1
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Kappen M, Vanhollebeke G, Van Der Donckt J, Van Hoecke S, Vanderhasselt MA. Acoustic and prosodic speech features reflect physiological stress but not isolated negative affect: a multi-paradigm study on psychosocial stressors. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5515. [PMID: 38448417 PMCID: PMC10918109 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55550-3] [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: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity in speech under stress has been a recurring issue in stress research, potentially due to varied stress induction paradigms. This study investigated speech features in semi-guided speech following two distinct psychosocial stress paradigms (Cyberball and MIST) and their respective control conditions. Only negative affect increased during Cyberball, while self-reported stress, skin conductance response rate, and negative affect increased during MIST. Fundamental frequency (F0), speech rate, and jitter significantly changed during MIST, but not Cyberball; HNR and shimmer showed no expected changes. The results indicate that observed speech features are robust in semi-guided speech and sensitive to stressors eliciting additional physiological stress responses, not solely decreases in negative affect. These differences between stressors may explain literature heterogeneity. Our findings support the potential of speech as a stress level biomarker, especially when stress elicits physiological reactions, similar to other biomarkers. This highlights its promise as a tool for measuring stress in everyday settings, considering its affordability, non-intrusiveness, and ease of collection. Future research should test these results' robustness and specificity in naturalistic settings, such as freely spoken speech and noisy environments while exploring and validating a broader range of informative speech features in the context of stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchel Kappen
- Department of Head and Skin, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium.
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Gert Vanhollebeke
- Department of Head and Skin, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jonas Van Der Donckt
- IDLab, Ghent University - Imec, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sofie Van Hoecke
- IDLab, Ghent University - Imec, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt
- Department of Head and Skin, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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2
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Li Z, Pulopulos M, Allaert J, De Smet S, De Wandel L, Kappen M, Puttevils L, Razza LB, Schoonjans E, Vanhollebeke G, Baeken C, De Raedt R, Vanderhasselt MA. Vagally-mediated HRV as a marker of trait rumination in healthy individuals? A large cross-sectional analysis. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14448. [PMID: 37779356 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The tendency to ruminate (i.e., repetitive, self-referential, negative thoughts) is a maladaptive form of emotional regulation and represents a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor for stress-related psychopathology. Vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) provides a non-invasive, surrogate measure of vagal modulation of the heart, and higher HRV is considered an indicator of susceptibility, or ability to respond to stress. Past research has suggested a link between trait rumination and vmHRV; however, inconsistent results exist in healthy individuals. In this study, we investigated the association between the tendency to ruminate, brooding, and reflection (using the Ruminative Response Scale) with vmHRV measured at baseline in a healthy population using a large cross-sectional dataset (N = 1189, 88% female; mean age = 21.55, ranging from 17 to 48 years old), which was obtained by combining samples of healthy individuals from different studies from our laboratory. The results showed no cross-sectional correlation between vmHRV and trait rumination (confirmed by Bayesian analysis), even after controlling for important confounders such as gender, age, and depressive symptoms. Also, a non-linear relationship was rejected. In summary, based on our results in a large sample of healthy individuals, vmHRV is not a marker of trait rumination (as measured by the Ruminative Response Scale).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zefeng Li
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Matias Pulopulos
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jens Allaert
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Stefanie De Smet
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Linde De Wandel
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Mitchel Kappen
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Louise Puttevils
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Lais B Razza
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Emmanuelle Schoonjans
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Gert Vanhollebeke
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Chris Baeken
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Psychiatry (UZ Brussel), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ixelles, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
| | - Rudi De Raedt
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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3
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Narmashiri A, Akbari F. The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on the Cognitive Functions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Neuropsychol Rev 2023:10.1007/s11065-023-09627-x. [PMID: 38060075 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-023-09627-x] [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: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have investigated the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive functions. However, these studies reported inconsistent results due to differences in experiment design, measurements, and stimulation parameters. Nonetheless, there is a lack of meta-analyses and review studies on tDCS and its impact on cognitive functions, including working memory, inhibition, flexibility, and theory of mind. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of tDCS studies published from the earliest available data up to October 2021, including studies reporting the effects of tDCS on cognitive functions in human populations. Therefore, these systematic review and meta-analysis aim to comprehensively analyze the effects of anodal and cathodal tDCS on cognitive functions by investigating 69 articles with a total of 5545 participants. Our study reveals significant anodal tDCS effects on various cognitive functions. Specifically, we observed improvements in working memory reaction time (RT), inhibition RT, flexibility RT, theory of mind RT, working memory accuracy, theory of mind accuracy and flexibility accuracy. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate noteworthy cathodal tDCS effects, enhancing working memory accuracy, inhibition accuracy, flexibility RT, flexibility accuracy, theory of mind RT, and theory of mind accuracy. Notably, regarding the influence of stimulation parameters of tDCS on cognitive functions, the results indicated significant differences across various aspects, including the timing of stimulation (online vs. offline studies), population type (clinical vs. healthy studies), stimulation duration (< 15 min vs. > 15 min), electrical current intensities (1-1.5 m.A vs. > 1.5 m.A), stimulation sites (right frontal vs. left frontal studies), age groups (young vs. older studies), and different cognitive tasks in each cognitive functioning aspect. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that tDCS can effectively enhance cognitive task performance, offering valuable insights into the potential benefits of this method for cognitive improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdolvahed Narmashiri
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran.
- Electrical Engineering Department, Bio-Intelligence Research Unit, Sharif Brain Center, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
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4
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Wang Y, Zhang J, Li Y, Qi S, Zhang F, Ball LJ, Duan H. Preventing prefrontal dysfunction by tDCS modulates stress-induced creativity impairment in women: an fNIRS study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10528-10545. [PMID: 37585735 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad301] [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: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress is a major external factor threatening creative activity. The study explored whether left-lateralized activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex manipulated through transcranial direct current stimulation could alleviate stress-induced impairment in creativity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to explore the underlying neural mechanisms. Ninety female participants were randomly assigned to three groups that received stress induction with sham stimulation, stress induction with true stimulation (anode over the left and cathode over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and control manipulation with sham stimulation, respectively. Participants underwent the stress or control task after the transcranial direct current stimulation manipulation, and then completed the Alternative Uses Task to measure creativity. Behavioral results showed that transcranial direct current stimulation reduced stress responses in heart rate and anxiety. The functional near-infrared spectroscopy results revealed that transcranial direct current stimulation alleviated dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex under stress, as evidenced by higher activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and frontopolar cortex, as well as stronger inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric functional connectivity within the prefrontal cortex. Further analysis demonstrated that the cortical regulatory effect prevented creativity impairment induced by stress. The findings validated the hemispheric asymmetry hypothesis regarding stress and highlighted the potential for brain stimulation to alleviate stress-related mental disorders and enhance creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 041000, China
| | - Jiaqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 041000, China
| | - Yadan Li
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 041000, China
| | - Senqing Qi
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 041000, China
| | - Fengqing Zhang
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Linden J Ball
- School of Psychology & Computer Science, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
| | - Haijun Duan
- Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 041000, China
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5
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Mo L, Li S, Cheng S, Li Y, Xu F, Zhang D. Emotion regulation of social pain: double dissociation of lateral prefrontal cortices supporting reappraisal and distraction. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad043. [PMID: 37676260 PMCID: PMC10484058 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad043] [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: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) are both crucial regions involved in voluntary emotion regulation. However, it remains unclear whether the two regions show functional specificity for reappraisal and distraction. This study employed transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore, in a real social interactive scenario, whether different lateral prefrontal regions play relatively specific roles in downregulating social pain via reappraisal and distraction. Participants initially took part in a social interactive game, followed by receiving either active (the DLPFC- or VLPFC-activated group, n = 100 per group) or control (the vertex-activated group, n = 100) TMS session. They were then instructed to use both distraction and reappraisal strategies to downregulate any negative emotions evoked by the social evaluation given by their peers who interacted with them previously. Results demonstrated that the TMS-activated DLPFC has a greater beneficial effect during distraction, whereas the activated VLPFC has a greater beneficial effect during reappraisal. This result investigated the direct experience of social pain and extended previous findings on empathy-related responses to affective pictures while also controlling for confounding factors such as empathic concern. Therefore, we are now confident in the double dissociation proposal of the DLPFC and VLPFC in distraction and reappraisal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Licheng Mo
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Sijin Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Si Cheng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Yiwei Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Feng Xu
- Shenzhen Yingchi Technology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Dandan Zhang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
- China Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
- Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen 518060, China
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6
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Subramaniam A, Liu S, Lochhead L, Appelbaum LG. A systematic review of transcranial direct current stimulation on eye movements and associated psychological function. Rev Neurosci 2022; 34:349-364. [PMID: 36310385 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2022-0082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The last decades have seen a rise in the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) approaches to modulate brain activity and associated behavior. Concurrently, eye tracking (ET) technology has improved to allow more precise quantitative measurement of gaze behavior, offering a window into the mechanisms of vision and cognition. When combined, tDCS and ET provide a powerful system to probe brain function and measure the impact on visual function, leading to an increasing number of studies that utilize these techniques together. The current pre-registered, systematic review seeks to describe the literature that integrates these approaches with the goal of changing brain activity with tDCS and measuring associated changes in eye movements with ET. The literature search identified 26 articles that combined ET and tDCS in a probe-and-measure model and are systematically reviewed here. All studies implemented controlled interventional designs to address topics related to oculomotor control, cognitive processing, emotion regulation, or cravings in healthy volunteers and patient populations. Across these studies, active stimulation typically led to changes in the number, duration, and timing of fixations compared to control stimulation. Notably, half the studies addressed emotion regulation, each showing hypothesized effects of tDCS on ET metrics, while tDCS targeting the frontal cortex was widely used and also generally produced expected modulation of ET. This review reveals promising evidence of the impact of tDCS on eye movements and associated psychological function, offering a framework for effective designs with recommendations for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwin Subramaniam
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Sicong Liu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Liam Lochhead
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lawrence Gregory Appelbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
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7
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Aksu S, Soyata AZ, Mursalova Z, Eskicioğlu G, Tükel R. Transcranial direct current stimulation does not improve clinical and neurophysiological outcomes in panic disorder: A randomized sham-controlled trial. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 76:384-392. [PMID: 35587504 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13378] [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: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
AIM Emerging evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has anxiolytic effects and may enhance emotional processing of threat and reduce threat-related attentional bias. Panic disorder (PD) is considered to be a fear network disorder along with prefrontal activity alterations. We aim to assess the effect of tDCS on clinical and physiological parameters in PD for the first time. METHODS In this triple-blind randomized sham-controlled pilot study, 30 individuals with PD were allocated into active and sham groups to receive 10 sessions of tDCS targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally at 2 mA for 20-min duration over 2 weeks. The clinical severity, threat-related attentional bias, interoceptive accuracy, and emotional recognition were assessed before, immediately after, and 1 month after tDCS. RESULTS Active tDCS, in comparison to sham, did not elicit more favorable clinical and neuropsychological/physiological outcomes in PD. CONCLUSION The present study provides the first clinical and neurobehavioral results of prefrontal tDCS in PD and indicates that prefrontal tDCS was not superior to sham in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serkan Aksu
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey.,Department of Physiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Zhala Mursalova
- Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gaye Eskicioğlu
- Department of Psychology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Raşit Tükel
- Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
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8
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Tei S, Tanicha M, Itahashi T, Aoki YY, Ohta H, Qian C, Hashimoto RI, Nakamura M, Takahashi H, Kato N, Fujino J. Decision Flexibilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An fMRI Study of Moral Dilemmas. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:904-911. [PMID: 35333369 PMCID: PMC9527470 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
People make flexible decisions across a wide range of contexts to resolve social or moral conflicts. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently report difficulties in such behaviors, which hinders the flexibility in changing strategies during daily activities or adjustment of perspective during communication. However, the underlying mechanisms of this issue are insufficiently understood. This study aimed to investigate decision flexibility in ASD using a functional magnetic resonance imaging task that involved recognizing and resolving two types of moral dilemmas: cost–benefit analysis (CBA) and mitigating inevitable misconducts (MIM). The CBA session assessed the participants’ pitting of result-oriented outcomes against distressful harmful actions, whereas the MIM session assessed their pitting of the extenuation of a criminal sentence against a sympathetic situation of defendants suffering from violence or disease. The behavioral outcome in CBA-related flexibility was significantly lower in the ASD group compared to that of the typical development group. In the corresponding CBA contrast, activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus was lower in the ASD group. Meanwhile, in the MIM-related flexibility, there were no significant group differences in behavioral outcome or brain activity. Our findings add to our understanding of flexible decision-making in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shisei Tei
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.,School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, 2509 Matoba, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
| | - Mizuki Tanicha
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Ohta
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chenyu Qian
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Motoaki Nakamura
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, 2-5-1 Serigaya, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junya Fujino
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, 6-11-11 Kita-karasuyama, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaracho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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9
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Palmisano A, Bossi F, Barlabà C, Febbraio F, Loconte R, Lupo A, Nitsche MA, Rivolta D. Anodal tDCS effects over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) on the rating of facial expression: evidence for a gender-specific effect. Heliyon 2021; 7:e08267. [PMID: 34765784 PMCID: PMC8571084 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The accurate recognition of others' facial expressions is a core skill for social interactions. The left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (L-DLPFC) represents a key node in the network for facial emotion recognition. However, its specific role is still under debate. As such, the aim of the current neuromodulation study was to assess the causal role of the L-DLPFC in humans' rating of facial expressions of emotions and implicit attitudes toward other races. In this sham-controlled single-blind between-subject experiment, we offline administered L-DLPFC transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to 69 healthy participants who were divided into three groups of 23 (each receiving anodal 1 mA tDCS, anodal 2 mA tDCS, or Sham), before completing an "Emotion Rating task and two Implicit Association Tests (IATs). The former required the intensity rating of 192 faces (half black and half white) displaying happiness, sadness, anger, or fear. The IATs were designed to assess participants' automatic associations of positive or negative attributes with racial contents. Results on the Emotion Rating task showed participants' gender-specific effect of tDCS. Specifically, a gender bias, with only males showing a tendency to underestimate negative emotions was found in Sham, and absent in the tDCS groups. When considering the race of the stimuli, females but not males in Sham exhibited a racial bias, that is, the tendency to overestimate negative emotions of other-race faces. Again, the bias disappeared in the tDCS groups. Concerning the IATs, no significant effects emerged. We conclude that the L-DLPFC plays a critical role in humans' rating of facial expressions, and for variability in other-race emotional judgements. These results shed light on the neural bases of the human emotional system and its gender-related differences, and have potential implications for interventional settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Palmisano
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Cecilia Barlabà
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Febbraio
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Riccardo Loconte
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Antonella Lupo
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Michael A. Nitsche
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Center for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo), Dortmund, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Hospital Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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10
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Allaert J, Erdogan M, Sanchez-Lopez A, Baeken C, De Raedt R, Vanderhasselt MA. Prefrontal tDCS Attenuates Self-Referential Attentional Deployment: A Mechanism Underlying Adaptive Emotional Reactivity to Social-Evaluative Threat. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:700557. [PMID: 34483865 PMCID: PMC8416079 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.700557] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social-evaluative threat (SET) - a situation in which one could be negatively evaluated by others - elicits profound (psycho)physiological reactivity which, if chronically present and not adaptively regulated, has deleterious effects on mental and physical health. Decreased self-awareness and increased other-awareness are understood to be an adaptive response to SET. Attentional deployment - the process of selectively attending to certain aspects of emotional stimuli to modulate emotional reactivity - is supported by fronto-parietal and fronto-limbic networks, with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex being a central hub. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of active (versus sham) prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on self and other-attentional deployment during the exposure to a SET context. Seventy-four female participants received active or sham tDCS and were subsequently exposed to a rigged social feedback paradigm. In this paradigm a series of social evaluations were presented together with a photograph of the supposed evaluator and a self- photograph of the participant, while gaze behavior (time to first fixation, total fixation time) and skin conductance responses (SCRs; a marker of emotional reactivity) were measured. For half of the evaluations, participants could anticipate the valence (negative or positive) of the evaluation a priori. Analyses showed that participants receiving active tDCS were (a) slower to fixate on their self-photograph, (b) spent less time fixating on their self-photograph, and (c) spent more time fixating on the evaluator photograph. During unanticipated evaluations, active tDCS was associated with less time spent fixating on the evaluation. Furthermore, among those receiving active tDCS, SCRs were attenuated as a function of slower times to fixate on the self-photograph. Taken together, these results suggest that in a context of SET, prefrontal tDCS decreases self-attention while increasing other-attention, and that attenuated self-referential attention specifically may be a neurocognitive mechanism through which tDCS reduces emotional reactivity. Moreover, the results suggest that tDCS reduces vigilance toward stimuli that possibly convey threatening information, corroborating past research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Allaert
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maide Erdogan
- Research in Developmental Disorders Lab, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Alvaro Sanchez-Lopez
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chris Baeken
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands
| | - Rudi De Raedt
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt
- Ghent Experimental Psychiatry Lab, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), Ghent, Belgium
- Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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11
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Allaert J, De Raedt R, van der Veen FM, Baeken C, Vanderhasselt MA. Prefrontal tDCS attenuates counterfactual thinking in female individuals prone to self-critical rumination. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11601. [PMID: 34078934 PMCID: PMC8172930 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90677-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to ruminate (i.e., repetitive negative self-referential thoughts that perpetuate depressive mood) is associated with (a) an elevated propensity to maladaptively experience counterfactual thinking (CFT) and regret, and (b) hypo-activity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The goal of this study was to investigate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left DLPFC, in function of self-critical rumination tendencies, momentarily reduces counterfactual thinking and regret (assessed via self-report and psychophysiological indices). Eighty healthy participants with different levels of self-critical rumination received either anodal or sham tDCS while performing a decision making task in which they were repeatedly confronted with optimal, suboptimal, and non-optimal choice outcomes. The results showed that among rumination-prone individuals, anodal (versus sham) tDCS was associated with decreased CFT and attenuated psychophysiological reactivity to the differential choice outcomes. Conversely, among low rumination-prone individuals, anodal (versus sham) tDCS was associated with increased CFT and regret, but in absence of any effects on psychophysiological reactivity. Potential working mechanisms for these differential tDCS effects are discussed. Taken together, these results provide initial converging evidence for the adaptive effects of left prefrontal tDCS on CFT and regret to personal choice outcomes among individuals prone to engage in self-critical rumination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Allaert
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), 1K12F, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. .,Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. .,Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Rudi De Raedt
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frederik M van der Veen
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Chris Baeken
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), 1K12F, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.,Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), University Hospital UZBrussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt
- Department of Head and Skin, Ghent University, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Ghent), 1K12F, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.,Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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12
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Clarke PJF, Haridas SMP, Van Bockstaele B, Chen NTM, Salemink E, Notebaert L. Frontal tDCS and Emotional Reactivity to Negative Content: Examining the Roles of Biased Interpretation and Emotion Regulation. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-020-10162-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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