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Jeanneteau F, Coutellier L. The glucocorticoid footprint on the memory engram. CURRENT OPINION IN ENDOCRINE AND METABOLIC RESEARCH 2022; 25:100378. [PMID: 38486965 PMCID: PMC10938917 DOI: 10.1016/j.coemr.2022.100378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
The complexity of the classical inverted U-shaped relationship between cortisol levels and responses transposable to stress reactivity has led to an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms enabling healthy and toxic effects of stress on brain and behavior. A clearer, more detailed, picture of those relationships can be obtained by integrating cortisol effects on large-scale brain networks, in particular, by focusing on neural network configurations from the perspective of inhibition and excitation. A unifying view of Semon and Hebb's theories of cellular memory links the biophysical and metabolic changes in neuronal ensembles to the strengthening of collective synapses. In that sense, the neuronal capacity to record, store, and retrieve information directly relates to the adaptive capacity of its connectivity and metabolic reserves. Here, we use task-activated cell ensembles or simply engram cells as an example to demonstrate that the adaptive behavioral responses to stress result from collective synapse strength within and across networks of interneurons and excitatory ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freddy Jeanneteau
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, Montpellier, France
| | - Laurence Coutellier
- Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
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2
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Möschl M, Schmidt K, Enge S, Weckesser LJ, Miller R. Chronic stress and executive functioning: A specification-curve analysis. Physiol Behav 2022; 243:113639. [PMID: 34732334 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113639] [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: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
To investigate the association between chronic stress and executive functioning (EF), we assessed 514 young to middle-aged adults in three EF tasks (i.e., Number-Letter, 2-Back, Go/Nogo) that assessed shifting, updating, and inhibition. Chronic stress was assessed by various self-report measures and hair cortisol concentrations as indicators of subjective and objective chronic stress, respectively. In order to test the association between chronic stress and EF, we fit a structural equation model with a latent common EF factor predicted by subjective and objective chronic stress on Kaplan-Meier estimates of response times. Controlling for participants' sex, age household income and the delay between cognitive testing and hair sample collection, neither subjective nor objective chronic stress showed a meaningful association with common EF. Exploratory analyses suggested a moderation effect of income on the association between subjective chronic stress and common EF, with a smaller association for high-income participants. Additionally, we conducted a specification-curve analysis on the association between chronic stress and EF to assess the influence of different analysis choices on results in our dataset. This analysis confirmed the absence of a coherent association between chronic stress and EF by showing that the majority of analytical choices produced null effects and only a small number of analytical choices produced meaningful associations (negative or positive). Taken together, our findings suggest that common EF likely remains preserved under the influence of chronic stress. Our specification-curve analysis, however, also shows that chronic stress may also have either a positive or a negative effect on EF, depending on the choice of covariates and measures of chronic stress and EF. Consequently, more research on the role of these factors for the association between chronic stress and EF is needed to avoid the interpretation of non-replicable stress-EF associations caused by analytical choices or selection bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Möschl
- Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Kornelius Schmidt
- Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Sören Enge
- Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany; Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Psychology, Medical School Berlin, Germany
| | - Lisa J Weckesser
- Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Robert Miller
- Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden, Germany
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3
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Zhang Y, Zhou T, Feng S, Liu X, Wang F, Sha Z, Yu X. A voxel-level brain-wide association study of cortisol at 8 a.m.: Evidence from Cushing's disease. Neurobiol Stress 2021; 15:100414. [PMID: 34786440 PMCID: PMC8578035 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100414] [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: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortisol, the end product of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, regulates cognitive function and emotion processing. Cushing's disease, which is characterized by a unique excess of cortisol upon clinical diagnosis, serve as an excellent in vivo “hyperexpression” model to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of cortisol in the human brain. Previous studies have shown the association between cortisol and functional connectivity within an a priori brain network. However, the whole-brain connectivity pattern that accompanies endogenous cortisol variation is still unclear, as are its associated genetic underpinnings. Here, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in 112 subjects (60 patients with Cushing's disease and 52 healthy subjects), we performed a voxel-level brain-wide association analysis to investigate the functional connectivity pattern associated with a wide variation in cortisol levels at 8 a.m. The results showed that the regions associated with cortisol as of 8 a.m. were primarily distributed in brain functional hubs involved in self-referential processing, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, and caudate. We also found that regions in the middle temporal, inferior parietal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which is important for social communication tasks, and in the visual and supplementary motor cortex, which is involved in primary sensorimotor perception, were adversely affected by excessive cortisol. The connectivity between these regions was also significantly correlated with neuropsychiatric profiles, such anxiety and depression. Finally, combined neuroimaging and transcriptome analysis showed that functional cortisol-sensitive brain variations were significantly coupled to regional expression of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors. These findings reveal cortisol-biased functional signatures in the human brain and shed light on the transcriptional regulation constraints on the cortisol-related brain network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanyang Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Tao Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Shiyu Feng
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Xinyun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Fuyu Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Zhiqiang Sha
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xinguang Yu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, PR China
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4
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Lu J, Tjia M, Mullen B, Cao B, Lukasiewicz K, Shah-Morales S, Weiser S, Cameron LP, Olson DE, Chen L, Zuo Y. An analog of psychedelics restores functional neural circuits disrupted by unpredictable stress. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:6237-6252. [PMID: 34035476 PMCID: PMC8613316 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01159-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Psychological stress affects a wide spectrum of brain functions and poses risks for many mental disorders. However, effective therapeutics to alleviate or revert its deleterious effects are lacking. A recently synthesized psychedelic analog tabernanthalog (TBG) has demonstrated anti-addictive and antidepressant potential. Whether TBG can rescue stress-induced affective, sensory, and cognitive deficits, and how it may achieve such effects by modulating neural circuits, remain unknown. Here we show that in mice exposed to unpredictable mild stress (UMS), administration of a single dose of TBG decreases their anxiety level and rescues deficits in sensory processing as well as in cognitive flexibility. Post-stress TBG treatment promotes the regrowth of excitatory neuron dendritic spines lost during UMS, decreases the baseline neuronal activity, and enhances whisking-modulation of neuronal activity in the somatosensory cortex. Moreover, calcium imaging in head-fixed mice performing a whisker-dependent texture discrimination task shows that novel textures elicit responses from a greater proportion of neurons in the somatosensory cortex than do familiar textures. Such differential response is diminished by UMS and is restored by TBG. Together, our study reveals the effects of UMS on cortical neuronal circuit activity patterns and demonstrate that TBG combats the detrimental effects of stress by modulating basal and stimulus-dependent neural activity in cortical networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju Lu
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
| | - Michelle Tjia
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Brian Mullen
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Bing Cao
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Departments of Neurosurgery, Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Kacper Lukasiewicz
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Sajita Shah-Morales
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Sydney Weiser
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Lindsay P. Cameron
- grid.27860.3b0000 0004 1936 9684Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA USA
| | - David E. Olson
- grid.27860.3b0000 0004 1936 9684Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA USA ,grid.27860.3b0000 0004 1936 9684Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA USA ,grid.27860.3b0000 0004 1936 9684Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA USA
| | - Lu Chen
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Departments of Neurosurgery, Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Yi Zuo
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
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Cortisol secretion predicts functional macro-scale connectivity of the visual cortex: A data-driven Multivoxel Pattern Analysis (MVPA). Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 117:104695. [PMID: 32361170 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Functional connectivity is a fundamental principle of brain organization. Cortisol, the end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, is a potent modulator of brain functions. Previous studies investigating the association between cortisol levels on brain connectivity are, however, limited to specifica priori defined brain networks. Such hypothesis-driven approaches only partly capture the full extent of spatial modulatory effects that cortisol exerts on brain connectivity. Consequently, the aim of this study was a data-driven identification of brain regions where connectivity patterns covary significantly with cortisol levels. METHODS Eighty-eight healthy right-handed individuals participated in a task-independent fMRI-resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) measurement. The cortisol concentrations in saliva were measured at eight points in time around the resting state measurement. Using a multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA), seed regions were identified whose activity covaried strongest with cortisol levels. Seed-to-voxel analyses were then performed to isolate corresponding networks affected by cortisol variation. RESULTS The MVPA identified three regions in the primary and secondary visual cortex where connectivity patterns were associated with cortisol secretion. Seed-to-voxel analysis revealed large lateral connectivity clusters that mainly correspond to the salience and control network, but also to auditory and pericentral regions. Subsequent dose-response analysis suggests that cortisol levels below ∼10 nmol/L weakly influenced connectivity between the identified regions. DISCUSSION The results indicate a dose-dependent association between cortisol levels and the rsFC of the visual cortex to several lateral brain regions associated with perception, attention, cognition, salience mapping and motor actions. It is possible that the effects of cortisol on cognitive functions may be (at least partially) mediated by cortisol effects on the underlying sensory processes.
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Möschl M, Walser M, Surrey C, Miller R. Prospective memory under acute stress: The role of (output) monitoring and ongoing-task demands. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 164:107046. [PMID: 31323256 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.107046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to postpone retrieval and execution of intended actions until the appropriate situation (PM cue) has come, while engaging in other ongoing activities or tasks. In everyday live we often perform PM tasks in stressful situations. While it has been shown that acute stress does not impair PM-cue identification and intention retrieval, little is known about acute stress effects on PM performance and memory for having performed an action (output monitoring) under varying ongoing-task demands. Here we investigated this in eighty healthy participants who performed event-based PM tasks during low- and high-demanding ongoing working memory tasks after having undergone either a standardized stress induction (Maastricht Acute Stress Test) or a standardized control protocol. Successful stress induction in the stress group compared to the no-stress group was confirmed by increased salivary cortisol, an indicator of stress-related hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal axis activity, throughout the event-based PM tasks. Nevertheless, not-only PM-cue identification but also output monitoring remained fully intact after stress induction. The absence of these effects was independent of ongoing-task demands. Nonetheless, we replicated recent findings of a stress-induced reduction in performance cost of monitoring for PM-cue occurrences. Taken together our findings suggest that acute stress alters PM monitoring by enhancing selective attention, decreasing PM response thresholds or by shifting performance towards more automatic processes in PM, while not affecting PM-cue identification and output monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Möschl
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Moritz Walser
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Caroline Surrey
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Robert Miller
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Chen CC, Lu J, Yang R, Ding JB, Zuo Y. Selective activation of parvalbumin interneurons prevents stress-induced synapse loss and perceptual defects. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:1614-1625. [PMID: 28761082 PMCID: PMC5794672 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2017.159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Stress, a prevalent experience in modern society, is a major risk factor for many psychiatric disorders. Although sensorimotor abnormalities are often present in these disorders, little is known about how stress affects the sensory cortex. Combining behavioral analyses with in vivo synaptic imaging, we show that stressful experiences lead to progressive, clustered loss of dendritic spines along the apical dendrites of layer (L) 5 pyramidal neurons (PNs) in the mouse barrel cortex, and such spine loss closely associates with deteriorated performance in a whisker-dependent texture discrimination task. Furthermore, the activity of parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons (PV+ INs) decreases in the stressed mouse due to reduced excitability of these neurons. Importantly, both behavioral defects and structural changes of L5 PNs are prevented by selective pharmacogenetic activation of PV+INs in the barrel cortex during stress. Finally, stressed mice raised under environmental enrichment (EE) maintain normal activation of PV+ INs, normal texture discrimination, and L5 PN spine dynamics similar to unstressed EE mice. Our findings suggest that the PV+ inhibitory circuit is crucial for normal synaptic dynamics in the mouse barrel cortex and sensory function. Pharmacological, pharmacogenetic and environmental approaches to prevent stress-induced maladaptive behaviors and synaptic malfunctions converge on the regulation of PV+ IN activity, pointing to a potential therapeutic target for stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Chien Chen
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Ju Lu
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Renzhi Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
| | - Jun B. Ding
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA,Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
| | - Yi Zuo
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA,Correspondence: Dr. Yi Zuo, Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA, , Phone: +1-831-459-3812, Fax: +1-831-459-3139
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8
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Szőllősi Á, Pajkossy P, Demeter G, Kéri S, Racsmány M. Acute stress affects prospective memory functions via associative memory processes. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 182:82-90. [PMID: 29149692 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Revised: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings suggest that acute stress can improve the execution of delayed intentions (prospective memory, PM). However, it is unclear whether this improvement can be explained by altered executive control processes or by altered associative memory functioning. To investigate this issue, we used physical-psychosocial stressors to induce acute stress in laboratory settings. Then participants completed event- and time-based PM tasks requiring the different contribution of control processes and a control task (letter fluency) frequently used to measure executive functions. According to our results, acute stress had no impact on ongoing task performance, time-based PM, and verbal fluency, whereas it enhanced event-based PM as measured by response speed for the prospective cues. Our findings indicate that, here, acute stress did not affect executive control processes. We suggest that stress affected event-based PM via associative memory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ágnes Szőllősi
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Péter Pajkossy
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; Research Group on Frontostriatal Disorders, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Gyula Demeter
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; Research Group on Frontostriatal Disorders, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Nyírő Gyula Hospital, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Mihály Racsmány
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary; Research Group on Frontostriatal Disorders, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
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Weckesser LJ, Enge S, Riedel P, Kirschbaum C, Miller R. NMDA receptor modulation by dextromethorphan and acute stress selectively alters electroencephalographic indicators of partial report processing. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2017; 27:1042-1053. [PMID: 28739134 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Proceeding from a biophysical network model, the present study hypothesized that glutamatergic neurotransmission across the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) plays a key role in visual perception and its modulation by acute stress. To investigate these hypotheses, behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) indicators of partial report task processing were assessed in twenty-four healthy young men who randomly received a non-competitive NMDAR antagonist (0.8 mg/kg dextromethorphan, DXM) or a placebo, and concurrently accomplished a stress-induction (MAST) or control protocol in three consecutive sessions. Saliva samples served to quantify cortisol responses to the MAST, whereas a passive auditory oddball paradigm was implemented to verify the impact of DXM on the EEG-derived mismatch negativity component (MMN). DXM administration significantly increased MMN amplitudes but not salivary cortisol concentrations. By contrast, concurrent MAST exposure significantly reduced MMN latencies but also increased cortisol concentrations. With regard to EEG indicators, DXM administration reduced visually "evoked" (30Hz to 50Hz) and "induced" occipital gamma-band activity (70Hz to 100Hz), which was partly compensated by additional MAST exposure. However, neither the interventions nor EEG activity were significantly associated with behavioral partial report sensitivities. In summary, the present data suggest that glutamatergic neurotransmission across the NMDAR is only one among many determinants of intact visual perception. Accordingly, therapeutic doses of DXM and their inhibitory modulation by stress probably yield more pronounced electroencephalographic as compared with behavioural effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J Weckesser
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Sören Enge
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, MSB Medical School Berlin, 12247 Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Clemens Kirschbaum
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Robert Miller
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
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Shields GS, Moons WG, Slavich GM. Inflammation, Self-Regulation, and Health: An Immunologic Model of Self-Regulatory Failure. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017; 12:588-612. [PMID: 28679069 DOI: 10.1177/1745691616689091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Self-regulation is a fundamental human process that refers to multiple complex methods by which individuals pursue goals in the face of distractions. Whereas superior self-regulation predicts better academic achievement, relationship quality, financial and career success, and lifespan health, poor self-regulation increases a person's risk for negative outcomes in each of these domains and can ultimately presage early mortality. Given its centrality to understanding the human condition, a large body of research has examined cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of self-regulation. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to specific biologic processes that may underlie self-regulation. We address this latter issue in the present review by examining the growing body of research showing that components of the immune system involved in inflammation can alter neural, cognitive, and motivational processes that lead to impaired self-regulation and poor health. Based on these findings, we propose an integrated, multilevel model that describes how inflammation may cause widespread biobehavioral alterations that promote self-regulatory failure. This immunologic model of self-regulatory failure has implications for understanding how biological and behavioral factors interact to influence self-regulation. The model also suggests new ways of reducing disease risk and enhancing human potential by targeting inflammatory processes that affect self-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - George M Slavich
- 3 Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
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