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Ma Y, Jiao F, Batsikadze G, Yavari F, Nitsche MA. The impact of the left inferior frontal gyrus on fear extinction: A transcranial direct current stimulation study. Brain Stimul 2024; 17:816-825. [PMID: 38997105 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2024.07.004] [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: 04/20/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Fear extinction is a fundamental component of exposure-based therapies for anxiety-related disorders. The renewal of fear in a different context after extinction highlights the importance of contextual factors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the causal role of the left inferior frontal gyrus (LiFG) in the context-dependency of fear extinction learning via administration of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over this area. METHODS 180 healthy subjects were assigned to 9 groups: 3 tDCS conditions (anodal, cathodal, and sham) × 3 context combinations (AAA, ABA, and ABB). The fear conditioning/extinction task was conducted over three consecutive days: acquisition, extinction learning, and extinction recall. tDCS (2 mA, 10min) was administered during the extinction learning phase over the LiFG via a 4-electrode montage. Skin conductance response (SCR) data and self-report assessments were collected. RESULTS During the extinction learning phase, groups with excitability-enhancing anodal tDCS showed a significantly higher fear response to the threat cues compared to cathodal and sham stimulation conditions, irrespective of contextual factors. This effect was stable until the extinction recall phase. Additionally, excitability-reducing cathodal tDCS caused a significant decrease of the response difference between the threat and safety cues during the extinction recall phase. The self-report assessments showed no significant differences between the conditions throughout the experiment. CONCLUSION Independent of the context, excitability enhancement of the LiFG did impair fear extinction, and led to preservation of fear memory. In contrast, excitability reduction of this area enhanced fear extinction retention. These findings imply that the LiFG plays a role in the fear extinction network, which seems to be however context-independent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanbo Ma
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany; Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Fujia Jiao
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany; Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Giorgi Batsikadze
- Department of Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro and Behavioral Sciences (C-TNBS), Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, Essen, 45147, Germany
| | - Fatemeh Yavari
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.
| | - Michael A Nitsche
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany; Bielefeld University, University Hospital OWL, Protestant Hospital of Bethel Foundation, University Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Bochum, Germany.
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Lissek S, Schlaffke L, Tegenthoff M. Microstructural properties of attention-related white matter tracts are associated with the renewal effect of extinction. Behav Brain Res 2024; 471:115125. [PMID: 38936425 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115125] [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: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
The tendency to show the renewal effect of extinction appears as an intra-individually stable, reproducible processing strategy associated with differential patterns of BOLD activation in hippocampus, iFG and vmPFC, as well as differential resting-state functional connectivity between prefrontal regions and the dorsal attention network. Also, pharmacological modulations of the noradrenergic system that influence attentional processing have partially different effects upon individuals with (REN) and without (NoREN) a propensity for renewal. However, it is as yet unknown whether REN and NoREN individuals differ regarding microstructural properties in attention-related white matter (WM) regions, and whether such differences are related to noradrenergic processing. In this diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis we investigated the relation between microstructural properties of attention-related WM tracts and ABA renewal propensity, under conditions of noradrenergic stimulation by means of the noradrenergic reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine, compared to placebo. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was higher in participants with noradrenergic stimulation (ATO) compared to placebo (PLAC), the effect was predominantly left-lateralized and based on the comparison of ATO REN and PLAC REN participants. In REN participants of both treatment groups, FA in several WM tracts showed a positive correlation with the ABA renewal level, suggesting higher renewal levels were associated with higher microstructural integrity. These findings point towards a relation between microstructural properties of attention-related WM tracts and the propensity for renewal that is not specifically dependent on noradrenergic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Lara Schlaffke
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
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Nostadt A, Schlaffke L, Merz CJ, Wolf OT, Nitsche MA, Tegenthoff M, Lissek S. Microstructural differences in the cingulum and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus are associated with (extinction) learning. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:324. [PMID: 38831468 PMCID: PMC11149371 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01800-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: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cognitive functions, such as learning and memory processes, depend on effective communication between brain regions which is facilitated by white matter tracts (WMT). We investigated the microstructural properties and the contribution of WMT to extinction learning and memory in a predictive learning task. Forty-two healthy participants completed an extinction learning paradigm without a fear component. We examined differences in microstructural properties using diffusion tensor imaging to identify underlying neural connectivity and structural correlates of extinction learning and their potential implications for the renewal effect. Participants with good acquisition performance exhibited higher fractional anisotropy (FA) in WMT including the bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and the right temporal part of the cingulum (CNG). This indicates enhanced connectivity and communication between brain regions relevant to learning and memory resulting in better learning performance. Our results suggest that successful acquisition and extinction performance were linked to enhanced structural connectivity. Lower radial diffusivity (RD) in the right ILF and right temporal part of the CNG was observed for participants with good acquisition learning performance. This observation suggests that learning difficulties associated with increased RD may potentially be due to less myelinated axons in relevant WMT. Also, participants with good acquisition performance were more likely to show a renewal effect. The results point towards a potential role of structural integrity in extinction-relevant WMT for acquisition and extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Nostadt
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44789, Germany.
- Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Lara Schlaffke
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44789, Germany
| | - Christian J Merz
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
| | - Michael A Nitsche
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Dortmund, 44139, Germany
- German Centre for Mental Health (DZPG), Bochum, Germany
- University Hospital OWL, Protestant Hospital of Bethel Foundation, University Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and University Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, 33617, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44789, Germany
| | - Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, 44789, Germany
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Lissek S, Tegenthoff M. Dissimilarities of neural representations of extinction trials are associated with extinction learning performance and renewal level. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 18:1307825. [PMID: 38468709 PMCID: PMC10925752 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1307825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Renewal of extinguished responses is associated with higher activity in specific extinction-relevant brain regions, i.e., hippocampus (HC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and ventromedial PFC (vmPFC). HC is involved in processing of context information, while IFG and vmPFC use such context information for selecting and deciding among competing response options. However, it is as yet unknown to what extent trials with changed versus unchanged outcome, or extinction trials that evoke renewal (i.e., extinction context differs from acquisition and test context: ABA trials) and trials that do not (i.e., same context in all phases: AAA trials) are represented differentially in extinction-relevant brain regions. Methods In this study, we applied representational similarity analysis (RSA) to determine differences in neural representations of these trial types and their relationship to extinction error rates and renewal level. Results Overall, individuals with renewal (REN) and those without (NoREN) did not differ significantly in their discrimination levels between ABA and AAA extinction trials, with the exception of right posterior HC, where REN exhibited more pronounced context-related discrimination. In addition, higher dissimilarity of representations in bilateral posterior HC, as well as in several IFG regions, during extinction learning was linked to lower ABA renewal rates. Both REN and NoREN benefitted from prediction error feedback from ABA extinction errors for context- and outcome-related discrimination of trials in IFG, vmPFC, and HC, but only the NoREN group also benefitted from error feedback from AAA extinction errors. Discussion Thus, while in both groups the presence of a novel context supported formation of distinct representations, only in NoREN the expectancy violation of the surprising change of outcome alone had a similar effect. In addition, only in NoREN context-related discrimination was linked to error feedback in vmPFC. In summary, the findings show that context- and outcome-related discrimination of trials in HC, vmPFC, and IFG is linked to extinction learning errors, regardless of renewal propensity, and at the same time point towards differential context processing strategies in REN and NoREN. Moreover, better discrimination of context-related trials during extinction learning promotes less renewal during extinction recall, suggesting that renewal may be related to suboptimal context-related trial discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Nostadt A, Nitsche MA, Tegenthoff M, Lissek S. Dopaminergic D2-like receptor stimulation affects attention on contextual information and modulates BOLD activation of extinction-related brain areas. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21003. [PMID: 38017050 PMCID: PMC10684513 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47704-6] [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: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Contextual information is essential for learning and memory processes and plays a crucial role during the recall of extinction memory, and in the renewal effect, which is the context-dependent recovery of an extinguished response. The dopaminergic system is known to be involved in regulating attentional processes by shifting attention to novel and salient contextual cues. Higher dopamine levels are associated with a better recall of previously learned stimulus-outcome associations and enhanced encoding, as well as retrieval of contextual information which promotes renewal. In this fMRI study, we aimed to investigate the impact of processing contextual information and the influence of dopaminergic D2-like receptor activation on attention to contextual information during a predictive learning task as well as upon extinction learning, memory performance, and activity of extinction-related brain areas. A single oral dose of 1.25 mg bromocriptine or an identical-looking placebo was administered to the participants. We modified a predictive learning task that in previous studies reliably evoked a renewal effect, by increasing the complexity of contextual information. We analysed fixations and dwell on contextual cues by use of eye-tracking and correlated these with behavioural performance and BOLD activation of extinction-related brain areas. Our results indicate that the group with dopaminergic D2-like receptor stimulation had higher attention to task-relevant contextual information and greater/lower BOLD activation of brain regions associated with cognitive control during extinction learning and recall. Moreover, renewal responses were almost completely absent. Since this behavioural effect was observed for both treatment groups, we assume that this was due to the complexity of the altered task design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Nostadt
- Ruhr-University Bochum, Faculty of Psychology, 44789, Bochum, Germany.
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Ardeystr. 67, 44139, Dortmund, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bürkle de La Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Michael A Nitsche
- Ruhr-University Bochum, Faculty of Psychology, 44789, Bochum, Germany
- German Centre for Mental Health (DZPG), 44789, Bochum, Germany
- University Hospital OWL, Protestant Hospital of Bethel Foundation, University Clinic of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and University Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, 33617, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bürkle de La Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany
| | - Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bürkle de La Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany
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Nostadt A, Merz CJ, Wolf OT, Tegenthoff M, Lissek S. Cortisol decreases activation in extinction related brain areas resulting in an impaired recall of context-dependent extinction memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 205:107844. [PMID: 37866754 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107844] [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: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Conditioned responding gradually stops during successful extinction learning. The renewal effect is defined as the recovery of a extinguished conditioned response when the context of extinction is different from acquisition. The stress hormone cortisol is known to have an influence on extinction memory and associative learning. Different effects of cortisol on behaviour and brain activity have been observed with respect to stress timing, duration, and intensity. However, the influence of cortisol prior to the initial encoding of stimulus-outcome associations on extinction learning, renewal and its behavioural and neurobiological correlates is still largely unknown. In our study, 60 human participants received 20 mg cortisol or placebo and then learned, extinguished, and recalled the associations between food stimuli presented in distinct contexts and different outcomes in three subsequent task phases. Learning performance during acquisition and extinction phases was equally good for both treatment groups. In the cortisol group, significantly more participants showed renewal compared to placebo. In the subgroup of participants with renewal, cortisol treated participants showed significantly better extinction learning performance compared to placebo. Participants showing renewal had in general difficulties with recalling extinction memory, but in contrast to placebo, the cortisol group exhibited a context-dependent impairment of extinction memory recall. Imaging analyses revealed that cortisol decreased activation in the hippocampus during acquisition. The cortisol group also showed reduced dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation when extinction learning took place in a different context, but enhanced activation in inferior frontal gyrus during extinction learning without context change. During recall, cortisol decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation. Taken together, our findings illustrate cortisol as a potent modulator of extinction learning and recall of extinction memory which also promotes renewal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Nostadt
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Christian J Merz
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Silke Lissek
- BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
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Lissek S, Klass A, Tegenthoff M. NMDA receptor-mediated processing in inferior frontal gyrus facilitates acquisition and extinction learning and strengthens renewal. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 194:107672. [PMID: 35917993 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107672] [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: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
While the renewal effect of extinction is considered to be invoked by attention to context during the extinction phase, there is also evidence that processing during initial learning (acquisition) may be important for later renewal. A noradrenergic agonist and a dopaminergic antagonist, administered before acquisition, did not affect renewal, however, the effects of NMDAergic neurotransmission in this regard are as yet unknown. In a previous study, administration of a single dose of the NMDA agonist D-cycloserine (DCS) before extinction learning facilitated extinction in the context of acquisition (AAA), but had no effect upon renewal. In the present fMRI study, DCS was administered prior to the initial acquisition of a predictive learning task, in order to investigate whether NMDA receptor (NMDAR) stimulation at this timepoint will modulate overall learning as well as the level of renewal, while increasing activation in the extinction- and renewal-relevant brain regions of inferior frontal gyrus (iFG) and hippocampus (HC). DCS facilitated acquisition, as well as extinction learning in the context of acquisition (AAA), and raised the level of ABA renewal. While BOLD activation during acquisition did not differ between treatment groups, activation in bilateral iFG showed a double dissociation during processing of AAA extinction trials, with DCS-mediated higher activation in right iFG and deactivation in left iFG. In contrast, placebo showed higher activation in left iFG and deactivation in right iFG. During the test (recall) phase, left iFG and right anterior hippocampus activation was increased in DCS participants who showed renewal, with activation in this region correlating with the ABA renewal level. The results demonstrate that NMDA receptor stimulation can facilitate both initial learning and extinction of associations, and in this way has an impact upon the resultant level of renewal. In particular NMDAergic processing in iFG appears relevant for the facilitation of AAA extinction and ABA recall in the test phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Anne Klass
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
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Offline tDCS modulates prefrontal-cortical-subcortical-cerebellar fear pathways in delayed fear extinction. Exp Brain Res 2021; 240:221-235. [PMID: 34694466 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06248-9] [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] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been studied to enhance extinction-based treatments for anxiety disorders. However, the field shows conflicting results about its anxiolytic effect and only a few studies have observed the extinction of consolidated memories. We looked to study the effect of offline 1 mA tDCS over the right dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex across the fear pathways, in consolidated fear response during delayed extinction. Participants (N = 34 women) underwent in a two-day fear conditioning procedure. On day 1, participants were assigned to the control group (N = 18) or the tDCS group (N = 16) and went through a fear acquisition procedure. On day 2, the tDCS group received 20 min tDCS before extinction and while inside the MRI scanner. The control group completed the extinction procedure only. The tDCS session (for the tDCS group) and the fMRI scan (for both groups) were completed just on the second day. Univariate fMRI analysis showed stimulation-dependent activity during late extinction with the tDCS group showing decreased neural activity during the processing of threat cues (CS +) and increased activity during the processing of safety cues (CS -), in prefrontal, postcentral and paracentral regions, during late extinction. ROI to whole-brain psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis showed the tDCS effect on the connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex three cortical-amygdalo-hippocampal-cerebellar pathway clusters during the processing of the CS + in late extinction (TFCE corrected; p < 0.05). Increased neuronal activity during the processing of safety cues and stronger coupling during the processing of threat cues might be the mechanisms by which tDCS contributes to stimuli discrimination.
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Lissek S, Tegenthoff M. Higher functional connectivity between prefrontal regions and the dorsal attention network predicts absence of renewal. Behav Brain Res 2021; 412:113413. [PMID: 34119509 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Renewal describes the recovery of an extinguished response when extinction and recall contexts differ, demonstrating the context-dependency of extinction. The unexpected outcome change during extinction presumably directs attention to the context and promotes renewal. Accordingly, studies show that context processing for renewal is modulated by salience of and attention to context. Besides context-processing hippocampus, renewal involves ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus, which mediate response processing. Since showing renewal is a trait-like processing tendency, individuals with and without renewal may differ in resting-state functional connectivity of prefrontal regions with networks mediating attentional and salience processing. We analyzed resting-state functional MRI data from healthy participants (n = 70) of a non-fear-related contextual extinction task particularly suited for investigation of renewal. Participants without renewal exhibited significantly higher functional connectivity between prefrontal regions and bilateral intraparietal sulcus of the dorsal attention network. Functional connectivity between these regions correlated negatively with renewal level. Only in participants with renewal, the renewal level correlated positively with connectivity between left frontal eye field and several prefrontal regions. In contrast, functional connectivity of prefrontal regions with the salience network did not differ between groups. The results deliver first-time evidence for differences in resting-state functional connectivity between participants with and without renewal in non-fear-related extinction. Intraparietal-sulcus-guided top-down attentional control appears more strongly related to prefrontal activity in participants without renewal, and thus may have a role in their default processing mode of focusing on the stimulus and disregarding the context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Lissek
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
| | - Martin Tegenthoff
- Department of Neurology, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
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The DA-antagonist Tiapride affects context-related extinction learning in a predictive learning task, but not initial forming of associations, or renewal. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 183:107465. [PMID: 34015443 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Renewal describes the recovery of an extinguished response if the contexts of extinction and recall differ, highlighting the context dependency of extinction. Studies demonstrated dopaminergic (DA) signalling to be important for context-related extinction learning with and without a fear component. In a previous study in humans, administration of the dopamine D2/D3 antagonist tiapride prior to extinction impaired extinction learning in a novel, but not a familiar context, without affecting renewal. In a further study, context processing during initial acquisition of associations was shown to be related to renewal. In this human fMRI study we investigated the potential role of DA signalling during this initial conditioning for the learning process and for renewal. While tiapride, administered prior to the start of learning, did not affect initial acquisition and renewal, extinction learning in a novel context was impaired, associated with reduced BOLD activation in vmPFC, left iFG and ACC - regions mediating response inhibition and selection from competing options using contextual information. Thus, different timepoints of administration of tiapride (before initial conditioning or extinction) had largely similar effects upon extinction and renewal. In addition, retrieval of previously acquired associations was impaired, pointing towards weaker association forming during acquisition. Conceivably, effects of the DA blockade are associated with the challenge present in the respective task rather than the administration timepoint: the cognitive flexibility required for forming a new inhibitory association that includes a novel element clearly requires DA processing, while initial forming of associations, or of inhibitory associations without a new element, apparently rely less on the proper function of the DA system.
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Li BZ, Cao Y, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Gao YH, Peng JX, Shao YC, Zhang X. Relation of Decreased Functional Connectivity Between Left Thalamus and Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus to Emotion Changes Following Acute Sleep Deprivation. Front Neurol 2021; 12:642411. [PMID: 33716944 PMCID: PMC7952868 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.642411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: The thalamus is a key node for sleep-wake pathway gate switching during acute sleep deprivation (ASD), and studies have shown that it plays a certain role in emotion changes. However, there are no studies on the association between the thalamus and emotion changes in ASD. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) to explore whether changes in the functional connections between the thalamus and other brain regions are related to emotion changes and further explored the function of the thalamus under total ASD conditions. Method: Thirty healthy, right-handed adult men underwent emotional assessment according to the Profile of Mood States Scale and R-fMRI scans before and after ASD. The correlations between changes in functional connectivity between the thalamus and other brain regions and emotion changes were then studied. Results: Positive emotions and psychomotor performance were reduced, and negative emotions were increased following ASD. The functional connections between the left thalamus and left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, right thalamus, right inferior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal pole gyrus, right calcarine, left cuneus, left rectus and left medial superior frontal gyrus were significantly altered. Decreased functional connectivity between left thalamus and left inferior frontal gyrus related to emotion changes following ASD. Conclusion: This study finds that functional changes in the thalamus are associated with emotion changes during ASD, suggesting that the left thalamus probably plays an essential role in emotion changes under ASD conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Zhi Li
- Department of Neurology, Secondary Medical Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ya Cao
- Department of Neurology, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Medical Psychology, Eighth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Chen
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Hong Gao
- Department of Neurology, Secondary Medical Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jia-Xi Peng
- Department of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
| | - Yong-Cong Shao
- Department of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Secondary Medical Center, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disease, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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