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Epp S, Walker A, Boudes E, Bray S, Noel M, Rayner L, Rasic N, Miller JV. Brain Function and Pain Interference After Pediatric Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment. Clin J Pain 2024; 40:393-399. [PMID: 38606879 DOI: 10.1097/ajp.0000000000001216] [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: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Intensive interdisciplinary pain treatments (IIPTs) are programs that aim to improve functioning in youth with severe chronic pain. Little is known about how the brain changes after IIPT; however, decreased brain responses to emotional stimuli have been identified previously in pediatric chronic pain relative to healthy controls. We examined whether IIPT increased brain responses to emotional stimuli, and whether this change was associated with a reduction in pain interference. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty youths with chronic pain aged 14 to 18 years were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging, pre and post-IIPT. During the functional magnetic resonance imaging, patients were presented with emotional stimuli (ie, faces expressing happiness/fear), neutral expressions, and control (ie, scrambled) images. Patients completed a measure of pain interference pre and post-IIPT. Paired t tests were used to examine differences in brain activation in response to emotional versus neutral stimuli, pre to post-IIPT. Data from significant brain clusters were entered into linear mixed models to examine the relationships between brain activation and impairment pre and post-IIPT. RESULTS Patients demonstrated a decrease in middle frontal gyrus (MFG) activation in response to emotional stimuli (happy + fear) relative to scrambled images, between pre and post-IIPT ( P < 0.05). Lower MFG activation was associated with lower pain interference, pre and post-IIPT ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Contrary to our hypothesis, IIPT was associated with a reduction in MFG activation to emotional stimuli, and this change was associated with reduced pain interference. The MFG is a highly interconnected brain area involved in both pain chronification and antinociception. With further validation of these results, the MFG may represent an important biomarker for evaluating patient treatment response and target for future pain interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer Epp
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
| | - Andrew Walker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
| | | | - Signe Bray
- Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute
- Owerko Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
| | - Melanie Noel
- Department of Radiology, Psychology
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute
- Owerko Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Vi Riddell Children's Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Laura Rayner
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
| | - Nivez Rasic
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Vi Riddell Children's Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Jillian Vinall Miller
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
- Department of Radiology, Psychology
- O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute
- Owerko Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
- Vi Riddell Children's Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Viher PV, Seitz-Holland J, Schulz MS, Kensinger EA, Karmacharya S, Swisher T, Lyall AE, Makris N, Bouix S, Shenton ME, Kubicki M, Waldinger RJ. More organized white matter is associated with positivity bias in older adults. Brain Imaging Behav 2024; 18:555-565. [PMID: 38270836 PMCID: PMC11222031 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00850-5] [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] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
On average, healthy older adults prefer positive over neutral or negative stimuli. This positivity bias is related to memory and attention processes and is linked to the function and structure of several interconnected brain areas. However, the relationship between the positivity bias and white matter integrity remains elusive. The present study examines how white matter organization relates to the degree of the positivity bias among older adults. We collected imaging and behavioral data from 25 individuals (12 females, 13 males, and a mean age of 77.32). Based on a functional memory task, we calculated a Pos-Neg score, reflecting the memory for positively valenced information over negative information, and a Pos-Neu score, reflecting the memory for positively valenced information over neutral information. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data were processed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. We performed two non-parametric permutation tests to correlate whole brain white matter integrity and the Pos-Neg and Pos-Neu scores while controlling for age, sex, and years of education. We observed a statistically significant positive association between the Pos-Neu score and white matter integrity in multiple brain connections, mostly frontal. The results did not remain significant when including verbal episodic memory as an additional covariate. Our study indicates that the positivity bias in memory in older adults is associated with more organized white matter in the connections of the frontal brain. While these frontal areas are critical for memory and executive processes and have been related to pathological aging, more extensive studies are needed to fully understand their role in the positivity bias and the potential for therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra V Viher
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Johanna Seitz-Holland
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Marc S Schulz
- Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA, USA
| | | | - Sarina Karmacharya
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Talis Swisher
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amanda E Lyall
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Nikos Makris
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sylvain Bouix
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Martha E Shenton
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marek Kubicki
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Robert J Waldinger
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
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3
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Mather M. The emotion paradox in the aging body and brain. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2024; 1536:13-41. [PMID: 38676452 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15138] [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] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
With age, parasympathetic activity decreases, while sympathetic activity increases. Thus, the typical older adult has low heart rate variability (HRV) and high noradrenaline levels. Younger adults with this physiological profile tend to be unhappy and stressed. Yet, with age, emotional experience tends to improve. Why does older adults' emotional well-being not suffer as their HRV decreases? To address this apparent paradox, I present the autonomic compensation model. In this model, failing organs, the initial phases of Alzheimer's pathology, and other age-related diseases trigger noradrenergic hyperactivity. To compensate, older brains increase autonomic regulatory activity in the pregenual prefrontal cortex (PFC). Age-related declines in nerve conduction reduce the ability of the pregenual PFC to reduce hyperactive noradrenergic activity and increase peripheral HRV. But these pregenual PFC autonomic compensation efforts have a significant impact in the brain, where they bias processing in favor of stimuli that tend to increase parasympathetic activity (e.g., stimuli that increase feelings of safety) and against stimuli that tend to increase sympathetic activity (e.g., threatening stimuli). In summary, the autonomic compensation model posits that age-related chronic sympathetic/noradrenergic hyperactivity stimulates regulatory attempts that have the side effect of enhancing emotional well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Mather
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Department of Psychology, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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4
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Millett CE, Corrigan AA, Adamis A, Bonner CR, Lebovitz JG, Palm ST, Majd M, Gunning FM, Burdick KE. The effect of aging on facial emotion recognition in bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Res 2023; 327:115386. [PMID: 37544087 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Convergent data point to an exaggerated negativity bias in bipolar disorder (BD), and little is known about whether people with BD experience the 'positivity effect' with increasing age. METHOD This is a cross sectional study of 202 participants with BD aged 18-65, and a sample (n = 53) of healthy controls (HCs). Participants completed the CANTAB Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). Using analysis of variance, we tested for a main effect of age, diagnosis, and an interaction of age x diagnosis on both negative and positive conditions. RESULTS We observed increased accuracy in identifying positive stimuli in the HC sample as a function of increasing age, a pattern that was not seen in participants with BD. Specifically, there was a significant diagnosis by age cohort interaction on ERT performance that was specific to the identification of happiness, where the Later Adulthood cohort of HCs was more accurate when identifying happy faces relative to the same cohort of BD patients. CONCLUSION Later life looks different for people with BD. With an aging population globally, gaining a clearer picture of the effects of recurrent mood dysregulation on the brain will be critical in guiding efforts to effectively optimize outcomes in older adults with BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E Millett
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Alexandra A Corrigan
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Alexandra Adamis
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States of America
| | - Candice Roquemore Bonner
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Julia G Lebovitz
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States of America
| | - Stephan T Palm
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Marzieh Majd
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Faith M Gunning
- Department of Psychiatry, Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Katherine E Burdick
- Mood and Psychosis Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America.
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5
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Thompson González N, Machanda Z, Emery Thompson M. Age-related social selectivity: An adaptive lens on a later life social phenotype. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105294. [PMID: 37380041 PMCID: PMC10529433 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105294] [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: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Age-related social selectivity is a process in which older humans reduce their number of social partners to a subset of positive and emotionally fulfilling relationships. Although selectivity has been attributed to humans' unique perceptions of time horizons, recent evidence demonstrates that these social patterns and processes occur in other non-human primates, suggesting an evolutionarily wider phenomenon. Here, we develop the hypothesis that selective social behavior is an adaptive strategy that allows social animals to balance the costs and benefits of navigating social environments in the face of age-related functional declines. We first aim to distinguish social selectivity from the non-adaptive social consequences of aging. We then outline multiple mechanisms by which social selectivity in old age may enhance fitness and healthspan. Our goal is to lay out a research agenda to identify selective strategies and their potential benefits. Given the importance of social support for health across primates, understanding why aging individuals lose social connections and how they can remain resilient has vital applications to public health research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Thompson González
- Integrative Anthropological Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Zarin Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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6
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Lin FV, Zuo Y, Conwell Y, Wang KH. New horizons in emotional well-being and brain aging: Potential lessons from cross-species research. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2023; 38:e5936. [PMID: 37260057 PMCID: PMC10652707 DOI: 10.1002/gps.5936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Emotional wellbeing (EWB) is a multi-faceted concept of immediate relevance to human health. NIH recently initiated a series of research networks to advance understanding of EWB. Our network (NEW Brain Aging) focuses on mechanistic understanding of EWB in relation to brain aging. Here, by synthesizing the literature on emotional processing and the underlying brain circuit mechanisms in human and non-human animals, we propose a reactivity and reappraisal model for understanding EWB and its age-related changes. This model emphasizes the dynamic interactions between affective stimuli, behavioral/physiological responses, brain emotional states, and subjective feelings. It also aims to integrate the unique emotional processes involved in explaining EWB in aging humans with the emerging mechanistic insight of topologically conserved emotional brain networks from cross-species studies. We also highlight the research opportunities and challenges in EWB and brain aging research and the potential application of the model in addressing these issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Vankee Lin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
| | - Yi Zuo
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
| | - Yeates Conwell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - Kuan Hong Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
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7
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Thams F, Brassen S. The need to change: Is there a critical role of midlife adaptation in mental health later in life? eLife 2023; 12:82390. [PMID: 37141113 PMCID: PMC10159621 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Although late-life depression (LLD) is a serious health problem and more common than dementia in people over 60, it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. The cognitive-emotional etiology of LLD is particularly poorly understood. This is in contrast to the now extensive literature from psychology and cognitive neuroscience on the characteristics of emotionally healthy aging. This research consistently shows a change in emotional processing in older adults that is modulated by prefrontal regulation. Lifespan theories explain this change in terms of neurocognitive adaptation to limited opportunities and resources that typically occur in the second half of life. Epidemiological data on an increase in well-being after a low point around age 50 suggest that the majority of people seem quite capable of making this adaptation, even though empirical evidence for a causal modulation of this so called 'paradox of aging' and for the role of the midlife dip is still lacking. Intriguingly, LLD is associated with deficits in emotional, cognitive, and prefrontal functions similar to those shown to be crucial for healthy adaptation. Suspected causes of these deficits, such as white matter lesions or affective instability, become apparent as early as midlife when internal and external changes as well as daily challenges set in. Based on these findings, we propose that some individuals who develop depression at older ages may not have been able to successfully implement self-regulatory adaptation at midlife. Here, we review the current evidence and theories on successful aging, the neurobiology of LLD, and well-being across the lifespan. Drawing on recent advances in lifespan theories, emotion regulation research, and cognitive neuroscience, we propose a model of successful versus unsuccessful adaptation that emphasizes the increasing need for implicit habitual control and resource-based regulatory choice during midlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friederike Thams
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Brassen
- Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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8
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Tupitsa E, Egbuniwe I, Lloyd WK, Puertollano M, Macdonald B, Joanknecht K, Sakaki M, van Reekum CM. Heart Rate Variability Covaries with Amygdala Functional Connectivity During Voluntary Emotion Regulation. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120136. [PMID: 37116768 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The Neurovisceral Integration Model posits that shared neural networks support the effective regulation of emotions and heart rate, with heart rate variability (HRV) serving as an objective, peripheral index of prefrontal inhibitory control. Prior neuroimaging studies have predominantly examined both HRV and associated neural functional connectivity at rest, as opposed to contexts that require active emotion regulation. The present study sought to extend upon previous resting-state functional connectivity findings, examining task-related HRV and corresponding amygdala functional connectivity during a cognitive reappraisal task. Seventy adults (52 older and 18 younger adults, 18-84 years, 51% male) received instructions to cognitively reappraise negative affective images during functional MRI scanning. HRV measures were derived from a finger pulse signal throughout the scan. During the task, younger adults exhibited a significant inverse association between HRV and amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) functional connectivity, in which higher task-related HRV was correlated with weaker amygdala-mPFC coupling, whereas older adults displayed a slight positive, albeit non-significant correlation. Furthermore, voxelwise whole-brain functional connectivity analyses showed that higher task-based HRV was linked to weaker right amygdala-posterior cingulate cortex connectivity across older and younger adults, and in older adults, higher task-related HRV correlated positively with stronger right amygdala-right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity. Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of assessing HRV and neural functional connectivity during active regulatory contexts to further identify neural concomitants of HRV and adaptive emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Tupitsa
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Ifeoma Egbuniwe
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - William K Lloyd
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK; School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Marta Puertollano
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Birthe Macdonald
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK; URPP Dynamics of Healthy Ageing, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karin Joanknecht
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan
| | - Carien M van Reekum
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
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9
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He H, Lin W, Yang J, Chen Y, Tan S, Guan Q. Age-related intrinsic functional connectivity underlying emotion utilization. Cereb Cortex 2023:7033308. [PMID: 36758953 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad023] [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: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies investigated the age-related positivity effect in terms of emotion perception and management, whereas little is known about whether the positivity effect is shown in emotion utilization (EU). If yes, the EU-related intrinsic functional connectivity and its age-associated alterations remain to be elucidated. In this study, we collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 62 healthy older adults and 72 undergraduates as well as their self-ratings of EU. By using the connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) method, we constructed a predictive model of the positive relationship between EU self-ratings and resting-state functional connectivity. Lesion simulation analyses revealed that the medial-frontal network, default mode network, frontoparietal network, and subcortical regions played key roles in the EU-related CPM. Older subjects showed significantly higher EU self-ratings than undergraduates, which was associated with strengthened connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral frontal poles, and between the left frontal pole and thalamus. A mediation analysis indicated that the age-related EU network mediated the age effect on EU self-ratings. Our findings extend previous research on the age-related "positivity effect" to the EU domain, suggesting that the positivity effect on the self-evaluation of EU is probably associated with emotion knowledge which accumulates with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao He
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wenyi Lin
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiawang Yang
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yiqi Chen
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Siping Tan
- Department of Radiology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Qing Guan
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, School of Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, China
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10
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James TA, Duarte A. Depressive symptoms are associated with reduced positivity preferences in episodic memory in aging. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 121:38-51. [PMID: 36371815 PMCID: PMC11212072 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.10.006] [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: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Age-related positivity preferences are represented as greater memory benefits for positive and/or reduced benefits for negative material with age. It is unknown if positivity preferences are limited to older adults without depressive symptoms. In this fMRI study, adults across the lifespan with a range of depressive symptoms were scanned as they rated emotional intensity of images and subsequently completed a recognition memory task. Behavioral, univariate, and functional connectivity analyses provided evidence for interactive effects between age and depressive symptoms. With low depressive symptoms, typical age-related emotional preferences emerged: younger age was associated with better memory for negative images, and this benefit was reduced with older age. With increasing depressive symptoms in older age, positivity preferences were reduced, manifesting as improvements in negative memory. The neural data highlighted potential underlying mechanisms, including reductions in prefrontal cortex connectivity reflecting diminished ability to engage regulatory processes to reduce negative affect in older participants with higher depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms in older adulthood reduce positivity preferences through alterations in neural networks underlying emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor A James
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Audrey Duarte
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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11
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The power of negative and positive episodic memories. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:869-903. [PMID: 35701665 PMCID: PMC9196161 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01013-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The power of episodic memories is that they bring a past moment into the present, providing opportunities for us to recall details of the experiences, reframe or update the memory, and use the retrieved information to guide our decisions. In these regards, negative and positive memories can be especially powerful: Life’s highs and lows are disproportionately represented in memory, and when they are retrieved, they often impact our current mood and thoughts and influence various forms of behavior. Research rooted in neuroscience and cognitive psychology has historically focused on memory for negative emotional content. Yet the study of autobiographical memories has highlighted the importance of positive emotional memories, and more recently, cognitive neuroscience methods have begun to clarify why positive memories may show powerful relations to mental wellbeing. Here, we review the models that have been proposed to explain why emotional memories are long-lasting (durable) and likely to be retrieved (accessible), describing how in overlapping—but distinctly separable—ways, positive and negative memories can be easier to retrieve, and more likely to influence behavior. We end by identifying potential implications of this literature for broader topics related to mental wellbeing, education, and workplace environments.
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12
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Ford JH, Kim SY, Kark SM, Daley RT, Payne JD, Kensinger EA. Distinct stress-related changes in intrinsic amygdala connectivity predict subsequent positive and negative memory performance. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:4744-4765. [PMID: 35841177 PMCID: PMC9710194 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15777] [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: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Experiencing stress before an event can influence how that event is later remembered. In the current study, we examine how individual differences in one's physiological response to a stressor are related to changes to underlying brain states and memory performance. Specifically, we examined how changes in intrinsic amygdala connectivity relate to positive and negative memory performance as a function of stress response, defined as a change in cortisol. Twenty-five participants underwent a social stressor before an incidental emotional memory encoding task. Cortisol samples were obtained before and after the stressor to measure individual differences in stress response. Three resting state scans (pre-stressor, post-stressor/pre-encoding and post-encoding) were conducted to evaluate pre- to post-stressor and pre- to post-encoding changes to intrinsic amygdala connectivity. Analyses examined relations between greater cortisol changes and connectivity changes. Greater cortisol increases were associated with a greater decrease in prefrontal-amygdala connectivity following the stressor and a reversal in the relation between prefrontal-amygdala connectivity and negative vs. positive memory performance. Greater cortisol increases were also associated with a greater increase in amygdala connectivity with a number of posterior sensory regions following encoding. Consistent with prior findings in non-stressed individuals, pre- to post-encoding increases in amygdala-posterior connectivity were associated with greater negative relative to positive memory performance, although this was specific to lateral rather than medial posterior regions and to participants with the greatest cortisol changes. These findings suggest that stress response is associated with changes in intrinsic connectivity that have downstream effects on the valence of remembered emotional content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn H Ford
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sara Y Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Sarah M Kark
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Ryan T Daley
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jessica D Payne
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Kensinger
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA
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13
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Resting-state functional connectivity does not predict individual differences in the effects of emotion on memory. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14481. [PMID: 36008438 PMCID: PMC9411155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18543-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion-laden events and objects are typically better remembered than neutral ones. This is usually explained by stronger functional coupling in the brain evoked by emotional content. However, most research on this issue has focused on functional connectivity evoked during or after learning. The effect of an individual’s functional connectivity at rest is unknown. Our pre-registered study addresses this issue by analysing a large database, the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience, which includes resting-state data and emotional memory scores from 303 participants aged 18–87 years. We applied regularised regression to select the relevant connections and replicated previous findings that whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity can predict age and intelligence in younger adults. However, whole-brain functional connectivity predicted neither an emotional enhancement effect (i.e., the degree to which emotionally positive or negative events are remembered better than neutral events) nor a positivity bias effect (i.e., the degree to which emotionally positive events are remembered better than negative events), failing to support our pre-registered hypotheses. These results imply a small or no association between individual differences in functional connectivity at rest and emotional memory, and support recent notions that resting-state functional connectivity is not always useful in predicting individual differences in behavioural measures.
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14
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Katsumi Y, Moore M. Affective Enhancement of Episodic Memory Is Associated With Widespread Patterns of Intrinsic Functional Connectivity in the Brain Across the Adult Lifespan. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:910180. [PMID: 35832290 PMCID: PMC9271876 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.910180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Subjectively arousing experiences tend to be better remembered than neutral ones. While numerous task-related neuroimaging studies have revealed the neural mechanisms associated with this phenomenon, it remains unclear how variability in the extent to which individuals show superior memory for subjectively arousing stimuli is associated with the intrinsic functional organization of their brains. Here, we addressed this issue using functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected at rest from a sample drawn from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience cohort (N = 269, 18–86 years). Specifically, we performed multi-voxel pattern analysis of intrinsic functional connectivity, an unbiased, data-driven approach to examine whole-brain voxel-wise connectivity patterns. This technique allowed us to reveal the most important features from the high-dimensional, whole-brain connectivity structure without a priori hypotheses about the topography and direction of functional connectivity differences. Behaviorally, both item and associative memory accuracy were enhanced for trials with affectively arousing (positive or negative) stimuli than those with neutral ones. Whole-brain multi-voxel pattern analysis of functional connectivity revealed that the affective enhancement of memory was associated with intrinsic connectivity patterns of spatially distributed brain regions belonging to several functional networks in the cerebral cortex. Post hoc seed-based brain-behavior regression analysis and principal component analysis of the resulting correlation maps showed that these connectivity patterns were in turn primarily characterized by the involvement of heteromodal association and paralimbic (dorsal attention, salience, and default mode) networks of the cerebral cortex as well as select subcortical structures (striatum, thalamus, and cerebellum). Collectively, these findings suggest that the affective enhancement of episodic memory may be characterized as a whole-brain phenomenon, possibly supported by intrinsic functional interactions across several networks and structures in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Katsumi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- *Correspondence: Yuta Katsumi,
| | - Matthew Moore
- War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, United States
- Matthew Moore,
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15
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Radhakrishnan R, Vishnubhotla RV, Guckien Z, Zhao Y, Sokol GM, Haas DM, Sadhasivam S. Thalamocortical functional connectivity in infants with prenatal opioid exposure correlates with severity of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Neuroradiology 2022; 64:1649-1659. [PMID: 35410397 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-022-02939-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Prenatal opioid exposure (POE) is a growing public health concern due to its associated adverse outcomes including neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). The aim of this study was to assess alterations in thalamic functional connectivity in neonates with POE using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and identify whether these altered connectivity measures were associated with NOWS severity. METHODS In this prospective, IRB-approved study, we performed rs-fMRI in 19 infants with POE and 20 healthy control infants without POE. Following standard pre-processing, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analysis with the right and left thalamus as the regions of interest. We performed post hoc analysis in the prenatal opioid exposure group to identify associations of altered thalamocortical connectivity with severity of NOWS. P value of < .05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS There were several regions of significantly altered thalamic to cortical functional connectivity in infants with POE compared to the healthy infants. Distinct regions of thalamocortical functional connectivity correlated with maximum modified Finnegan score. Association between thalamocortical connectivity and severity of NOWS was nominally modified by maternal psychological conditions and polysubstance use. CONCLUSION Our findings reveal prenatal opioid exposure-related alterations in thalamic functional connectivity in the infant brain that are correlated with severity of NOWS. Future studies may benefit from evaluation of thalamocortical resting state functional connectivity in infants with POE to help stratify risk of long term neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupa Radhakrishnan
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, 705 Riley Hospital Drive, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | - Ramana V Vishnubhotla
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, 705 Riley Hospital Drive, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Zoe Guckien
- Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yi Zhao
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Gregory M Sokol
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - David M Haas
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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16
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Ku LC, Allen JJB, Lai VT. Attention and regulation during emotional word comprehension in older adults: Evidence from event-related potentials and brain oscillations. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 227:105086. [PMID: 35139454 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Older adults often show a positivity bias effect during picture processing, focusing more on positive than negative information. It is unclear whether this positivity bias effect generalizes to language and whether arousal matters. The present study investigated how age affects emotional word comprehension with varied valence (positive, negative) and arousal (high, low). We recorded older and younger participants' brainwaves (EEG) while they read positive/negative and high/low-arousing words and pseudowords, and made word/non-word judgments. Older adults showed increased N400s and left frontal alpha decreases (300-450 ms) for low-arousing positive as compared to low-arousing negative words, suggesting an arousal-dependent positivity bias during lexical retrieval. Both age groups showed similar LPPs to negative words. Older adults further showed a larger mid-frontal theta increase (500-700 ms) than younger adults for low-arousing negative words, possibly indicating down-regulation of negative meanings of low-arousing words. Altogether, our data supported the strength and vulnerability integration model of aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Chuan Ku
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| | - John J B Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Vicky T Lai
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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17
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Murray T, O’Brien J, Sagiv N, Kumari V. Changes in functional connectivity associated with facial expression processing over the working adult lifespan. Cortex 2022; 151:211-223. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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18
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The age-related positivity effect in cognition: A review of key findings across different cognitive domains. PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.plm.2022.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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19
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Liu H, Liu Y, Dong X, Liu H, Han B. Effect of Cognitive Control on Age-Related Positivity Effects in Attentional Processing - Evidence From an Event-Related Brain Potential Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:755635. [PMID: 34925159 PMCID: PMC8671695 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.755635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies investigating age-related positivity effects during facial emotion processing have yielded contradictory results. The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of cognitive control during attentional processing of emotional faces among older adults. We used go/no-go detection tasks combined with event-related potentials and source localization to examine the effects of response inhibition on age-related positivity effects. Data were obtained from 23 older and 23 younger healthy participants. Behavioral results showed that the discriminability index (d') of older adults on fear trials was significantly greater than that of younger adults [t(44)=2.37, p=0.024, Cohen's d=0.70], whereas an opposite pattern was found in happy trials [t(44)=2.56, p=0.014, Cohen's d=0.75]. The electroencephalography results on the amplitude of the N170 at the left electrode positions showed that the fear-neutral face pairs were larger than the happy-neutral ones for the younger adults [t(22)=2.32, p=0.030, Cohen's d=0.48]; the older group's right hemisphere presented similar tendency, although the results were not statistically significant [t(22)=1.97, p=0.061, Cohen's d=0.41]. Further, the brain activity of the two hemispheres in older adults showed asymmetrical decrement. Our study demonstrated that the age-related "positivity effect" was not observed owing to the depletion of available cognitive resources at the early attentional stage. Moreover, bilateral activation of the two hemispheres may be important signals of normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haining Liu
- Department of Psychology, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China.,Hebei Key Laboratory of Nerve Injury and Repair, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Yanli Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Xianling Dong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China
| | - Haihong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, China.,Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
| | - Buxin Han
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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20
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Petro NM, Basyouni R, Neta M. Positivity effect in aging: evidence for the primacy of positive responses to emotional ambiguity. Neurobiol Aging 2021; 106:232-240. [PMID: 34311432 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Older compared to younger adults show greater amygdala activity to positive emotions, and are more likely to interpret emotionally ambiguous stimuli (e.g., surprised faces) as positive. While some evidence suggests this positivity effect results from a top-down, effortful mechanism, others suggest it may emerge as the default or initial response. The amygdala is a key node in rapid, bottom-up processing and patterns of amygdala activity over time (e.g., habituation) can shed light on the mechanisms underlying the positivity effect. Younger and older adults passively viewed neutral and surprised faces in an MRI. Only in older adults, amygdala habituation was associated with the tendency to interpret surprised faces as positive or negative (valence bias), where a more positive bias was associated with greater habituation. Interestingly, although a positive bias in younger adults was associated with slower responses, consistent with an initial negativity hypothesis in younger adults, older adults showed faster categorizations of positivity. Together, we propose that there may be a switch to a primacy of positivity in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Petro
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
| | - Ruby Basyouni
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Maital Neta
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
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21
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Radhakrishnan R, Elsaid NMH, Sadhasivam S, Reher TA, Hines AC, Yoder K, Saykin AJ, Wu YC. Resting state functional MRI in infants with prenatal opioid exposure-a pilot study. Neuroradiology 2021; 63. [PMID: 32978671 PMCID: PMC9162800 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-020-02552-3,] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Exposure to prenatal opioids may adversely impact the developing brain networks. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate alterations in amygdalar functional connectivity in human infants with prenatal opioid exposure. METHODS In this prospective IRB approved study, we performed resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in 10 infants with prenatal opioid exposure and 12 infants without prenatal drug exposure at < 48 weeks corrected gestational age. Following standard preprocessing, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analysis with the right and left amygdala as the regions of interest after correcting for maternal depression and infant sex. We compared functional connectivity of the amygdala network between infants with and without prenatal opioid exposure. RESULTS There were significant differences in connectivity of the amygdala seed regions to the several cortical regions including the medial prefrontal cortex in infants who had prenatal opioid exposure when compared with opioid naïve infants. CONCLUSION This finding of increased amygdala functional connectivity in infants with in utero opioid exposure suggests a potential role of maternal opioid exposure on infants' altered amygdala function. This association with prenatal exposure needs to be replicated in future larger studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rupa Radhakrishnan
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Nahla M H Elsaid
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | | | - Thomas A Reher
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Abbey C Hines
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Karmen Yoder
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Andrew J Saykin
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Yu-Chien Wu
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
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22
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Alexander R, Aragón OR, Bookwala J, Cherbuin N, Gatt JM, Kahrilas IJ, Kästner N, Lawrence A, Lowe L, Morrison RG, Mueller SC, Nusslock R, Papadelis C, Polnaszek KL, Helene Richter S, Silton RL, Styliadis C. The neuroscience of positive emotions and affect: Implications for cultivating happiness and wellbeing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 121:220-249. [PMID: 33307046 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2019] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This review paper provides an integrative account regarding neurophysiological correlates of positive emotions and affect that cumulatively contribute to the scaffolding for happiness and wellbeing in humans and other animals. This paper reviews the associations among neurotransmitters, hormones, brain networks, and cognitive functions in the context of positive emotions and affect. Consideration of lifespan developmental perspectives are incorporated, and we also examine the impact of healthy social relationships and environmental contexts on the modulation of positive emotions and affect. The neurophysiological processes that implement positive emotions are dynamic and modifiable, and meditative practices as well as flow states that change patterns of brain function and ultimately support wellbeing are also discussed. This review is part of "The Human Affectome Project" (http://neuroqualia.org/background.php), and in order to advance a primary aim of the Human Affectome Project, we also reviewed relevant linguistic dimensions and terminology that characterizes positive emotions and wellbeing. These linguistic dimensions are discussed within the context of the neuroscience literature with the overarching goal of generating novel recommendations for advancing neuroscience research on positive emotions and wellbeing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Alexander
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia; Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Oriana R Aragón
- Yale University, 2 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Clemson University, 252 Sirrine Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Jamila Bookwala
- Department of Psychology and Program in Aging Studies, Lafayette College, 730 High Road, Easton, PA, USA
| | - Nicolas Cherbuin
- Centre for Research on Ageing, Health, and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Justine M Gatt
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - Ian J Kahrilas
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA
| | - Niklas Kästner
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestraße 13, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Alistair Lawrence
- Scotland's Rural College, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, United Kingdom; The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Leroy Lowe
- Neuroqualia (NGO), Truro, NS, B2N 1X5, Canada
| | - Robert G Morrison
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Personality, Psychological Assessment and Treatment, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Christos Papadelis
- Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, Cook Children's Health Care System, 1500 Cooper St, Fort Worth, TX, 76104, USA; Laboratory of Children's Brain Dynamics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kelly L Polnaszek
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA
| | - S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestraße 13, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Rebecca L Silton
- Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA; Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, 633 N. Saint Clair, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
| | - Charis Styliadis
- Neuroscience of Cognition and Affection group, Lab of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece
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23
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Gray V, Douglas KM, Porter RJ. Emotion processing in depression and anxiety disorders in older adults: systematic review. BJPsych Open 2020; 7:e7. [PMID: 33267933 PMCID: PMC7791559 DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2020.143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emotional cognition and effective interpretation of affective information is an important factor in social interactions and everyday functioning, and difficulties in these areas may contribute to aetiology and maintenance of mental health conditions. In younger people with depression and anxiety, research suggests significant alterations in behavioural and brain activation aspects of emotion processing, with a tendency to appraise neutral stimuli as negative and attend preferentially to negative stimuli. However, in ageing, research suggests that emotion processing becomes subject to a 'positivity effect', whereby older people attend more to positive than negative stimuli. AIMS This review examines data from studies of emotion processing in Late-Life Depression and Late-Life Anxiety to attempt to understand the significance of emotion processing variations in these conditions, and their interaction with changes in emotion processing that occur with ageing. METHOD We conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines. Articles that used an emotion-based processing task, examined older persons with depression or an anxiety disorder and included a healthy control group were included. RESULTS In Late-Life Depression, there is little consistent behavioural evidence of impaired emotion processing, but there is evidence of altered brain circuitry during these processes. In Late-Life Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, there is evidence of interference with processing of negative or threat-related words. CONCLUSIONS How these findings fit with the positivity bias of ageing is not clear. Future research is required in larger groups, further examining the interaction between illness and age and the significance of age at disease onset.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Gray
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Katie M Douglas
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Richard J Porter
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago; and Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand
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24
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Gao M, Wong CHY, Huang H, Shao R, Huang R, Chan CCH, Lee TMC. Connectome-based models can predict processing speed in older adults. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117290. [PMID: 32871259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Decrement in processing speed (PS) is a primary cognitive morbidity in clinical populations and could significantly influence other cognitive functions, such as attention and memory. Verifying the usefulness of connectome-based models for predicting neurocognitive abilities has significant translational implications on clinical and aging research. In this study, we verified that resting-state functional connectivity could be used to predict PS in 99 older adults by using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM). We identified two distinct connectome patterns across the whole brain: the fast-PS and slow-PS networks. Relative to the slow-PS network, the fast-PS network showed more within-network connectivity in the motor and visual networks and less between-network connectivity in the motor-visual, motor-subcortical/cerebellum and motor-frontoparietal networks. We further verified that the connectivity patterns for prediction of PS were also useful for predicting attention and memory in the same sample. To test the generalizability and specificity of the connectome-based predictive models, we applied these two connectome models to an independent sample of three age groups (101 younger adults, 103 middle-aged adults and 91 older adults) and confirmed these models could specifically be generalized to predict PS of the older adults, but not the younger and middle-aged adults. Taking all the findings together, the identified connectome-based predictive models are strong for predicting PS in older adults. The application of CPM to predict neurocognitive abilities can complement conventional neurocognitive assessments, bring significant clinical benefits to patient management and aid the clinical diagnoses, prognoses and management of people undergoing the aging process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengxia Gao
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Clive H Y Wong
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Huiyuan Huang
- School of Psychology, Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education
| | - Robin Shao
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology, Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education.
| | - Chetwyn C H Chan
- Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hum Hom, Hong Kong.
| | - Tatia M C Lee
- The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangzhou, China; Laboratory of Emotion and Cognition, The Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, China.
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25
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Resting state functional MRI in infants with prenatal opioid exposure-a pilot study. Neuroradiology 2020; 63:585-591. [PMID: 32978671 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-020-02552-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Exposure to prenatal opioids may adversely impact the developing brain networks. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate alterations in amygdalar functional connectivity in human infants with prenatal opioid exposure. METHODS In this prospective IRB approved study, we performed resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in 10 infants with prenatal opioid exposure and 12 infants without prenatal drug exposure at < 48 weeks corrected gestational age. Following standard preprocessing, we performed seed-based functional connectivity analysis with the right and left amygdala as the regions of interest after correcting for maternal depression and infant sex. We compared functional connectivity of the amygdala network between infants with and without prenatal opioid exposure. RESULTS There were significant differences in connectivity of the amygdala seed regions to the several cortical regions including the medial prefrontal cortex in infants who had prenatal opioid exposure when compared with opioid naïve infants. CONCLUSION This finding of increased amygdala functional connectivity in infants with in utero opioid exposure suggests a potential role of maternal opioid exposure on infants' altered amygdala function. This association with prenatal exposure needs to be replicated in future larger studies.
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26
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Yagi A, Nouchi R, Murayama K, Sakaki M, Kawashima R. The Role of Cognitive Control in Age-Related Changes in Well-Being. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:198. [PMID: 32848699 PMCID: PMC7396630 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining emotional well-being in late life is crucial for achieving successful and healthy aging. While previous research from Western cultures has documented that emotional well-being improves as individuals get older, previous research provided mixed evidence on the effects of age on well-being in Eastern Asian cultures. However, previous studies in East Asia do not always take into account the effects of cognitive control—an ability which has been considered as a key to enable older adults to regulate their emotions. In the current study, we tested whether cognitive control abilities interact with age in determining individuals’ well-being in 59 Japanese females (age range: 26–79; Mage = 64.95). Participants’ mental health and mental fatigue were tracked for 5 years together with their cognitive control abilities. We found that as individuals became older, they showed improved mental health and decreased mental fatigue. In addition, we found a quadratic effect of age on mental fatigue, which was further qualified by baseline cognitive control abilities. Specifically, in those who had a lower level of cognitive control abilities, mental fatigue declined until the mid-60s, at which point it started increasing (a U-shape effect). In contrast, in those who had a higher level of cognitive control ability, mental fatigue showed a steady decrease with age even after their mid-60s. These results suggest that whether advancing age is associated with positive vs. negative changes in well-being depends on cognitive control abilities, and that preserved cognitive control is a key to maintain well-being in late life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayano Yagi
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Japan
| | - Rui Nouchi
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Kou Murayama
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Japan.,School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Japan.,School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer (IDAC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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27
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Devitt AL, Thakral PP, Szpunar K, Addis DR, Schacter DL. Age-related changes in repetition suppression of neural activity during emotional future simulation. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 94:287-297. [PMID: 32712534 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite advances in understanding the consequences of age-related episodic memory decline for future simulation, much remains unknown regarding changes in the neural underpinnings of future thinking with age. We used a repetition suppression paradigm to explore age-related changes in the neural correlates of emotional future simulation. Younger and older adults simulated positive, negative, and neutral future events either 2 or 5 times. Reductions in neural activity for events simulated 5 versus 2 times (i.e., repetition suppression) identify brain regions responsive to the specific emotion of simulated events. Critically, older adults showed greater repetition suppression than younger adults in the temporal pole for negative simulations, and the cuneus for positive simulations. These findings suggest that older adults distance themselves from negative future possibilities by thinking about them in a more semantic way, consistent with the view that older adults down-regulate negative affect and up-regulate positive affect. More broadly this study increases our understanding of the impact of aging on the neural underpinnings of episodic future simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleea L Devitt
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | | | - Karl Szpunar
- Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Donna Rose Addis
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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28
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Barber SJ, Lopez N, Cadambi K, Alferez S. The limited roles of cognitive capabilities and future time perspective in contributing to positivity effects. Cognition 2020; 200:104267. [PMID: 32229343 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
When compared to younger adults, older adults tend to favor positive over negative information in attention and memory. This is known as the positivity effect. Although this is a robust phenomenon, there is still debate about how it relates to individual differences in cognitive capabilities and future time perspective (FTP). To address this, we investigated how measures of fluid cognitive capabilities and FTP related to positivity effects within the domains of episodic memory, visual attention, and autobiographical memory. Cognitive capabilities were assessed using the National Institute of Health Toolbox Cognition battery, and included assessments of executive function, working memory, episodic memory, and processing speed. FTP was assessed via the Carstensen and Lang (1996) scale. Within our final sample (N = 196), we replicated positivity effects in all three task domains, which were all driven by age differences in how people responded to negative (but not positive) information. However, there was limited evidence that the magnitude of these age-related reductions in negativity varied as a function of individual differences in older adults' cognitive capabilities or FTP. Furthermore, when FTP did emerge as a predictor, the pattern was not in line with expectations based upon socioemotional selectivity theory. Thus, the positivity effect may be less reliant on cognitive capabilities and self-reported FTP than is often assumed. Given that there was also very little consistency in the extent to which participants displayed positivity effects across the task domains, these results also raise the possibility that there may be multiple mechanisms underlying positivity effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Barber
- Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, EP 301, San Francisco, CA 94132, United States of America; Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States of America.
| | - Noelle Lopez
- Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, EP 301, San Francisco, CA 94132, United States of America
| | - Kriti Cadambi
- Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, EP 301, San Francisco, CA 94132, United States of America
| | - Santos Alferez
- Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, EP 301, San Francisco, CA 94132, United States of America
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29
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Corbett B, Rajah MN, Duarte A. Preparing for the Worst: Evidence that Older Adults Proactively Downregulate Negative Affect. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:1291-1306. [PMID: 31424075 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have only investigated age-related differences in emotional processing and encoding in response to, not in anticipation of, emotional stimuli. In the current study, we investigated age-related differences in the impact of emotional anticipation on affective responses and episodic memory for emotional images. Young and older adults were scanned while encoding negative and neutral images preceded by cues that were either valid or invalid predictors of image valence. Participants were asked to rate the emotional intensity of the images and to complete a recognition task. Using multivariate behavioral partial least squares (PLS) analysis, we found that greater anticipatory recruitment of the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and hippocampus in older adults predicted reduced memory for negative than neutral images and the opposite for young adults. Seed PLS analysis further showed that following negative cues older adults, but not young adults, exhibited greater activation of vmPFC, reduced activation of amygdala, and worse memory for negative compared with neutral images. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence that the "positivity effect" seen in older adults' memory performance may be related to the spontaneous emotional suppression of negative affect in anticipation of, not just in response to, negative stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Corbett
- School of Psychology, Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - M Natasha Rajah
- Brain Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Audrey Duarte
- School of Psychology, Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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30
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Straka K, Tran ML, Millwood S, Swanson J, Kuhlman KR. Aging as a Context for the Role of Inflammation in Depressive Symptoms. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:605347. [PMID: 33536949 PMCID: PMC7848015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.605347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis and maintenance of depressive symptoms. The role of inflammation in depressive symptomatology may be complex, varying within endophenotypes and across the lifespan. Aging is associated with myriad changes in the structure and function of the brain. Yet, little attention has been given to the role of inflammation in depressive symptoms within a lifespan developmental framework. In this study, we examined whether the association between inflammation and depressive symptom domains varied by age. Participants were a community sample of individuals (N = 2,077, Range = 30-84) who participated in the Biomarker projects of the MIDUS2, MIDUS Refresher, or the MIDJA study. Inflammation was indexed by two inflammatory markers consistently implicated in depressed individuals, interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), measured in blood. Depressive symptom domains, including depressed affect, anhedonia, somatic complaints, and interpersonal problems, were reported via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Inflammatory markers were associated with more somatic complaints, more interpersonal problems, and less anhedonia. Age moderated the relationship between inflammatory markers and two depressive symptom subscales. Specifically, the positive association between inflammation and somatic complaints and the negative association between inflammation and anhedonia increased with age. These observations offer preliminary evidence from a large community sample that aging may be an important context for the role of inflammatory signaling in different aspects of psychological and behavioral well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelci Straka
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Mai-Lan Tran
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Summer Millwood
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - James Swanson
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Kate Ryan Kuhlman
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.,Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Unites States.,Interdisciplinary Institute for Salivary Bioscience Research, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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31
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Horta M, Ziaei M, Lin T, Porges EC, Fischer H, Feifel D, Spreng RN, Ebner NC. Oxytocin alters patterns of brain activity and amygdalar connectivity by age during dynamic facial emotion identification. Neurobiol Aging 2019; 78:42-51. [PMID: 30870779 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Aging is associated with increased difficulty in facial emotion identification, possibly due to age-related network change. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) facilitates emotion identification, but this is understudied in aging. To determine the effects of OT on dynamic facial emotion identification across adulthood, 46 young and 48 older participants self-administered intranasal OT or a placebo in a randomized, double-blind procedure. Older participants were slower and less accurate in identifying emotions. Although there was no behavioral treatment effect, partial least squares analysis supported treatment effects on brain patterns during emotion identification that varied by age and emotion. For young participants, OT altered the processing of sadness and happiness, whereas for older participants, OT only affected the processing of sadness (15.3% covariance, p = 0.004). Furthermore, seed partial least squares analysis showed that older participants in the OT group recruited a large-scale amygdalar network that was positively correlated for anger, fear, and happiness, whereas older participants in the placebo group recruited a smaller, negatively correlated network (7% covariance, p = 0.002). Advancing the literature, these findings show that OT alters brain activity and amygdalar connectivity by age and emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilyn Horta
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Maryam Ziaei
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Tian Lin
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Eric C Porges
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Håkan Fischer
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Feifel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - R Nathan Spreng
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Natalie C Ebner
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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32
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Martins B, Florjanczyk J, Jackson NJ, Gatz M, Mather M. Age differences in emotion regulation effort: Pupil response distinguishes reappraisal and distraction for older but not younger adults. Psychol Aging 2019; 33:338-349. [PMID: 29658751 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In previous research, older adults show greater emotional benefits from distracting themselves than from reappraising an event when strategically regulating emotion. Older adults also demonstrate an attentional preference to avoid, while younger adults show a bias toward approaching negative stimuli. This suggests a possible age-related differentiation of cognitive effort across approach and avoidance of negative stimuli during emotion regulation. In this study, we tracked cognitive effort via pupil dilation during the use of distraction (avoidance) and reappraisal (approach) strategies across age. Forty-eight younger adults (M = 20.94, SD = 1.78; 19 men) and 48 older adults (M = 68.82, SD = 5.40; 15 men) viewed a slideshow of negative images and were instructed to distract, reappraise, or passively view each image. Older adults showed greater pupil dilation during reappraisal than distraction, but younger adults displayed no difference between conditions-an effect that survived when controlling for gaze patterns. Gaze findings revealed that older adults looked less within images during active emotion regulation compared with passive viewing (no difference between distraction and reappraisal), and younger adults showed no difference across strategies. Younger adults gazed less within the most emotional image areas during distraction, but this did not significantly contribute to pupil response. Our findings support that distraction is less cognitively effortful than reinterpreting negative information in later life. These findings could be explained by older adults' motivational bias to disengage from negative information because of the age-related positivity effect, or compensation for decreased working memory resources across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruna Martins
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
| | - Jan Florjanczyk
- Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
| | - Nicholas J Jackson
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
| | - Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology and Department of Psychology, University of Southern California
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33
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Jones BJ, Mackay A, Mantua J, Schultz KS, Spencer RMC. The role of sleep in emotional memory processing in middle age. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2018; 155:208-215. [PMID: 30081153 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Sleep benefits memory in young adults, and this effect may be particularly strong for representations associated with negative emotion. Many aspects of sleep important for memory consolidation change with aging, particularly by middle age, suggesting that sleep-related consolidation may be reduced. However, the influence of sleep on memory has rarely been investigated in a middle-aged population. In the current study, young and middle-aged adults viewed negative and neutral pictures and underwent a recognition test after sleep or wake. Subjective emotional reactivity was also measured. Compared to waking, sleep benefited memory in young adults. Performance did not differ between sleep and wake groups in middle-aged adults, and it matched the level of young adults who slept. The effect of sleep versus wake was not influenced by memory valence in either age group. These results suggest the relative influence of sleep compared to wake on memory declines with aging, specifically by middle age, and that this decline extends to negative memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethany J Jones
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States
| | - Alix Mackay
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States; Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States
| | - Janna Mantua
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States
| | - Kurt S Schultz
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States
| | - Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002, United States.
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34
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Broster LS, Jenkins SL, Holmes SD, Jicha GA, Jiang Y. Low Arousal Positive Emotional Stimuli Attenuate Aberrant Working Memory Processing in Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 60:1333-1349. [PMID: 29060938 DOI: 10.3233/jad-170233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Emotional enhancement effects on memory have been reported to mitigate the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, relative to their manifestation in persons without pathologic aging, these effects may be reduced in magnitude or even deleterious, especially in tasks that more closely model ecologic memory performance. Based upon a synthesis of such reports, we hypothesized that in persons with AD low arousal positive stimuli would evoke relatively intact emotional enhancement effects, but that high arousal negative stimuli would evoke disordered emotional enhancement effects. To assess this, participants with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) presumed to be due to AD performed an emotionally-valenced short-term memory task while encephalography was recorded. Results indicated that for persons with MCI, high arousal negative stimuli led to working memory processing patterns previously associated with MCI presumed due to AD and dementia of the Alzheimer-type. In contrast, low arousal positive stimuli evoked a processing pattern similar to MCI participants' unaffected spouses. Our current findings suggest that low arousal positive stimuli attenuate working memory deficits of MCI due to AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas S Broster
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Shonna L Jenkins
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.,Movement Disorders Program, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Sarah D Holmes
- Department of Gerontology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Gregory A Jicha
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Yang Jiang
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.,Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
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35
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Xiao T, Zhang S, Lee LE, Chao HH, van Dyck C, Li CSR. Exploring Age-Related Changes in Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala: From Young to Middle Adulthood. Front Aging Neurosci 2018; 10:209. [PMID: 30061823 PMCID: PMC6055042 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivities of the amygdala support emotional and cognitive processing. Life-span development of resting-state functional connectivities (rsFC) of the amygdala may underlie age-related differences in emotion regulatory mechanisms. To date, age-related changes in amygdala rsFC have been reported through adolescence but not as thoroughly for adulthood. This study investigated age-related differences in amygdala rsFC in 132 young and middle-aged adults (19–55 years). Data processing followed published routines. Overall, amygdala showed positive rsFC with the temporal, sensorimotor and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), insula and lentiform nucleus, and negative rsFC with visual, frontoparietal, and posterior cingulate cortex and caudate head. Amygdala rsFC with the cerebellum was positively correlated with age, and rsFCs with the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and somatomotor cortex were negatively correlated with age, at voxel p < 0.001 in combination with cluster p < 0.05 FWE. These age-dependent changes in connectivity appeared to manifest to a greater extent in men than in women, although the sex difference was only evident for the cerebellum in a slope test of age regressions (p = 0.0053). Previous studies showed amygdala interaction with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and vmPFC during emotion regulation. In region of interest analysis, amygdala rsFC with the ACC and vmPFC did not show age-related changes. These findings suggest that intrinsic connectivity of the amygdala evolved from young to middle adulthood in selective brain regions, and may inform future studies of age-related emotion regulation and maladaptive development of the amygdala circuits as an etiological marker of emotional disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xiao
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Lue-En Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Herta H Chao
- Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Christopher van Dyck
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.,Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China
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36
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Kai Y, Li Y, Sun T, Yin W, Mao Y, Li J, Xie W, Chen S, Wang L, Li J, Zhang Z, Tao W. A medial prefrontal cortex-nucleus acumens corticotropin-releasing factor circuitry for neuropathic pain-increased susceptibility to opioid reward. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:100. [PMID: 29780165 PMCID: PMC5960646 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0152-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that persistent pain facilitates the response to morphine reward. However, the circuit mechanism underlying this process remains ambiguous. In this study, using chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in mice, we found that persistent neuropathic pain reduced the minimum number of morphine conditioning sessions required to induce conditioned place preference (CPP) behavior. This dose of morphine had no effect on the pain threshold. In the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is involved in both pain and emotion processing, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) expressing neuronal activity was increased in CCI mice. Chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC CRF neurons reversed CCI-induced morphine CPP facilitation. Furthermore, the nucleus acumens (NAc) received mPFC CRF functional projections that exerted excitatory effects on NAc neurons. Optogenetic inhibition of mPCF neuronal terminals or local infusion of the CRF receptor 1 (CRFR1) antagonist in the NAc restored the effects of neuropathic pain on morphine-induced CPP behavior, but not in normal mice. On a molecular level, in CCI mice, CRFR1 protein expression was increased in the NAc by a histone dimethyltransferase G9a-mediated epigenetic mechanism. Local G9a knockdown increased the expression of CRFR1 and mimicked CCI-induced hypersensitivity to acquiring morphine CPP. Taken together, these findings demonstrate a previously unknown and specific mPFC CRF engagement of NAc neuronal circuits, the sensitization of which facilitates behavioral responses to morphine reward in neuropathic pain states via CRFR1s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanzhong Kai
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China ,0000 0001 0085 4987grid.252245.6Institute of Health Sciences and technology, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 2300601 China
| | - Yanhua Li
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China
| | - Tingting Sun
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China
| | - Weiwei Yin
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China
| | - Yu Mao
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China ,0000 0004 1771 3402grid.412679.fDepartment of Anesthesiology and Department of Pain Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022 China
| | - Jie Li
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China
| | - Wen Xie
- grid.452190.bDepartment of Psychology, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, Anhui 230022 China
| | - Shi Chen
- 0000 0004 1771 3402grid.412679.fDepartment of Anesthesiology and Department of Pain Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022 China
| | - Likui Wang
- 0000 0004 1771 3402grid.412679.fDepartment of Anesthesiology and Department of Pain Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022 China
| | - Juan Li
- 0000000121679639grid.59053.3aKey Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027 China
| | - Zhi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China.
| | - Wenjuan Tao
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease of Chinese Academy of Science, Department of Biophysics and Neurobiology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, China.
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37
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Lin CS, Wu CY, Wu SY, Lin HH. Brain activations associated with fearful experience show common and distinct patterns between younger and older adults in the hippocampus and the amygdala. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5137. [PMID: 29572480 PMCID: PMC5865205 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22805-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Revisiting threat-related scenes elicits fear and activates a brain network related to cognitive-affective processing. Prior experience may contribute to the present fearful experience. We aimed to investigate (a) patterns of brain activation associated with individual differences in past fearful experiences (pFear) and the present fear elicited by watching videos (eFear) and (b) age-related differences in the activation patterns. Forty healthy adults, including 20 younger adults (YA) and 20 older adults (OA), underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while watching videos containing high- and low-threat scenes of medical treatment. Both age subgroups showed positive correlations between pFear and bilateral hippocampal activation. Only YA showed threat-related activation in the bilateral anterior insula and activation positively correlated with pFear in the bilateral S1 and the amygdala. The evidence suggests that the hippocampus, amygdala and S1 may play key roles in bridging past fearful experiences and the present fear elicited by revisiting visual scenes and that the interaction between memory and emotional processing may be age dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Shu Lin
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Ching-Yi Wu
- Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Division of Family Dentistry, Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Yun Wu
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Division of Family Dentistry, Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Han Lin
- Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Kuehn E, Perez-Lopez MB, Diersch N, Döhler J, Wolbers T, Riemer M. Embodiment in the aging mind. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 86:207-225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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39
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Yoo HJ, Thayer JF, Greening S, Lee TH, Ponzio A, Min J, Sakaki M, Nga L, Mather M, Koenig J. Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old: evidence from two independent samples. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:727-737. [PMID: 28921167 PMCID: PMC5828882 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-017-1519-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 09/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown associations between brain structure and resting state high-frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV). Age affects both brain structure and HF HRV. Therefore, we sought to examine the relationship between brain structure and HF HRV as a function of age. Data from two independent studies were used for the present analysis. Study 1 included 19 older adults (10 males, age range 62-78 years) and 19 younger adults (12 males, age range 19-37). Study 2 included 23 older adults (12 males; age range 55-75) and 27 younger adults (17 males; age range 18-34). The root-mean-square of successive R-R-interval differences (RMSSD) from ECG recordings was used as time-domain measure of HF HRV. MRI scans were performed on a 3.0-T Siemens Magnetom Trio scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with the Freesurfer image analysis suite, including 12 regions as regions of interests (ROI). Zero-order and partial correlations were used to assess the correlation of RMSSD with cortical thickness in selected ROIs. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) cortical thickness was significantly associated with RMSSD. Further, both studies, in line with previous research, showed correlations between RMSSD and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) cortical thickness. Meta-analysis on adjusted correlation coefficients from individual studies confirmed an association of RMSSD with the left rostral ACC and the left lateral OFC. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to trace individual trajectories in the association of HRV and brain structure across aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Joo Yoo
- Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Steven Greening
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Tae-Ho Lee
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Allison Ponzio
- Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jungwon Min
- Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Lin Nga
- Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mara Mather
- Emotion and Cognition Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Julian Koenig
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Section for Translational Psychobiology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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Abstract
Relative to younger adults, older adults attend to and remember positive information more than negative information. This shift from a negativity bias in younger age to a preference for positive information in later life is termed the 'positivity effect.' Based on nearly two decades of research and recent evidence from neuroscience, we argue that the effect reflects age-related changes in motivation that direct behavior and cognitive processing rather than neural or cognitive decline. Understanding the positivity effect, including conditions that reduce and enhance it, can inform effective public health and educational messages directed at older people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura L Carstensen
- Stanford University, Department of Psychology, 450 Serra Mall, Building 420, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Marguerite DeLiema
- Stanford University, Stanford Center on Longevity, 365 Lasuen, St. Stanford, CA 94305, United States
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Dolcos F, Katsumi Y, Weymar M, Moore M, Tsukiura T, Dolcos S. Emerging Directions in Emotional Episodic Memory. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1867. [PMID: 29255432 PMCID: PMC5723010 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Building upon the existing literature on emotional memory, the present review examines emerging evidence from brain imaging investigations regarding four research directions: (1) Social Emotional Memory, (2) The Role of Emotion Regulation in the Impact of Emotion on Memory, (3) The Impact of Emotion on Associative or Relational Memory, and (4) The Role of Individual Differences in Emotional Memory. Across these four domains, available evidence demonstrates that emotion- and memory-related medial temporal lobe brain regions (amygdala and hippocampus, respectively), together with prefrontal cortical regions, play a pivotal role during both encoding and retrieval of emotional episodic memories. This evidence sheds light on the neural mechanisms of emotional memories in healthy functioning, and has important implications for understanding clinical conditions that are associated with negative affective biases in encoding and retrieving emotional memories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florin Dolcos
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Yuta Katsumi
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Mathias Weymar
- Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Matthew Moore
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
| | - Takashi Tsukiura
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Sanda Dolcos
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, United States
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Chang CH, Ho TW. Inhibitory modulation of medial prefrontal cortical activation on lateral orbitofrontal cortex-amygdala information flow. J Physiol 2017; 595:6065-6076. [PMID: 28678402 DOI: 10.1113/jp274568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS The basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) receives input from the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) for cue-outcome contingencies and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) for emotion control. Here we examined how the mPFC modulates lOFC-BLA information flow. We found that the majority of BLA neurons responsive to lOFC stimulation were also responsive to mPFC stimulation. Activation of the mPFC exerted an inhibitory modulation of the lOFC-BLA pathway, which was reversed with intra-amygdala blockade of GABAergic receptors. mPFC tetanus potentiated the lOFC-BLA pathway, but did not alter its inhibitory modulatory gating. These results show that the mPFC potently inhibits lOFC drive of the BLA in a GABA-dependent manner, which is informative in understanding the normal and potential pathophysiological state of emotion and contingency associations in regulating behaviour. ABSTRACT Several neocortical projections converge onto the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA), including the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Lateral orbitofrontal input to the BLA is important for cue-outcome contingencies, while medial prefrontal input is essential for emotion control. In this study, we examined how the mPFC, specifically the infralimbic division of the mPFC, modulates lOFC-BLA information flow, using combined in vivo extracellular single-unit recordings and pharmacological manipulations in anaesthetized rats. We found that the majority (over 95%) of BLA neurons that responded to lOFC stimulation also responded to mPFC stimulation. Compared to basal condition, pharmacological (N-methyl-d-aspartate) or electrical activation of the mPFC exerted an inhibitory modulation of the lOFC-BLA pathway, which was reversed with intra-amygdala blockade of GABAergic receptors with combined GABAA and GABAB antagonists (bicuculline and saclofen). Moreover, mPFC tetanus potentiated the lOFC-BLA pathway, but mPFC tetanus or low-frequency stimulation did not alter its inhibitory modulatory gating on the lOFC-BLA pathway. These results show that the mPFC potently inhibits lOFC drive of BLA neurons in a GABA-dependent manner. Our result is informative in understanding the normal and potential pathophysiological state of emotion and contingency associations regulating behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Hui Chang
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 30013
| | - Ta-Wen Ho
- Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 30013
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Nashiro K, Sakaki M, Braskie MN, Mather M. Resting-state networks associated with cognitive processing show more age-related decline than those associated with emotional processing. Neurobiol Aging 2017; 54:152-162. [PMID: 28390824 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Revised: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Correlations in activity across disparate brain regions during rest reveal functional networks in the brain. Although previous studies largely agree that there is an age-related decline in the "default mode network," how age affects other resting-state networks, such as emotion-related networks, is still controversial. Here we used a dual-regression approach to investigate age-related alterations in resting-state networks. The results revealed age-related disruptions in functional connectivity in all 5 identified cognitive networks, namely the default mode network, cognitive-auditory, cognitive-speech (or speech-related somatosensory), and right and left frontoparietal networks, whereas such age effects were not observed in the 3 identified emotion networks. In addition, we observed age-related decline in functional connectivity in 3 visual and 3 motor/visuospatial networks. Older adults showed greater functional connectivity in regions outside 4 out of the 5 identified cognitive networks, consistent with the dedifferentiation effect previously observed in task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Both reduced within-network connectivity and increased out-of-network connectivity were correlated with poor cognitive performance, providing potential biomarkers for cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaoru Nashiro
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | | | - Meredith N Braskie
- Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, CA, USA
| | - Mara Mather
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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44
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Age differences in gain- and loss-motivated attention. Brain Cogn 2017; 111:171-181. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2016.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 12/10/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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45
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Zhou L, Lu J, Chen G, Dong L, Yao Y. Is There a Paradox of Aging: When the Negative Aging Stereotype Meets the Positivity Effect in Older Adults. Exp Aging Res 2017; 43:80-93. [PMID: 28067612 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2017.1258254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Background/Study Context: Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) states that the positivity effect is a result of older adults' emotion regulation and that older adults derive more emotional satisfaction from prioritizing positive information processing. The authors explored whether the positivity effect appeared when the negative aging stereotype was activated in older adults and also whether the effect differed between mixed and unmixed valence conditions. METHODS Sixty younger (18-23 years of age) and 60 older (60-87 years of age) adults were randomly assigned to a control group and a priming group, in which the negative aging stereotype was activated. All the participants were asked to select 15 words that best described the elderly from a mixed-word list (positive and negative words were mixed together) and from an unmixed-word list (positive and negative words were separated). RESULTS Older adults in the control group selected more positive words, whereas among younger adults, selection did not differ by valence in either the mixed- or unmixed-word list conditions. There were no differences between the positive and negative word choices of the younger and older adults in the priming group. We calculated the differences between the numbers of positive and negative words, and the differences in the older adults' word choices were larger than those among the younger adults; the differences were also larger in the control group than in the priming group. CONCLUSION The positivity effect worked by choosing positive stimuli rather than avoiding negative stimuli. The role of emotion regulation in older adults was limited, and when the positivity effect faced the effect of the negative aging stereotype, the negative stereotype effect was dominant. Future research should explore the changes in the positivity effect in the face of a positive aging stereotype and what roles other factors (e.g., activation level of the stereotype, arousal level of affective words) might play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liqing Zhou
- a School of Psychology and Cognitive Science , East China Normal University , Shanghai , China.,b Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, School of Education , Hangzhou Normal University , Zhejiang , China
| | - Jia Lu
- a School of Psychology and Cognitive Science , East China Normal University , Shanghai , China.,c College of Teacher Education , Wenzhou University , Zhejiang , China
| | - Guopeng Chen
- a School of Psychology and Cognitive Science , East China Normal University , Shanghai , China
| | - Li Dong
- d School of Educational Science , Xinjiang Normal University , Urumqi , China
| | - Yujia Yao
- e School of Educational Science and Technology , Zhejiang University of Technology , Zhejiang , China
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46
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Ryff CD, Heller AS, Schaefer SM, van Reekum C, Davidson RJ. Purposeful Engagement, Healthy Aging, and the Brain. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 2016; 3:318-327. [PMID: 28534002 DOI: 10.1007/s40473-016-0096-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Research on psychological well-being in later life has identified strengths and vulnerabilities that occur with aging. We review the conceptual and philosophical foundations of a eudaimonic model of well-being and its empirical translation into six key dimensions of positive functioning. We also consider its implications for health, broadly defined. RECENT FINDINGS Numerous findings from national longitudinal samples of U.S. adults are described. They show declining scores on purpose in life and personal growth with aging, but also underscore the notable variability among older persons in these patterns. Recently, health benefits have been identified among older adults who maintain high levels of a particular aspect of well-being, namely, purposeful life engagement. These benefits include extended longevity, reduced risk for various disease outcomes, reduced physiological dysregulation, and gene expression linked to better inflammatory profiles. The brain mechanisms that underlie such outcomes are also examined via a focus on affective style. Adults with higher levels of purpose in life show more rapid recovery from negative stimulus provocation, whereas those with higher well-being overall show sustained activation of reward circuitry in response to positive stimuli, and this pattern is associated with lower diurnal cortisol output. Volumetric findings (right insular gray matter volume) have also been linked with eudaimonic well-being. SUMMARY Eudaimonic well-being predicts better health and longer lives, and thus constitutes an important direction for future research and practice. Intervention studies designed to promote well-being, including among those suffering from psychological disorders, are briefly described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carol D Ryff
- Institute on Aging/Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| | | | - Stacey M Schaefer
- Psychology/Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Sugiura M. Functional neuroimaging of normal aging: Declining brain, adapting brain. Ageing Res Rev 2016; 30:61-72. [PMID: 26988858 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2016.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Early functional neuroimaging research on normal aging brain has been dominated by the interest in cognitive decline. In this framework the age-related compensatory recruitment of prefrontal cortex, in terms of executive system or reduced lateralization, has been established. Further details on these compensatory mechanisms and the findings reflecting cognitive decline, however, remain the matter of intensive investigations. Studies in another framework where age-related neural alteration is considered adaptation to the environmental change are recently burgeoning and appear largely categorized into three domains. The age-related increase in activation of the sensorimotor network may reflect the alteration of the peripheral sensorimotor systems. The increased susceptibility of the network for the mental-state inference to the socioemotional significance may be explained by the age-related motivational shift due to the altered social perception. The age-related change in activation of the self-referential network may be relevant to the focused positive self-concept of elderly driven by a similar motivational shift. Across the domains, the concept of the self and internal model may provide the theoretical bases of this adaptation framework. These two frameworks complement each other to provide a comprehensive view of the normal aging brain.
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Sakaki M, Yoo HJ, Nga L, Lee TH, Thayer JF, Mather M. Heart rate variability is associated with amygdala functional connectivity with MPFC across younger and older adults. Neuroimage 2016; 139:44-52. [PMID: 27261160 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to regulate emotion is crucial to promote well-being. Evidence suggests that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and adjacent anterior cingulate (ACC) modulate amygdala activity during emotion regulation. Yet less is known about whether the amygdala-mPFC circuit is linked with regulation of the autonomic nervous system and whether the relationship differs across the adult lifespan. The current study tested the hypothesis that heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the strength of mPFC-amygdala interaction across younger and older adults. We recorded participants' heart rates at baseline and examined whether baseline HRV was associated with amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity during rest. We found that higher HRV was associated with stronger functional connectivity between the amygdala and the mPFC during rest across younger and older adults. In addition to this age-invariant pattern, there was an age-related change, such that greater HRV was linked with stronger functional connectivity between amygdala and ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) in younger than in older adults. These results are in line with past evidence that vlPFC is involved in emotion regulation especially in younger adults. Taken together, our results support the neurovisceral integration model and suggest that higher heart rate variability is associated with neural mechanisms that support successful emotional regulation across the adult lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiko Sakaki
- University of Reading, UK; Kochi University of Technology, Japan.
| | - Hyun Joo Yoo
- University of Southern California, United States
| | - Lin Nga
- University of Southern California, United States
| | - Tae-Ho Lee
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | | | - Mara Mather
- University of Southern California, United States
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Han K, Chapman SB, Krawczyk DC. Altered Amygdala Connectivity in Individuals with Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury and Comorbid Depressive Symptoms. Front Neurol 2015; 6:231. [PMID: 26581959 PMCID: PMC4631949 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression is one of the most common psychiatric conditions in individuals with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Though depression has detrimental effects in TBI and network dysfunction is a "hallmark" of TBI and depression, there have not been any prior investigations of connectivity-based neuroimaging biomarkers for comorbid depression in TBI. We utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify altered amygdala connectivity in individuals with chronic TBI (8 years post-injury on average) exhibiting comorbid depressive symptoms (N = 31), relative to chronic TBI individuals having minimal depressive symptoms (N = 23). Connectivity analysis of these participant sub-groups revealed that the TBI-plus-depressive symptoms group showed relative increases in amygdala connectivity primarily in the regions that are part of the salience, somatomotor, dorsal attention, and visual networks (p voxel < 0.01, p cluster < 0.025). Relative increases in amygdala connectivity in the TBI-plus-depressive symptoms group were also observed within areas of the limbic-cortical mood-regulating circuit (the left dorsomedial and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and thalamus) and the brainstem. Further analysis revealed that spatially dissociable patterns of correlation between amygdala connectivity and symptom severity according to subtypes (Cognitive and Affective) of depressive symptoms (p voxel < 0.01, p cluster < 0.025). Taken together, these results suggest that amygdala connectivity may be a potentially effective neuroimaging biomarker for comorbid depressive symptoms in chronic TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kihwan Han
- Center for BrainHealth®, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas, TX , USA
| | - Sandra B Chapman
- Center for BrainHealth®, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas, TX , USA
| | - Daniel C Krawczyk
- Center for BrainHealth®, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas , Dallas, TX , USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center , Dallas, TX , USA
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50
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Abstract
Although aging is associated with clear declines in physical and cognitive processes, emotional functioning fares relatively well. Consistent with this behavioral profile, two core emotional brain regions, the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, show little structural and functional decline in aging, compared with other regions. However, emotional processes depend on interacting systems of neurotransmitters and brain regions that go beyond these structures. This review examines how age-related brain changes influence processes such as attending to and remembering emotional stimuli, regulating emotion, and recognizing emotional expressions, as well as empathy, risk taking, impulsivity, behavior change, and attentional focus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Mather
- Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089;
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