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Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, Mulc D, Španić E, Šagud M, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Vukšić M, R. Hof P. Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11060823. [PMID: 34072960 PMCID: PMC8228195 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum, putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on previous experiences. Contemporary theories of emotion converge around the key role of the amygdala as the central subcortical emotional brain structure that constantly evaluates and integrates a variety of sensory information from the surroundings and assigns them appropriate values of emotional dimensions, such as valence, intensity, and approachability. The amygdala participates in the regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions, decision-making and adaptations of instinctive and motivational behaviors to changes in the environment through implicit associative learning, changes in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity, and activation of the fight-or-flight response via efferent projections from its central nucleus to cortical and subcortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Mladenka Tkalčić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia;
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Damir Mulc
- University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Marina Šagud
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | | | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 07305, USA;
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Babić Leko M, Hof PR, Šimić G. Alterations and interactions of subcortical modulatory systems in Alzheimer's disease. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2021; 261:379-421. [PMID: 33785136 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not fully understood. Here we summarize current knowledge on the involvement of the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and opioid systems in AD, emphasizing the importance of interactions between the serotonergic and the other subcortical modulatory systems during the progression of AD. In physiological conditions, all neurotransmitter systems function in concert and are interdependent at both the neuroanatomical and molecular levels. Through their early involvement in AD, cognitive and behavioral abilities that rely on their interactions also become disrupted. Considering that serotonin (5HT) regulates the release of noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh), any alteration in 5HT levels leads to disturbance of NA, DA, and ACh homeostasis in the brain. One of the earliest pathological changes during the prodromal phase of AD is a decrease of serotonergic transmission throughout the brain, with serotonergic receptors being also affected. Additionally, serotonergic and noradrenergic as well as serotonergic and dopaminergic nuclei are reciprocally interconnected. As the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is affected by pathological changes early in AD, and the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) and dopaminergic ventral tegmental area (VTA) exhibit AD-related pathological changes, their connectivity also becomes altered in AD. Such disrupted interactions among neurotransmitter systems in AD can be used in the development of multi-target drugs. Some of the potential AD therapeutics (such as ASS234, RS67333, tropisetron) target multiple neurotransmitter systems to achieve the best possible improvement of cognitive and behavioral deficits observed in AD. Here, we review how serotonergic system interacts with other subcortical modulatory systems (noradrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and opioid systems) during AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia.
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Myors KA, Cleary M, Johnson M, Schmied V. 'Modelling a Secure-Base' for Women with Complex Needs: Attachment-Based Interventions Used by Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Clinicians. Issues Ment Health Nurs 2018; 39:226-232. [PMID: 29172815 DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2017.1378784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Infant well-being is intrinsically linked to maternal physical and emotional well-being. Internationally health services have implemented policies to identify women at risk of mental health problems and developed effective care pathways. The aim of this paper is to describe how perinatal and infant mental health clinicians perceive their role and the attachment-based interventions they use in their work. The study comes from a larger mixed methods study, which examined two specialist perinatal and infant mental health services in New South Wales (Australia). Two hundred and forty-four medical records were reviewed, and six perinatal and infant mental health clinicians participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed by content and thematic analysis. One overarching theme, modelling a secure base and three supporting themes, enhancing reflective capacity, enhancing emotional regulation and enhancing empathy emerged from the analysis. These findings demonstrate how perinatal and infant mental health clinicians use attachment theory to inform practice by modelling "holding" and being a secure-base for women. They also provide a clearer understanding of perinatal mental health practice and can be used to inform educational programs for multidisciplinary mental health professionals particularly those working with women and infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen A Myors
- a School of Nursing and Midwifery , Western Sydney University , Sydney , NSW , Australia
| | - Michelle Cleary
- b School of Health Sciences , University of Tasmania , Sydney , NSW , Australia
| | - Maree Johnson
- c Faculty of Health Sciences , Australian Catholic University , Sydney , NSW , Australia
| | - Virginia Schmied
- a School of Nursing and Midwifery , Western Sydney University , Sydney , NSW , Australia
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Šimić G, Babić Leko M, Wray S, Harrington CR, Delalle I, Jovanov-Milošević N, Bažadona D, Buée L, de Silva R, Di Giovanni G, Wischik CM, Hof PR. Monoaminergic neuropathology in Alzheimer's disease. Prog Neurobiol 2017; 151:101-138. [PMID: 27084356 PMCID: PMC5061605 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2016.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 184] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
None of the proposed mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) fully explains the distribution patterns of the neuropathological changes at the cellular and regional levels, and their clinical correlates. One aspect of this problem lies in the complex genetic, epigenetic, and environmental landscape of AD: early-onset AD is often familial with autosomal dominant inheritance, while the vast majority of AD cases are late-onset, with the ε4 variant of the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (APOE) known to confer a 5-20 fold increased risk with partial penetrance. Mechanisms by which genetic variants and environmental factors influence the development of AD pathological changes, especially neurofibrillary degeneration, are not yet known. Here we review current knowledge of the involvement of the monoaminergic systems in AD. The changes in the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, histaminergic, and melatonergic systems in AD are briefly described. We also summarize the possibilities for monoamine-based treatment in AD. Besides neuropathologic AD criteria that include the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC), special emphasis is given to the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Both of these brainstem nuclei are among the first to be affected by tau protein abnormalities in the course of sporadic AD, causing behavioral and cognitive symptoms of variable severity. The possibility that most of the tangle-bearing neurons of the LC and DRN may release amyloid β as well as soluble monomeric or oligomeric tau protein trans-synaptically by their diffuse projections to the cerebral cortex emphasizes their selective vulnerability and warrants further investigations of the monoaminergic systems in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Selina Wray
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | | | - Ivana Delalle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nataša Jovanov-Milošević
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Danira Bažadona
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Luc Buée
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, UMR-S 1172, Alzheimer & Tauopathies, Lille, France
| | - Rohan de Silva
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Giuseppe Di Giovanni
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Claude M Wischik
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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