1
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Stoll FM, Rudebeck PH. Preferences reveal dissociable encoding across prefrontal-limbic circuits. Neuron 2024; 112:2241-2256.e8. [PMID: 38640933 PMCID: PMC11223984 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Individual preferences for the flavor of different foods and fluids exert a strong influence on behavior. Most current theories posit that preferences are integrated with other state variables in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is thought to derive the relative subjective value of available options to guide choice behavior. Here, we report that instead of a single integrated valuation system in the OFC, another complementary one is centered in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) in macaques. Specifically, we found that the OFC and vlPFC preferentially represent outcome flavor and outcome probability, respectively, and that preferences are separately integrated into value representations in these areas. In addition, the vlPFC, but not the OFC, represented the probability of receiving the available outcome flavors separately, with the difference between these representations reflecting the degree of preference for each flavor. Thus, both the vlPFC and OFC exhibit dissociable but complementary representations of subjective value, both of which are necessary for decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic M Stoll
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Lipschultz Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Peter H Rudebeck
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Lipschultz Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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2
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Taubert J, Wardle SG, Patterson A, Baker CI. Beyond faces: the contribution of the amygdala to visual processing in the macaque brain. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae245. [PMID: 38864574 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The amygdala is present in a diverse range of vertebrate species, such as lizards, rodents, and primates; however, its structure and connectivity differs across species. The increased connections to visual sensory areas in primate species suggests that understanding the visual selectivity of the amygdala in detail is critical to revealing the principles underlying its function in primate cognition. Therefore, we designed a high-resolution, contrast-agent enhanced, event-related fMRI experiment, and scanned 3 adult rhesus macaques, while they viewed 96 naturalistic stimuli. Half of these stimuli were social (defined by the presence of a conspecific), the other half were nonsocial. We also nested manipulations of emotional valence (positive, neutral, and negative) and visual category (faces, nonfaces, animate, and inanimate) within the stimulus set. The results reveal widespread effects of emotional valence, with the amygdala responding more on average to inanimate objects and animals than faces, bodies, or social agents in this experimental context. These findings suggest that the amygdala makes a contribution to primate vision that goes beyond an auxiliary role in face or social perception. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of stimulus selection and experimental design when probing the function of the amygdala and other visually responsive brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Taubert
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
- School of Psychology, Level 3, McElwain Building (24A), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Susan G Wardle
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
| | - Amanda Patterson
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
| | - Chris I Baker
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
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3
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Giacometti C, Autran-Clavagnier D, Dureux A, Viñales L, Lamberton F, Procyk E, Wilson CRE, Amiez C, Hadj-Bouziane F. Differential functional organization of amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex networks in macaque and human. Commun Biol 2024; 7:269. [PMID: 38443489 PMCID: PMC10914752 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05918-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the course of evolution, the amygdala (AMG) and medial frontal cortex (mPFC) network, involved in behavioral adaptation, underwent structural changes in the old-world monkey and human lineages. Yet, whether and how the functional organization of this network differs remains poorly understood. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imagery, we show that the functional connectivity (FC) between AMG nuclei and mPFC regions differs between humans and awake macaques. In humans, the AMG-mPFC FC displays U-shaped pattern along the corpus callosum: a positive FC with the ventromedial prefrontal (vmPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a negative FC with the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), and a positive FC with the posterior MCC. Conversely, in macaques, the negative FC shifted more ventrally at the junction between the vmPFC and the ACC. The functional organization divergence of AMG-mPFC network between humans and macaques might help understanding behavioral adaptation abilities differences in their respective socio-ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Giacometti
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France.
| | - Delphine Autran-Clavagnier
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
- Inovarion, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Audrey Dureux
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL); Université Lyon 1, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Laura Viñales
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Franck Lamberton
- La Structure Fédérative de Recherche Santé Lyon-Est, CNRS UAR 3453, INSERM US7, Lyon 1 University, 69008, Lyon, France
- Centre d'Etude et de Recherche Multimodal et Pluridisciplinaire en Imagerie du Vivant (CERMEP), 69677, Bron, France
| | - Emmanuel Procyk
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Charles R E Wilson
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - Céline Amiez
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France.
| | - Fadila Hadj-Bouziane
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL); Université Lyon 1, 69500, Bron, France.
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4
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Liu P, Bo K, Ding M, Fang R. Emergence of Emotion Selectivity in Deep Neural Networks Trained to Recognize Visual Objects. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.04.16.537079. [PMID: 37163104 PMCID: PMC10168209 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.16.537079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the visual cortex plays an important role in representing the affective significance of visual input. The origin of these affect-specific visual representations is debated: they are intrinsic to the visual system versus they arise through reentry from frontal emotion processing structures such as the amygdala. We examined this problem by combining convolutional neural network (CNN) models of the human ventral visual cortex pre-trained on ImageNet with two datasets of affective images. Our results show that (1) in all layers of the CNN models, there were artificial neurons that responded consistently and selectively to neutral, pleasant, or unpleasant images and (2) lesioning these neurons by setting their output to 0 or enhancing these neurons by increasing their gain led to decreased or increased emotion recognition performance respectively. These results support the idea that the visual system may have the intrinsic ability to represent the affective significance of visual input and suggest that CNNs offer a fruitful platform for testing neuroscientific theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Liu
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Ke Bo
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Ruogu Fang
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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5
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Liu P, Bo K, Ding M, Fang R. Emergence of Emotion Selectivity in Deep Neural Networks Trained to Recognize Visual Objects. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011943. [PMID: 38547053 PMCID: PMC10977720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the visual cortex plays an important role in representing the affective significance of visual input. The origin of these affect-specific visual representations is debated: they are intrinsic to the visual system versus they arise through reentry from frontal emotion processing structures such as the amygdala. We examined this problem by combining convolutional neural network (CNN) models of the human ventral visual cortex pre-trained on ImageNet with two datasets of affective images. Our results show that in all layers of the CNN models, there were artificial neurons that responded consistently and selectively to neutral, pleasant, or unpleasant images and lesioning these neurons by setting their output to zero or enhancing these neurons by increasing their gain led to decreased or increased emotion recognition performance respectively. These results support the idea that the visual system may have the intrinsic ability to represent the affective significance of visual input and suggest that CNNs offer a fruitful platform for testing neuroscientific theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Liu
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Ke Bo
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Mingzhou Ding
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Ruogu Fang
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
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6
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Giacometti C, Amiez C, Hadj-Bouziane F. Multiple routes of communication within the amygdala-mPFC network: A comparative approach in humans and macaques. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 5:100103. [PMID: 37601951 PMCID: PMC10432920 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2023.100103] [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: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The network formed by the amygdala (AMG) and the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), at the interface between our internal and external environment, has been shown to support some important aspects of behavioral adaptation. Whether and how the anatomo-functional organization of this network evolved across primates remains unclear. Here, we compared AMG nuclei morphological characteristics and their functional connectivity with the mPFC in humans and macaques to identify potential homologies and differences between these species. Based on selected studies, we highlight two subsystems within the AMG-mPFC circuits, likely involved in distinct temporal dynamics of integration during behavioral adaptation. We also show that whereas the mPFC displays a large expansion but a preserved intrinsic anatomo-functional organization, the AMG displays a volume reduction and morphological changes related to specific nuclei. We discuss potential commonalities and differences in the dialogue between AMG nuclei and mPFC in humans and macaques based on available data.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Giacometti
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - C. Amiez
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - F. Hadj-Bouziane
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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7
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Shany O, Dunsky N, Gilam G, Greental A, Gilboa-Schechtman E, Hendler T. Self-evaluation of social-rank in socially anxious individuals associates with enhanced striatal reward function. Psychol Med 2023; 53:4569-4579. [PMID: 35698849 PMCID: PMC10388315 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722001453] [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: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative self-views, especially in the domain of power (i.e. social-rank), characterize social anxiety (SA). Neuroimaging studies on self-evaluations in SA have mainly focused on subcortical threat processing systems. Yet, self-evaluation may concurrently invoke diverse affective processing, as motivational systems related to desired self-views may also be activated. To investigate the conflictual nature that may accompany self-evaluation of certain social domains in SA, we examined brain activity related to both threat and reward processing. METHODS Participants (N = 74) differing in self-reported SA-severity underwent fMRI while completing a self-evaluation task, wherein they judged the self-descriptiveness of high- v. low-intensity traits in the domains of power and affiliation (i.e. social connectedness). Participants also completed two auxiliary fMRI tasks designated to evoke reward- and threat-related activations in the ventral striatum (VS) and amygdala, respectively. We hypothesized that self-evaluations in SA, particularly in the domain of power, involve aberrant brain activity related to both threat and reward processing. RESULTS SA-severity was more negatively associated with power than with affiliation self-evaluations. During self-evaluative judgment of high-power (e.g. dominant), SA-severity associated with increased activity in the VS and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Moreover, SA-severity correlated with higher similarity between brain activity patterns activated by high-power traits and patterns activated by incentive salience (i.e. reward anticipation) in the VS during the reward task. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that self-evaluation of high-power in SA involves excessive striatal reward-related activation, and pinpoint the downregulation of VS-VMPFC activity within such self-evaluative context as a potential neural outcome for therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofir Shany
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Netta Dunsky
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Gadi Gilam
- Faculty of Dental Medicine, The Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ayam Greental
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Eva Gilboa-Schechtman
- Department of Psychology and the Gonda Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Talma Hendler
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sagol Brain Institute, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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8
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Stoll FM, Rudebeck PH. Preferences reveal separable valuation systems in prefrontal-limbic circuits. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.10.540239. [PMID: 37214895 PMCID: PMC10197711 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.10.540239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Individual preferences for the flavor of different foods and fluids exert a strong influence on behavior. Most current theories posit that preferences are integrated with other state variables in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is thought to derive the relative subjective value of available options to drive choice behavior. Here we report that instead of a single integrated valuation system in OFC, another separate one is centered in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) in macaque monkeys. Specifically, we found that OFC and vlPFC preferentially represent outcome flavor and outcome probability, respectively, and that preferences are separately integrated into these two aspects of subjective valuation. In addition, vlPFC, but not OFC, represented the outcome probability for the two options separately, with the difference between these representations reflecting the degree of preference. Thus, there are at least two separable valuation systems that work in concert to guide choices and that both are biased by preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic M Stoll
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Peter H Rudebeck
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA
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9
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Martin AB, Cardenas MA, Andersen RK, Bowman AI, Hillier EA, Bensmaia S, Fuglevand AJ, Gothard KM. A context-dependent switch from sensing to feeling in the primate amygdala. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112056. [PMID: 36724071 PMCID: PMC10430631 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The skin transmits affective signals that integrate into our social vocabulary. As the socio-affective aspects of touch are likely processed in the amygdala, we compare neural responses to social grooming and gentle airflow recorded from the amygdala and the primary somatosensory cortex of non-human primates. Neurons in the somatosensory cortex respond to both types of tactile stimuli. In the amygdala, however, neurons do not respond to individual grooming sweeps even though grooming elicits autonomic states indicative of positive affect. Instead, many show changes in baseline firing rates that persist throughout the grooming bout. Such baseline fluctuations are attributed to social context because the presence of the groomer alone can account for the observed changes in baseline activity. It appears, therefore, that during grooming, the amygdala stops responding to external inputs on a short timescale but remains responsive to social context (or the associated affective states) on longer time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne B Martin
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Michael A Cardenas
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Rose K Andersen
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Archer I Bowman
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Hillier
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Sliman Bensmaia
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Andrew J Fuglevand
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Katalin M Gothard
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA.
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10
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Vázquez D, Schneider KN, Roesch MR. Neural signals implicated in the processing of appetitive and aversive events in social and non-social contexts. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:926388. [PMID: 35993086 PMCID: PMC9381696 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.926388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2014, we participated in a special issue of Frontiers examining the neural processing of appetitive and aversive events. Specifically, we reviewed brain areas that contribute to the encoding of prediction errors and value versus salience, attention and motivation. Further, we described how we disambiguated these cognitive processes and their neural substrates by using paradigms that incorporate both appetitive and aversive stimuli. We described a circuit in which the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) signals expected value and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) encodes the salience and valence of both appetitive and aversive events. This information is integrated by the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dopaminergic (DA) signaling in order to generate prediction and prediction error signals, which guide decision-making and learning via the dorsal striatum (DS). Lastly, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is monitoring actions and outcomes, and signals the need to engage attentional control in order to optimize behavioral output. Here, we expand upon this framework, and review our recent work in which within-task manipulations of both appetitive and aversive stimuli allow us to uncover the neural processes that contribute to the detection of outcomes delivered to a conspecific and behaviors in social contexts. Specifically, we discuss the involvement of single-unit firing in the ACC and DA signals in the NAc during the processing of appetitive and aversive events in both social and non-social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Kevin N. Schneider
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Matthew R. Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Matthew R. Roesch,
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11
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Gothard KM, Fuglevand AJ. The role of the amygdala in processing social and affective touch. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2022; 43:46-53. [PMID: 35602667 PMCID: PMC9119433 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala plays a central role in emotion and social behavior, yet its role in processing social and affective touch is not well established. Longitudinal studies reveal that touch-deprived infants show later in life exaggerated emotional reactivity related to structural and functional changes in the amygdala and other brain structures. The internal organization and connectivity of the amygdala is well-suited to process the sensory features of tactile stimuli and also the socio-cognitive dimensions of the received touch. The convergent processing of bottom-up and top-down pathways that carry information about touch results in the elaboration of context appropriate autonomic responses. Indeed, the positive value of affective touch in humans and social grooming in non-human primates is correlated with vagal tone and the release of oxytocin and endogenous opioids. Grooming, the non-human primate equivalent of affective touch in humans, reduces vigilance, that depends on the amygdala. During touch-induced vagal tone and low vigilance, neural activity in the amygdala is substantially different from activity corresponding to the attentive processing of tactile stimuli. Under these circumstances neurons no longer respond phasically to each touch stimulus, rather they signal a sustained functional state in which the amygdala appears decoupled from monitoring the external environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin M Gothard
- Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Andrew J Fuglevand
- Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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12
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Murray EA, Fellows LK. Prefrontal cortex interactions with the amygdala in primates. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:163-179. [PMID: 34446829 PMCID: PMC8616954 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01128-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This review addresses functional interactions between the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, with emphasis on their contributions to behavior and cognition. The interplay between these two telencephalic structures contributes to adaptive behavior and to the evolutionary success of all primate species. In our species, dysfunction in this circuitry creates vulnerabilities to psychopathologies. Here, we describe amygdala-PFC contributions to behaviors that have direct relevance to Darwinian fitness: learned approach and avoidance, foraging, predator defense, and social signaling, which have in common the need for flexibility and sensitivity to specific and rapidly changing contexts. Examples include the prediction of positive outcomes, such as food availability, food desirability, and various social rewards, or of negative outcomes, such as threats of harm from predators or conspecifics. To promote fitness optimally, these stimulus-outcome associations need to be rapidly updated when an associative contingency changes or when the value of a predicted outcome changes. We review evidence from nonhuman primates implicating the PFC, the amygdala, and their functional interactions in these processes, with links to experimental work and clinical findings in humans where possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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13
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A role of anterior cingulate cortex in the emergence of worker-parasite relationship. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2111145118. [PMID: 34815341 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2111145118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied the brain mechanisms underlying action selection in a social dilemma setting in which individuals' effortful gains are unfairly distributed among group members. A stable "worker-parasite" relationship developed when three individually operant-conditioned rats were placed together in a Skinner box equipped with response lever and food dispenser on opposite sides. Specifically, one rat, the "worker," engaged in lever-pressing while the other two "parasitic" rats profited from the worker's effort by crowding the feeder in anticipation of food. Anatomically, c-Fos expression in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was significantly higher in worker rats than in parasite rats. Functionally, ACC inactivation suppressed the worker's lever-press behavior drastically under social, but only mildly under individual, settings. Transcriptionally, GABAA receptor- and potassium channel-related messenger RNA expressions were reliably lower in the worker's, relative to parasite's, ACC. These findings indicate the requirement of ACC activation for the expression of exploitable, effortful behavior, which could be mediated by molecular pathways involving GABAA receptor/potassium channel proteins.
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14
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Perigenual and Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Afferents Converge on Common Pyramidal Cells in Amygdala Subregions of the Macaque. J Neurosci 2021; 41:9742-9755. [PMID: 34649954 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1056-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The subgenual (sgACC) and perigenual (pgACC) anterior cingulate are important afferents of the amygdala, with different cytoarchitecture, connectivity, and function. The sgACC is associated with arousal mechanisms linked to salient cues, whereas the pgACC is engaged in conflict decision-making, including in social contexts. After placing same-size, small volume tracer injections into sgACC and pgACC of the same hemisphere in male macaques, we examined anterogradely labeled fiber distribution to understand how these different functional systems communicate in the main amygdala nuclei at both mesocopic and cellular levels. The sgACC has broad-based termination patterns. In contrast, the pgACC has a more restricted pattern, which was always nested in sgACC terminals. Terminal overlap occurred in subregions of the accessory basal and basal nuclei, which we termed "hotspots." In triple-labeling confocal studies, the majority of randomly selected CaMKIIα-positive cells (putative amygdala glutamatergic neurons) in hotspots received dual contacts from the sgACC and pgACC. The ratio of dual contacts occurred over a surprisingly narrow range, suggesting a consistent, tight balance of afferent contacts on postsynaptic neurons. Large boutons, which are associated with greater synaptic strength, were ∼3 times more frequent on sgACC versus pgACC axon terminals in hotspots, consistent with a fast "driver" function. Together, the results reveal a nested interaction in which pgACC ("conflict/social monitoring") terminals converge with the broader sgACC ("salience") terminals at both the mesoscopic and cellular level. The presynaptic organization in hotspots suggests that shifts in arousal states can rapidly and flexibly influence decision-making functions in the amygdala.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The subgenual (sgACC) and perigenual cingulate (pgACC) have distinct structural and functional characteristics and are important afferent modulators of the amygdala. The sgACC is critical for arousal, whereas the pgACC mediates conflict-monitoring, including in social contexts. Using dual tracer injections in the same monkey, we found that sgACC inputs broadly project in the main amygdala nuclei, whereas pgACC inputs were more restricted and nested in zones containing sgACC terminals (hotspots). The majority of CaMKIIα + (excitatory) amygdala neurons in hotspots received converging contacts, which were tightly balanced. pgACC and sgACC afferent streams are therefore highly interdependent in these specific amygdala subregions, permitting "internal arousal" states to rapidly shape responses of amygdala neurons involved in conflict and social monitoring networks.
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15
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Báez-Mendoza R, Vázquez Y, Mastrobattista EP, Williams ZM. Neuronal Circuits for Social Decision-Making and Their Clinical Implications. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:720294. [PMID: 34658766 PMCID: PMC8517320 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.720294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social living facilitates individual access to rewards, cognitive resources, and objects that would not be otherwise accessible. There are, however, some drawbacks to social living, particularly when competing for scarce resources. Furthermore, variability in our ability to make social decisions can be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. The neuronal mechanisms underlying social decision-making are beginning to be understood. The momentum to study this phenomenon has been partially carried over by the study of economic decision-making. Yet, because of the similarities between these different types of decision-making, it is unclear what is a social decision. Here, we propose a definition of social decision-making as choices taken in a context where one or more conspecifics are involved in the decision or the consequences of it. Social decisions can be conceptualized as complex economic decisions since they are based on the subjective preferences between different goods. During social decisions, individuals choose based on their internal value estimate of the different alternatives. These are complex decisions given that conspecifics beliefs or actions could modify the subject's internal valuations at every choice. Here, we first review recent developments in our collective understanding of the neuronal mechanisms and circuits of social decision-making in primates. We then review literature characterizing populations with neuropsychiatric disorders showing deficits in social decision-making and the underlying neuronal circuitries associated with these deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymundo Báez-Mendoza
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Yuriria Vázquez
- Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Emma P. Mastrobattista
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ziv M. Williams
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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16
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Putnam PT, Chang SWC. Toward a holistic view of value and social processing in the amygdala: Insights from primate behavioral neurophysiology. Behav Brain Res 2021; 411:113356. [PMID: 33989727 PMCID: PMC8238892 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Located medially within the temporal lobes, the amygdala is a formation of heterogenous nuclei that has emerged as a target for investigations into the neural bases of both primitive and complex behaviors. Although modern neuroscience has eschewed the practice of assigning broad functions to distinct brain regions, the amygdala has classically been associated with regulating negative emotional processes (such as fear or aggression), primarily through research performed in rodent models. Contemporary studies, particularly those in non-human primate models, have provided evidence for a role of the amygdala in other aspects of cognition such as valuation of stimuli or shaping social behaviors. Consequently, many modern perspectives now also emphasize the amygdala's role in processing positive affect and social behaviors. Importantly, several recent experiments have examined the intersection of two seemingly autonomous domains; how both valence/value and social stimuli are simultaneously represented in the amygdala. Results from these studies suggest that there is an overlap between valence/value processing and the processing of social behaviors at the level of single neurons. These findings have prompted researchers investigating the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying social interactions to question what contributions reward-related processes in the amygdala make in shaping social behaviors. In this review, we will examine evidence, primarily from primate neurophysiology, suggesting that value-related processes in the amygdala interact with the processing of social stimuli, and explore holistic hypotheses about how these amygdalar interactions might be instantiated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T Putnam
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, United States.
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, United States
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17
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Brockett AT, Vázquez D, Roesch MR. Prediction errors and valence: From single units to multidimensional encoding in the amygdala. Behav Brain Res 2021; 404:113176. [PMID: 33596433 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala-one of the primary structures of the limbic system-is comprised of interconnected nuclei situated within the temporal lobe. It has a well-established role in the modulation of negative affective states, as well as in fear processing. However, its vast projections with diverse brain regions-ranging from the cortex to the brainstem-are suggestive of its more complex involvement in affective or motivational aspects of cognitive processing. The amygdala can play an invaluable role in context-dependent associative learning, unsigned prediction error learning, influencing outcome selection, and multidimensional encoding. In this review, we delve into the amygdala's role in associative learning and outcome selection, emphasizing its intrinsic involvement in the appropriate context-dependent modulation of motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Brockett
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States.
| | - Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
| | - Matthew R Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
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18
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Putnam PT, Chang SWC. Social processing by the primate medial frontal cortex. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 158:213-248. [PMID: 33785146 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The primate medial frontal cortex is comprised of several brain regions that are consistently implicated in regulating complex social behaviors. The medial frontal cortex is also critically involved in many non-social behaviors, such as those involved in reward, affective, and decision-making processes, broadly implicating the fundamental role of the medial frontal cortex in internally guided cognition. An essential question therefore is what unique contributions, if any, does the medial frontal cortex make to social behaviors? In this chapter, we outline several neural algorithms necessary for mediating adaptive social interactions and discuss selected evidence from behavioral neurophysiology experiments supporting the role of the medial frontal cortex in implementing these algorithms. By doing so, we primarily focus on research in nonhuman primates and examine several key attributes of the medial frontal cortex. Specifically, we review neuronal substrates in the medial frontal cortex uniquely suitable for enabling social monitoring, observational and vicarious learning, as well as predicting the behaviors of social partners. Moreover, by utilizing the three levels of organization in information processing systems proposed by Marr (1982) and recently adapted by Lockwood, Apps, and Chang (2020) for social information processing, we survey selected social functions of the medial frontal cortex through the lens of socially relevant algorithms and implementations. Overall, this chapter provides a broad overview of the behavioral neurophysiology literature endorsing the importance of socially relevant neural algorithms implemented by the primate medial frontal cortex for regulating social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T Putnam
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
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19
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Gangopadhyay P, Chawla M, Dal Monte O, Chang SWC. Prefrontal-amygdala circuits in social decision-making. Nat Neurosci 2020; 24:5-18. [PMID: 33169032 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00738-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
An increasing amount of research effort is being directed toward investigating the neural bases of social cognition from a systems neuroscience perspective. Evidence from multiple animal species is beginning to provide a mechanistic understanding of the substrates of social behaviors at multiple levels of neurobiology, ranging from those underlying high-level social constructs in humans and their more rudimentary underpinnings in monkeys to circuit-level and cell-type-specific instantiations of social behaviors in rodents. Here we review literature examining the neural mechanisms of social decision-making in humans, non-human primates and rodents, focusing on the amygdala and the medial and orbital prefrontal cortical regions and their functional interactions. We also discuss how the neuropeptide oxytocin impacts these circuits and their downstream effects on social behaviors. Overall, we conclude that regulated interactions of neuronal activity in the prefrontal-amygdala pathways critically contribute to social decision-making in the brains of primates and rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Megha Chawla
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Olga Dal Monte
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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20
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Pryluk R, Shohat Y, Morozov A, Friedman D, Taub AH, Paz R. Shared yet dissociable neural codes across eye gaze, valence and expectation. Nature 2020; 586:95-100. [PMID: 32968281 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2740-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The direction of the eye gaze of others is a prominent social cue in primates and is important for communication1-11. Although gaze can signal threat and elicit anxiety6,12,13, it remains unclear whether it shares neural circuitry with stimulus value. Notably, gaze not only has valence, but can also serve as a predictor of the outcome of a social encounter, which can be either negative or positive2,8,12,13. Here we show that the neural codes for gaze and valence overlap in primates and that they involve two different mechanisms: one for the outcome and another for its expectation. Monkeys participated in the human intruder test13,14, in which a human participant had either a direct or averted gaze, interleaved with blocks of aversive and appetitive conditioning. We find that single neurons in the amygdala encode gaze15, whereas neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex encode the social context16, but not gaze. We identify a shared population in the amygdala for which the neural responses to direct and averted gaze parallel the responses to aversive and appetitive stimulus, respectively. Furthermore, we distinguish between two neural mechanisms-an overall-activity scheme that is used for gaze and the unconditioned stimulus, and a correlated-selectivity scheme that is used for gaze and the conditioned stimulus. These findings provide insights into the origins of the neural mechanisms that underlie the computations of both social interactions and valence, and could help to shed light on mechanisms that underlie social anxiety and the comorbidity between anxiety and impaired social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raviv Pryluk
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yosef Shohat
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Anna Morozov
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Dafna Friedman
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Aryeh H Taub
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rony Paz
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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21
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Morrow JK, Cohen MX, Gothard KM. Mesoscopic-scale functional networks in the primate amygdala. eLife 2020; 9:57341. [PMID: 32876047 PMCID: PMC7490012 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The primate amygdala performs multiple functions that may be related to the anatomical heterogeneity of its nuclei. Individual neurons with stimulus- and task-specific responses are not clustered in any of the nuclei, suggesting that single-units may be too-fine grained to shed light on the mesoscale organization of the amygdala. We have extracted from local field potentials recorded simultaneously from multiple locations within the primate (Macaca mulatta) amygdala spatially defined and statistically separable responses to visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli. A generalized eigendecomposition-based method of source separation isolated coactivity patterns, or components, that in neurophysiological terms correspond to putative subnetworks. Some component spatial patterns mapped onto the anatomical organization of the amygdala, while other components reflected integration across nuclei. These components differentiated between visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli suggesting the presence of functionally distinct parallel subnetworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremiah K Morrow
- Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States.,Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, United States
| | - Michael X Cohen
- Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Donders Center for Neuroscience, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Katalin M Gothard
- Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
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22
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Abstract
Brain-wide circuits that coordinate affective and social behaviours intersect in the amygdala. Consequently, amygdala lesions cause a heterogeneous array of social and non-social deficits. Social behaviours are not localized to subdivisions of the amygdala even though the inputs and outputs that carry social signals are anatomically restricted to distinct subnuclear regions. This observation may be explained by the multidimensional response properties of the component neurons. Indeed, the multitudes of circuits that converge in the amygdala enlist the same subset of neurons into different ensembles that combine social and non-social elements into high-dimensional representations. These representations may enable flexible, context-dependent social decisions. As such, multidimensional processing may operate in parallel with subcircuits of genetically identical neurons that serve specialized and functionally dissociable functions. When combined, the activity of specialized circuits may grant specificity to social behaviours, whereas multidimensional processing facilitates the flexibility and nuance needed for complex social behaviour.
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