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Lin H, Bruchmann M, Schindler S, Straube T. Acquisition and generalization of emotional and neural responses to faces associated with negative and positive feedback behaviours. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1399948. [PMID: 39165343 PMCID: PMC11334220 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1399948] [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: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Faces can acquire emotional meaning by learning to associate individuals with specific behaviors. Here, we investigated emotional evaluation and brain activations toward faces of persons who had given negative or positive evaluations to others. Furthermore, we investigated how emotional evaluations and brain activation generalize to perceptually similar faces. Valence ratings indicated learning and generalization effects for both positive and negative faces. Brain activation, measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), showed significantly increased activation in the fusiform gyrus (FG) to negatively associated faces but not positively associated ones. Remarkably, brain activation in FG to faces to which emotional meaning (negative and positive) was successfully generalized was decreased compared to neutral faces. This suggests that the emotional relevance of faces is not simply associated with increased brain activation in visual areas. While, at least for negative conditions, faces paired with negative feedback behavior are related to potentiated brain responses, the opposite is seen for perceptually very similar faces despite generalized emotional responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiyan Lin
- Laboratory for Behavioural and Regional Finance, School of National Finance, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou, China
- Institute of Applied Psychology, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou, China
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schindler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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2
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Iffland B, Kley H, Neuner F. Effects of peer victimization on cortical processing of social-evaluative stress in patients with major depressive disorder. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae037. [PMID: 38874968 PMCID: PMC11182063 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae037] [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: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Peer victimization contributes to the development of major depressive disorders (MDDs). While previous studies reported differentiated peripheral physiological responses in peer-victimized individuals with depression, little is known about potential alterations of cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to social stimuli in depressive patients with a history of peer victimization. Using a social condition paradigm, the present study examined whether peer victimization alters conditioned cortical responses to potentially threatening social stimuli in MDD patients and healthy controls. In the task, we studied ERPs to conditioned stimuli (CSs), i.e. still images of faces, that were coupled to unconditioned socially negative and neutral evaluative video statements. Peer victimization was related to more pronounced P100 amplitudes in reaction to negative and neutral CSs. Attenuated P200 amplitudes in peer-victimized individuals were found in response to negative CSs. Cortical responses to CSs were not influenced by a diagnosis of MDD. The results suggest altered responsiveness to interpersonal information in peer-victimized individuals. Facilitated early processing of social threat indicators may prevent peer-victimized individuals from adaptive responses to social cues, increasing their vulnerability for depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Iffland
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Hanna Kley
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Frank Neuner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
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3
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Iffland B, Kley H, Neuner F. Distinct physiological responses to social-evaluative stress in patients with major depressive disorder reporting a history of peer victimization. Biol Psychol 2023; 184:108697. [PMID: 37775029 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108697] [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: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Peer victimization is a risk factor for the development of major depressive disorders, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined whether peer victimization alters physiological and affective responses to potentially threatening social stimuli. For this purpose, reactions to socially evaluative stimuli of depressive patients and healthy controls with varying histories of peer victimization were compared. In a social conditioning task, we studied heart rate responses to unconditioned socially negative and neutral evaluative video statements, followed by the heart rate reactions to conditioned stimuli, i.e. still images of the faces of the same actors. Diagnosis of depression and peer victimization were both associated with a more pronounced heart rate deceleration in response to unconditioned stimuli, irrespective of valence. The effect of peer victimization was stronger in depressive patients than in healthy controls. However, heart rate responses to the CSs were not related to depression or peer victimization. The results indicate a hypervigilant processing of social stimuli in depressive patients reporting histories of peer victimization. This distinct processing may be associated with inappropriate behavioral and emotional responses to social challenges, putting individuals at risk for depressive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Iffland
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Postbox 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Hanna Kley
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Postbox 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Frank Neuner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Postbox 100131, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
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4
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Espinosa L, Bonsall MB, Becker N, Holmes EA, Olsson A. Pavlovian threat conditioning can generate intrusive memories that persist over time. Behav Res Ther 2022; 157:104161. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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5
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Iffland B, Neuner F. Peer Victimization Influences Attention Processing Beyond the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment by Caregivers. Front Psychol 2022; 13:784147. [PMID: 35310289 PMCID: PMC8931489 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.784147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Different types of maltreatment (emotional, physical, and sexual) lead to distortions in emotion and attention processing. The present study investigated whether the experience of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence has an additional influence on attention processing in adulthood. Methods Two non-clinical samples consisting of individuals with different levels of experiences of maltreatment were recruited. In an evaluative conditioning task, images of faces with neutral emotional expression were either associated with short videos of intense negative statements, or associated with neutral videos. Subsequently, these faces were used as stimuli in an emotional Stroop task as well as a dot-probe task. Results In both tasks, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that retrospective reports of relational peer victimization made an incremental contribution to the prediction of attentional biases beyond child maltreatment. In the emotional Stroop task, emotional abuse was the strongest predictor for an attentional bias showing delayed responses to negatively associated faces, while peer victimization was associated with faster responses to negatively associated faces. In the dot-probe task, relational peer victimization was the strongest predictor for an attentional bias. When the attentional bias was examined in more detail, though, peer victimization did not show incremental contributions although emotional abuse remained the strongest predictor for facilitated attention toward negatively associated neutral faces. Conclusion Experiences of peer victimization leave additional cognitive scars beyond effects of childhood maltreatment by caregivers. It is likely that attentional biases in the aftermath of victimization put individuals at risk for the development of psychopathology.
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Nihei M, Hojo D, Sawa K. The renewal effect in fear conditioning with aversive facial expression and negative sentences as unconditioned stimuli. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2021.101725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Wake S, Morriss J, Johnstone T, van Reekum CM, Dodd H. Intolerance of uncertainty, and not social anxiety, is associated with compromised extinction of social threat. Behav Res Ther 2021; 139:103818. [PMID: 33567362 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Extinction-resistant threat is regarded as a central hallmark of pathological anxiety. However, it remains relatively under-studied in social anxiety. Here we sought to determine whether self-reported trait social anxiety is associated with compromised threat extinction learning and retention. We tested this hypothesis within two separate, socially relevant conditioning studies. In the first experiment, a Selective Extinction Through Cognitive Evaluation (SECE) paradigm was used, which included a cognitive component during the extinction phase, while experiment 2 used a traditional threat extinction paradigm. Skin conductance responses and subjective ratings of anxiety (experiment 1 and 2) and expectancy (experiment 2) were collected across both experiments. The findings of both studies demonstrated no effect of social anxiety on extinction learning or retention. Instead, results from experiment 1 indicated that individual differences in Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) were associated with the ability to use contextual cues to decrease a conditioned response during SECE. However, during extinction retention, high IU predicted greater generalisation across context cues. Findings of experiment 2 revealed that higher IU was associated with impaired extinction learning and retention. The results from both studies suggest that compromised threat extinction is likely to be a characteristic of high levels of IU and not social anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Wake
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
| | - Jayne Morriss
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Tom Johnstone
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK; Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122, Australia
| | - Carien M van Reekum
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Helen Dodd
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
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Fung K, Alden LE, Sernasie C. Social anxiety and the acquisition of anxiety towards self-attributes. Cogn Emot 2021; 35:680-689. [PMID: 33449854 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1868979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The current studies examined whether self-attributes can come to elicit anxiety after being paired with negative evaluation. Results from Study 1 suggested that appearing unintelligent and appearing nervous were partially distinct attributes of concern related to social anxiety and validated stimuli used in the subsequent study. In Study 2, participants completed a differential associative learning task in which either words related low intelligence or appearing nervous were paired with negative evaluation. Results suggested that participant anxiety and expectancy ratings increased for words belonging to the attribute category paired with negative evaluation but not the other. Participant social anxiety was not associated with the effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klint Fung
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Lynn E Alden
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Chloe Sernasie
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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9
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Hsu CC, Madsen TE, O'Gorman E, Gourley SL, Rainnie DG. Reward-related dynamical coupling between basolateral amygdala and nucleus accumbens. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1873-1888. [PMID: 32556583 PMCID: PMC7405940 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02099-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Recognizing reward-related stimuli is crucial for survival. Neuronal projections from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) play an important role in processing reward-related cues. Previous studies revealed synchronization between distant brain regions in reward-sensitive neurocircuits; however, whether the NAc synchronizes with the BLA is unknown. Here, we recorded local field potentials simultaneously from the BLA and NAc of rats during social preference tests and an appetitive conditioning test in which explicit stimuli were associated with food. BLA-NAc coherence in the theta band (5-8 Hz) increased in response to food-associated cues. Meanwhile, the modulatory strength of theta-high gamma (50-110 Hz) phase-amplitude cross-frequency coupling (PAC) in the NAc decreased. Importantly, both of these neuromodulations disappeared upon extinction. In contrast, both theta and gamma power oscillations in each region increased in the presence of social conspecifics or contexts associated with conspecifics, but coherence did not change. To potentially disrupt behavior and associated neural activity, a subgroup of rats was exposed prenatally to valproic acid (VPA), which has been shown to disrupt transcriptome and excitatory/inhibitory balance in the amygdala. VPA-exposed rats demonstrated impulsive-like behavior, but VPA did not affect BLA-NAc coherence. These findings reveal changes in BLA-NAc coherence in response to select reward-related stimuli (i.e., food-predictive cues); the differences between the tasks used here could shed light onto the functional nature of BLA-NAc coherence and are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Chun Hsu
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Teresa E Madsen
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | | | - Shannon L Gourley
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
| | - Donald G Rainnie
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
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Merz CJ, Lonsdorf TB. Methodische Anmerkungen und Anwendungsbereiche der Furchtkonditionierung in verschiedenen psychologischen Disziplinen. PSYCHOLOGISCHE RUNDSCHAU 2020. [DOI: 10.1026/0033-3042/a000427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Zusammenfassung. Die Furchtkonditionierung stellt ein bedeutsames Paradigma zur Untersuchung von emotionalen Lern- und Gedächtnisprozessen dar. Nach einer ungefähr hundertjährigen Geschichte wird deutlich, dass die Furchtkonditionierung nicht nur einen wichtigen Beitrag zur speziesübergreifenden Grundlagenforschung liefert, sondern auch unterschiedliche Anwendungsfelder zu neuen Erkenntnissen inspirieren kann. In diesem Übersichtartikel soll das grundlegende Paradigma mit verschiedenen methodischen Überlegungen zur experimentellen Durchführung vorgestellt werden. Im Anschluss werden ausgewählte Anwendungsbereiche der Furchtkonditionierung innerhalb der psychologischen Disziplinen dargestellt: die Allgemeine Psychologie wird bezüglich allgemeingültiger Gesetzmäßigkeiten von Lern- und Gedächtnisprozessen angesprochen, die Differentielle Psychologie wegen bedeutsamer interindividueller Unterschiede, die Biologische Psychologie und Neuropsychologie in Bezug auf physiologische und anatomische Grundlagen der Furchtkonditionierung, die Sozialpsychologie im Zuge der Einstellungsforschung, die Entwicklungspsychologie aufgrund altersspezifischer Aspekte sowie die Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie im Hinblick auf die Pathogenese von Angsterkrankungen und der Expositionstherapie. Insgesamt betrachtet hat die Furchtkonditionierung das Potenzial nicht nur unterschiedliche Disziplinen der Psychologie in synergistischer Weise zusammenzubringen, sondern auch die verschiedenen inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte zu unterstreichen.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tina B. Lonsdorf
- Institut für systemische Neurowissenschaften, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf
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11
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Iffland B, Neuner F. Varying Cognitive Scars - Differential Associations Between Types of Childhood Maltreatment and Facial Emotion Processing. Front Psychol 2020; 11:732. [PMID: 32373037 PMCID: PMC7177008 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Distorted cognitive processing has been found among survivors of child maltreatment. However, different types of abuse and neglect may bring about differences in emotion and attention processing. The present study aimed to detect differential associations between various types of childhood maltreatment and attentional biases in facial emotion processing. Methods A non-clinical sample was recruited on University campus and consisted of 67 individuals with varying degrees of maltreatment. In an evaluative conditioning task, images of faces with neutral emotional expressions were either associated with short videos of intense negative statements, or associated with neutral videos. Subsequently, these faces were used as stimuli in a face in the crowd recognition task in which the familiar faces had to be recognized within a crowd of unfamiliar neutral faces. Results In multiple linear regression analyses controlling for the intercorrelatedness of types of maltreatment, differential relationships between types of maltreatment and attentional bias were found. While emotional abuse was associated with faster detection of negatively associated faces, emotional neglect was associated with an impaired recognition of familiar stimuli regardless of the emotional content. Conclusion Results indicated that interindividual differences in cognitive biases may be due to the activation of diverse cognitive schemas based on differential experiences of maltreatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Iffland
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Frank Neuner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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12
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Frey AL, McCabe C. Impaired social learning predicts reduced real-life motivation in individuals with depression: A computational fMRI study. J Affect Disord 2020; 263:698-706. [PMID: 31784119 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 10/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder is associated with altered social functioning and impaired learning, on both the behavioural and the neural level. These deficits are likely related, considering that successful social interactions require learning to predict other people's emotional responses. Yet, there is little research examining this relation. METHODS Forty-three individuals with high (HD; N = 21) and low (LD; N = 22) depression scores answered questions regarding their real-life social experiences and performed a social learning task during fMRI scanning. As part of the task, subjects learned associations between name cues and rewarding (happy faces) or aversive (fearful faces) social outcomes. Using computational modelling, behavioural and neural correlates of social learning were examined and related to real-life social experiences. RESULTS HD participants reported reduced motivation to engage in real-life social activities and demonstrated elevated uncertainty about social outcomes in the task. Moreover, HD subjects displayed altered encoding of social reward predictions in the insula, temporal lobe and parietal lobe. Interestingly, across all subjects, higher task uncertainty and reduced parietal prediction encoding were associated with decreased motivation to engage in real-life social activities. LIMITATIONS The size of the included sample was relatively small. The results should thus be regarded as preliminary and replications in larger samples are called for. CONCLUSION Taken together, our findings suggest that reduced learning from social outcomes may impair depressed individuals' ability to predict other people's responses in real life, which renders social situations uncertain. This uncertainty, in turn, may contribute to reduced social engagement (motivation) in depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna-Lena Frey
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Ciara McCabe
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK.
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Ferreira de Sá DS, Michael T, Wilhelm FH, Peyk P. Learning to see the threat: temporal dynamics of ERPs of motivated attention in fear conditioning. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:189-203. [PMID: 30481357 PMCID: PMC6374602 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Social threat detection is important in everyday life. Studies of cortical activity have shown that event-related potentials (ERPs) of motivated attention are modulated during fear conditioning. The time course of motivated attention in learning and extinction of fear is, however, still largely unknown. We aimed to study temporal dynamics of learning processes in classical fear conditioning to social cues (neutral faces) by selecting an experimental setup that produces large effects on well-studied ERP components (early posterior negativity, EPN; late positive potential, LPP; stimulus preceding negativity, SPN) and then exploring small consecutive groups of trials. EPN, LPP, and SPN markedly and quickly increased during the acquisition phase in response to the CS+ but not the CS-. These changes were visible even at high temporal resolution and vanished completely during extinction. Moreover, some evidence was found for component differences in extinction learning, with differences between CS+ and CS- extinguishing faster for late as compared to early ERP components. Results demonstrate that fear learning to social cues is a very fast and highly plastic process and conceptually different ERPs of motivated attention are sensitive to these changes at high temporal resolution, pointing to specific neurocognitive and affective processes of social fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana S Ferreira de Sá
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Tanja Michael
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Peter Peyk
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
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Reichenberger J, Wiggert N, Wilhelm FH, Liedlgruber M, Voderholzer U, Hillert A, Timmer B, Blechert J. Fear of negative and positive evaluation and reactivity to social-evaluative videos in social anxiety disorder. Behav Res Ther 2019; 116:140-148. [PMID: 30921745 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is marked by persistent fear of being scrutinized by others. This and most diagnostic symptoms relate to some form of fear of negative evaluation (FNE). More recent accounts of SAD, such as the Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model, however, complement FNE with fear of positive evaluation (FPE), described as distress and avoidance of positive feedback. An explicit test of the incremental validity of FPE in discriminating SAD patients from controls - over and on top of the explanatory power of FPE - is currently missing and generally, well controlled laboratory experiments with positive and negative social stimuli in this patient group are rare. To fill this gap, we exposed 35 patients with SAD and healthy controls (HCs) to short social-evaluative video clips with actors expressing negative and positive as well as neutral statements while recording reactivity on experiential measures (valence, arousal, and approval ratings) as well as on facial electromyography and electrocardiography. In addition, participants completed questionnaire measures of FNE and FPE. Results revealed that FPE questionnaire scores as well as experiential (valence and appreciation) and electromyographical reactivity measures to positive videos improved prediction of group membership beyond the predictive power of FNE questionnaires scores and reactivity to negative videos. Results document the importance of FPE to more fully characterize and understand social anxiety and SAD. Implications include amendments to future diagnostic criteria, theoretical models, and treatment approaches for SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Reichenberger
- Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Nicole Wiggert
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Brandenburg Medical School, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Frank H Wilhelm
- Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Michael Liedlgruber
- Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Health Psychology, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Ulrich Voderholzer
- Schön Klinik Roseneck [Schoen Hospital Roseneck], Prien am Chiemsee, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Hillert
- Schön Klinik Roseneck [Schoen Hospital Roseneck], Prien am Chiemsee, Germany
| | - Barbara Timmer
- Schön Klinik Roseneck [Schoen Hospital Roseneck], Prien am Chiemsee, Germany
| | - Jens Blechert
- Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Salzburg, Austria.
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Panitz C, Sperl MF, Hennig J, Klucken T, Hermann C, Mueller EM. Fearfulness, neuroticism/anxiety, and COMT Val158Met in long-term fear conditioning and extinction. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 155:7-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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16
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Iffland B, Wiggert N, Neuner F, Blechert J. Neutral is negative enough-Peer victimization influences cardiac, facial-muscular and experiential reactions to both negative evaluative and neutral social stimuli. Biol Psychol 2018; 139:152-162. [PMID: 30296467 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Physiological stress responses vary as a function of adverse childhood experiences. However, previous studies concentrate on familial sources of childhood adversity. Potential long-term effects of peer victimization on physiology and affective responses are less known. This study examined cardiac, facial-muscular, and experiential responses to social evaluative stimuli in ninety-four healthy subjects with various degrees of experienced peer victimization. In a social conditioning task, peer victimization was associated with similarly attenuated cardiac and facial-muscular responses to negative and neutral stimuli, while differentiated physiological responses to negative and neutral stimuli were found in subjects without peer victimization. Overall, increased ratings of arousal, valence and disapproval for negative compared to neutral stimuli were found. Contrary to the physiological response, peer victimization was associated with more negative ratings of negative stimuli one month after acquisition. The results suggest that the physiological and experiential reactivity towards both negative and neutral social stimuli is affected by the experience of peer victimization. Peer victimization causes generalized autonomic dysregulation and memory recall biases during social learning impeding adequate response preparation to social stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Iffland
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Postbox 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Nicole Wiggert
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Brandenburg Medical School, Neuruppin, Germany.
| | - Frank Neuner
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Postbox 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Jens Blechert
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
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