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De la Peña-Arteaga V, Chavarría-Elizondo P, Juaneda-Seguí A, Martínez-Zalacaín I, Morgado P, Menchón JM, Picó-Pérez M, Fullana MA, Soriano-Mas C. Trait anxiety is associated with attentional brain networks. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2024; 83:19-26. [PMID: 38492550 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
Trait anxiety is a well-established risk factor for anxiety and depressive disorders, yet its neural correlates are not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated the neural correlates of trait anxiety in a large sample (n = 179) of individuals who completed the trait and state versions of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We used independent component analysis to characterize individual resting-state networks (RSNs), and multiple regression analyses to assess the relationship between trait anxiety and intrinsic connectivity. Trait anxiety was significantly associated with intrinsic connectivity in different regions of three RSNs (dorsal attention network, default mode network, and auditory network) when controlling for state anxiety. These RSNs primarily support attentional processes. Notably, when state anxiety was not controlled for, a different pattern of results emerged, highlighting the importance of considering this factor in assessing the neural correlates of trait anxiety. Our findings suggest that trait anxiety is uniquely associated with resting-state brain connectivity in networks mainly supporting attentional processes. Moreover, controlling for state anxiety is crucial when assessing the neural correlates of trait anxiety. These insights may help refine current neurobiological models of anxiety and identify potential targets for neurobiologically-based interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor De la Peña-Arteaga
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Sant Pau Mental Health Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Pau (IR SANT PAU), Barcelona, Spain; Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Pamela Chavarría-Elizondo
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona - UB, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Network Center for Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Asier Juaneda-Seguí
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona - UB, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona - UB, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Pedro Morgado
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal; 2CA-Clinical Academic Center, Braga, Portugal
| | - José Manuel Menchón
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona - UB, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Network Center for Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria Picó-Pérez
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal; Departamento de Psicología Básica, Clínica y Psicobiología, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
| | - Miquel A Fullana
- Network Center for Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Adult Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain; Imaging of Mood- and Anxiety-Related Disorders (IMARD) Group, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona 140, 08036, Spain.
| | - Carles Soriano-Mas
- Psychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Network Center for Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain; Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona - UB, Barcelona, Spain.
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Lanters LR, Öhlmann H, Langhorst J, Theysohn N, Engler H, Icenhour A, Elsenbruch S. Disease-specific alterations in central fear network engagement during acquisition and extinction of conditioned interoceptive fear in inflammatory bowel disease. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02612-7. [PMID: 38802508 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02612-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Interoceptive fear, which is shaped by associative threat learning and memory processes, plays a central role in abnormal interoception and psychiatric comorbidity in conditions of the gut-brain axis. Although animal and human studies support that acute inflammation induces brain alterations in the central fear network, mechanistic knowledge in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions remains sparse. We implemented a translational fear conditioning paradigm to elucidate central fear network reactivity in patients with quiescent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), compared to patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and healthy controls (HC). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, conditioned differential neural responses within regions of the fear network were analyzed during acquisition and extinction learning. In contrast to HC and IBS, IBD patients demonstrated distinctly altered engagement of key regions of the central fear network, including amygdala and hippocampus, during differential interoceptive fear learning, with more pronounced responses to conditioned safety relative to pain-predictive cues. Aberrant hippocampal responses correlated with chronic stress exclusively in IBD. During extinction, differential engagement was observed in IBD compared to IBS patients within amygdala, ventral anterior insula, and thalamus. No group differences were found in changes of cue valence as a behavioral measure of fear acquisition and extinction. Together, the disease-specific alterations in neural responses during interoceptive fear conditioning in quiescent IBD suggest persisting effects of recurring intestinal inflammation on central fear network reactivity. Given the crucial role of interoceptive fear in abnormal interoception, these findings point towards inflammation-related brain alterations as one trajectory to bodily symptom chronicity and psychiatric comorbidity. Patients with inflammatory conditions of the gut-brain axis may benefit from tailored treatment approaches targeting maladaptive interoceptive fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura R Lanters
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Hanna Öhlmann
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jost Langhorst
- Department for Internal and Integrative Medicine, Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
- Department for Integrative Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Nina Theysohn
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Harald Engler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Adriane Icenhour
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
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Kim K, Hwang H, Bae S, Kim SM, Han DH. The Effectiveness of a Digital App for Reduction of Clinical Symptoms in Individuals With Panic Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res 2024; 26:e51428. [PMID: 38608270 PMCID: PMC11053392 DOI: 10.2196/51428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Panic disorder is a common and important disease in clinical practice that decreases individual productivity and increases health care use. Treatments comprise medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. However, adverse medication effects and poor treatment compliance mean new therapeutic models are needed. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that digital therapy for panic disorder may improve panic disorder symptoms and that treatment response would be associated with brain activity changes assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). METHODS Individuals (n=50) with a history of panic attacks were recruited. Symptoms were assessed before and after the use of an app for panic disorder, which in this study was a smartphone-based app for treating the clinical symptoms of panic disorder, panic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. The hemodynamics in the frontal cortex during the resting state were measured via fNIRS. The app had 4 parts: diary, education, quest, and serious games. The study trial was approved by the institutional review board of Chung-Ang University Hospital (1041078-202112-HR-349-01) and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. RESULTS The number of participants with improved panic symptoms in the app use group (20/25, 80%) was greater than that in the control group (6/21, 29%; χ21=12.3; P=.005). During treatment, the improvement in the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) score in the app use group was greater than that in the control group (F1,44=7.03; P=.01). In the app use group, the total PDSS score declined by 42.5% (mean score 14.3, SD 6.5 at baseline and mean score 7.2, SD 3.6 after the intervention), whereas the PDSS score declined by 14.6% in the control group (mean score 12.4, SD 5.2 at baseline and mean score 9.8, SD 7.9 after the intervention). There were no significant differences in accumulated oxygenated hemoglobin (accHbO2) at baseline between the app use and control groups. During treatment, the reduction in accHbO2 in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC; F1,44=8.22; P=.006) and the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC; F1,44=8.88; P=.005) was greater in the app use than the control group. CONCLUSIONS Apps for panic disorder should effectively reduce symptoms and VLPFC and OFC brain activity in patients with panic disorder. The improvement of panic disorder symptoms was positively correlated with decreased VLPFC and OFC brain activity in the resting state. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Research Information Service KCT0007280; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do?seq=21448.
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Affiliation(s)
- KunJung Kim
- Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Sujin Bae
- Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sun Mi Kim
- Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Doug Hyun Han
- Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Chaudhary S, Wong HK, Chen Y, Zhang S, Li CSR. Sex differences in the effects of individual anxiety state on regional responses to negative emotional scenes. Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:15. [PMID: 38351045 PMCID: PMC10863151 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00591-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Men and women are known to show differences in the incidence and clinical manifestations of mood and anxiety disorders. Many imaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of sex differences in emotion processing. However, it remains unclear how anxiety might impact emotion processing differently in men and women. METHOD We recruited 119 healthy adults and assessed their levels of anxiety using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) State score. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined regional responses to negative vs. neutral (Neg-Neu) picture matching in the Hariri task. Behavioral data were analyzed using regression and repeated-measures analysis of covariance with age as a covariate, and fMRI data were analyzed using a full-factorial model with sex as a factor and age as a covariate. RESULTS Men and women did not differ in STAI score, or accuracy rate or reaction time (RT) (Neg-Neu). However, STAI scores correlated positively with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Additionally, in women, STAI score correlated positively with lingual gyrus (LG) and negatively with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) activity during Neg vs. Neu trials. The parameter estimates (βs) of mPFC also correlated with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis in women revealed mPFC connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus, right SFG, and left parahippocampal gyrus during Neg vs. Neu trials in positive correlation with both STAI score and RT (Neg-Neu). In a mediation analysis, mPFC gPPI but not mPFC activity fully mediated the association between STAI scores and RT (Neg-Neu). CONCLUSION With anxiety affecting the behavioral and neural responses to negative emotions in women but not in men and considering the known roles of the mPFC in emotion regulation, we discussed heightened sensitivity and regulatory demands during negative emotion processing as neurobehavioral markers of anxiety in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shefali Chaudhary
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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Ghieh R, Krężołek M, Gawęda Ł. Self-monitoring deficits in schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study of the underlying cognitive mechanisms. Schizophr Res 2024; 264:378-385. [PMID: 38237359 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People diagnosed with schizophrenia share underlying cognitive deficits in self-monitoring (i.e., identifying the source of self-generated behaviours). This study aimed to investigate whether self-monitoring deficits in schizophrenia are due to a cognitive response bias towards external perceptions or a reduced discriminability of imagined and performed actions. We hypothesised that self-monitoring deficits in individuals with schizophrenia are primarily driven by bottom-up processes, leading to a compromised ability to discriminate between internally generated behaviours as opposed to a cognitive response bias towards performed actions. METHODS We recruited 333 participants, including 192 with schizophrenia and 141 healthy controls. As part of the Action-Memory Task, participants were instructed to either imagine or physically perform 36 different actions, half of which were presented as pictograms and half as text. In the test phase, participants indicated whether they had performed or imagined each action, whether it appeared in text or pictogram, or whether it was a new action. Using Signal Detection Theory, the study primarily analysed group differences in discriminability and response-bias. RESULTS Participants with schizophrenia made significantly more self-monitoring errors than healthy controls. This was primarily due to significantly lower sensitivity, but not a response bias. Whereas recognition memory errors were driven by both lower sensitivity and a response bias. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that self-monitoring in schizophrenia was specifically impaired by a compromised discriminability of imagined and performed events and an inability to appropriately compensate by adjusting decision-thresholds. Implications on the role of bottom-up and top-down cognitive mechanisms are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachid Ghieh
- Orygen, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Martyna Krężołek
- II Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
| | - Łukasz Gawęda
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
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Liu H, Zhang Q, Elhai JD, Montag C, Yang H. Attentional bias to threat is modulated by stimulus content: an fNIRS study. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 17:1308457. [PMID: 38273882 PMCID: PMC10808614 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1308457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
People are evolutionarily predisposed to associate threat relevant stimuli with fear or aversiveness and show an attentional bias toward threat. Attentional bias modification (ABM) has been shown to reduce threat biases, while quantitative reviews assessing the effectiveness of bias modification yielded inconsistent results. The current study examined the relationship between the training effect of attentional bias to threat and the type of threatening stimuli. Twenty-two participants performed a modified dot-probe task while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging. Results indicated that there was a strong pattern of attentional avoidance among individuals in an animal but not human threat condition. Furthermore, findings from fNIRS confirmed that the influence from type of threatening stimulus would be modulated by cortical activation patterns, especially in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortices (vlPFC) and angular gyrus. Overall, these results suggest that stimulus-specific may play a major role in personalization of specific psychological interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hejun Liu
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Qihan Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jon D. Elhai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Haibo Yang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
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Chaudhary S, Wong HK, Chen Y, Zhang S, Li CSR. Sex differences in the effects of individual anxiety state on regional responses to negative emotional scenes. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3701951. [PMID: 38196586 PMCID: PMC10775373 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3701951/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Background Men and women are known to show differences in the incidence and clinical manifestations of mood and anxiety disorders. Many imaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of sex differences in emotion processing. However, it remains unclear how anxiety might impact emotion processing differently in men and women. Method We recruited 119 healthy adults and assessed their levels of anxiety using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) State score. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined regional responses to negative vs. neutral (Neg-Neu) picture matching in the Hariri task. Behavioral data were analyzed using regression and repeated-measures analysis of covariance with age as a covariate, and fMRI data were analyzed using a full-factorial model with sex as a factor and age as a covariate. Results Men and women did not differ in STAI score, or accuracy rate or reaction time (RT) (Neg-Neu). However, STAI scores correlated positively with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Additionally, in women, STAI score correlated positively with lingual gyrus (LG) and negatively with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and superior frontal gyrus (SFG) activity during Neg vs. Neu trials. The parameter estimates (β's) of mPFC also correlated with RT (Neg-Neu) in women but not in men. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis in women revealed mPFC connectivity with the right inferior frontal gyrus, right SFG, and left parahippocampal gyrus during Neg vs. Neu trials in positive correlation with both STAI score and RT (Neg-Neu). In a mediation analysis, mPFC gPPI but not mPFC activity fully mediated the association between STAI scores and RT (Neg-Neu). Conclusion With anxiety affecting the behavioral and neural responses to negative emotions in women but not in men and considering the known roles of the mPFC in emotion regulation, we discussed heightened sensitivity and regulatory demands during negative emotion processing as neurobehavioral markers of anxiety in women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Yale School of Medicine: Yale University School of Medicine
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Yale School of Medicine: Yale University School of Medicine
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Meeker TJ, Saffer MI, Frost J, Chien JH, Mullins RJ, Cooper S, Bienvenu OJ, Lenz FA. Vigilance to Painful Laser Stimuli is Associated with Increased State Anxiety and Tense Arousal. J Pain Res 2023; 16:4151-4164. [PMID: 38058982 PMCID: PMC10697823 DOI: 10.2147/jpr.s412782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Pain is frequently accompanied by enhanced arousal and hypervigilance to painful sensations. Here, we describe our findings in an experimental vigilance task requiring healthy participants to indicate when randomly timed moderately painful stimuli occur in a long train of mildly painful stimuli. Methods During a continuous performance task with painful laser stimuli (CPTpain), 18 participants rated pain intensity, unpleasantness, and salience. We tested for a vigilance decrement over time using classical metrics including correct targets (hits), incorrectly identified non-targets (false alarms), hit reaction time, and false alarm reaction time. We measured state anxiety and tense arousal before and after the task. Results We found a vigilance decrement across four 12.5-minute blocks of painful laser stimuli in hits [F3,51=2.91; p=0.043; time block 1>block 4 (t=2.77; p=0.035)]. Both self-report state anxiety (tpaired,17=3.34; p=0.0039) and tense arousal (tpaired,17=3.20; p=0.0053) increased after the task. We found a vigilance decrement during our laser pain vigilance task consistent with vigilance decrements found in other stimulus modalities. Furthermore, state anxiety positively correlated with tense arousal. Discussion CPTpain acutely increased tense arousal and state anxiety, consistent with previous results implicating the reciprocal interaction of state anxiety and acute painful sensations and the role of pain in augmenting tense arousal. These results may indicate a psychological process which predisposes the hypervigilant to developing greater acute pain, resulting in positive feedback, greater pain and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Meeker
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mark I Saffer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jodie Frost
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jui-Hong Chien
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Roger J Mullins
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sean Cooper
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - O Joseph Bienvenu
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Fred A Lenz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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9
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Blythe JS, Peerdeman KJ, Veldhuijzen DS, Karch JD, Evers AWM. Electrophysiological markers for anticipatory processing of nocebo-augmented pain. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288968. [PMID: 37494313 PMCID: PMC10370880 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Nocebo effects on pain are widely thought to be driven by negative expectations. This suggests that anticipatory processing, or some other form of top-down cognitive activity prior to the experience of pain, takes place to form sensory-augmenting expectations. However, little is known about the neural markers of anticipatory processing for nocebo effects. In this event-related potential study on healthy participants (n = 42), we tested whether anticipatory processing for classically conditioned nocebo-augmented pain differed from pain without nocebo augmentation using stimulus preceding negativity (SPN), and Granger Causality (GC). SPN is a slow-wave ERP component thought to measure top-down processing, and GC is a multivariate time series analysis used to measure functional connectivity between brain regions. Fear of pain was assessed with the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III and tested for correlation with SPN and GC metrics. We found evidence that both anticipatory processing measured with SPN and functional connectivity from frontal to temporoparietal brain regions measured with GC were increased for nocebo pain stimuli relative to control pain stimuli. Other GC node pairs did not yield significant effects, and a lag in the timing of nocebo pain stimuli limited interpretation of the results. No correlations with trait fear of pain measured after the conditioning procedure were detected, indicating that while differences in neural activity could be detected between the anticipation of nocebo and control pain trials, they likely were not related to fear. These results highlight the role that top-down processes play in augmenting sensory perception based on negative expectations before sensation occurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Blythe
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Kaya J Peerdeman
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Dieuwke S Veldhuijzen
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Julian D Karch
- Methodology and Statistics Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Andrea W M Evers
- Health, Medical & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Medical Delta Healthy Society, Delft, The Netherlands
- Leiden University, Technical University Delft, & Erasmus University Rotterdam, Delft, The Netherlands
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Chen J, Xiao Y, Xu B, Zhang D. The developmental trajectory of task-related frontal EEG theta/beta ratio in childhood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 60:101233. [PMID: 36940533 PMCID: PMC10036884 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention control, the ability to focus on task-relevant information while blocking out irrelevant information, is crucial for successful task completion throughout development. However, the neurodevelopment of attention control during tasks remains underexplored, particularly from an electrophysiogical perpective. Therefore, the present study investigated the developmental trajectory of frontal TBR, a well-established EEG correlate of attention control, in a large sample of 5, 207 children aged 5-14 during a visuospatial working memory task. Results revealed that frontal TBR in tasks exhibited a different developmental trajectory (quadratic) compared to the baseline condition (linear). More importantly, we found that the association between task-related frontal TBR and age was modulated by task difficulty, with the age-related decrease in frontal TBR being more pronounced in more challenging conditions. Overall, by demonstrating a fine-grained age-related change in the frontal TBR based on a large dataset covering continuous age groups, our study provided electrophysiogical evidence about the maturation of attention control, suggesting potentially distinct developmental paths for attention control across the baseline and task conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Chen
- Dept. of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yaheng Xiao
- Dept. of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Xu
- Beijing CUSoft Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Dept. of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
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11
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Xia Y, Shimomura Y. Relationship between anxiety and monotonous task performance in response to local cooling: an experimental study in healthy young men. ERGONOMICS 2023; 66:366-376. [PMID: 35722776 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2022.2087908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There are limited studies on monotonous task performance and its relationship with anxiety and stress traits. This study aimed to determine if local cooling exerts physiological effects and positively affects task performance. Ten male participants performed monotonous work for 24 min under control and local cooling conditions. We measured physiological arousal and anxiety using electroencephalography and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. The participants rated their drowsiness, the thermal sensation of the seat and whole-body thermal sensation. Despite the lack of significant differences in physiological arousal, the state anxiety score, which reflects the current stressful situation, was significantly lower in the local cooling condition. Therefore, cooling might help relieve stress during monotonous tasks, without impairing task performance. In addition, individuals with higher state anxiety scores tended to experience a faster increase in their arousal level. Thus, individual anxiety traits may modulate attentional resources during monotonous task performance.Practitioner summary: The study on topic related to monotonous task performance and its relationship with anxiety and stress traits is novel. Minimising negative emotions is key to monotonous task execution under stress. Individual anxiety might modulate resource allocation for monotonous task execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yali Xia
- Design Research Institute, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
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12
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Dorenkamp MA, Irrgang M, Vik P. Assessment-related anxiety among older adults: associations with neuropsychological test performance. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2023; 30:256-271. [PMID: 34932432 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2021.2016584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Anxiety disrupts test performance across academic/testing contexts; however, the impact of anxiety on neuropsychological testing has been examined less frequently among older adults, despite clinical observations of high anxiety and dementia worry among elderly individuals in assessment contexts. The present study examined the impact of trait, state, and test anxiety on measures of processing speed, working memory, verbal memory, and aspects of executive functioning (i.e., set shifting and inhibition). We hypothesized that anxiety specific to neuropsychological assessment would correlate with test performance more consistently than state or trait anxiety. Ninety-three older adults aged 55 to 89 underwent a three-and-a-half-hour comprehensive assessment battery measuring anxiety and neuropsychological test performance. All participants completed the Feelings About Neuropsychological Testing State (FANT-S) and Test (FANT-T) questionnaires, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-seven item (GAD-7), and neuropsychological tests in the domains of processing speed, working memory, verbal memory, and executive functioning. When test scores were regressed on these anxiety measures, increases in test anxiety predicted decreased performance on measures of executive functioning, specifically inhibitory control. State anxiety demonstrated the opposite relationship to performance and predicted increased performance on one measure. Trait anxiety did not predict cognitive assessment performance. Findings were consistent with previous research indicating measures of test anxiety are more sensitive to changes in test performance than measures of trait or state anxiety. Results demonstrated that older adults, even those not referred for a clinical neuropsychological assessment, can show decreased test performance when self-reported anxiety relevant to the neuropsychological assessment context is high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan A Dorenkamp
- School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | - Makenzie Irrgang
- School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR, USA
| | - Peter Vik
- School of Graduate Psychology, Pacific University, Hillsboro, OR, USA
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13
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White LK, Makhoul W, Teferi M, Sheline YI, Balderston NL. The role of dlPFC laterality in the expression and regulation of anxiety. Neuropharmacology 2023; 224:109355. [PMID: 36442650 PMCID: PMC9790039 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder. Therefore, elucidating brain mechanisms implicated in anxiety disorders is important avenue for developing novel treatments and improving care. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is thought to be critically involved in working memory processes (i.e. maintenance, manipulation, suppression, etc.). In addition, there is evidence that this region is involved in anxiety regulation. However, it is unclear how working memory related dlPFC processes contribute to anxiety regulation. Furthermore, we know that laterality plays an important role in working memory related dlPFC processing, however there is no current model of dlPFC mediated anxiety regulation that accounts for potential laterality effects. To address this gap, we propose a potential framework where the dlPFC contributes to emotion regulation via working memory processing. According to this framework, working memory is a fundamental process executed by the dlPFC. However, the domain of content differs across the left and right dlPFC, with the left dlPFC sensitive to primarily verbal content, and the right dlPFC sensitive to primarily non-verbal (affective content). Critically, working memory processes allow for both the retention and suppression of affective information in working memory and the overall net effect of processing on mood will depend on the balance of retention and suppression, the valence of the information being processed (positive vs. negative), and the domain of the information (verbal vs. non-verbal). If accurate, the proposed framework predicts that effects of neuromodulation targeting the dlPFC may be dependent upon the context during which the stimulation is presented. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Fear, Anxiety and PTSD'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren K White
- Lifespan Brain Institute Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Walid Makhoul
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress Department of Psychiatry University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Marta Teferi
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress Department of Psychiatry University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yvette I Sheline
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress Department of Psychiatry University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Nicholas L Balderston
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress Department of Psychiatry University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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14
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van Dillen LF, Hofmann W. Room for Feelings: A “Working Memory” Account of Affective Processing. EMOTION REVIEW 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/17540739221150233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the past decades, affective science has overwhelmingly demonstrated the unique properties of affective information to bias our attention, memory, and decisions. At the same time, accumulating evidence suggests that neutral and affective representations rely on the same working memory substrates for the selection and computation of information and that they are therefore restricted by the same capacity limitations that these substrates impose. Here, we integrate these insights into a working memory model of affective processing (WMAP). Drawing on competitive access models of working memory, we discuss its role in the various stages of affective processing, from attentional selection to maintenance and memory storage, and resulting feelings and actions. We end our overview with some open questions and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wilhelm Hofmann
- Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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15
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Kaur G, Anand R, Chakrabarty M. Trait Anxiety Influences Negative Affect-modulated Distribution of Visuospatial Attention. Neuroscience 2023; 509:145-156. [PMID: 36493911 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.11.034] [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: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Visuospatial attention allows humans to selectively gate and prioritize visual (including salient, emotional) information for efficiently navigating natural visual environments. As emotions have been known to influence attentional performance, we asked if emotions also modulate the spatial distribution of visual attention and whether any such effect was further associated with individual differences in anxiety. Participants (n = 28) discriminated the orientation of target Gabor patches co-presented with distractors, speedily and accurately. The key manipulation was randomly presenting a task-irrelevant face emotion prime briefly (50 ms), conveying Neutral/Disgust/Scrambled (Null) emotion signal 150 ms preceding the target patches. We calculated attention gradient (change in negative inverse attentional efficiency with unit change in distance from the source of emotion signal) as a metric to answer our questions. Specifically, the Disgust signal modulated the direction of attention gradients differentially in individuals with varying degrees of trait - anxiety, such that the gradients correlated negatively with individual trait-anxiety scores. This implies spatial shifts in Disgust-signalled visual attention with varying trait - anxiety levels. Neutral yielded attention gradients comparable to Scrambled, implying no specific effect of this signal and there was no association with anxiety levels in both. No correlation was observed between state - anxiety and the emotion-cued attention gradients. In sum, the results suggest that individual trait - anxiety levels influence the effect of negative and physiologically arousing emotion signals (e.g., Disgust) on the spatial distribution of visual attention. The findings could be of relevance for understanding biases in visual behaviour underlying affective states and disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gursimran Kaur
- Dept. of Social Sciences and Humanities, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110020, India
| | - Rakshita Anand
- Dept. of Human-Centered Design, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110020, India
| | - Mrinmoy Chakrabarty
- Dept. of Social Sciences and Humanities, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110020, India.
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16
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Zhang Y, Chen J, Gao W, Chen W, Xiao Z, Qi Y, Turel O, He Q. From fears of evaluation to social anxiety: The longitudinal relationships and neural basis in healthy young adults. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2023; 23:100345. [PMID: 36381587 PMCID: PMC9630624 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100345] [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: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common mental health problem, and its core cognitive manifestation is the persistent fear of being evaluated, including both negatively (FNE) and positively (FPE). This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationships of FNE, FPE and SAD and explore their neural basis. METHODS Three samples were retrieved in this study. First, the data of 649 college students who completed a survey and fMRI scan were used to explore the neural basis of FNE, FPE, and SAD symptoms. Next, the data of 450 participants who completed the same survey twice were used to examine the longitudinal relationships of the variables. Finally, the overlapping of the two samples (N = 288) who completed two surveys and the fMRI scan were used to establish a brain-behavior model. RESULTS Both FNE and FPE predicted SAD, and SAD also predicted FPE. The neural signals of subregions in prefrontal cortex were correlated with the scores of FNE, FPE and SAD. Abnormal prefrontal signals influenced SAD symptoms via fears of evaluation. CONCLUSIONS Our findings explain the behavioral and neural underpinnings of social anxiety from a fear of evaluation angle. This contributes to a better theorical understanding of SAD and clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifei Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Junwen Chen
- Research School of Psychology, College of Health & Medicine, The Australia National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Wei Gao
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wanting Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhibing Xiao
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yawei Qi
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ofir Turel
- School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Qinghua He
- Faculty of Psychology, MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Southwest University, Chongqing, China,Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Chongqing, China,Corresponding author at: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, 2 Tiansheng Rd, Chongqing, 400715 China.
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17
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No trait anxiety influences on early and late differential neuronal responses to aversively conditioned faces across three different tasks. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:1157-1171. [PMID: 35352267 PMCID: PMC9458573 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-00998-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe human brain's ability to quickly detect dangerous stimuli is crucial in selecting appropriate responses to possible threats. Trait anxiety has been suggested to moderate these processes on certain processing stages. To dissociate such different information-processing stages, research using classical conditioning has begun to examine event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to fear-conditioned (CS +) faces. However, the impact of trait anxiety on ERPs to fear-conditioned faces depending on specific task conditions is unknown. In this preregistered study, we measured ERPs to faces paired with aversive loud screams (CS +) or neutral sounds (CS −) in a large sample (N = 80) under three different task conditions. Participants had to discriminate face-irrelevant perceptual information, the gender of the faces, or the CS category. Results showed larger amplitudes in response to aversively conditioned faces for all examined ERPs, whereas interactions with the attended feature occurred for the P1 and the early posterior negativity (EPN). For the P1, larger CS + effects were observed during the perceptual distraction task, while the EPN was increased for CS + faces when deciding about the CS association. Remarkably, we found no significant correlations between ERPs and trait anxiety. Thus, fear-conditioning potentiates all ERP amplitudes, some processing stages being further modulated by the task. However, the finding that these ERP differences were not affected by individual differences in trait anxiety does not support theoretical accounts assuming increased threat processing or reduced threat discrimination depending on trait anxiety.
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18
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Xing W, Zhang S, Wang Z, Jiang D, Han S, Luo Y. Self-awareness protects working memory in people under chronic stress: An ERP study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1003719. [PMID: 36248489 PMCID: PMC9561943 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1003719] [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: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress impairs working memory (WM), but few studies have explored the protective factors of the impairment. We aimed to investigate the effect of self-awareness on WM processing in people under chronic stress. Participants under chronic stress completed an n-back task after a self-awareness priming paradigm during which electroencephalograms were recorded. The behavioral results showed that participants whose self-awareness was primed reacted faster and more accurately than the controls. Event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed the following (1) P2 was more positive in the self-awareness group than in the controls, indicating that self-awareness enhanced allocation of attention resources at the encoding stage. (2) N2 was attenuated in the self-awareness group compared with the controls, indicating that smaller attention control efforts were required to complete WM tasks adequately after self-awareness priming; and (3) enhanced late positive potential (LPP) was evoked in the self-awareness group compared with the controls, suggesting self-awareness enabled participants to focus attention resources on the information at the maintenance stage. Critically, mediational analyses showed that LPP mediated the relationship between self-awareness and WM response times. This result suggests that the fact that participants whose self-awareness was primed were able to achieve better behavioral performances may be attributed to their mobilization of sustained attention resources at the maintenance stage. In summary, self-awareness exerted a protective effect on WM in those under chronic stress, which may be due to the enhancements in the allocation and mobilization of attention. These results could be used to develop more specific coping strategies for people under chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Xing
- College of Economics and Management, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Shu Zhang
- College of Teacher Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Zheng Wang
- College of Teacher Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Dan Jiang
- Zhuhai Sanzao Central Primary School, Zhuhai, China
| | - Shangfeng Han
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Province, China
- *Correspondence: Shangfeng Han, ; Yuejia Luo,
| | - Yuejia Luo
- College of Teacher Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, China
- Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- The State Key Lab of Cognitive and Learning, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- The Research Center of Brain Science and Visual Cognition, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: Shangfeng Han, ; Yuejia Luo,
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19
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Ran G, Li R, Zhang Q. The effect of attention bias modification on the recognition of dynamic-angry faces in individuals with high social anxiety: Evidence from event-related brain potentials. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03303-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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20
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Attentional bias to threat and gray matter volume morphology in high anxious individuals. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:600-609. [PMID: 34755317 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00968-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In a sample of highly anxious individuals, the relationship between gray matter volume brain morphology and attentional bias to threat was assessed. Participants performed a dot-probe task of attentional bias to threat and gray matter volume was acquired from whole brain structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. The results replicate previous findings in unselected samples that elevated attentional bias to threat is linked to greater gray matter volume in the middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus. In addition, we provide novel evidence that elevated attentional bias to threat is associated with greater gray matter volume in the inferior frontal gyrus, insula, cerebellum, and other distributed regions. Lastly, exploratory analyses provide initial evidence that distinct subregions of the right posterior parietal cortex may contribute to attentional bias in a sex-specific manner. Our results illuminate how differences in gray matter volume morphology relate to attentional bias to threat in anxious individuals. This knowledge could inform neurocognitive models of anxiety-related attentional bias to threat.
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21
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In vivo defensive behaviors, fear, and attention bias to physical and negative evaluation threats. Behav Res Ther 2022; 154:104108. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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22
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Carlson JM, Fang L, Koster EH, Andrzejewski JA, Gilbertson H, Elwell KA, Zuidema TR. Neuroplastic changes in anterior cingulate cortex gray matter volume and functional connectivity following attention bias modification in high trait anxious individuals. Biol Psychol 2022; 172:108353. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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23
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Fourcade A, Schmidt TT, Nierhaus T, Blankenburg F. Enhanced processing of aversive stimuli on embodied artificial limbs by the human amygdala. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5778. [PMID: 35388047 PMCID: PMC8986852 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09603-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Body perception has been extensively investigated, with one particular focus being the integration of vision and touch within a neuronal body representation. Previous studies have implicated a distributed network comprising the extrastriate body area (EBA), posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and ventral premotor cortex (PMv) during illusory self-attribution of a rubber hand. Here, we set up an fMRI paradigm in virtual reality (VR) to study whether and how the self-attribution of (artificial) body parts is altered if these body parts are somehow threatened. Participants (N = 30) saw a spider (aversive stimulus) or a toy-car (neutral stimulus) moving along a 3D-rendered virtual forearm positioned like their real forearm, while tactile stimulation was applied on the real arm in the same (congruent) or opposite (incongruent) direction. We found that the PPC was more activated during congruent stimulation; higher visual areas and the anterior insula (aIns) showed increased activation during aversive stimulus presentation; and the amygdala was more strongly activated for aversive stimuli when there was stronger multisensory integration of body-related information (interaction of aversiveness and congruency). Together, these findings suggest an enhanced processing of aversive stimuli within the amygdala when they represent a bodily threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonin Fourcade
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. .,Max Planck School of Cognition, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany. .,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. .,Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Timo Torsten Schmidt
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Till Nierhaus
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Blankenburg
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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24
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Gao Y, Jiang Y, Ming Q, Zhang J, Ma R, Wu Q, Dong D, Sun X, He J, Cao W, Yuan S, Yao S. Neuroanatomical changes associated with conduct disorder in boys: influence of childhood maltreatment. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2022; 31:601-613. [PMID: 33398650 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-020-01697-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment (CM) poses a serious risk to the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of children, and can advance the development of maladaptive behaviors, including conduct disorder (CD). CD involves repetitive, persistent violations of others' basic rights and societal norms. Little is known about whether and how CM influences the neural mechanisms underlying CD, and CD-characteristic neuroanatomical changes have not yet been defined in a structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) study. Here, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) to investigate the influence of the CD diagnosis and CM on the brain in 96 boys diagnosed with CD (62 with CM) and 86 typically developing (TD) boys (46 with CM). The participants were 12-17 years of age. Compared to the CM- CD group, the CM+ CD group had structural gray matter (GM) alterations in the fronto-limbic regions, including the left amygdala, right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), right putamen, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We also found boys with CD exhibited increased GM volume in bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), as well as decreased GM volume and decreased gyrification in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) relative to TD boys. Regional GM volume correlated with aggression and conduct problem severity in the CD group, suggesting that the GM changes may contribute to increased aggression and conduct problems in boys with CD who have suffered CM. In conclusion, these results demonstrate previously unreported CM-associated distinct brain structural changes among CD-diagnosed boys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yidian Gao
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yali Jiang
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Qingsen Ming
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jibiao Zhang
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Ren Ma
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Daifeng Dong
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Sun
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jiayue He
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Wanyi Cao
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Shuwen Yuan
- Department of Radiology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Center of Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China. .,National Clinical Research Center on Psychiatry and Psychology, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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25
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Connaughton M, Whelan R, O'Hanlon E, McGrath J. White matter microstructure in children and adolescents with ADHD. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 33:102957. [PMID: 35149304 PMCID: PMC8842077 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
A systematic review of diffusion MRI studies in children and adolescents with ADHD. 46 studies included, encompassing multiple diffusion MRI techniques. Reduced white matter microstructure was reported in several studies. Mixed evidence linking white matter differences with specific cognitive processes. Common limitations included sample size, head motion and medication status.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder. Advances in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition sequences and analytic techniques have led to growing body of evidence that abnormal white matter microstructure is a core pathophysiological feature of ADHD. This systematic review provides a qualitative assessment of research investigating microstructural organisation of white matter amongst children and adolescents with ADHD. This review included 46 studies in total, encompassing multiple diffusion MRI imaging techniques and analytic approaches, including whole-brain, region of interest and connectomic analyses. Whole-brain and region of interest analyses described atypical organisation of white matter microstructure in several white matter tracts: most notably in frontostriatal tracts, corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum bundle, thalamic radiations, internal capsule and corona radiata. Connectomic analyses, including graph theory approaches, demonstrated global underconnectivity in connections between functionally specialised networks. Although some studies reported significant correlations between atypical white matter microstructure and ADHD symptoms or other behavioural measures there was no clear pattern of results. Interestingly however, many of the findings of disrupted white matter microstructure were in neural networks associated with key neuropsychological functions that are atypical in ADHD. Limitations to the extant research are outlined in this review and future studies in this area should carefully consider factors such as sample size, sex balance, head motion and medication status.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert Whelan
- Dept of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; School of Psychology, Trinity Dublin, Ireland
| | - Erik O'Hanlon
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity Dublin, Ireland; Dept of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jane McGrath
- Dept of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
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The prioritisation of motivationally salient stimuli in hemi-spatial neglect may be underpinned by goal-relevance: a meta-analytic review. Cortex 2022; 150:85-107. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Greening SG, Lee TH, Burleigh L, Grégoire L, Robinson T, Jiang X, Mather M, Kaplan J. Mental imagery can generate and regulate acquired differential fear conditioned reactivity. Sci Rep 2022; 12:997. [PMID: 35046506 PMCID: PMC8770773 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05019-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Mental imagery is an important tool in the cognitive control of emotion. The present study tests the prediction that visual imagery can generate and regulate differential fear conditioning via the activation and prioritization of stimulus representations in early visual cortices. We combined differential fear conditioning with manipulations of viewing and imagining basic visual stimuli in humans. We discovered that mental imagery of a fear-conditioned stimulus compared to imagery of a safe conditioned stimulus generated a significantly greater conditioned response as measured by self-reported fear, the skin conductance response, and right anterior insula activity (experiment 1). Moreover, mental imagery effectively down- and up-regulated the fear conditioned responses (experiment 2). Multivariate classification using the functional magnetic resonance imaging data from retinotopically defined early visual regions revealed significant decoding of the imagined stimuli in V2 and V3 (experiment 1) but significantly reduced decoding in these regions during imagery-based regulation (experiment 2). Together, the present findings indicate that mental imagery can generate and regulate a differential fear conditioned response via mechanisms of the depictive theory of imagery and the biased-competition theory of attention. These findings also highlight the potential importance of mental imagery in the manifestation and treatment of psychological illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven G Greening
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada.
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA.
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
| | - Tae-Ho Lee
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Lauryn Burleigh
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
| | - Laurent Grégoire
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Tyler Robinson
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
| | - Xinrui Jiang
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA
| | - Mara Mather
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
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Fernandes-Magalhaes R, Ferrera D, Peláez I, Martín-Buro MC, Carpio A, De Lahoz ME, Barjola P, Mercado F. Neural correlates of the attentional bias towards pain-related faces in fibromyalgia patients: An ERP study using a dot-probe task. Neuropsychologia 2022; 166:108141. [PMID: 34995568 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the major cognitive deficits in fibromyalgia has been linked to the hypervigilance phenomenon. It is mainly reflected as a negative bias for allocating attentional resources towards both threatening and pain-related information. Although the interest in its study has recently grown, the neural temporal dynamics of the attentional bias in fibromyalgia still remains an open question. METHOD Fifty participants (25 fibromyalgia patients and 25 healthy control subjects) performed a dot-probe task. Two types of facial expressions (pain-related and neutral) were employed as signal stimuli. Then, as a target stimulus, a single dot replaced the location of one of these two faces. Event-related potentials (ERP) in response to facial expressions and target stimulation (i.e., dot) were recorded. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy measures in the experimental task were collected as behavioural outcomes. RESULTS Temporal dynamics of brain electrical activity were analysed on two ERP components (P2 and N2a) sensitive to the facial expressions meaning. Pain-related faces elicited higher frontal P2 amplitudes than neutral faces for the whole sample. Interestingly, an interaction effect between group and facial expressions was also found showing that pain-related faces elicited enhanced P2 amplitudes (at fronto-central regions, in this case) compared to neutral faces only when the group of patients was considered. Furthermore, higher P2 amplitudes were observed in response to pain-related faces in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy control participants. Additionally, a shorter latency of P2 (at centro-parietal regions) was also detected for pain-related facial expressions compared to neutral faces. Regarding the amplitude of N2a, it was lower for patients as compared to the control group. Non-relevant effects of the target stimulation on the ERPs were found. However, patients with fibromyalgia exhibited slower RT to locate the single dot for incongruent trials as compared to congruent and neutral trials. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest the presence of an attentional bias in fibromyalgia that it would be followed by a deficit in the allocation of attentional resources to further process pain-related information. Altogether the current results suggest that attentional biases in fibromyalgia might be explained by automatic attentional mechanisms, which seem to be accompanied by an alteration of more strategic or controlled attentional components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Fernandes-Magalhaes
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain; Clinical Foundation of the Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Ferrera
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Peláez
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Carpio
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Eugenia De Lahoz
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paloma Barjola
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Department of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain.
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Cheng B, Zhou Y, Kwok VPY, Li Y, Wang S, Zhao Y, Meng Y, Deng W, Wang J. Altered Functional Connectivity Density and Couplings in Postpartum Depression with and Without Anxiety. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:756-766. [PMID: 34904174 PMCID: PMC9340108 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychological health issue among women, which often comorbids with anxiety (PPD-A). PPD and PPD-A showed highly overlapping clinical symptoms. Identifying disorder-specific neurophysiological markers of PDD and PPD-A is important for better clinical diagnosis and treatments. Here, we performed functional connectivity density (FCD) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses in 138 participants (45 unmedicated patients with first-episode PPD, 31 PDD-A patients and 62 healthy postnatal women, respectively). FCD mapping revealed specifically weaker long-range FCD in right lingual gyrus (LG.R) for PPD patients and significantly stronger long-range FCD in left ventral striatum (VS.L) for PPD-A patients. The follow-up rsFC analyses further revealed reduced functional connectivity between dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and VS.L in both PPD and PPD-A. PPD showed specific changes of rsFC between LG.R and dmPFC, right angular gyrus and left precentral gyrus, while PPD-A represented specifically abnormal rsFC between VS.L and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Moreover, the altered FCD and rsFC were closely associated with depression and anxiety symptoms load. Taken together, our study is the first to identify common and disorder-specific neural circuit disruptions in PPD and PPD-A, which may facilitate more effective diagnosis and treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.,Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yushan Zhou
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Veronica P Y Kwok
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen 518057, China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of the Ministry of Education, School of life Science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 625014, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yajun Zhao
- School of Sociality and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajing Meng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Wei Deng
- Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jiaojian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
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Création de l’Échelle de Distorsions Cognitives pour adultes (EDC-A) : étude des propriétés psychométriques en population générale et association avec l’anxiété et la dépression. PSYCHOLOGIE FRANCAISE 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.psfr.2021.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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31
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No change in electrocortical measures of performance monitoring in high trait anxious individuals following multi-session attention bias modification training. NEUROIMAGE: REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2021.100067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Clarkson T, Karvay Y, Quarmley M, Jarcho JM. Sex differences in neural mechanisms of social and non-social threat monitoring. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 52:101038. [PMID: 34814040 PMCID: PMC8608892 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101038] [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: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescent males and females differ in their responses to social threat. Yet, threat processing is often probed in non-social contexts using the error-related negativity (ERN; Flanker EEG Task), which does not yield sex-specific outcomes. fMRI studies show inconsistent patterns of sex-specific neural engagement during threat processing. Thus, the relation between threat processing in non-social and social contexts across sexes and the effects perceived level of threat on brain function are unclear. We tested the interactive effect of non-social threat-vigilance (ERN), sex (N = 69; Male=34; 11–14-year-olds), and perceived social threat on brain function while anticipating feedback from ‘unpredictable’, ‘nice’, or ‘mean’ purported peers (fMRI; Virtual School Paradigm). Whole-brain analyses revealed differential engagement of precentral and inferior frontal gyri, putamen, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. Among males with more threat-vigilant ERNs, greater social threat was associated with increased activation when anticipating unpredictable feedback. Region of interest analyses revealed this same relation in females in the amygdala and anterior hippocampus when anticipating mean feedback. Thus, non-social threat vigilance relates to neural engagement depending on perceived social threat, but peer-based social contexts and brain regions engaged, differ across sexes. This may partially explain divergent psychosocial outcomes in adolescence. Responses to social threat differ by sex and likely influence peer victimization. Threat processing is often probed in nonsocial contexts and is not sex-specific. Responses to type of social threat differed by sex, but relate to response to non-social threat. Brain regions engaged during social threat differ by sex. Perceived social threat relate to in-vivo peer victimization in both sexes.
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Sichko S, Bui TQ, Vinograd M, Shields GS, Saha K, Devkota S, Olvera-Alvarez HA, Carroll JE, Cole SW, Irwin MR, Slavich GM. Psychobiology of Stress and Adolescent Depression (PSY SAD) Study: Protocol overview for an fMRI-based multi-method investigation. Brain Behav Immun Health 2021; 17:100334. [PMID: 34595481 PMCID: PMC8478351 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression is a common, often recurrent disorder that causes substantial disease burden worldwide, and this is especially true for women following the pubertal transition. According to the Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression, stressors involving social stress and rejection, which frequently precipitate major depressive episodes, induce depressive symptoms in vulnerable individuals in part by altering the activity and connectivity of stress-related neural pathways, and by upregulating components of the immune system involved in inflammation. To test this theory, we recruited adolescent females at high and low risk for depression and assessed their psychological, neural, inflammatory, and genomic responses to a brief (10 minute) social stress task, in addition to trait psychological and microbial factors affecting these responses. We then followed these adolescents longitudinally to investigate how their multi-level stress responses at baseline were related to their biological aging at baseline, and psychosocial and clinical functioning over one year. In this protocol paper, we describe the theoretical motivations for conducting this study as well as the sample, study design, procedures, and measures. Ultimately, our aim is to elucidate how social adversity influences the brain and immune system to cause depression, one of the most common and costly of all disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stassja Sichko
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Theresa Q. Bui
- Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Meghan Vinograd
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Grant S. Shields
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Krishanu Saha
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Suzanne Devkota
- Department of Medicine, F. Widjaja Foundation Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Judith E. Carroll
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Steven W. Cole
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael R. Irwin
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - George M. Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Juvrud J, Haas SA, Fox NA, Gredebäck G. Infants' Selective Visual Attention Is Dependent on Maternal Affect and Emotional Context. Front Psychol 2021; 12:700272. [PMID: 34603127 PMCID: PMC8481686 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of selective attention during the first year of life is critical to cognitive and socio-emotional skills. It is also a period that the average child’s interactions with their mother dominate their social environment. This study examined how maternal negative affect and an emotion face prime (mother/stranger) jointly effect selective visual attention. Results from linear mixed-effects modeling showed that 9-month olds (N=70) were faster to find a visual search target after viewing a fearful face (regardless of familiarity) or their mother’s angry face. For mothers with high negative affect, infants’ attention was further impacted by fearful faces, resulting in faster search times. Face emotion interacted with mother’s negative affect, demonstrating a capacity to influence what infants attend in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Juvrud
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sara A Haas
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Gustaf Gredebäck
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Ilardi CR, Gamboz N, Iavarone A, Chieffi S, Brandimonte MA. Psychometric properties of the STAI-Y scales and normative data in an Italian elderly population. Aging Clin Exp Res 2021; 33:2759-2766. [PMID: 33733325 PMCID: PMC7968568 DOI: 10.1007/s40520-021-01815-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early detection of anxiety symptoms in older people is capital as it may be linked to increased physical/functional disabilities, onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders, and poor cognitive functioning. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of psychometrically validated anxiety measures in the elderly. AIMS This study aimed at assessing the psychometric properties of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y) and providing the first normative data for the Italian elderly population. METHODS The sample included 361 individuals aged 65-94. All subjects underwent the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the state (S-Anxiety) and trait anxiety (T-anxiety) scales of the STAI-Y. RESULTS The S-Anxiety and T-Anxiety scales showed reliable internal consistency and, overall, good item characteristics. Divergent validity was "apparently" threatened, with S-Anxiety scale correlating with MMSE and GDS, and T-Anxiety scale only with GDS. The principal component analysis revealed a three-factor solution for both scales, i.e., presence and absence of state (or trait) anxiety, and performance anxiety. Since no effect of sociodemographic variables was found, unadjusted cutoffs were provided. CONCLUSIONS Although some questions on the psychometric properties of the STAI-Y remain unanswered, this normative study can help clinicians and researchers to monitor anxiety levels in the Italian elderly population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciro Rosario Ilardi
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
| | - Nadia Gamboz
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Sergio Chieffi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy
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Beckmann EA, Jastrowski Mano KE. Advancing the Measurement of Executive Functioning in Pediatric Chronic Pain. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 8:630. [PMID: 34438521 PMCID: PMC8393994 DOI: 10.3390/children8080630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Youth with chronic pain often report executive functioning difficulties, many of which have been linked to poor treatment adherence and health-related quality of life in adults with chronic pain, as well as in other pediatric chronic health populations. Despite the extensive implications for functional impairment, executive functioning remains understudied in pediatric chronic pain. Measurement approaches have lacked clear theoretical guidance, resulting in only some domains of executive functioning being investigated. To date, the methods used to measure executive functioning have been inconsistent, ranging from self-report measures of everyday executive functioning in home and school contexts to standardized neuropsychological tests. We argue for enhanced measure validation efforts and increased clarity in the approaches chosen to measure executive functioning in pediatric chronic pain to better guide research efforts in this area, thus yielding clearer clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A. Beckmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA;
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Carga cognitiva y control atencional en puertorriqueños con trastorno obsesivocompulsivo. REVISTA IBEROAMERICANA DE PSICOLOGÍA 2021. [DOI: 10.33881/2027-1786.rip.15103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Trasfondo:El control ejecutivo de la atención media la resolución de problemas y la acción voluntaria y está implicado en la regulación de las emociones. Se ha reportado que el control atencional está afectado en personas con trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo (TOC). Sin embargo, no se ha considerado la influencia de la carga cognitiva y la distracción en la ejecución de tareas, lo que pudiera tener un impacto en el control atencional. En este estudio evaluamos si la carga cognitiva alta y baja influyen en el control atencional de personas con TOC, en comparación con un grupo control. Método:Quince adultos puertorriqueños con TOC (M=31.60, DE=10.70) y 26 saludables (M=28.42, DE=10.73) participaron en el estudio. Se administró el Attention Network Test y una tarea de carga cognitiva para evaluar el control atencional. Resultados:No se observaron diferencias significativas en las puntuaciones de alerta, orientación y control atencional entre los grupos en ambas condiciones de carga cognitiva (p>0.05). Solo se observó una diferencia significativa en el control atencional de los participantes con TOC (z=1.99, p=0.047) y del grupo control (z=-2.83, p=0.005) durante tareas con carga cognitiva baja y alta. Conclusiones:Ambos grupos experimentaron menor interferencia de distractores bajo alta carga cognitiva, lo que sugiere un mayor control de la atención durante esta condición. Es posible que el aumento de carga cognitiva pueda reducir la distracción en puertorriqueños saludables y aquellos con TOC. Tomar en cuenta la carga cognitiva puede facilitar el entrenamiento cognitivo para el control atencional y aumentar la flexibilidad cognitiva, mejorando la respuesta al tratamiento.
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Merchán A, Ruiz-Castañeda P, Daza M. Affect intensity and gender differences in the functioning of attentional networks in university students. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Nostalgia enhances detection of death threat: neural and behavioral evidence. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12662. [PMID: 34135348 PMCID: PMC8209061 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91322-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
An experiment examined the potency of nostalgia-a sentimental longing for one's past-to facilitate detection of death-related stimuli, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral techniques (i.e., judgmental accuracy, reaction times). We hypothesized and found that, at the neural level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants evinced more intense activation in right amygdala in response to death-related (vs. neutral) words. We also hypothesized and found that, at the behavioral level, nostalgic (relative to control) participants manifested greater accuracy in judging whether two death-related (vs. neutral) words belonged in the same category. Exploratory analyses indicated that nostalgic (relative to control) participants did not show faster reaction times to death-related (vs. neutral) words. In all, nostalgia appeared to aid in death threat detection. We consider implications for the relevant literatures.
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Sequeira SL, Rosen DK, Silk JS, Hutchinson E, Allen KB, Jones NP, Price RB, Ladouceur CD. "Don't judge me!": Links between in vivo attention bias toward a potentially critical judge and fronto-amygdala functional connectivity during rejection in adolescent girls. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 49:100960. [PMID: 33975229 PMCID: PMC8120940 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100960] [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: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We used innovative, ecologically valid eye-tracking and fMRI measures to examine social threat sensitivity in adolescent girls. Findings support the reliability of a novel in vivo attention bias task. Real-world attentional biases toward social threat correlated with amygdala-anterior PFC functional connectivity during social evaluation. Greater positive amygdala-anterior PFC connectivity during social evaluation could suggest disrupted prefrontal regulation of the amygdala. Disrupted prefrontal regulation of the amygdala could contribute to deployment of attention to social evaluative threat in daily life.
During adolescence, increases in social sensitivity, such as heightened attentional processing of social feedback, may be supported by developmental changes in neural circuitry involved in emotion regulation and cognitive control, including fronto-amygdala circuitry. Less negative fronto-amygdala circuitry during social threat processing may contribute to heightened attention to social threat in the environment. However, “real-world” implications of altered fronto-amygdala circuitry remain largely unknown. In this study, we used multiple novel methods, including an in vivo attention bias task implemented using mobile eye-tracking glasses and socially interactive fMRI task, to examine how functional connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) during rejection and acceptance feedback from peers is associated with heightened attention towards potentially critical social evaluation in a real-world environment. Participants were 77 early adolescent girls (ages 11–13) oversampled for shy/fearful temperament. Results support the reliability of this in vivo attention task. Further, girls with more positive functional connectivity between the right amygdala and anterior PFC during both rejection and acceptance feedback attended more to potentially critical social evaluation during the attention task. Findings could suggest that dysfunction in prefrontal regulation of the amygdala’s response to salient social feedback supports heightened sensitivity to socially evaluative threat during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dana K Rosen
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, United States
| | - Jennifer S Silk
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, United States
| | - Emily Hutchinson
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, United States
| | | | - Neil P Jones
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry, United States
| | - Rebecca B Price
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry, United States
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Raymond C, Marin MF, Wolosianski V, Journault AA, Longpré C, Lupien SJ. Adult Women First Exposed to Early Adversity After 8 Years Old Show Attentional Bias to Threat. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:628099. [PMID: 34017240 PMCID: PMC8128999 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.628099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to early adversity (EA) is associated with long-lasting dysregulations in cognitive processes sustained by brain regions that are sensitive to stress hormones: the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex. The Life Cycle Model of Stress highlights the importance of considering the timing at which EA began, as these brain regions follow distinct developmental trajectories. We aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing whether adults exposed to EA exhibit different cognitive patterns as a function of the age at which they were first exposed to EA. Eighty-five healthy men and women aged 21-40 years old (y/o) exposed to EA, as assessed by the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire, were grouped based on the age of first exposure to EA: 0-2 y/o ("Infancy": hippocampal development), 3-7 y/o ("Early childhood": amygdala development) and after the age of 8 ("Childhood/Adolescence": frontoamygdala connectivity development). Declarative memory, attentional bias to threat and emotion regulation were measured. Results revealed increased attentional bias to threat in women first exposed to EA after 8 years. This result is in line with the Life Cycle Model of Stress and highlights the importance of considering the age at exposure to EA when investigating the effects of EA on cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Raymond
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Marie-France Marin
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Victoria Wolosianski
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Audrey-Ann Journault
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Charlotte Longpré
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Sonia J Lupien
- Center for Studies on Human Stress, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Research Center, CIUSSS Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Kohei K, Toyohiro H, Jun T, Toshiyuki I, Hiromi NT, Yuji K, Naoki N, Michiko K, Shigeru M. Efficacy of attention bias modification combined with cognitive behavioral therapy for reducing anxiety in patients with hematopoietic malignancies: a quasi-randomized controlled trial. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
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Emotional induced attentional blink in obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Affect Disord 2021; 283:101-107. [PMID: 33535107 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although an attentional bias for threat is implicated in anxiety disorders, such a bias has not been consistently observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This inconsistency is partially due to a paucity of studies employing robust attentional tasks. The emotional attentional blink (EAB), a phenomenon in which the brief appearance of a task-irrelevant, emotionally arousing image captures attention to such an extent that target stimuli cannot be detected, have increasing been employed as more robust tasks of attentional biases. METHODS In the present study, patients with OCD (n = 23) and controls (n = 24) completed an EAB paradigm that required searching for a target embedded within a series of rapidly presented images. Critically, a fear, disgust, positive, or neutral distracter image appeared 200 ms or 800 ms before the target (i.e., lag 2 and lag 8). RESULTS Although accuracy was significantly reduced for control participants when emotionally arousing images served as distractors compare to neutral images at lag 2 (but not at lag 8), no statistically significant differences in accuracy were observed between emotionally arousing images and neutral images among those with OCD. Subsequent analysis did show that OCD symptoms across all participants was significantly correlated with difficulty disengaging from emotionally arousing, but not neutral, images. LIMITATIONS Relatively small sample size and absence of personally-relevant threatening stimuli. CONCLUSIONS The reduced attentional capture by emotionally arousing images in OCD, relative to neutral images neutral, may suggest inefficient engagement and disengagement of attentional networks.
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Jones DL, Nelson JD, Opitz B. Increased Anxiety is Associated with Better Learning from Negative Feedback. PSYCHOLOGY LEARNING AND TEACHING-PLAT 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/1475725720965761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health problems; it is known to impede cognitive functioning. It is believed to alter preferences for feedback-based learning in anxious and non-anxious learners. Thus, the present study measured feedback processing in adults ( N = 30) with and without anxiety symptoms using a probabilistic learning task. Event-related potential (ERP) measures were used to assess how the bias for either positive or negative feedback learning is reflected by the feedback-related negativity component (FRN), an ERP extracted from the electroencephalogram. Anxious individuals, identified by means of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, showed a diminished FRN and increased accuracy after negative compared to positive feedback. Non-anxious individuals exhibited the reversed pattern with better learning from positive feedback, highlighting their preference for positive feedback. Our ERP results imply that impairments with feedback-based learning in anxious individuals are due to alterations in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Our finding that anxious individuals seem to favor negative as opposed to positive feedback has important implications for teacher–student feedback communication.
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Hulsman AM, Terburg D, Roelofs K, Klumpers F. Roles of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and amygdala in fear reactions. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 179:419-432. [PMID: 34225979 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819975-6.00027-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) plays a critical modulatory role in driving fear responses. Part of the so-called extended amygdala, this region shares many functions and connections with the substantially more investigated amygdala proper. In this chapter, we review contributions of the BNST and amygdala to subjective, behavioral, and physiological aspects of fear. Despite the fact that both regions are together involved in each of these aspects of fear, they appear complimentary in their contributions. Specifically, the basolateral amygdala (BLA), through its connections to sensory and orbitofrontal regions, is ideally poised for fast learning and controlling fear reactions in a variety of situations. The central amygdala (CeA) relies on BLA input and is particularly important for adjusting physiological and behavioral responses under acute threat. In contrast, the BNST may profit from more extensive striatal and dorsomedial prefrontal connections to drive anticipatory responses under more ambiguous conditions that allow more time for planning. Thus current evidence suggests that the BNST is ideally suited to play a critical role responding to distant or ambiguous threats and could thereby facilitate goal-directed defensive action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneloes M Hulsman
- Experimental Psychopathology & Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Affective Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - David Terburg
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Experimental Psychopathology & Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Affective Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Experimental Psychopathology & Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Affective Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Meeker TJ, Emerson NM, Chien JH, Saffer MI, Bienvenu OJ, Korzeniewska A, Greenspan JD, Lenz FA. During vigilance to painful stimuli: slower response rate is related to high trait anxiety, whereas faster response rate is related to high state anxiety. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:305-319. [PMID: 33326361 PMCID: PMC8087378 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00492.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A pathological increase in vigilance, or hypervigilance, may be related to pain intensity in some clinical pain syndromes and may result from attention bias to salient stimuli mediated by anxiety. During a continuous performance task where subjects discriminated painful target stimuli from painful nontargets, we measured detected targets (hits), nondetected targets (misses), nondetected nontargets (correct rejections), and detected nontargets (false alarms). Using signal detection theory, we calculated response bias, the tendency to endorse a stimulus as a target, and discriminability, the ability to discriminate a target from nontarget. Owing to the relatively slow rate of stimulus presentation, our primary hypothesis was that sustained performance would result in a more conservative response bias reflecting a lower response rate over time on task. We found a more conservative response bias with time on task and no change in discriminability. We predicted that greater state and trait anxiety would lead to a more liberal response bias. A multivariable model provided partial support for our prediction; high trait anxiety related to a more conservative response bias (lower response rate), whereas high state anxiety related to a more liberal bias. This inverse relationship of state and trait anxiety is consistent with reports of effects of state and trait anxiety on reaction times to threatening stimuli. In sum, we report that sustained attention to painful stimuli was associated with a decrease in the tendency of the subject to respond to any stimulus over time on task, whereas the ability to discriminate target from nontarget remains unchanged.NEW & NOTEWORTHY During a series of painful stimuli requiring subjects to respond to targets, we separated response willingness from ability to discriminate targets from nontargets. Response willingness declined during the task, with no change in subjects' ability to discriminate, consistent with previous vigilance studies. High trait anxious subjects were less willing to respond and showed slower reaction times to hits than low anxious subjects. This study reveals an important role of trait anxiety in pain vigilance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Meeker
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nichole M Emerson
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jui-Hong Chien
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Mark I Saffer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Anna Korzeniewska
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Joel D Greenspan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences and Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
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Duan L, Van Dam NT, Ai H, Xu P. Intrinsic organization of cortical networks predicts state anxiety: an functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:402. [PMID: 33219215 PMCID: PMC7679458 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01088-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Although state anxiety has been characterized by hyper-responsive subcortical activity and its bottom-up connectivity with cortical regions, the role of cortical networks in state anxiety is not yet well understood. To this end, we decoded individual state anxiety by using a machine-learning approach based on resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Our results showed that the RSFC among a set of cortical networks were highly predictive of state anxiety, rather than trait anxiety. Specifically, these networks included connectivity between cortical areas in the default mode network (DMN) and dorsal attention network (DAN), and connectivity within the DMN, which were negatively correlated with state anxiety; connectivity between cortical areas in the DMN and frontoparietal network (FPN), FPN and salience network (SN), FPN and DAN, DMN and SN, which were positively correlated with state anxiety. These findings suggest a predictive role of intrinsic cortical organization in the assessment of state anxiety. The work provides new insights into potential neural mechanisms of emotion states and implications for prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of affective disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lian Duan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Nicholas T Van Dam
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Hui Ai
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- Center for Neuroimaging, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China.
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Research Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnologies, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, China.
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Attentional bias towards negative stimuli in healthy individuals and the effects of trait anxiety. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11826. [PMID: 32678129 PMCID: PMC7367300 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68490-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the time course of attentional bias for negative information in healthy individuals and to assess the associated influence of trait anxiety. Thirty-eight healthy volunteers performed an emotional dot-probe task with pairs of negative and neutral scenes, presented for either 1 or 2 s and followed by a target placed at the previous location of either negative or neutral stimulus. Analyses included eye movements during the presentation of the scenes and response times associated with target localization. In a second step, analyses focused on the influence of trait anxiety. While there was no significant difference at the behavioral level, the eye-tracking data revealed that negative information held longer attention than neutral stimuli once fixated. This initial maintenance bias towards negative pictures then increased with increasing trait anxiety. However, at later processing stages, only individuals with the highest trait anxiety appeared to fixate longer on negative pictures than neutral pictures, individuals with low trait anxiety showing the opposite pattern. This study provides novel evidence that healthy individuals display an attentional maintenance bias towards negative stimuli, which is associated with trait anxiety.
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Socioeconomic disadvantage, brain morphometry, and attentional bias to threat in middle childhood. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 19:309-326. [PMID: 30460484 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00670-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with higher rates of psychopathology as well as hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex structure. However, little is known about how variations in brain morphometry are associated with socio-emotional risks for mood disorders in children growing up in families experiencing low income. In the current study, using structural magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the relationship between socioeconomic disadvantage and gray matter volume in the hippocampus, amygdala, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in a sample of children (n = 34) in middle childhood. Using an affective dot probe paradigm, we examined the association between gray matter volume in these regions and attentional bias to threat, a risk marker for mood disorders including anxiety disorders. We found that lower income-to-needs ratio was associated with lower bilateral hippocampal and right amygdala volume, but not prefrontal cortex volumes. Moreover, lower attentional bias to threat was associated with greater left hippocampal volume. We provide evidence of a relationship between income-related variations in brain structure and attentional bias to threat, a risk for mood disorders. Therefore, these findings support an environment-morphometry-behavior relationship that contributes to the understanding of income-related mental health disparities in childhood.
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Andrzejewski JA, Carlson JM. Electrocortical responses associated with attention bias to fearful facial expressions and auditory distress signals. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 151:94-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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