1
|
Kuhn L, Choy O, Keller L, Habel U, Wagels L. Prefrontal tDCS modulates risk-taking in male violent offenders. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10087. [PMID: 38698192 PMCID: PMC11066090 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60795-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Detrimental decision-making is a major problem among violent offenders. Non-invasive brain stimulation offers a promising method to directly influence decision-making and has already been shown to modulate risk-taking in non-violent controls. We hypothesize that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex beneficially modulates the neural and behavioral correlates of risk-taking in a sample of violent offenders. We expect offenders to show more risky decision-making than non-violent controls and that prefrontal tDCS will induce stronger changes in the offender group. In the current study, 22 male violent offenders and 24 male non-violent controls took part in a randomized double-blind sham-controlled cross-over study applying tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Subsequently, participants performed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Violent offenders showed significantly less optimal decision-making compared to non-violent controls. Active tDCS increased prefrontal activity and improved decision-making only in violent offenders but not in the control group. Also, in offenders only, prefrontal tDCS influenced functional connectivity between the stimulated area and other brain regions such as the thalamus. These results suggest baseline dependent effects of tDCS and pave the way for treatment options of disadvantageous decision-making behavior in this population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leandra Kuhn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Olivia Choy
- Department of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Lara Keller
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abend R. Understanding anxiety symptoms as aberrant defensive responding along the threat imminence continuum. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105305. [PMID: 37414377 PMCID: PMC10528507 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Threat-anticipatory defensive responses have evolved to promote survival in a dynamic world. While inherently adaptive, aberrant expression of defensive responses to potential threat could manifest as pathological anxiety, which is prevalent, impairing, and associated with adverse outcomes. Extensive translational neuroscience research indicates that normative defensive responses are organized by threat imminence, such that distinct response patterns are observed in each phase of threat encounter and orchestrated by partially conserved neural circuitry. Anxiety symptoms, such as excessive and pervasive worry, physiological arousal, and avoidance behavior, may reflect aberrant expression of otherwise normative defensive responses, and therefore follow the same imminence-based organization. Here, empirical evidence linking aberrant expression of specific, imminence-dependent defensive responding to distinct anxiety symptoms is reviewed, and plausible contributing neural circuitry is highlighted. Drawing from translational and clinical research, the proposed framework informs our understanding of pathological anxiety by grounding anxiety symptoms in conserved psychobiological mechanisms. Potential implications for research and treatment are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- School of Psychology, Reichman University, P.O. Box 167, Herzliya 4610101, Israel; Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tang W, Shen T, Huang Y, Zhu W, You S, Zhu C, Zhang L, Ma J, Wang Y, Zhao J, Li T, Lai HY. Exploring structural and functional alterations in drug-naïve obsessive-compulsive disorder patients: An ultrahigh field multimodal MRI study. Asian J Psychiatr 2023; 81:103431. [PMID: 36610205 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103431] [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: 07/03/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brain structural and functional alterations have been reported in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients; however, these findings were inconsistent across studies due to several limitations, including small sample sizes, different inclusion/exclusion criteria, varied demographic characteristics and symptom dimensions, comorbidity, and medication status. Prominent and replicable neuroimaging biomarkers remain to be discovered. METHODS This study explored the gray matter structure, neural activity, and white matter microstructure differences in 40 drug-naïve OCD patients and 57 matched healthy controls using ultrahigh field 7.0 T multimodal magnetic resonance imaging, which increased the spatial resolution and detection power. We also evaluated correlations among different modalities, imaging features and clinical symptoms. RESULTS Drug-naïve OCD patients exhibited significantly increased gray matter volume in the frontal cortex, especially in the orbitofrontal cortex, as well as volumetric reduction in the temporal lobe, occipital lobe and cerebellum. Increased neural activities were observed in the cingulate gyri and precuneus. Increased temporal-middle cingulate and posterior cingulate-precuneus functional connectivities and decreased frontal-middle cingulate connectivity were further detected. Decreased fractional anisotropy values were found in the cingulum-hippocampus gyrus and inferior fronto-occipital fascicle in OCD patients. Moreover, significantly altered imaging features were related to OCD symptom severity. Altered functional and structural neural connectivity might influence compulsive and obsessive features, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Altered structure and function of the classical cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit, limbic system, default mode network, visual, language and sensorimotor networks play important roles in the neurophysiology of OCD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenxin Tang
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ting Shen
- Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yueqi Huang
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenjing Zhu
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shujun You
- School of History, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Zhu
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Luyue Zhang
- Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiehua Ma
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yiquan Wang
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jingping Zhao
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of The Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Tao Li
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Neurobiology, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Hsin-Yi Lai
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Arnsten AFT, Joyce MKP, Roberts AC. The Aversive Lens: Stress effects on the prefrontal-cingulate cortical pathways that regulate emotion. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:105000. [PMID: 36529312 PMCID: PMC9898199 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
ARNSTEN, A.F.T., M.K.P. Joyce and A.C. Roberts. The Aversive Lens: Stress effects on the prefrontal-cingulate cortical pathways that regulate emotion. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV XXX-XXX, 2022. The symptoms of major-depressive-disorder include psychic pain and anhedonia, i.e. seeing the world through an "aversive lens". The neurobiology underlying this shift in worldview is emerging. Here these data are reviewed, focusing on how activation of subgenual cingulate (BA25) induces an "aversive lens", and how higher prefrontal cortical (PFC) areas (BA46/10/32) provide top-down regulation of BA25 but are weakened by excessive dopamine and norepinephrine release during stress exposure, and dendritic spine loss with chronic stress exposure. These changes may generate an attractor state, which maintains the brain under the control of BA25, requiring medication or neuromodulatory treatments to return connectivity to a more flexible state. In line with this hypothesis, effective anti-depressant treatments reduce the activity of BA25 and restore top-down regulation by higher circuits, e.g. as seen with SSRI medications, ketamine, deep brain stimulation of BA25, or rTMS to strengthen dorsolateral PFC. This research has special relevance in an era of chronic stress caused by the COVID19 pandemic, political unrest and threat of climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amy F T Arnsten
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Mary Kate P Joyce
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Angela C Roberts
- Department Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DY, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hur J, Kuhn M, Grogans SE, Anderson AS, Islam S, Kim HC, Tillman RM, Fox AS, Smith JF, DeYoung KA, Shackman AJ. Anxiety-Related Frontocortical Activity Is Associated With Dampened Stressor Reactivity in the Real World. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:906-924. [PMID: 35657777 PMCID: PMC9343891 DOI: 10.1177/09567976211056635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative affect is a fundamental dimension of human emotion. When extreme, it contributes to a variety of adverse outcomes, from physical and mental illness to divorce and premature death. Mechanistic work in animals and neuroimaging research in humans and monkeys have begun to reveal the broad contours of the neural circuits governing negative affect, but the relevance of these discoveries to everyday distress remains incompletely understood. Here, we used a combination of approaches-including neuroimaging assays of threat anticipation and emotional-face perception and more than 10,000 momentary assessments of emotional experience-to demonstrate that individuals who showed greater activation in a cingulo-opercular circuit during an anxiety-eliciting laboratory paradigm experienced lower levels of stressor-dependent distress in their daily lives (ns = 202-208 university students). Extended amygdala activation was not significantly related to momentary negative affect. These observations provide a framework for understanding the neurobiology of negative affect in the laboratory and in the real world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei
University
| | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety
and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard
University
| | | | | | - Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology,
University of Pennsylvania
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Department of Psychology,
University of Maryland
- Neuroscience and Cognitive
Science Program, University of Maryland
| | | | - Andrew S. Fox
- Department of Psychology,
University of California, Davis
- California National Primate
Research Center, University of California, Davis
| | | | | | - Alexander J. Shackman
- Department of Psychology,
University of Maryland
- Neuroscience and Cognitive
Science Program, University of Maryland
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center,
University of Maryland, College Park
| |
Collapse
|