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Miller L, Balodis IM, McClintock CH, Xu J, Lacadie CM, Sinha R, Potenza MN. Neural Correlates of Personalized Spiritual Experiences. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:2331-2338. [PMID: 29846531 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have reported a variety of spiritual experiences and the concomitant perceived sense of union that transcends one's ordinary sense of self. Nevertheless, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms of spiritual experiences, particularly when examined across different traditions and practices. By adapting an individualized guided-imagery task, we investigated neural correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences as compared with stressful and neutral-relaxing experiences. We observed in the spiritual condition, as compared with the neutral-relaxing condition, reduced activity in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), a result that suggests the IPL may contribute importantly to perceptual processing and self-other representations during spiritual experiences. Compared with stress cues, responses to spiritual cues showed reduced activity in the medial thalamus and caudate, regions associated with sensory and emotional processing. Overall, the study introduces a novel method for investigating brain correlates of personally meaningful spiritual experiences and suggests neural mechanisms associated with broadly defined and personally experienced spirituality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Miller
- Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Iris M Balodis
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Clayton H McClintock
- Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jiansong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Cheryl M Lacadie
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Marc N Potenza
- Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA
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Unterrainer HF, Hiebler-Ragger M, Koschutnig K, Fuchshuber J, Tscheschner S, Url M, Wagner-Skacel J, Reininghaus EZ, Papousek I, Weiss EM, Fink A. Addiction as an Attachment Disorder: White Matter Impairment Is Linked to Increased Negative Affective States in Poly-Drug Use. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:208. [PMID: 28503141 PMCID: PMC5408064 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorders (SUD) have been shown to be linked to various neuronal and behavioral impairments. In this study, we investigate whether there is a connection between the integrity of white matter (WM) and attachment styles as well as different affective states including spirituality in a group of patients diagnosed for poly-drug use disorder (PUD) in comparison to non-clinical controls. A total sample of 59 right-handed men, comprising the groups of patients with PUD (n = 19), recreational drug-using individuals (RUC; n = 20) as well as non-drug using controls were recruited (NUC; n = 20). For the behavioral assessment, we applied the Adult Attachment-Scale, the Affective Neuroscience Personality-Scale (short version) and the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being. Diffusion Tensor Imaging was used to investigate differences in WM neural connectivity. Analyses revealed decreased Fractional Anisotropy and decreased Mean Diffusivity in PUD patients as compared to RUC and NUC. No differences were found between RUC and NUC. Additional ROI analyses suggested that WM impairment in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and the superior corona radiata (SCR) was linked to more insecure attachment as well as to more negative affectivity. No substantial correlation was observed with spirituality. These findings are mainly limited by the cross-sectional design of the study. However, our preliminary results support the idea of addiction as an attachment disorder, both at neuronal and behavioral levels. Further research might be focused on the changes of insecure attachment patterns in SUD treatment and their correlation with changes in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Human-Friedrich Unterrainer
- Institute of Psychology, University of GrazGraz, Austria.,Center for Integrative Addiction Research, Grüner Kreis SocietyVienna, Austria.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria
| | - Michaela Hiebler-Ragger
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research, Grüner Kreis SocietyVienna, Austria.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria
| | | | - Jürgen Fuchshuber
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research, Grüner Kreis SocietyVienna, Austria.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria
| | | | - Maria Url
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research, Grüner Kreis SocietyVienna, Austria
| | - Jolana Wagner-Skacel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria.,Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria
| | - Eva Z Reininghaus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University GrazGraz, Austria
| | - Ilona Papousek
- Institute of Psychology, University of GrazGraz, Austria
| | | | - Andreas Fink
- Institute of Psychology, University of GrazGraz, Austria
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Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): a review. J Psychiatr Res 2014; 54:26-35. [PMID: 24694669 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2013] [Revised: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This review presents an overview of studies investigating white-matter integrity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). There is increasing evidence for white matter alterations in OCD. In adult patients the majority of all studies reported abnormalities in terms of decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) compared to healthy volunteers. Although findings are heterogeneous, the cingulate bundle, the corpus callosum and the anterior limb of the internal capsule are most commonly affected by decreased white matter integrity in adult OCD patients. In pediatric and adolescent patients initial evidence points more towards increased white matter connectivity. Thus, current results suggest alterations in various white matter regions in both pediatric and adult OCD patients. They indicate that alterations may vary as a function of clinical characteristics and may be amenable to pharmacologic treatment. Although the findings have important implications for the neurobiology of OCD they also raise a number of important questions that are discussed in this review and need to be taken into consideration in future studies.
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