysiology. Implicated genes and functional genomic data suggest that disturbances in synaptic connectivity associated with susceptibility to schizophrenia begin in utero but continue throughout development, with some alleles conferring risk to the disorder through direct effects on synaptic function in adulthood. This model implies that novel interventions for schizophrenia could include broad preventive approaches aimed at enhancing synaptic health during development as well as more targeted treatments aimed at correcting synaptic function in affected adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Hall
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine & Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Neuroscience & Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
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14
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Louzolo A, Almeida R, Guitart-Masip M, Björnsdotter M, Lebedev A, Ingvar M, Olsson A, Petrovic P. Enhanced Instructed Fear Learning in Delusion-Proneness. Front Psychol 2022; 13:786778. [PMID: 35496229 PMCID: PMC9043131 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.786778] [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: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychosis is associated with distorted perceptions and deficient bottom-up learning such as classical fear conditioning. This has been interpreted as reflecting imprecise priors in low-level predictive coding systems. Paradoxically, overly strong beliefs, such as overvalued beliefs and delusions, are also present in psychosis-associated states. In line with this, research has suggested that patients with psychosis and associated phenotypes rely more on high-order priors to interpret perceptual input. In this behavioural and fMRI study we studied two types of fear learning, i.e., instructed fear learning mediated by verbal suggestions about fear contingencies and classical fear conditioning mediated by low level associative learning, in delusion proneness-a trait in healthy individuals linked to psychotic disorders. Subjects were shown four faces out of which two were coupled with an aversive stimulation (CS+) while two were not (CS-) in a fear conditioning procedure. Before the conditioning, subjects were informed about the contingencies for two of the faces of each type, while no information was given for the two other faces. We could thereby study the effect of both classical fear conditioning and instructed fear learning. Our main outcome variable was evaluative rating of the faces. Simultaneously, fMRI-measurements were performed to study underlying mechanisms. We postulated that instructed fear learning, measured with evaluative ratings, is stronger in psychosis-related phenotypes, in contrast to classical fear conditioning that has repeatedly been shown to be weaker in these groups. In line with our hypothesis, we observed significantly larger instructed fear learning on a behavioural level in delusion-prone individuals (n = 20) compared to non-delusion-prone subjects (n = 23; n = 20 in fMRI study). Instructed fear learning was associated with a bilateral activation of lateral orbitofrontal cortex that did not differ significantly between groups. However, delusion-prone subjects showed a stronger functional connectivity between right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and regions processing fear and pain. Our results suggest that psychosis-related states are associated with a strong instructed fear learning in addition to previously reported weak classical fear conditioning. Given the similarity between nocebo paradigms and instructed fear learning, our results also have an impact on understanding why nocebo effects differ between individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anaïs Louzolo
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rita Almeida
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marc Guitart-Masip
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Malin Björnsdotter
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Lebedev
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Ingvar
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Predrag Petrovic
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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15
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Impairment in acquisition of conditioned fear in schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:681-686. [PMID: 34588608 PMCID: PMC8782847 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01193-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with schizophrenia show impairments in associative learning. One well-studied, quantifiable form of associative learning is Pavlovian fear conditioning. However, to date, studies of fear conditioning in schizophrenia have been inconclusive, possibly because they lacked sufficient power. To address this issue, we pooled data from four independent fear conditioning studies that included a total of 77 individuals with schizophrenia and 74 control subjects. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) to stimuli that were paired (the CS + ) or not paired (CS-) with an aversive, unconditioned stimulus were measured, and the success of acquisition of differential conditioning (the magnitude of CS + vs. CS- SCRs) and responses to CS + and CS- separately were assessed. We found that acquisition of differential conditioned fear responses was significantly lower in individuals with schizophrenia than in healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.53). This effect was primarily related to a significantly higher response to the CS- stimulus in the schizophrenia compared to the control group. Moreover, the magnitude of this response to the CS- in the schizophrenia group was correlated with the severity of delusional ideation (p = 0.006). Other symptoms or antipsychotic dose were not associated with fear conditioning measures. In conclusion, individuals with schizophrenia who endorse delusional beliefs may be over-responsive to neutral stimuli during fear conditioning. This finding is consistent with prior models of abnormal associative learning in psychosis.
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16
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Millard SJ, Bearden CE, Karlsgodt KH, Sharpe MJ. The prediction-error hypothesis of schizophrenia: new data point to circuit-specific changes in dopamine activity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:628-640. [PMID: 34588607 PMCID: PMC8782867 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01188-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting 21 million people worldwide. People with schizophrenia suffer from symptoms including psychosis and delusions, apathy, anhedonia, and cognitive deficits. Strikingly, schizophrenia is characterised by a learning paradox involving difficulties learning from rewarding events, whilst simultaneously 'overlearning' about irrelevant or neutral information. While dysfunction in dopaminergic signalling has long been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a cohesive framework that accounts for this learning paradox remains elusive. Recently, there has been an explosion of new research investigating how dopamine contributes to reinforcement learning, which illustrates that midbrain dopamine contributes in complex ways to reinforcement learning, not previously envisioned. This new data brings new possibilities for how dopamine signalling contributes to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Building on recent work, we present a new neural framework for how we might envision specific dopamine circuits contributing to this learning paradox in schizophrenia in the context of models of reinforcement learning. Further, we discuss avenues of preclinical research with the use of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques where aspects of this model may be tested. Ultimately, it is hoped that this review will spur to action more research utilising specific reinforcement learning paradigms in preclinical models of schizophrenia, to reconcile seemingly disparate symptomatology and develop more efficient therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Millard
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Katherine H. Karlsgodt
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Melissa J. Sharpe
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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17
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Hippocampal Disinhibition Reduces Contextual and Elemental Fear Conditioning While Sparing the Acquisition of Latent Inhibition. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0270-21.2021. [PMID: 34980662 PMCID: PMC8805190 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0270-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal neural disinhibition, i.e., reduced GABAergic inhibition, is a key feature of schizophrenia pathophysiology. The hippocampus is an important part of the neural circuitry that controls fear conditioning and can also modulate prefrontal and striatal mechanisms, including dopamine signaling, which play a role in salience modulation. Consequently, hippocampal neural disinhibition may contribute to impairments in fear conditioning and salience modulation reported in schizophrenia. Therefore, we examined the effect of ventral hippocampus (VH) disinhibition in male rats on fear conditioning and salience modulation, as reflected by latent inhibition (LI), in a conditioned emotional response (CER) procedure. A flashing light was used as the conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned suppression was used to index conditioned fear. In experiment 1, VH disinhibition via infusion of the GABA-A receptor antagonist picrotoxin before CS pre-exposure and conditioning markedly reduced fear conditioning to both the CS and context; LI was evident in saline-infused controls but could not be detected in picrotoxin-infused rats because of the low level of fear conditioning to the CS. In experiment 2, VH picrotoxin infusions only before CS pre-exposure did not affect the acquisition of fear conditioning or LI. Together, these findings indicate that VH neural disinhibition disrupts contextual and elemental fear conditioning, without affecting the acquisition of LI. The disruption of fear conditioning resembles aversive conditioning deficits reported in schizophrenia and may reflect a disruption of neural processing both within the hippocampus and in projection sites of the hippocampus.
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18
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Culbreth AJ, Kasanova Z, Ross TJ, Salmeron BJ, Gold JM, Stein EA, Waltz JA. Schizophrenia Patients Show Largely Similar Salience Signaling Compared to Healthy Controls in an Observational Task Environment. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11121610. [PMID: 34942913 PMCID: PMC8699423 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11121610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that the aberrant signaling of salience is associated with psychotic illness. Salience, however, can take many forms in task environments. For example, salience may refer to any of the following: (1) the valence of an outcome, (2) outcomes that are unexpected, called reward prediction errors (PEs), or (3) cues associated with uncertain outcomes. Here, we measure brain responses to different forms of salience in the context of a passive PE-signaling task, testing whether patients with schizophrenia (SZ) showed aberrant signaling of particular types of salience. We acquired event-related MRI data from 29 SZ patients and 23 controls during the performance of a passive outcome prediction task. Across groups, we found that the anterior insula and posterior parietal cortices were activated to multiple different types of salience, including PE magnitude and heightened levels of uncertainty. However, BOLD activation to salient events was not significantly different between patients and controls in many regions, including the insula, posterior parietal cortices, and default mode network nodes. Such results suggest that deficiencies in salience processing in SZ may not result from an impaired ability to signal salience per se, but instead the ability to use such signals to guide future actions. Notably, no between-group differences were observed in BOLD signal changes associated with PE-signaling in the striatum. However, positive symptom severity was found to significantly correlate with the magnitudes of salience contrasts in default mode network nodes. Our results suggest that, in an observational environment, SZ patients may show an intact ability to activate striatal and cortical regions to rewarding and non-rewarding salient events. Furthermore, reduced deactivation of a hypothesized default mode network node for SZ participants with high levels of positive symptoms, following salient events, point to abnormalities in interactions of the salience network with other brain networks, and their potential importance to positive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Culbreth
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA; (J.M.G.); (J.A.W.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Zuzana Kasanova
- Leuven Research & Development Spin-off & Innovation Unit, KU Leuven, Waaistraat 6-Box 5105, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;
| | - Thomas J. Ross
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA; (T.J.R.); (B.J.S.); (E.A.S.)
| | - Betty J. Salmeron
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA; (T.J.R.); (B.J.S.); (E.A.S.)
| | - James M. Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA; (J.M.G.); (J.A.W.)
| | - Elliot A. Stein
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA; (T.J.R.); (B.J.S.); (E.A.S.)
| | - James A. Waltz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA; (J.M.G.); (J.A.W.)
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19
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González-Rodríguez A, García-Pérez Á, Godoy-Giménez M, Carmona I, Estévez ÁF, Sayans-Jiménez P, Cañadas F. Schizotypal personality traits and the social learning of fear. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23048. [PMID: 34845255 PMCID: PMC8630166 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02336-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizotypy can be defined as a combination of traits qualitatively similar to those found in schizophrenia, but milder in their expression, that can be found in clinical and non-clinical populations. In this research, we explore, to our knowledge, for the first time, whether schizotypal personality traits may affect the acquisition of conditioned fear by social means only. Apart from being an essential capacity to ensure learning in safe environments, social fear learning shares important characteristics with direct fear acquisition, which also makes it a great candidate for developing successful extinction procedures. Undergraduate students (n = 72) performed a task of social fear learning. In this task, participants watched a video of a person that simulated to receive electric shocks (unconditioned stimulus; US) paired with a coloured square (conditioned stimulus plus; CS+), while another coloured square was never paired (conditioned stimulus minus; CS−) with the shock. After that, they were presented with a similar sequence of coloured screens. Their Skin Conductance Responses (SCRs) were registered during the whole process. Once they finished, they completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Our results revealed that participants with a low score in the Cognitive-Perceptual factor of the SPQ exhibited higher SCRs when they saw the US than when they saw the CS− (all ps < 0.01) during the learning phase. Nevertheless, those with higher scores did not present any difference in their SCRs toward both stimuli (all ps > 0.05), a pattern that has been similarly found in schizophrenia. During the final trials of the test phase, participants with the highest scores in the Disorganized factor were the only ones that maintained a higher SCR towards the CS+ than towards the CS− (p = 0.006), which could be associated with an impairment in their extinction processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Isabel Carmona
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.,CEINSA Health Research Centre, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain
| | - Ángeles F Estévez
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.,CERNEP Research Centre, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain
| | | | - Fernando Cañadas
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain. .,CERNEP Research Centre, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain.
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20
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Tuominen L, DeCross SN, Boeke E, Cassidy CM, Freudenreich O, Shinn AK, Tootell RBH, Holt DJ. Neural Abnormalities in Fear Generalization in Schizophrenia and Associations With Negative Symptoms. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 6:1165-1175. [PMID: 33524600 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Associative learning and memory processes, including the generalization of previously learned associations, may be altered in schizophrenia. Deficits in schizophrenia in stimulus generalization, one of the simplest forms of memory, could interfere with the ability to efficiently categorize related, similar information, potentially leading to impairments in daily functioning. METHODS To measure generalization in schizophrenia, 37 individuals with a nonaffective psychotic disorder and 32 demographically matched healthy control subjects underwent a Pavlovian fear conditioning and generalization procedure, which accounted for variation in perceptual ability across participants, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Skin conductance and neural responses to conditioned (CS+), neutral (CS-), and generalization stimuli were measured. Explicit memory ratings reflecting successful generalization were also collected after the scanning, as well as measures of symptom severity. RESULTS Compared with healthy control subjects, individuals with nonaffective psychotic disorders showed significant deficits in fear generalization across multiple measurements, with impairments in memory ratings and reductions in activation and deactivation of the salience and default networks, respectively, during fear generalization. Moreover, in the psychotic disorder group, greater behavioral and neural abnormalities in generalization were associated with higher levels of negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Fear generalization is impaired in psychotic illness. Given that successful generalization relies on a dynamic balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, these results reveal a potentially quantifiable mechanism linked to negative symptoms that can be investigated further in future human and experimental animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Tuominen
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Stephanie N DeCross
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Emily Boeke
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Clifford M Cassidy
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oliver Freudenreich
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ann K Shinn
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Roger B H Tootell
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Daphne J Holt
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
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21
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Dawes C, Bickerdike A, O'Neill C, Carneiro Pereira S, Waddington JL, Moran PM, O'Tuathaigh CMP. Cannabis Use, Schizotypy and Kamin Blocking Performance. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:633476. [PMID: 34887781 PMCID: PMC8649723 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.633476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cannabis use has been associated with increased risk for a first episode of psychosis and inappropriate assignment of salience to extraneous stimuli has been proposed as a mechanism underlying this association. Psychosis-prone (especially schizotypal) personality traits are associated with deficits in associative learning tasks that measure salience allocation. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between history of cannabis use and Kamin blocking (KB), a form of selective associative learning, in a non-clinical sample. Additionally, KB was examined in relation to self-reported schizotypy and aberrant salience scale profiles. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 307 healthy participants with no previous psychiatric or neurological history. Participants were recruited and tested using the Testable Minds behavioural testing platform. KB was calculated using Oades' "mouse in the house task", performance of which is disrupted in schizophrenia patients. Schizotypy was measured using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), and the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI) was used to assess self-reported unusual or inappropriate salience. The modified Cannabis Experience Questionnaire (CEQm) was used to collect detailed history of use of cannabis and other recreational drugs. Regression models and Bayesian t-tests or ANOVA (or non-parametric equivalents) examined differences in KB based on lifetime or current cannabis use (frequent use during previous year), as well as frequency of use among those who had previously used cannabis. Neither lifetime nor current cannabis use was associated with any significant change in total or trial-specific KB scores. Current cannabis use was associated with higher Disorganised SPQ dimension scores and higher total and sub-scale values for the ASI. A modest positive association was observed between total KB score and Disorganised SPQ dimension scores, but no relationships were found between KB and other SPQ measures. Higher scores on "Senses Sharpening" ASI sub-scale predicted decreased KB score only in participants who have not engaged in recent cannabis use. These results are discussed in the context of our understanding of the effects of long-term cannabis exposure on salience attribution, as well as inconsistencies in the literature with respect to both the relationship between KB and schizotypy and the measurement of KB associative learning phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Dawes
- School of Psychology, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Bickerdike
- Department of Sport, Leisure, and Childhood Studies, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland
| | - Cian O'Neill
- Department of Sport, Leisure, and Childhood Studies, Munster Technological University, Cork, Ireland
| | - Sarah Carneiro Pereira
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - John L Waddington
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Paula M Moran
- School of Psychology, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Colm M P O'Tuathaigh
- Medical Education Unit, School of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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22
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Biggs EE, Timmers I, Meulders A, Vlaeyen JW, Goebel R, Kaas AL. The neural correlates of pain-related fear: A meta-analysis comparing fear conditioning studies using painful and non-painful stimuli. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:52-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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23
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Li P, Jing RX, Zhao RJ, Shi L, Sun HQ, Ding Z, Lin X, Lu L, Fan Y. Association between functional and structural connectivity of the corticostriatal network in people with schizophrenia and unaffected first-degree relatives. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2020; 45:395-405. [PMID: 32436671 PMCID: PMC7595738 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.190015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysfunction of the corticostriatal network has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, but findings are inconsistent within and across imaging modalities. We used multimodal neuroimaging to analyze functional and structural connectivity in the corticostriatal network in people with schizophrenia and unaffected first-degree relatives. METHODS We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging scans from people with schizophrenia (n = 47), relatives (n = 30) and controls (n = 49). We compared seed-based functional and structural connectivity across groups within striatal subdivisions defined a priori. RESULTS Compared with controls, people with schizophrenia had altered connectivity between the subdivisions and brain regions in the frontal and temporal cortices and thalamus; relatives showed different connectivity between the subdivisions and the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the left precuneus. Post-hoc t tests revealed that people with schizophrenia had decreased functional connectivity in the ventral loop (ventral striatum-right ACC) and dorsal loop (executive striatum-right ACC and sensorimotor striatum-right ACC), accompanied by decreased structural connectivity; relatives had reduced functional connectivity in the ventral loop and the dorsal loop (right executive striatum-right ACC) and no significant difference in structural connectivity compared with the other groups. Functional connectivity among people with schizophrenia in the bilateral ventral striatum-right ACC was correlated with positive symptom severity. LIMITATIONS The number of relatives included was moderate. Striatal subdivisions were defined based on a relatively low threshold, and structural connectivity was measured based on fractional anisotropy alone. CONCLUSION Our findings provide insight into the role of hypoconnectivity of the ventral corticostriatal system in people with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Li
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Ri-Xing Jing
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Rong-Jiang Zhao
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Le Shi
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Hong-Qiang Sun
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Zengbo Ding
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Xiao Lin
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Lin Lu
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Yong Fan
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
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24
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Leicht G, Andreou C, Nafe T, Nägele F, Rauh J, Curic S, Schauer P, Schöttle D, Steinmann S, Mulert C. Alterations of oscillatory neuronal activity during reward processing in schizophrenia. J Psychiatr Res 2020; 129:80-87. [PMID: 32619750 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.05.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Reward system dysfunctions are considered to be a pathophysiological mechanism in schizophrenia. Electrophysiological studies of reward system functions have identified frequency-specific brain networks for the processing of positive (high-beta frequency) and negative (theta frequency) events. Remarkably, midbrain dopaminergic signalling also includes theta and high-beta frequency modes, which have been assumed to reflect tonic and phasic dopamine responses, respectively. The aim of the present study was to identify alterations of oscillatory responses to reward feedback in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS Seventeen patients with schizophrenia and 18 healthy controls performed a gambling task during recording of 64-channel electroencephalography. The theta and high-beta band total power were investigated in response to feedback events depending on feedback valence (loss or gain) and magnitude (5 vs. 25 points). RESULTS Both the increase of theta oscillatory activity in response to loss feedback (compared to gain feedback) and the increase of high-beta oscillatory activity in response to gain feedback (compared to loss feedback) were reduced in patients. The difference in high-beta responses to gain versus loss feedback in patients was associated with the severity of negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Our findings are consistent with current models of reward system dysfunction in schizophrenia, and indicate deficits in both cortical tonic and subcortical phasic dopamine activity, consistent with the complex dopaminergic abnormalities in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Leicht
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Christina Andreou
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Till Nafe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Felix Nägele
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jonas Rauh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stjepan Curic
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Paul Schauer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Schöttle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Saskia Steinmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Mulert
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Branch, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany; Center of Psychiatry, Justus-Liebig University, Klinikstr. 36, 35385, Giessen, Germany
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25
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Abstract
The generalization of learned behavior has been extensively investigated, but accounting for variance in generalized responding remains a challenge. Based on recent advances, we demonstrate that the inclusion of perceptual measures in generalization research may lead to a better understanding of both intra- and interindividual differences in generalization. We explore various ways through which perceptual variability can influence generalized responding. We investigate its impact on the ability to discriminate between stimuli and how similarity between stimuli may be variable, rather than fixed, because of it. Subsequently, we argue that perceptual variations can yield different learning experiences and that interindividual differences in generalized responding may be understood from this perspective. Finally, we point to the role of memory and decision-making within this context. Throughout this paper, we argue that accounting for perception in current generalization protocols will improve the precision of obtained generalization gradients and the ability to infer latent mechanisms. This can inspire future attempts to use generalization gradients as a (clinical) predictor or to relate them to individual traits and neural correlates and, ultimately, may lead to new theoretical and clinical insights.
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26
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Howes OD, Hird EJ, Adams RA, Corlett PR, McGuire P. Aberrant Salience, Information Processing, and Dopaminergic Signaling in People at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 88:304-314. [PMID: 32430200 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The aberrant salience hypothesis proposes that striatal dopamine dysregulation causes misattribution of salience to irrelevant stimuli leading to psychosis. Recently, new lines of preclinical evidence on information coding by subcortical dopamine coupled with computational models of the brain's ability to predict and make inferences about the world (predictive processing) provide a new perspective on this hypothesis. We review these and summarize the evidence for dopamine dysfunction, reward processing, and salience abnormalities in people at clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR) relative to findings in patients with psychosis. This review identifies consistent evidence for dysregulated subcortical dopamine function in people at CHR, but also indicates a number of areas where neurobiological processes are different in CHR subjects relative to patients with psychosis, particularly in reward processing. We then consider how predictive processing models may explain psychotic symptoms in terms of alterations in prediction error and precision signaling using Bayesian approaches. We also review the potential role of environmental risk factors, particularly early adverse life experiences, in influencing the prior expectations that individuals have about their world in terms of computational models of the progression from being at CHR to frank psychosis. We identify a number of key outstanding questions, including the relative roles of prediction error or precision signaling in the development of symptoms and the mechanism underlying dopamine dysfunction. Finally, we discuss how the integration of computational psychiatry with biological investigation may inform the treatment for people at CHR of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver D Howes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom; Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Emily J Hird
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rick A Adams
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip R Corlett
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
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27
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Kirschner M, Rabinowitz A, Singer N, Dagher A. From apathy to addiction: Insights from neurology and psychiatry. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 101:109926. [PMID: 32171904 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The tendency to engage in addictive behaviors has long been tied to the actions of the dopamine system. Early theories were based on the fact that all addictive drugs and behaviors (such as gambling) increase dopamine levels in the striatum, and the evidence that dopamine signaled reward or reward prediction error. However, with a changing emphasis of addiction away from purely pharmacological models that emphasize tolerance and withdrawal, towards one of behavioral dyscontrol, is there still a place for abnormal dopamine signaling in addiction? Here we recast the dopamine theory of addiction based on the idea that tonic dopamine may index a continuous phenotype that goes from apathy to impulsivity and compulsivity. Higher tonic dopamine signaling would make individuals vulnerable to drug reinforcement and cue-induced craving. We relate this to computational models of dopamine signaling, and review clinical and neuroimaging evidence from Parkinson's Disease, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in support of this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Kirschner
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Arielle Rabinowitz
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Neomi Singer
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Alain Dagher
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
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28
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What you want may not be what you like: A test of the aberrant salience hypothesis in schizophrenia risk. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:873-887. [PMID: 32638159 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00807-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Motivational abnormalities represent a key area of dysfunction in individuals with, or at risk for, schizophrenia and severely limit broad domains of functioning in these populations. The aberrant salience hypothesis posits that motivational abnormalities are the result of an over-attribution of salience to nonpleasurable stimuli but an under-attribution of salience to pleasurable ones. Consequently, people "want" what they do not "like" but do not "want" what they "like." However, it is unclear how this hypothesis manifests in schizophrenia risk beyond monetary rewards. The current research provided a multimodal investigation of the aberrant salience hypothesis in people with elevated psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) who are at risk for developing psychosis. Study 1 examined the link between liking and incentive salience using a neurobiological indicator of incentive salience (contingent negative variation/CNV) in 23 PLEs and 21 Control participants. The PLEs group showed diminished CNV reactivity to pleasant (vs. neutral) social images, which was driven by an augmented response to neutral stimuli. Study 2 examined liking, incentive salience, and conscious wanting experience using a psychological indicator of incentive salience (positive spontaneous thoughts/PSTs) in 38 PLEs and 246 Control participants. The PLEs group showed diminished correspondence between liking, PSTs, and conscious wanting across diverse reward contexts. Collectively, individuals with PLEs over-attribute salience to neutral stimuli and, to a lesser degree, under-attribute salience to rewards. Findings of the current research support abnormal salience attribution as a trait-like feature implicated in the pathophysiology and development of schizophrenia and provide valuable insights on research and treatment of this illness.
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29
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30
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Dugré JR, Dumais A, Potvin S. Limbic Hyperactivity in Response to Emotionally Neutral Stimuli in Schizophrenia: Response to Rasetti et al. Am J Psychiatry 2020; 177:640-641. [PMID: 32605444 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19090973r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jules R Dugré
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
| | - Alexandre Dumais
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
| | - Stéphane Potvin
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
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31
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The Bayesian Brain and Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Hyper-salience in Psychosis. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40473-020-00211-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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32
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Miasnikova A, Perevoznyuk G, Martynova O, Baklushev M. Cross-frequency phase coupling of brain oscillations and relevance attribution as saliency detection in abstract reasoning. Neurosci Res 2020; 166:26-33. [PMID: 32479775 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2020.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
reasoning is associated with the ability to detect relations among objects, ideas, events. It underlies the understanding of other individuals' thoughts and intentions. In natural settings, individuals have to infer relevant associations that have proven to be reliable or precise predictors. Salience theory suggests that the attribution of meaning to stimulus depends on their contingency, saliency, and relevance to adaptation. So far, subjective estimates of relevance have mostly been explored in motivation and implicit learning. Mechanisms underlying formation of associations in abstract thinking with regard to their subjective relevance, or salience, are not clear. Applying novel computational methods, we investigated relevance detection in categorization tasks in 17 healthy individuals. Two models of relevance detection were developed: a conventional one with nouns from the same semantic category, an aberrant one based on an insignificant common feature. Control condition introduced non-related words. The participants were to detect either a relevant principle or an insignificant feature to group presented words. In control condition they inferred that the stimuli were irrelevant to any grouping idea. Cross-frequency phase coupling analysis revealed statistically distinct patterns of synchronization representing search and decision in the models of normal and aberrant relevance detection. Significantly distinct frontotemporal functional networks with central and parietal components in the theta and alpha frequency bands may reflect differences in relevance detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Miasnikova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Science, 5A Butlerova St., 117485 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Gleb Perevoznyuk
- MSU, Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, 31-5 Lomonosovsky Prospekt, 117192 Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga Martynova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Science, 5A Butlerova St., 117485 Moscow, Russia; Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russian Federation, 20 Myasnitskaya, 101000 Moscow, Russia
| | - Mikhail Baklushev
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of Russian Academy of Science, 5A Butlerova St., 117485, Moscow, Russia
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33
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Iino Y, Sawada T, Yamaguchi K, Tajiri M, Ishii S, Kasai H, Yagishita S. Dopamine D2 receptors in discrimination learning and spine enlargement. Nature 2020; 579:555-560. [PMID: 32214250 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2115-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) are densely expressed in the striatum and have been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia1,2. High-affinity binding of dopamine suggests that D2Rs detect transient reductions in dopamine concentration (the dopamine dip) during punishment learning3-5. However, the nature and cellular basis of D2R-dependent behaviour are unclear. Here we show that tone reward conditioning induces marked stimulus generalization in a manner that depends on dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of mice, and that discrimination learning refines the conditioning using a dopamine dip. In NAc slices, a narrow dopamine dip (as short as 0.4 s) was detected by D2Rs to disinhibit adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-mediated enlargement of dendritic spines in D2R-expressing spiny projection neurons (D2-SPNs). Plasticity-related signalling by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and A2ARs in the NAc was required for discrimination learning. By contrast, extinction learning did not involve dopamine dips or D2-SPNs. Treatment with methamphetamine, which dysregulates dopamine signalling, impaired discrimination learning and spine enlargement, and these impairments were reversed by a D2R antagonist. Our data show that D2Rs refine the generalized reward learning mediated by D1Rs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Iino
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Sawada
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenji Yamaguchi
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mio Tajiri
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shin Ishii
- International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Haruo Kasai
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. .,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Sho Yagishita
- Laboratory of Structural Physiology, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. .,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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34
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Cole DM, Diaconescu AO, Pfeiffer UJ, Brodersen KH, Mathys CD, Julkowski D, Ruhrmann S, Schilbach L, Tittgemeyer M, Vogeley K, Stephan KE. Atypical processing of uncertainty in individuals at risk for psychosis. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 26:102239. [PMID: 32182575 PMCID: PMC7076146 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Humans at psychosis clinical high risk (CHR) over-estimate environmental volatility. Low-level prediction error (PE) signals evoke increased frontal activity in CHR. Volatility-related PEs are associated with reduced frontal activity in CHR. Frontal cortical activation to low-level PEs reflects impaired clinical functioning. Atypical PE learning signal representations may promote delusion formation in CHR.
Current theories of psychosis highlight the role of abnormal learning signals, i.e., prediction errors (PEs) and uncertainty, in the formation of delusional beliefs. We employed computational analyses of behaviour and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether such abnormalities are evident in clinical high risk (CHR) individuals. Non-medicated CHR individuals (n = 13) and control participants (n = 13) performed a probabilistic learning paradigm during fMRI data acquisition. We used a hierarchical Bayesian model to infer subject-specific computations from behaviour – with a focus on PEs and uncertainty (or its inverse, precision) at different levels, including environmental ‘volatility’ – and used these computational quantities for analyses of fMRI data. Computational modelling of CHR individuals’ behaviour indicated volatility estimates converged to significantly higher levels than in controls. Model-based fMRI demonstrated increased activity in prefrontal and insular regions of CHR individuals in response to precision-weighted low-level outcome PEs, while activations of prefrontal, orbitofrontal and anterior insula cortex by higher-level PEs (that serve to update volatility estimates) were reduced. Additionally, prefrontal cortical activity in response to outcome PEs in CHR was negatively associated with clinical measures of global functioning. Our results suggest a multi-faceted learning abnormality in CHR individuals under conditions of environmental uncertainty, comprising higher levels of volatility estimates combined with reduced cortical activation, and abnormally high activations in prefrontal and insular areas by precision-weighted outcome PEs. This atypical representation of high- and low-level learning signals might reflect a predisposition to delusion formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Cole
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Zurich, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Andreea O Diaconescu
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Ulrich J Pfeiffer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Kay H Brodersen
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christoph D Mathys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy; Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Dominika Julkowski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stephan Ruhrmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Graduate School for Systemic Neuroscience, Munich, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Translational Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany; Kliniken der Heinrich-Heine-Universität/LVR-Klinik Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Marc Tittgemeyer
- Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany; Cologne Cluster of Excellence in Cellular Stress and Aging associated Disease (CECAD), Germany
| | - Kai Vogeley
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine - Cognitive Neuroscience (INM3), Research Center Juelich, Juelich, Germany
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Quarmley M, Gur RC, Turetsky BI, Watters AJ, Bilker WB, Elliott MA, Calkins ME, Kohler CG, Ruparel K, Rupert P, Gur RE, Wolf DH. Reduced safety processing during aversive social conditioning in psychosis and clinical risk. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:2247-2253. [PMID: 31112989 PMCID: PMC6898578 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0421-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Social impairment occurs across the psychosis spectrum, but its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that reduced differential responses (aversive vs. neutral) in neural circuitry underpinning aversive conditioning of social stimuli characterizes the psychosis spectrum. Participants age 10-30 included a healthy control group (HC, analyzed n = 36) and a psychosis spectrum group (PSY, n = 71), including 49 at clinical risk for psychosis and 22 with a frank psychotic disorder. 3T fMRI utilized a passive aversive conditioning paradigm, with neutral faces as conditioned stimuli (CS) and a scream as the unconditioned stimulus. fMRI conditioning was indexed as the activation difference between aversive and neutral trials. Analysis focused on amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and anterior insula, regions previously implicated in aversive and social-emotional processing. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activated more to neutral than aversive CS; this "safety effect" was driven by HC and reduced in PSY, and correlated with subjective emotional ratings following conditioning. Insula showed the expected aversive conditioning effect, and although no group differences were found, its activation in PSY correlated with anxiety severity. Unexpectedly, amygdala did not show aversive conditioning; its activation trended greater for neutral than aversive CS, and did not differ significantly based on group or symptom severity. We conclude that abnormalities in social aversive conditioning are present across the psychosis spectrum including clinical risk, linked to a failure of safety processing. Aversive and safety learning provide translational paradigms yielding insight into pathophysiology of psychosis risk, and providing potential targets for therapeutic and preventative interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Quarmley
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Bruce I. Turetsky
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Anna J. Watters
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Warren B. Bilker
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Mark A. Elliott
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Monica E. Calkins
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Christian G. Kohler
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Kosha Ruparel
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Petra Rupert
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Raquel E. Gur
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
| | - Daniel H. Wolf
- 0000 0004 1936 8972grid.25879.31Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA
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Dugré JR, Bitar N, Dumais A, Potvin S. Limbic Hyperactivity in Response to Emotionally Neutral Stimuli in Schizophrenia: A Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis of the Hypervigilant Mind. Am J Psychiatry 2019; 176:1021-1029. [PMID: 31509006 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19030247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE It has long been assumed that paranoid ideation may stem from an aberrant limbic response to threatening stimuli. However, results from functional neuroimaging studies using negative emotional stimuli have failed to confirm this assumption. One of the potential reasons for the lack of effect is that study participants with psychosis may display aberrant brain responses to neutral material rather than to threatening stimuli. The authors conducted a functional neuroimaging meta-analysis to test this hypothesis. METHODS A literature search was performed with PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase to identify functional neuroimaging studies examining brain responses to neutral material in patients with psychosis. A total of 23 studies involving schizophrenia patients were retrieved. Using t-maps of peak coordinates to calculate effect sizes, a random-effects model meta-analysis was performed with the anisotropic effect-size version of Seed-based d Mapping software. RESULTS In schizophrenia patients relative to healthy control subjects, increased activations were observed in the left and right amygdala and parahippocampus and the left putamen, hippocampus, and insula in response to neutral stimuli. CONCLUSIONS Given that several limbic regions were found to be more activated in schizophrenia patients than in control subjects, the results of this meta-analysis strongly suggest that these patients confer aberrant emotional significance to nonthreatening stimuli. In theory, this abnormal brain reactivity may fuel delusional thoughts. Studies are needed in individuals at risk of psychosis to determine whether aberrant limbic reactivity to neutral stimuli is an early neurofunctional marker of psychosis vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jules R Dugré
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); and Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
| | - Nathalie Bitar
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); and Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
| | - Alexandre Dumais
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); and Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
| | - Stéphane Potvin
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal (all authors); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal (all authors); and Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal, Montreal (Dumais)
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Fitoussi A, Zunder J, Tan H, Laviolette SR. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol potentiates fear memory salience through functional modulation of mesolimbic dopaminergic activity states. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 47:1385-1400. [PMID: 29776015 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Chronic or acute exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, has been associated with numerous neuropsychiatric side-effects, including dysregulation of emotional processing and associative memory formation. Clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that the effects of THC are due to the ability to modulate mesolimbic dopamine (DA) activity states in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which THC modulates mesolimbic DA function and emotional processing are not well understood. Using an olfactory associative fear memory procedure combined with in vivo neuronal electrophysiology, we examined the effects of direct THC microinfusions targeting the shell region of the NAc (NASh) and examined how THC may modulate the processing of fear-related emotional memory and concomitant activity states of the mesolimbic DA system. We report that intra-NASh THC dose-dependently potentiates the emotional salience of normally subthreshold fear conditioning cues. These effects were dependent upon intra-VTA transmission through GABAergic receptor mechanisms and intra-NASh DAergic transmission. Furthermore, doses of intra-NASh THC that potentiated fear memory salience were found to modulate intra-VTA neuronal network activity by increasing the spontaneous firing and bursting frequency of DAergic neurones whilst decreasing the activity levels of a subpopulation of putative GABAergic VTA neurones. These findings demonstrate that THC can act directly in the NASh to modulate mesolimbic activity states and induce disturbances in emotional salience and memory formation through modulation of VTA DAergic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelie Fitoussi
- Addiction Research Group, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Jordan Zunder
- Addiction Research Group, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Huibing Tan
- Addiction Research Group, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Steven R Laviolette
- Addiction Research Group, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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Toward integrated understanding of salience in psychosis. Neurobiol Dis 2019; 131:104414. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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Gross ME, Araujo DB, Zedelius CM, Schooler JW. Is perception the missing link between creativity, curiosity and schizotypy? Evidence from spontaneous eye-movements and responses to auditory oddball stimuli. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Bracht T, Viher PV, Stegmayer K, Strik W, Federspiel A, Wiest R, Walther S. Increased structural connectivity of the medial forebrain bundle in schizophrenia spectrum disorders is associated with delusions of paranoid threat and grandiosity. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 24:102044. [PMID: 31678911 PMCID: PMC6978276 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Increased FA of bilateral slMFB can be found in delusional SSD-patients. Findings are supported by a psychopathological model of paranoia and grandiosity. Findings are in line with a model of underlying network physiology (slMFB).
In many cases delusions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are driven by strong emotions such as feelings of paranoia or grandiosity. We refer to these extreme emotional experiences as psychotic affectivity. We hypothesized that increased structural connectivity of the supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle (slMFB), a major tract of the reward system, is associated with delusional psychotic affectivity. Forty-six patients with SSD and 44 healthy controls (HC) underwent diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI)-scans. The slMFB and a comparison tract (corticospinal tract) were reconstructed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based tractography. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was sampled across the tracts. We used a mixed-model analyses of variance controlling for age and gender to compare FA of bilateral slMFB between SSD-patients and HC. Correlations of FA of bilateral slMFB and the PANSS-positive item delusions were calculated. In addition, FA was compared between three clinically homogeneous SSD-subgroups in terms of psychotic affectivity (severe, mild and no PA, sPA, mPA, nPA) and HC. FA of the slMFB did not differ between all SSD-patients and HC. In SSD-patients there was a positive correlation between delusions and FA in bilateral slMFB. Likewise, SSD-subgroups of psychotic affectivity and HC differed significantly in FA of the slMFB. Results were driven by higher FA in the right slMFB in sPA as compared to nPA and to HC. There was no significant effect for the comparison tract. In conclusion, increased structural connectivity of the slMFB may underlie delusional experiences of paranoia and grandiosity in SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Bracht
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Petra V Viher
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Chun CA, Brugger P, Kwapil TR. Aberrant Salience Across Levels of Processing in Positive and Negative Schizotypy. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2073. [PMID: 31620045 PMCID: PMC6759779 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct conceptualized as the expression of the underlying vulnerability for schizophrenia. Certain traits of positive schizotypy, such as odd beliefs, unusual perceptual experiences, suspiciousness, and referential thinking show associations with aberrant salience. Positive schizotypy may involve hyper-attribution of salience toward insignificant events, whereas negative schizotypy may involve hypo-attribution of salience, even toward important events. Attribution of salience is thought to involve dopamine-mediated processes, a mechanism that is disrupted in schizotypy; however, little is known about the cognitive processes potentially underlying salience attribution. The present study assessed the relationship between aberrant salience and latent inhibition (LI), as well as their associations with positive and negative schizotypy. Salience was measured at various stages of processing, including visual salience, attributions of salience to contingency illusions, and self-reported experience of salience. Schizotypy traits were differentially associated with self-reported aberrant salience experiences: positive schizotypy showed positive associations (β = 0.67, f2 = 0.82, large effect) and negative schizotypy showed inverse associations (β = -0.20, f2 = 0.07, small effect). However, neither schizotypy dimension was associated with visual salience, contingency illusions, or LI. Salience processing across perceptual, cognitive, and experiential levels likely involves different mechanisms, some of which may not show major disruption in subclinical manifestations of schizotypy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte A. Chun
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, United States
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Peter Brugger
- Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas R. Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
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Almeida V, Levin R, Peres FF, Suiama MA, Vendramini AM, Santos CM, Silva ND, Zuardi AW, Hallak JEC, Crippa JA, Abílio VC. Role of the endocannabinoid and endovanilloid systems in an animal model of schizophrenia-related emotional processing/cognitive deficit. Neuropharmacology 2019; 155:44-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Lawrence SJ, Formisano E, Muckli L, de Lange FP. Laminar fMRI: Applications for cognitive neuroscience. Neuroimage 2019; 197:785-791. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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Kornmayer L, Leicht G, Mulert C. Attentional capture by physically salient stimuli in the gamma frequency is associated with schizophrenia symptoms. World J Biol Psychiatry 2019; 19:S52-S62. [PMID: 27844503 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2016.1258491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Aberrant salience mainly is attributed to excessive dopaminergic processing in the ventral striatum. Increased gamma power during sensory processing of physical salience has been shown to be associated with positive trait schizotypy. In the present study, this is assessed in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS The early evoked visual gamma-band response (GBR) at 40 Hz was assessed for a schizophrenia patient group (N = 22) and a matched healthy control group (N = 22) applying EEG time-frequency analysis. The GBR was assessed for two conditions within a visual detection paradigm: a target with or without a physically salient distracter and evaluated in relation to the PANSS. RESULTS A 2 × 2 ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of condition and a trend interaction of group and condition for the GBR, with highest power for schizophrenia patients in the physically salient distracter condition. Moreover, evoked GBR power in this condition was correlated with positive (r = 0.664; P = 0.001**) and disorganised (r = 0.618; P = 0.002**) schizophrenia symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Evoked GBR power during processing of physical salience in schizophrenia was associated with positive symptoms. We suggest that abnormal processing of physically salient stimuli might be involved in the pathophysiological genesis of positive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kornmayer
- a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center of Psychosocial Medicine , University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Gregor Leicht
- a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center of Psychosocial Medicine , University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Christoph Mulert
- a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center of Psychosocial Medicine , University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf , Hamburg , Germany
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Larsen KM, Dzafic I, Siebner HR, Garrido MI. Alteration of functional brain architecture in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome – Insights into susceptibility for psychosis. Neuroimage 2019; 190:154-171. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
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Young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) display prodromal schizophrenia-like behavioral abnormalities. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 90:169-176. [PMID: 30500412 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) strain has been suggested as an animal model of schizophrenia, considering that adult SHRs display behavioral abnormalities that mimic the cognitive, psychotic and negative symptoms of the disease and are characteristic of its animal models. SHRs display: (I) deficits in fear conditioning and latent inhibition (modeling cognitive impairments), (II) deficit in prepulse inhibition of startle reflex (reflecting a deficit in sensorimotor gating, and associated with psychotic symptoms), (III) diminished social behavior (modeling negative symptoms) and (IV) hyperlocomotion (modeling the hyperactivity of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system/ psychotic symptoms). These behavioral abnormalities are reversed specifically by the administration of antipsychotic drugs. Here, we performed a behavioral characterization of young (27-50 days old) SHRs in order to investigate potential early behavioral abnormalities resembling the prodromal phase of schizophrenia. When compared to Wistar rats, young SHRs did not display hyperlocomotion or PPI deficit, but exhibited diminished social interaction and impaired fear conditioning and latent inhibition. These findings are in accordance with the clinical course of schizophrenia: manifestation of social and cognitive impairments and absence of full-blown psychotic symptoms in the prodromal phase. The present data reinforce the SHR strain as a model of schizophrenia, expanding its validity to the prodromal phase of the disorder.
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Watters AJ, Rupert PE, Wolf DH, Calkins ME, Gur RC, Gur RE, Turetsky BI. Social aversive conditioning in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis and with psychosis: An ERP study. Schizophr Res 2018; 202:291-296. [PMID: 29937326 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social cognition and emotion processing are compromised in schizophrenia. Disruptions in these domains may also be present during the psychosis-risk state. Aversive conditioning is an established translational research paradigm to investigate affective reactivity and learning. Using an aversive conditioning ERP paradigm with social cues, we examined whether psychosis patients and at-risk youths differentially respond to aversively conditioned faces. METHODS Participants (ages 10-30) were enrolled into three demographically-matched groups: clinical risk for psychosis (CR, n = 32), psychosis (PS, n = 26), and healthy control (HC, n = 33). EEGs were recorded during a delay aversive conditioning task in which three neutral faces were paired with an aversive tone at 100%, 50% and 0% contingencies. Analysis focused on group differences in ERP peaks representing visual processing (occipital P120), emotional valence (frontal VPP), and directed attention (parietal-occipital P300), for dimensions of aversiveness (100% vs. 0%) and unpredictability (50% vs. 100% + 0%). RESULTS HC, but not CR or PS, showed increased P300 amplitude to aversive vs. non-aversive conditioned stimuli. CR, but not PS or HC, showed increased VPP amplitude to unpredictable vs. predictable stimuli. CONCLUSIONS PS and CR both fail to allocate appropriate salience to social cues that are predictably aversive. CR, but not PS exhibit heightened emotional reactivity to social cues that are of uncertain salience. Clinical risk for schizophrenia may involve neural abnormalities distinct from both healthy and fully-established disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna J Watters
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Petra E Rupert
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Daniel H Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Monica E Calkins
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Raquel E Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Bruce I Turetsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Neumann SR, Linscott RJ. The relationships among aberrant salience, reward motivation, and reward sensitivity. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 2018; 27:e1615. [PMID: 29691918 PMCID: PMC6877145 DOI: 10.1002/mpr.1615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Change in reward processing and motivation may mediate the relationship between dopaminergic dysregulation and positive symptoms of schizophrenia. We sought to investigate the measurement of aberrant salience and its relationship with behavioural measures of reward and motivation. METHODS Participants (n = 82) completed measures of aberrant salience (Aberrant Salience Inventory and Salience Attribution Task), motivation (Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task), and reinforcer sensitivity (Stimulus Chase Task). Hypotheses were tested using correlation and generalised linear modelling. RESULTS Results indicated no relationship between aberrant salience measures. The Aberrant Salience Inventory was positively related to effort expenditure for lower less likely rewards and predicted the use of probability alone in decision-making. The only significant relationship between reward and motivation was a positive relationship between gain sensitivity and motivated behaviour for higher more likely rewards. CONCLUSIONS Although some support for a relationship between measures of reward motivation and aberrant salience were found, there was no evidence that the aberrant salience measures had concurrent validity. Our results suggest caution is warranted when interpreting measures of aberrant salience.
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Uliana DL, Resstel LBM, Grace AA. Fear extinction disruption in a developmental rodent model of schizophrenia correlates with an impairment in basolateral amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex plasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:2459-2467. [PMID: 29973655 PMCID: PMC6180011 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0128-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia patients typically exhibit prominent negative symptoms associated with deficits in extinction recall and decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity (vmPFC, analogous to medial PFC infralimbic segment in rodents). mPFC activity modulates the activity of basolateral amygdala (BLA) and this connectivity is related to extinction. mPFC and BLA activity has been shown to be altered in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) developmental disruption model of schizophrenia. However, it is unknown if there are alterations in extinction processes in this model. Therefore, we investigated extinction and the role of mPFC-BLA balance in MAM rats. Male offspring of pregnant rats treated with Saline or MAM (20 mg/kg; i.p.) on gestational day 17 were used in fear conditioning (contextual/tone) and electrophysiological experiments (mPFC-BLA plasticity). No difference was observed in conditioning, extinction, and test sessions in contextual fear conditioning. However, MAM-treated rats demonstrated impairment in extinction learning and recall in tone fear conditioning. Furthermore, high frequency stimulation (HFS) of the BLA decreased spike probability in the mPFC of saline-treated rats but not in MAM rats. NMDA antagonist microinjected into the BLA disrupted extinction learning and recall in control rats, resulting in a similar deficit as that observed in MAM-treated rats. These data demonstrate extinction impairment in the MAM model that is analogous to that observed in schizophrenia patients, that was probably due to disruption in the regulation of mPFC activity by glutamatergic neurotransmission in the BLA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela L Uliana
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto/SP, 14049-900, Brazil.
| | - Leonardo B M Resstel
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto/SP, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Anthony A Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, A210 Langley Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
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Katthagen T, Mathys C, Deserno L, Walter H, Kathmann N, Heinz A, Schlagenhauf F. Modeling subjective relevance in schizophrenia and its relation to aberrant salience. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006319. [PMID: 30096179 PMCID: PMC6105009 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
In schizophrenia, increased aberrant salience to irrelevant events and reduced learning of relevant information may relate to an underlying deficit in relevance detection. So far, subjective estimates of relevance have not been probed in schizophrenia patients. The mechanisms underlying belief formation about relevance and their translation into decisions are unclear. Using novel computational methods, we investigated relevance detection during implicit learning in 42 schizophrenia patients and 42 healthy individuals. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while detecting the outcomes in a learning task. These were preceded by cues differing in color and shape, which were either relevant or irrelevant for outcome prediction. We provided a novel definition of relevance based on Bayesian precision and modeled reaction times as a function of relevance weighted unsigned prediction errors (UPE). For aberrant salience, we assessed responses to subjectively irrelevant cue manifestations. Participants learned the contingencies and slowed down their responses following unexpected events. Model selection revealed that individuals inferred the relevance of cue features and used it for behavioral adaption to the relevant cue feature. Relevance weighted UPEs correlated with dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation and hippocampus deactivation. In patients, the aberrant salience bias to subjectively task-irrelevant information was increased and correlated with decreased striatal UPE activation and increased negative symptoms. This study shows that relevance estimates based on Bayesian precision can be inferred from observed behavior. This underscores the importance of relevance detection as an underlying mechanism for behavioral adaptation in complex environments and enhances the understanding of aberrant salience in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients display deficits in the appropriate attribution of meaningfulness to stimuli; such as aberrantly increased processing of irrelevant and insufficient processing of relevant information. We aimed to investigate the subjective nature of relevance detection and its deficit in schizophrenia and developed an implicit learning paradigm that allowed for parallel learning from relevant and irrelevant information. Based on the idea that subjective relevance might be captured by Bayesian precision we set up different computational models of how subjective relevance guides learning and behavioral adaptation. We found that subjects use Bayesian precision to estimate stimulus relevance in order to integrate multidimensional information and adapt more to the subjectively relevant stimuli. This relevance weighted adaptation correlated with brain activation within the salience network. Further, schizophrenia patients displayed an increased aberrant tendency to irrelevant events which related to decreased striatal coding of the relevant learning signal. To conclude, our findings demonstrate how individual beliefs about relevance can be inferred from computational models. Furthermore, we suggest that aberrant salience observed in patients with schizophrenia reflects an idiosyncratic bias in states of high subjective uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Katthagen
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Christoph Mathys
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lorenz Deserno
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Berlin, Germany
| | - Norbert Kathmann
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Berlin, Germany
| | - Florian Schlagenhauf
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy CCM, Berlin, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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