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Schulz A, Vögele C, Bertsch K, Bernard S, Münch EE, Hansen G, Naumann E, Schächinger H. Cardiac cycle phases affect auditory-evoked potentials, startle eye blink and pre-motor reaction times in response to acoustic startle stimuli. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 157:70-81. [PMID: 32976890 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Startle stimuli evoke lower responses when presented during the early as compared to the late cardiac cycle phase, an effect that has been called 'cardiac modulation of startle' (CMS). The CMS effect may be associated with visceral-afferent neural traffic, as it is reduced in individuals with degeneration of afferent autonomic nerves. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the CMS effect is due a modulation of only early, automatic stages of stimulus processing by baro-afferent neural traffic, or if late stages are also affected. We, therefore, investigated early and late components of auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) to acoustic startle stimuli (105, 100, 95 dB), which were presented during the early (R-wave +230 ms) or the late cardiac cycle phase (R +530 ms) in two studies. In Study 1, participants were requested to ignore (n = 25) or to respond to the stimuli with button-presses (n = 24). In Study 2 (n = 23), participants were asked to rate the intensity of the stimuli. We found lower EMG startle response magnitudes (both studies) and slower pre-motor reaction times in the early as compared to the late cardiac cycle phase (Study 1). We also observed lower N1 negativity (both studies), but higher P2 (Study 1) and P3 positivity (both studies) in response to stimuli presented in the early cardiac cycle phase. This AEP modulation pattern appears to be specific to the CMS effect, suggesting that early stages of startle stimulus processing are attenuated, whereas late stages are enhanced by baro-afferent neural traffic.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Schulz
- Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Division of Clinical Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychobiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany.
| | - Claus Vögele
- Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany; Psychophysiological Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Sam Bernard
- Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Eva E Münch
- Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Greta Hansen
- Clinical Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute for Health and Behaviour, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Ewald Naumann
- Psychophysiological Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
| | - Hartmut Schächinger
- Division of Clinical Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychobiology, University of Trier, Trier, Germany
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Brennan P, De Martino M, Ponnusamy M, White S, De Martino R, Oeppen R. Review: Avoid, trap, and mitigate – an overview of threat and error management. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2020; 58:146-150. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Sun MK. Executive functioning: perspectives on neurotrophic activity and pharmacology. Behav Pharmacol 2018; 29:592-604. [PMID: 30179884 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Executive functioning is a high-level cognitive ability, regulating other abilities and behaviors to achieve desired goals. A typical executive task can be defined as the capacity to maintain one's attention on the current task, that is, responding only to the correct but not to distractive stimuli. Impairments of executive functions, or executive dysfunctions, have a growing impact on everyday life and academic achievement and are usually an early feature, and one of the core features, in brain injury and memory and behavioral disorders. Furthermore, emerging evidence indicates that memory therapeutics cannot achieve their clinical benefits in cognition if executive dysfunction is not effectively and simultaneously treated. Improvement of executive functions might be achieved through targeting some signaling pathways in the brain, including the brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathways. These agents may be useful either as stand-alone interventions for patients with executive dysfunction and/or psychiatric and memory disorders or as essential adjuncts to drugs that target the underlying pathology in various brain injury and memory and behavioral disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao-Kun Sun
- Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
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Blumenthal TD. Presidential Address 2014: The more-or-less interrupting effects of the startle response. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:1417-31. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Terry D. Blumenthal
- Department of Psychology; Wake Forest University; Winston-Salem North Carolina USA
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