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Casalvera A, Goodwin M, Lynch KG, Teferi M, Patel M, Grillon C, Ernst M, Balderston NL. Threat of shock increases distractor susceptibility during the short-term maintenance of visual information. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae036. [PMID: 38809714 PMCID: PMC11173208 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae036] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Elevated arousal in anxiety is thought to affect attention control. To test this, we designed a visual short-term memory (VSTM) task to examine distractor suppression during periods of threat and no-threat. We hypothesized that threat would impair performance when subjects had to filter out large numbers of distractors. The VSTM task required subjects to attend to one array of squares while ignoring a separate array. The number of target and distractor squares varied systematically, with high (four squares) and low (two squares) target and distractor conditions. This study comprised two separate experiments. Experiment 1 used startle responses and white noise as to directly measure threat-induced anxiety. Experiment 2 used BOLD to measure brain responses. For Experiment 1, subjects showed significantly larger startle responses during threat compared to safe period, supporting the validity of the threat manipulation. For Experiment 2, we found that accuracy was affected by threat, such that the distractor load negatively impacted accuracy only in the threat condition. We also found threat-related differences in parietal cortex activity. Overall, these findings suggest that threat affects distractor susceptibility, impairing filtering of distracting information. This effect is possibly mediated by hyperarousal of parietal cortex during threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail Casalvera
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Madeline Goodwin
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kevin G Lynch
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Marta Teferi
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Milan Patel
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Christian Grillon
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Monique Ernst
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nicholas L Balderston
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Huang X, Gao L, Xiao J, Li L, Shan X, Chen H, Chai X, Duan X. Family Environment Modulates Linkage of Transdiagnostic Psychiatric Phenotypes and Dissociable Brain Features in the Developing Brain. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00081-8. [PMID: 38537777 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Family environment has long been known for shaping brain function and psychiatric phenotypes, especially during childhood and adolescence. Accumulating neuroimaging evidence suggests that across different psychiatric disorders, common phenotypes may share common neural bases, indicating latent brain-behavior relationships beyond diagnostic categories. However, the influence of family environment on the brain-behavior relationship from a transdiagnostic perspective remains unknown. METHODS We included a community-based sample of 699 participants (ages 5-22 years) and applied partial least squares regression analysis to determine latent brain-behavior relationships from whole-brain functional connectivity and comprehensive phenotypic measures. Comparisons were made between diagnostic and nondiagnostic groups to help interpret the latent brain-behavior relationships. A moderation model was introduced to examine the potential moderating role of family factors in the estimated brain-behavior associations. RESULTS Four significant latent brain-behavior pairs were identified that reflected the relationship of dissociable brain network and general behavioral problems, cognitive and language skills, externalizing problems, and social dysfunction, respectively. The group comparisons exhibited interpretable variations across different diagnostic groups. A warm family environment was found to moderate the brain-behavior relationship of core symptoms in internalizing disorders. However, in neurodevelopmental disorders, family factors were not found to moderate the brain-behavior relationship of core symptoms, but they were found to affect the brain-behavior relationship in other domains. CONCLUSIONS Our findings leveraged a transdiagnostic analysis to investigate the moderating effects of family factors on brain-behavior associations, emphasizing the different roles that family factors play during this developmental period across distinct diagnostic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Huang
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Leying Gao
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jinming Xiao
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lei Li
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaolong Shan
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Huafu Chen
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaoqian Chai
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Xujun Duan
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
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Langan MT, Kirkland AE, Rice LC, Mucciarone VC, Baraniuk J, VanMeter A, Holton KF. Low glutamate diet improves working memory and contributes to altering BOLD response and functional connectivity within working memory networks in Gulf War Illness. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18004. [PMID: 36289291 PMCID: PMC9606252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21837-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Gulf War Illness is a chronic multi-symptom disorder with severe cognitive impairments which may be related to glutamate excitotoxicity and central nervous system dysfunction. The low glutamate diet has been proposed as a comprehensive intervention for Gulf War Illness. We examined the effects of the low glutamate diet on verbal working memory using a fMRI N-back task. Accuracy, whole-brain blood oxygen level dependency (BOLD) response, and task-based functional connectivity were assessed at baseline and after 1 month on the diet (N = 24). Multi-voxel pattern analysis identified regions of whole-brain BOLD pattern differences after the diet to be used as seeds for subsequent seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses. Verbal working memory accuracy improved after the diet (+ 13%; p = 0.006). Whole-brain BOLD signal changes were observed, revealing lower activation within regions of the frontoparietal network and default mode network after the low glutamate diet. Multi-voxel pattern analysis resulted in 3 clusters comprising parts of the frontoparietal network (clusters 1 and 2) and ventral attention network (cluster 3). The seed-to-voxel analyses identified significant functional connectivity changes post-diet for clusters 1 and 2 (peak p < 0.001, cluster FDR p < 0.05). Relative to baseline, clusters 1 and 2 had decreased functional connectivity with regions in the ventral attention and somatomotor networks. Cluster 2 also had increased functional connectivity with regions of the default mode and frontoparietal networks. These findings suggest that among veterans with Gulf War Illness, the low glutamate diet improves verbal working memory accuracy, alters BOLD response, and alters functional connectivity within two networks central to working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna E Kirkland
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Laura C Rice
- Department of Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Veronica C Mucciarone
- Department of Neurology, Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - James Baraniuk
- Department of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Ashley VanMeter
- Department of Neurology, Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kathleen F Holton
- Department of Neuroscience, American University, Washington, DC, USA.
- Department of Health Studies, American University, Washington, DC, USA.
- Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, American University, Washington, DC, USA.
- Nutritional Neuroscience Lab, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA.
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Fusina F, Marino M, Spironelli C, Angrilli A. Ventral Attention Network Correlates With High Traits of Emotion Dysregulation in Community Women - A Resting-State EEG Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:895034. [PMID: 35721362 PMCID: PMC9205637 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.895034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, many studies have focused on resting-state brain activity, and especially on functional connectivity (FC), an approach that typically describes the statistical interdependence of activity in distant brain regions through specific networks. Our aim was to study the neurophysiological correlates of emotion dysregulation. Therefore, we expected that both the Default Mode Network (DMN), and the Ventral Attention Network (VAN) would have been involved. Indeed, the latter plays a role in the automatic orienting of attention towards biologically salient stimuli and includes key regions for emotion control and modulation. Starting from a community sample of 422 female students, we selected 25 women with high traits of emotion dysregulation (HD group) and 25 with low traits (LD group). They underwent a 64-channel EEG recording during a five-minute resting state with eyes open. Seed-based FC was computed on the EEG Alpha band (8-13 Hz) as a control band, and on EEG Gamma power (30-50 Hz) as the relevant measure. The power within each network and inter-network connectivity (Inter-NC) was also calculated. Analysis of the EEG Gamma band revealed, in the HD group, higher levels of Inter-NC between the VAN and all other resting-state networks as compared with the LD group, while no differences emerged in the Alpha band. Concerning correlations, Alpha power in the VAN was negatively correlated in the HD group with affective lability (ALS-18 questionnaire), both for total score (ρ = -0.52, p FDR < 0.01) and the Depression/Elation subscale) ρ = -0.45, p FDR < 0.05). Consistent with this, in the Gamma band, a positive correlation was found between VAN spectral power and the Depression/Elation subscale of ALS-18, again in the HD group only (ρ = 0.47, p FDR < 0.05). In conclusion, both resting state FC and network power in the VAN were found to be related to high emotion dysregulation, even in our non-clinical sample with high traits. Emotion dysregulation was characterized, in the EEG gamma band, by a VAN strongly connected to all other networks, a result that points, in women prone to emotion dysregulation, to a strong automatic orienting of attention towards their internal state, bodily sensations, and emotionally intense related thoughts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Fusina
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Marco Marino
- Department of Movement Sciences, Research Center for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy
| | - Chiara Spironelli
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angrilli
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Kwon M, Jung YC, Lee D, Lee J. Altered resting-state functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex with intrinsic brain networks in male problematic smartphone users. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:1008557. [PMID: 36262635 PMCID: PMC9573940 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1008557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The excessive use of smartphones is associated with various medical complications and mental health problems. However, existing research findings on neurobiological mechanisms behind problematic smartphone use are limited. In this study, we investigated functional connectivity in problematic smartphone users, focusing on the default mode network (DMN) and attentional networks. We hypothesized that problematic smartphone users would have alterations in functional connectivity between the DMN and attentional networks and that such alterations would correlate with the severity of problematic smartphone use. This study included 30 problematic smartphone users and 35 non-problematic smartphone users. We carried out group independent component analysis (group ICA) to decompose resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data into distinct networks. We examined functional connectivity using seed-to-seed analysis and identified the nodes of networks in group ICA, which we used as region of interest. We identified greater functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) with the ventral attention network (VAN) and with the DMN in problematic smartphone users. In seed-to-seed analysis, problematic smartphone users showed atypical dACC-VAN functional connectivity which correlated with the smartphone addiction proneness scale total scores. Our resting-state fMRI study found greater functional connectivity between the dACC and attentional networks in problematic smartphone users. Our findings suggest that increased bottom-up and interoceptive attentional processing might play an important role in problematic smartphone use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manjae Kwon
- Department of Psychiatry, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Young-Chul Jung
- Department of Psychiatry, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute for Innovation in Digital Healthcare, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Deokjong Lee
- Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Junghan Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.,Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
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Jamieson AJ, Harrison BJ, Davey CG. Altered effective connectivity of the extended face processing system in depression and its association with treatment response: findings from the YoDA-C randomized controlled trial. Psychol Med 2021; 51:2933-2944. [PMID: 37676047 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721002567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is commonly associated with fronto-amygdala dysfunction during the processing of emotional face expressions. Interactions between these regions are hypothesized to contribute to negative emotional processing biases and as such have been highlighted as potential biomarkers of treatment response. This study aimed to investigate depression associated alterations to directional connectivity and assess the utility of these parameters as predictors of treatment response. METHODS Ninety-two unmedicated adolescents and young adults (mean age 20.1; 56.5% female) with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder and 88 healthy controls (mean age 19.8; 61.4% female) completed an implicit emotional face processing fMRI task. Patients were randomized to receive cognitive behavioral therapy for 12 weeks, plus either fluoxetine or placebo. Using dynamic causal modelling, we examined functional relationships between six brain regions implicated in emotional face processing, comparing both patients and controls and treatment responders and non-responders. RESULTS Depressed patients demonstrated reduced inhibition from the dlPFC to vmPFC and reduced excitation from the dlPFC to amygdala during sad expression processing. During fearful expression processing patients showed reduced inhibition from the vmPFC to amygdala and reduced excitation from the amygdala to dlPFC. Response was associated with connectivity from the amygdala to dlPFC during sad expression processing and amygdala to vmPFC connectivity during fearful expression processing. CONCLUSIONS Our study clarifies the nature of face processing network alterations in adolescents and young adults with depression, highlighting key interactions between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Moreover, these findings highlight the potential utility of these interactions in predicting treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alec J Jamieson
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
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Structural and functional brain abnormalities in misophonia. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 52:62-71. [PMID: 34273684 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Misophonia is a newly described condition in which specific ordinary sounds provoke disproportionately strong negative affect. Since evidence for neurobiological abnormalities underlying misophonia is scarce, we tested whether misophonia patients differed from healthy controls in grey matter volumes and resting-state functional connectivity. We collected structural magnetic resonance imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 24 misophonia patients and 25 matched controls. Compared to controls, voxel-based morphometry showed larger right amygdala volume in misophonia patients. Follow-up seed-based functional connectivity analysis of the amygdala showed a different pattern of connectivity with the cerebellum, driven by greater connectivity with the left amygdala. Additional data-driven independent component analysis showed greater connectivity within lateral occipital cortices and fusiform gyri in the ventral attention network. We propose that the amygdala enlargement may be associated with heightened emotional reactivity in misophonia. The higher connectivity between left amygdala and cerebellum might be linked to a tendency to exhibit reflex-like physical reactions to triggers. Higher attention network connectivity may reflect sensory enhancement of visual triggers or visual imagery related to trigger sounds. In sum, we found structural and functional abnormalities which implicate dysfunction of emotional and attentional systems in misophonia.
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Yoga improves older adults’ Affective functioning and resting-state brain connectivity: Evidence from a pilot study. AGING AND HEALTH RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ahr.2021.100018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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9
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Altered functional connectivity of the dorsal attention network among problematic social network users. Addict Behav 2021; 116:106823. [PMID: 33460991 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Many smartphone users spend excessive amounts of time online and cannot control their behavior, and the addictive overuse of social-networking services has been shown to be associated with diminished executive control. Attentional control is a cognitive process crucial to exerting executive functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate functional connectivity (FC) characteristics of attention networks in problematic social-network users. We performed seed-based resting-state FC analyses for 29 males and 10 females with excessive social network use and 32 healthy males and 17 healthy females. The right intraparietal sulcus and frontal eye fields were considered seeds of the dorsal attention network (DAN), and the right temporoparietal junction and ventral frontal cortex were considered seeds of the ventral attention network (VAN). Clinical characteristics predictive of FC findings in problematic social network users were identified through hierarchical multiple regression analysis. In FC analysis with DAN seeds, FC between the right intraparietal sulcus and the right middle occipital gyrus was stronger in problematic social network users than in controls, and FC between the right frontal eye field and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was weaker than that in controls. There was no significant difference between the groups in FC analysis with VAN seeds. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that usage times on social networking platforms significantly predicted the negative effects on the strength of FC between the intraparietal sulcus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings indicated that problematic social network use reflects changes in the neural circuits underlying attentional control. Weaking of prefrontal control for attention networks would have a significant impact on failure to control one's time spent on social networks.
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Differential Modulation of Effective Connectivity in the Brain's Extended Face Processing System by Fearful and Sad Facial Expressions. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0380-20.2021. [PMID: 33658311 PMCID: PMC8174049 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0380-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The processing of emotional facial expressions is underpinned by the integration of information from a distributed network of brain regions. Despite investigations into how different emotional expressions alter the functional relationships within this network, there remains limited research examining which regions drive these interactions. This study investigated effective connectivity during the processing of sad and fearful facial expressions to better understand how these stimuli differentially modulate emotional face processing circuitry. Ninety-eight healthy human adolescents and young adults, aged between 15 and 25 years, underwent an implicit emotional face processing fMRI task. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we examined five brain regions implicated in face processing. These were restricted to the right hemisphere and included the occipital and fusiform face areas, amygdala, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Processing sad and fearful facial expressions were associated with greater positive connectivity from the amygdala to dlPFC. Only the processing of fearful facial expressions was associated with greater negative connectivity from the vmPFC to amygdala. Compared with processing sad faces, processing fearful faces was associated with significantly greater connectivity from the amygdala to dlPFC. No difference was found between the processing of these expressions and the connectivity from the vmPFC to amygdala. Overall, our findings indicate that connectivity from the amygdala and dlPFC appears to be responding to dimensional features which differ between these expressions, likely those relating to arousal. Further research is necessary to examine whether this relationship is also observable for positively valenced emotions.
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Previously Reward-Associated Stimuli Capture Spatial Attention in the Absence of Changes in the Corresponding Sensory Representations as Measured with MEG. J Neurosci 2020; 40:5033-5050. [PMID: 32366722 PMCID: PMC7314418 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1172-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of selective attention typically consider the role of task goals or physical salience, but attention can also be captured by previously reward-associated stimuli, even if they are currently task irrelevant. One theory underlying this value-driven attentional capture (VDAC) is that reward-associated stimulus representations undergo plasticity in sensory cortex, thereby automatically capturing attention during early processing. To test this, we used magnetoencephalography to probe whether stimulus location and identity representations in sensory cortex are modulated by reward learning. We furthermore investigated the time course of these neural effects, and their relationship to behavioral VDAC. Male and female human participants first learned stimulus-reward associations. Next, we measured VDAC in a separate task by presenting these stimuli in the absence of reward contingency and probing their effects on the processing of separate target stimuli presented at different time lags. Using time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis, we found that learned value modulated the spatial selection of previously rewarded stimuli in posterior visual and parietal cortex from ∼260 ms after stimulus onset. This value modulation was related to the strength of participants' behavioral VDAC effect and persisted into subsequent target processing. Importantly, learned value did not influence cortical signatures of early processing (i.e., earlier than ∼200 ms); nor did it influence the decodability of stimulus identity. Our results suggest that VDAC is underpinned by learned value signals that modulate spatial selection throughout posterior visual and parietal cortex. We further suggest that VDAC can occur in the absence of changes in early visual processing in cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Attention is our ability to focus on relevant information at the expense of irrelevant information. It can be affected by previously learned but currently irrelevant stimulus-reward associations, a phenomenon termed "value-driven attentional capture" (VDAC). The neural mechanisms underlying VDAC remain unclear. It has been speculated that reward learning induces visual cortical plasticity, which modulates early visual processing to capture attention. Although we find that learned value modulates spatial signals in visual cortical areas, an effect that correlates with VDAC, we find no relevant signatures of changes in early visual processing in cortex.
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Low-frequency parietal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces fear and anxiety. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:68. [PMID: 32066739 PMCID: PMC7026136 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0751-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental disorders, with few effective neuropharmacological treatments, making treatments development critical. While noninvasive neuromodulation can successfully treat depression, few treatment targets have been identified specifically for anxiety disorders. Previously, we showed that shock threat increases excitability and connectivity of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Here we tested the hypothesis that inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting this region would reduce induced anxiety. Subjects were exposed to neutral, predictable, and unpredictable shock threat, while receiving double-blinded, 1 Hz active or sham IPS rTMS. We used global brain connectivity and electric-field modelling to define the single-subject targets. We assessed subjective anxiety with online ratings and physiological arousal with the startle reflex. Startle stimuli (103 dB white noise) probed fear and anxiety during the predictable (fear-potentiated startle, FPS) and unpredictable (anxiety-potentiated startle, APS) conditions. Active rTMS reduced both FPS and APS relative to both the sham and no stimulation conditions. However, the online anxiety ratings showed no difference between the stimulation conditions. These results were not dependent on the laterality of the stimulation, or the subjects' perception of the stimulation (i.e. active vs. sham). Results suggest that reducing IPS excitability during shock threat is sufficient to reduce physiological arousal related to both fear and anxiety, and are consistent with our previous research showing hyperexcitability in this region during threat. By extension, these results suggest that 1 Hz parietal stimulation may be an effective treatment for clinical anxiety, warranting future work in anxiety patients.
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Harricharan S, Nicholson AA, Thome J, Densmore M, McKinnon MC, Théberge J, Frewen PA, Neufeld RWJ, Lanius RA. PTSD and its dissociative subtype through the lens of the insula: Anterior and posterior insula resting‐state functional connectivity and its predictive validity using machine learning. Psychophysiology 2019; 57:e13472. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sherain Harricharan
- Department of Neuroscience Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Imaging Division Lawson Health Research Institute London Ontario Canada
| | - Andrew A. Nicholson
- Department of Psychological Research and Research Methods University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - Janine Thome
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Imaging Division Lawson Health Research Institute London Ontario Canada
| | - Maria Densmore
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Imaging Division Lawson Health Research Institute London Ontario Canada
| | - Margaret C. McKinnon
- Mood Disorders Program St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences McMaster University Hamilton Ontario Canada
- Homewood Research Institute Guelph Ontario Canada
| | - Jean Théberge
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Imaging Division Lawson Health Research Institute London Ontario Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging St. Joseph's Healthcare London Ontario Canada
| | - Paul A. Frewen
- Department of Neuroscience Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychology Western University London Ontario Canada
| | - Richard W. J. Neufeld
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychology Western University London Ontario Canada
| | - Ruth A. Lanius
- Department of Neuroscience Western University London Ontario Canada
- Department of Psychiatry Western University London Ontario Canada
- Imaging Division Lawson Health Research Institute London Ontario Canada
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14
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Sabatinelli D, Frank DW. Assessing the Primacy of Human Amygdala-Inferotemporal Emotional Scene Discrimination with Rapid Whole-Brain fMRI. Neuroscience 2019; 406:212-224. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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15
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Blanco-Hinojo L, Pujol J, Esteba-Castillo S, Martínez-Vilavella G, Giménez-Palop O, Gabau E, Casamitjana L, Deus J, Novell R, Caixàs A. Lack of response to disgusting food in the hypothalamus and related structures in Prader Willi syndrome. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 21:101662. [PMID: 30639180 PMCID: PMC6412080 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Objective To investigate, based on a putative abnormal neural processing of disgusting signals in Prader Willi syndrome (PWS) patients, the brain response to visual representations of disgusting food in PWS using functional MRI (fMRI). Methods Twenty-one genetically-confirmed PWS patients, 30 age- and sex-matched and 28 BMI-matched control subjects viewed a movie depicting disgusting food-related scenes interspersed with scenes of appetizing food while fMRI was acquired. Brain activation maps were compared between groups and correlated with disgust and hunger ratings. Results At the cortical level, the response to disgusting food representations in PWS patients was qualitatively similar to that of control subjects, albeit less extensive, and engaged brain regions typically related to visually-evoked disgust, such as the anterior insula/frontal operculum, the lateral frontal cortex and visual areas. By contrast, activation was almost absent in limbic structures directly concerned with the regulation of instinctive behavior robustly activated in control subjects, such as the hypothalamus, amygdala/hippocampus and periaqueductal gray. Conclusions Our study provides novel insights into the neural substrates of appetite control in a genetically-mediated cause of obesity. The presence of significant cortical changes further indicates that PWS patients consciously process disgusting stimuli, but the virtual absence of response in deep, limbic structures suggests that disgusting signals do not adequately reach the primary brain system for the appetite control. We report an abnormal pattern of brain response to images of disgusting food in PWS. The activation demonstrated by PWS patients was restricted to the cerebral cortex. Higher subjective disgust ratings were associated with greater insula activation. In contrast, the neural response was almost absent in deep subcortical structures. Disgusting signals may not adequately reach a main brain system for appetite control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Blanco-Hinojo
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Susanna Esteba-Castillo
- Specialized Service in Mental Health and Intellectual Disability, Institut Assistència Sanitària (IAS), Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià, 17190 Girona, Spain.
| | | | - Olga Giménez-Palop
- Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT- UAB, 08208 Sabadell, Spain
| | - Elisabeth Gabau
- Clinical Genetics, Pediatrics Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT- UAB, 08208 Sabadell, Spain.
| | - Laia Casamitjana
- Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT- UAB, 08208 Sabadell, Spain.
| | - Joan Deus
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Ramón Novell
- Specialized Service in Mental Health and Intellectual Disability, Institut Assistència Sanitària (IAS), Parc Hospitalari Martí i Julià, 17190 Girona, Spain.
| | - Assumpta Caixàs
- Endocrinology and Nutrition Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí I3PT- UAB, 08208 Sabadell, Spain
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16
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Anderson NE, Steele VR, Maurer JM, Rao V, Koenigs MR, Decety J, Kosson DS, Calhoun VD, Kiehl KA. Differentiating emotional processing and attention in psychopathy with functional neuroimaging. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2017; 17:491-515. [PMID: 28092055 PMCID: PMC5404945 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-016-0493-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with psychopathy are often characterized by emotional processing deficits, and recent research has examined the specific contexts and cognitive mechanisms that underlie these abnormalities. Some evidence suggests that abnormal features of attention are fundamental to emotional deficits in persons with psychopathy, but few studies have demonstrated the neural underpinnings responsible for such effects. Here, we use functional neuroimaging to examine attention-emotion interactions among incarcerated individuals (n = 120) evaluated for psychopathic traits using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Using a task designed to manipulate attention to emotional features of visual stimuli, we demonstrate effects representing implicit emotional processing, explicit emotional processing, attention-facilitated emotional processing, and vigilance for emotional content. Results confirm the importance of considering mechanisms of attention when evaluating emotional processing differences related to psychopathic traits. The affective-interpersonal features of psychopathy (PCL-R Factor 1) were associated with relatively lower emotion-dependent augmentation of activity in visual processing areas during implicit emotional processing, while antisocial-lifestyle features (PCL-R Factor 2) were associated with elevated activity in the amygdala and related salience network regions. During explicit emotional processing, psychopathic traits were associated with upregulation in the medial prefrontal cortex, insula, and superior frontal regions. Isolating the impact of explicit attention to emotional content, only Factor 1 was related to upregulation of activity in the visual processing stream, which was accompanied by increased activity in the angular gyrus. These effects highlight some important mechanisms underlying abnormal features of attention and emotional processing that accompany psychopathic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel E Anderson
- The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) & Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute (LBERI), 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA.
| | - Vaughn R Steele
- Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J Michael Maurer
- The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) & Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute (LBERI), 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Vikram Rao
- The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) & Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute (LBERI), 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA
| | | | | | - David S Kosson
- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) & Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute (LBERI), 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) & Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute (LBERI), 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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17
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Kaunhoven RJ, Dorjee D. How does mindfulness modulate self-regulation in pre-adolescent children? An integrative neurocognitive review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 74:163-184. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Revised: 11/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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18
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Wyczesany M, Ligeza TS, Grzybowski SJ. Effective connectivity during visual processing is affected by emotional state. Brain Imaging Behav 2016; 9:717-28. [PMID: 25339066 PMCID: PMC4661181 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-014-9326-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The limitations of our cognitive resources necessitate the selection of relevant information from the incoming visual stream. This selection and prioritizing of stimuli allows the organism to adapt to the current conditions. However, the characteristics of this process vary with time and depend on numerous external and internal factors. The present study was aimed at determining how the emotional state affects effective connectivity between visual, attentional and control brain areas during the perception of affective visual stimuli. The Directed Transfer Function was applied on a 32-electrode EEG recording to quantify the direction and intensity of the information flow during two sessions: positive and negative. These data were correlated with a self-report of the emotional state. We demonstrated that the current mood, as measured by self-report, is a factor which affects the patterns of effective cortical connectivity. An increase in prefrontal top-down control over the visual and attentional areas was revealed in a state of tension. It was accompanied by increased outflow within and from the areas recognized as the ventral attentional network. By contrast, a positive emotional state was associated with heightened flow from the parietal to the occipital area. The functional significance of the revealed effects is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslaw Wyczesany
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, PL-30060, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Tomasz S Ligeza
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, PL-30060, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Szczepan J Grzybowski
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 6, PL-30060, Kraków, Poland.
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19
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Tard C, Delval A, Devos D, Lopes R, Lenfant P, Dujardin K, Hossein-Foucher C, Semah F, Duhamel A, Defebvre L, Le Jeune F, Moreau C. Brain metabolic abnormalities during gait with freezing in Parkinson’s disease. Neuroscience 2015; 307:281-301. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2014] [Revised: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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20
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Painter DR, Dux PE, Mattingley JB. Causal involvement of visual area MT in global feature-based enhancement but not contingent attentional capture. Neuroimage 2015; 118:90-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Revised: 05/25/2015] [Accepted: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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21
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Chang A, Chen CC, Li HH, Li CSR. Perigenual anterior cingulate event-related potential precedes stop signal errors. Neuroimage 2015; 111:179-85. [PMID: 25700955 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2014] [Revised: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 02/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Momentary lapses in attention disrupt goal-directed behavior. Attentional lapse has been associated with increased "default-mode" network (DMN) activity. In our previous fMRI study of a stop signal task (SST), greater activation of the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) - an important node of the DMN - predicts stop signal errors. In event-related potential (ERP) studies, the amplitude of an error-preceding positivity (EPP) also predicts response error. However, it is not clear whether the EPP originates from DMN regions. Here, we combined high-density array EEG and an SST to examine response-locked ERPs of error preceding trials in twenty young adult participants. The results showed an EPP in go trials that preceded stop error than stop success trials. Importantly, source modeling identified the origin of the EPP in the pgACC. By employing a bootstrapping procedure, we further confirmed that pgACC rather than the dorsal ACC as the source provides a better fit to the EPP. Together, these results suggest that attentional lapse in association with EPP in the pgACC anticipates failure in response inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Chang
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Chung Chen
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan; Center for Neurobiology and Cognitive Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.
| | - Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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22
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Inuggi A, Sassi F, Castillo A, Campoy G, Leocani L, García Santos JM, Fuentes LJ. Cortical response of the ventral attention network to unattended angry facial expressions: an EEG source analysis study. Front Psychol 2015; 5:1498. [PMID: 25566162 PMCID: PMC4271514 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: We used an affective prime task composed of emotional (happy, angry, and neutral) prime faces and target words with either positive or negative valence. By asking subjects to attend to either the faces’ emotional expression or to the glasses’ shape, we assessed whether angry facial expressions were processed when they were unattended and task-irrelevant. Methods: We conducted a distributed source analysis on the corresponding event-related potentials focused on the early activity of face processing and attention networks’ related areas. We also evaluated the magnitude of the affective priming effect. Results: We observed a reduction of occipitotemporal areas’ (BA37) activation to unattended compared to attended faces and a modulation of primary visual areas’ activity lateralization. The latter was more right lateralized for attended than for unattended faces, and emotional faces were more right lateralized than neutral ones only in the former condition. Affective priming disappeared when emotional expressions of prime faces were ignored. Moreover, an increased activation in the right temporo–parietal junction (TPJ), but not in the intraparietal sulcus, was observed only for unattended angry facial expressions at ∼170 ms after face presentation. Conclusion: We suggest that attentional resources affect the early processing in visual and occipito-temporal areas, irrespective of the faces’ threatening content. The disappearance of the affective priming effect suggests that when subjects were asked to focus on glasses’ shape, attentional resources were not available to process the facial emotional expression, even though emotion-relevant and emotion-irrelevant features of the face were presented in the same position. On the other hand, unattended angry faces evoked a pre-attentive TPJ activity, which most likely represents a bottom–up trigger that signals their high behavioral relevance, although it is unrelated to task demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Inuggi
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Federica Sassi
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Alejandro Castillo
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Guillermo Campoy
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
| | - Letizia Leocani
- Institute of Experimental Neurology, L'Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico San Raffaele Milan, Italy
| | | | - Luis J Fuentes
- Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología, University of Murcia Murcia, Spain
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23
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I don't feel your pain (as much): the desensitizing effect of mind wandering on the perception of others' discomfort. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2014; 14:286-96. [PMID: 23900749 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0197-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Mind wandering reduces both the sensory and cognitive processing of affectively neutral stimuli, but whether it also modulates the processing of affectively salient stimuli remains unclear. In particular, we examined whether mind wandering attenuates one's sensitivity to observing mild pain in others. In the first experiment, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) as participants viewed images of hands in either painful or neutral situations, while being prompted at random intervals to report whether their thoughts were on task or mind wandering. We found that the brain's later response to painful images was significantly reduced immediately preceding "mind-wandering" versus "on-task" reports, as measured via amplitude decreases in a frontal-central positivity beginning approximately 300 ms poststimulus. In a second, control experiment using behavioral measures, we wanted to confirm whether the subjective sense of pain observed in others does in fact decrease during mind wandering. Accordingly, we asked participants to rate how painful the hand images looked on a 5-point Likert scale, again while taking reports of their mind-wandering states at unpredictable intervals. Consistent with our ERP data, we found that the ratings for painful images were significantly reduced immediately preceding mind-wandering reports. Additional control analyses suggested that the effect could not simply be ascribed to general habituation in the affective response to painful images over time. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that mind wandering can directly modulate the cortical processing of affectively salient stimulus inputs, serving in this case to reduce sensitivity to the physical discomfort of others.
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24
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Sabatinelli D, Frank DW, Wanger TJ, Dhamala M, Adhikari BM, Li X. The timing and directional connectivity of human frontoparietal and ventral visual attention networks in emotional scene perception. Neuroscience 2014; 277:229-38. [PMID: 25018086 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2014] [Revised: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 07/02/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Electrocortical and hemodynamic measures reliably identify enhanced activity in the ventral and dorsal visual cortices during the perception of emotionally arousing versus neutral images, an effect that may reflect directive feedback from the subcortical amygdala. However, other brain regions strongly modulate visual attention, such as frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Here we employ rapid sampling of BOLD signal (4 Hz) in the amygdala, fusiform gyrus (FG), FEF and IPS in 42 human participants as they viewed a series of emotional and neutral natural scene photographs balanced for luminosity and complexity, to test whether emotional discrimination is evident in dorsal structures prior to such discrimination in the amygdala and FG. Granger causality analyses were used to assess directional connectivity within dorsal and ventral networks. Results demonstrate emotionally-enhanced peak BOLD signal in the amygdala, FG, FEF, and IPS, with the onset of BOLD signal discrimination occurring between 2 and 3s after stimulus onset in ventral structures, and between 4 and 5s in FEF and IPS. Granger causality estimates yield stronger directional connectivity from IPS to FEF than the reverse in this emotional picture paradigm. Consistent with a reentrant perspective of emotional scene perception, greater directional connectivity was found from the amygdala to FG compared to the reverse. These data support a perspective in which the registration of emotional scene content is orchestrated by the amygdala and rostral inferotemporal visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sabatinelli
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
| | - D W Frank
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - T J Wanger
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - M Dhamala
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Neuroscience Institute, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States
| | - B M Adhikari
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Neuroscience Institute, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States
| | - X Li
- Department of Computer Science, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States
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25
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Geng JJ, Vossel S. Re-evaluating the role of TPJ in attentional control: contextual updating? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:2608-20. [PMID: 23999082 PMCID: PMC3878596 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 286] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2013] [Revised: 08/13/2013] [Accepted: 08/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is widely considered as part of a network that reorients attention to task-relevant, but currently unattended stimuli (Corbetta and Shulman, 2002). Despite the prevalence of this theory in cognitive neuroscience, there is little direct evidence for the principal hypothesis that TPJ sends an early reorientation signal that "circuit breaks" attentional processing in regions of the dorsal attentional network (e.g., the frontal eye fields) or is completely right lateralized during attentional processing. In this review, we examine both functional neuroimaging work on TPJ in the attentional literature as well as anatomical findings. We first critically evaluate the idea that TPJ reorients attention and is right lateralized; we then suggest that TPJ signals might rather reflect post-perceptual processes involved in contextual updating and adjustments of top-down expectations; and then finally discuss how these ideas relate to the electrophysiological (P300) literature, and to TPJ findings in other cognitive and social domains. We conclude that while much work is needed to define the computational functions of regions encapsulated as TPJ, there is now substantial evidence that it is not specialized for stimulus-driven attentional reorienting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy J. Geng
- Center for Mind and Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl., Davis, CA, USA
| | - Simone Vossel
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, WC1N 3BG London, UK
- Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience & Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Juelich, 52425 Juelich, Germany
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26
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Nozari N, Thompson-Schill SL. More attention when speaking: does it help or does it hurt? Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:2770-80. [PMID: 24012690 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2013] [Revised: 08/13/2013] [Accepted: 08/26/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Paying selective attention to a word in a multi-word utterance results in a decreased probability of error on that word (benefit), but an increased probability of error on the other words (cost). We ask whether excitation of the prefrontal cortex helps or hurts this cost. One hypothesis (the resource hypothesis) predicts a decrease in the cost due to the deployment of more attentional resources, while another (the focus hypothesis) predicts even greater costs due to further fine-tuning of selective attention. Our results are more consistent with the focus hypothesis: prefrontal stimulation caused a reliable increase in the benefit and a marginal increase in the cost of selective attention. To ensure that the effects are due to changes to the prefrontal cortex, we provide two checks: We show that the pattern of results is quite different if, instead, the primary motor cortex is stimulated. We also show that the stimulation-related benefits in the verbal task correlate with the stimulation-related benefits in an N-back task, which is known to tap into a prefrontal function. Our results shed light on how selective attention affects language production, and more generally, on how selective attention affects production of a sequence over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazbanou Nozari
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Goddard Labs, 3710 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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27
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The brain's silent messenger: using selective attention to decode human thought for brain-based communication. J Neurosci 2013; 33:9385-93. [PMID: 23719806 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.5577-12.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The interpretation of human thought from brain activity, without recourse to speech or action, is one of the most provoking and challenging frontiers of modern neuroscience. In particular, patients who are fully conscious and awake, yet, due to brain damage, are unable to show any behavioral responsivity, expose the limits of the neuromuscular system and the necessity for alternate forms of communication. Although it is well established that selective attention can significantly enhance the neural representation of attended sounds, it remains, thus far, untested as a response modality for brain-based communication. We asked whether its effect could be reliably used to decode answers to binary (yes/no) questions. Fifteen healthy volunteers answered questions (e.g., "Do you have brothers or sisters?") in the fMRI scanner, by selectively attending to the appropriate word ("yes" or "no"). Ninety percent of the answers were decoded correctly based on activity changes within the attention network. The majority of volunteers conveyed their answers with less than 3 min of scanning, suggesting that this technique is suited for communication in a reasonable amount of time. Formal comparison with the current best-established fMRI technique for binary communication revealed improved individual success rates and scanning times required to detect responses. This novel fMRI technique is intuitive, easy to use in untrained participants, and reliably robust within brief scanning times. Possible applications include communication with behaviorally nonresponsive patients.
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28
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Kubit B, Jack AI. Rethinking the role of the rTPJ in attention and social cognition in light of the opposing domains hypothesis: findings from an ALE-based meta-analysis and resting-state functional connectivity. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:323. [PMID: 23847497 PMCID: PMC3707078 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) has been associated with two apparently disparate functional roles: in attention and in social cognition. According to one account, the rTPJ initiates a “circuit-breaking” signal that interrupts ongoing attentional processes, effectively reorienting attention. It is argued this primary function of the rTPJ has been extended beyond attention, through a process of evolutionarily cooption, to play a role in social cognition. We propose an alternative account, according to which the capacity for social cognition depends on a network which is both distinct from and in tension with brain areas involved in focused attention and target detection: the default mode network (DMN). Theory characterizing the rTPJ based on the area's purported role in reorienting may be falsely guided by the co-occurrence of two distinct effects in contiguous regions: activation of the supramarginal gyrus (SMG), associated with its functional role in target detection; and the transient release, during spatial reorienting, of suppression of the angular gyrus (AG) associated with focused attention. Findings based on meta-analysis and resting functional connectivity are presented which support this alternative account. We find distinct regions, possessing anti-correlated patterns of resting connectivity, associated with social reasoning (AG) and target detection (SMG) at the rTPJ. The locus for reorienting was spatially intermediate between the AG and SMG and showed a pattern of connectivity with similarities to social reasoning and target detection seeds. These findings highlight a general methodological concern for brain imaging. Given evidence that certain tasks not only activate some areas but also suppress activity in other areas, it is suggested that researchers need to distinguish two distinct putative mechanisms, either of which may produce an increase in activity in a brain area: functional engagement in the task vs. release of suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Kubit
- Department of Psychology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
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Zhou P, Liu X. Attentional modulation of emotional conflict processing with flanker tasks. PLoS One 2013; 8:e60548. [PMID: 23544155 PMCID: PMC3609783 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Accepted: 02/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion processing has been shown to acquire priority by biasing allocation of attentional resources. Aversive images or fearful expressions are processed quickly and automatically. Many existing findings suggested that processing of emotional information was pre-attentive, largely immune from attentional control. Other studies argued that attention gated the processing of emotion. To tackle this controversy, the current study examined whether and to what degrees attention modulated processing of emotion using a stimulus-response-compatibility (SRC) paradigm. We conducted two flanker experiments using color scale faces in neutral expressions or gray scale faces in emotional expressions. We found SRC effects for all three dimensions (color, gender, and emotion) and SRC effects were larger when the conflicts were task relevant than when they were task irrelevant, suggesting that conflict processing of emotion was modulated by attention, similar to those of color and face identity (gender). However, task modulation on color SRC effect was significantly greater than that on gender or emotion SRC effect, indicating that processing of salient information was modulated by attention to a lesser degree than processing of non-emotional stimuli. We proposed that emotion processing can be influenced by attentional control, but at the same time salience of emotional information may bias toward bottom-up processing, rendering less top-down modulation than that on non-emotional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingyan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xun Liu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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Shafer AT, Dolcos F. Neural correlates of opposing effects of emotional distraction on perception and episodic memory: an event-related FMRI investigation. Front Integr Neurosci 2012; 6:70. [PMID: 23049502 PMCID: PMC3446246 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2012.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2012] [Accepted: 08/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A main question in emotion and memory literature concerns the relationship between the immediate impact of emotional distraction on perception and the long-term impact of emotion on memory. While previous research shows both automatic and resource-mediated mechanisms to be involved in initial emotion processing and memory, it remains unclear what the exact relationship between the immediate and long-term effects is, and how this relationship may change as a function of manipulations at perception favoring the engagement of either more automatic or mediated mechanisms. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we varied the degree of resource availability for processing task-irrelevant emotional information, to determine how the initial (impairing) impact of emotional distraction related to the long-term (enhancing) impact of emotion on memory. Results showed that a direct relationship between emotional distraction and memory was dependent on automatic mechanisms, as this was found only under conditions of limited resource availability and engagement of amygdala (AMY)-hippocampal (HC) mechanisms to both impairing and enhancing effects. A hemispheric disassociation was also identified in AMY-HC, where while both sides were associated with emotional distraction and left AMY and anterior HC were linked to emotional memory, functional asymmetry was only identified in the posterior HC, with only the left side contributing to emotional memory. Finally, areas dissociating between the two opposing effects included the medial frontal, precentral, superior temporal, and middle occipital gyri (linked to emotional distraction), and the superior parietal cortex (linked to emotional memory). These findings demonstrate the relationship between emotional distraction and memory is context dependent and that specific brain regions may be more or less susceptible to the direction of emotional modulation (increased or decreased), depending on the task manipulation, and processes investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea T Shafer
- Centre for Neuroscience, University of Alberta Edmonton, AB, Canada
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