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Zhang X, Luo L, Hu J, Gao Z, Gao S. More Exposure to Childhood Trauma Associates with Reduced Displeasure at Self-Referential Criticism. JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT TRAUMA 2022; 15:893-898. [PMID: 35958712 PMCID: PMC9360388 DOI: 10.1007/s40653-021-00429-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Childhood trauma has been shown to contribute to low self-concept, potentially affecting trauma survivors' perception of social evaluations from others. However, there is little evidence for the association between traumatic experience in childhood and adult processing of evaluative verbal cues related to self. Therefore, the present study aimed to address whether and how cognitive and affective responses to self-referential praise and criticism would vary with different forms of childhood trauma. We engaged undergraduates and postgraduates in completing the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and an evaluation task in which participants rated self-related praising and criticizing sentences for pleasantness and truthfulness. These ratings and CTQ scores were subjected to correlation and regression analyses. Positive correlations were found between the pleasantness ratings for criticism and the scores of the CTQ full scale (r 90 = .314, p = 0.0011) and two subscales for physical abuse (r 90 = .347, p = 0.0004) and physical neglect (r 90 = .335, p = 0.0005), indicating that higher scores in the scales were associated with reduced unpleasantness for self-related criticism. The regression analysis further revealed that 14.2% variances of emotional response to criticism could be explained by experience in physical abuse (β = .452, p = .022) and physical neglect (β = .387, p = .027). These findings suggest that childhood exposure to traumatic experience, particularly physical abuse and neglect, leads to attenuated emotional responses to self-referential criticism possibly via the mediation of self-concept.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinying Zhang
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Lizhu Luo
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiehui Hu
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhao Gao
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shan Gao
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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McIver TA, Craig W, Bosma RL, Chiarella J, Klassen J, Sandra A, Goegan S, Booij L. Empathy, Defending, and Functional Connectivity While Witnessing Social Exclusion. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:352-367. [PMID: 35659207 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2086618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Peers are present for most bullying episodes. Peers who witness bullying can play an important role in either stopping or perpetuating the behaviour. Defending can greatly benefit victimized peers. Empathy is strongly associated with defending. Yet, less is known about defenders' neural response to witnessing social distress, and how this response may relate to the link between empathy and defending. Forty-six first-year undergraduate students (Mage = 17.7; 37 women), with varied history of peer defending, underwent fMRI scanning while witnessing a depiction of social exclusion. Functional connectivity analysis was performed across brain regions that are involved in cognitive empathy, empathetic distress, and compassion. History of defending was positively associated with functional connectivity (Exclusion > Inclusion) between the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) - medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and right OFC - left and right amygdalae. Defending was negatively associated with functional connectivity between the left OFC - anterior cingulate cortex. The relationship between history of defending and empathy (specifically, empathetic perspective taking) was moderated by functional connectivity of the right OFC - left amygdala. These findings suggest that coactivation of brain regions involved in compassionate emotion regulation and empathetic distress play a role in the relationship between empathy and peer defending.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa A McIver
- Queen's University, Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Wendy Craig
- Queen's University, Department of Psychology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rachael L Bosma
- Queen's University, Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julian Chiarella
- Concordia University, Department of Psychology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Janell Klassen
- Queen's University, Department of Psychology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aislinn Sandra
- Queen's University, Department of Psychology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah Goegan
- Queen's University, Department of Psychology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Linda Booij
- Queen's University, Department of Psychology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.,Concordia University, Department of Psychology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Arioli M, Cattaneo Z, Ricciardi E, Canessa N. Overlapping and specific neural correlates for empathizing, affective mentalizing, and cognitive mentalizing: A coordinate-based meta-analytic study. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:4777-4804. [PMID: 34322943 PMCID: PMC8410528 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
While the discussion on the foundations of social understanding mainly revolves around the notions of empathy, affective mentalizing, and cognitive mentalizing, their degree of overlap versus specificity is still unclear. We took a meta-analytic approach to unveil the neural bases of cognitive mentalizing, affective mentalizing, and empathy, both in healthy individuals and pathological conditions characterized by social deficits such as schizophrenia and autism. We observed partially overlapping networks for cognitive and affective mentalizing in the medial prefrontal, posterior cingulate, and lateral temporal cortex, while empathy mainly engaged fronto-insular, somatosensory, and anterior cingulate cortex. Adjacent process-specific regions in the posterior lateral temporal, ventrolateral, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex might underpin a transition from abstract representations of cognitive mental states detached from sensory facets to emotionally-charged representations of affective mental states. Altered mentalizing-related activity involved distinct sectors of the posterior lateral temporal cortex in schizophrenia and autism, while only the latter group displayed abnormal empathy related activity in the amygdala. These data might inform the design of rehabilitative treatments for social cognitive deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Nicola Canessa
- ICoN center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory of Pavia Institute, Pavia, Italy
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Zhang W, Zhou Y, Hu J, Gao Z, Gao S. Anxiety- and Depression-Related Individual Differences in Affective and Cognitive Judgments of Self-Referential Praise and Criticism. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2021.40.3.201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: While praise is generally pleasant and criticism unpleasant, individual differences in response to social evaluations arise from distinct personal traits and states. Here, we investigate how processing of self-referential praise and criticism varies with personal attributes related to anxiety and depression, two highly prevalent and often chronic affective conditions. Methods: Ninety-three healthy participants first completed questionnaires for anxiety- and depression-related traits and states, and then they were scheduled to perform an evaluation task to rate praise and criticism for pleasantness and truthfulness. Results: Fear of negative evaluation positively correlated with unpleasantness of criticism. Trait- and state-anxiety and depression were positively associated with the truthfulness of criticism but negatively associated with that of praise. We further divided participants into high- and low-scoring groups based on the medians of their scores of each scale that displayed significant correlations with comment ratings and found group differences in their responses to praise and criticism. Discussion: The findings suggest that more highly anxious and depressed individuals may be subject to negatively-distorted self-representations in response to self-referential evaluations, thus exhibiting attenuated rejection for criticism or reduced acceptance for praise, which may have important implications not only for facilitating daily social interactions but also for subclinical and clinical diagnosis and treatment given that affective and cognitive processing of self-referential evaluations serves as a critical process exhibiting the sense of the self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanyu Zhang
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
| | - Yunxiao Zhou
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
| | - Jiehui Hu
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
| | - Zhao Gao
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
| | - Shan Gao
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
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Murray RJ, Apazoglou K, Celen Z, Dayer A, Aubry JM, Ville DVD, Vuilleumier P, Piguet C. Maladaptive emotion regulation traits predict altered corticolimbic recovery from psychosocial stress. J Affect Disord 2021; 280:54-63. [PMID: 33202338 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.09.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adaptive recovery from stress promotes healthy cognitive affective functioning, whereas maladaptive recovery is linked to poor psychological outcomes. Neural regions, like the anterior cingulate and hippocampus, play critical roles in psychosocial stress responding and serve as hubs in the corticolimbic neural system. To date, however, it is unknown how cognitive emotion regulation traits (cER), adaptive and maladaptive, influence corticolimbic stress recovery. Here, we examined acute psychosocial stress neural recovery, accounting for cER. METHODS Functional neuroimaging data were collected while forty-seven healthy participants performed blocks of challenging, time-sensitive, mental calculations. Participants immediately received performance feedback (positive/negative/neutral) and their ranking, relative to fictitious peers. Participants rested for 90 seconds after each feedback, allowing for a neural stress recovery period. Collected before scanning, cER scores were correlated with neural activity during each recovery condition. RESULTS Negative feedback recovery yielded increased activity within the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, but this effect was ultimately explained by maladaptive cER (M-cER), like rumination. Isolating positive after-effects (i.e. positive > negative recovery) yielded a significant positive correlation between M-cER and the anterior cingulate, anterior insula, hippocampus, and striatum. CONCLUSIONS We provide first evidence of M-cER to predict altered neural recovery from positive stress within corticolimbic regions. Positive feedback may be potentially threatening to individuals with poor stress regulation. Identifying positive stress-induced activation patterns in corticolimbic neural networks linked to M-cER creates the possibility to identify these neural responses as risk factors for social-emotional dysregulation subsequent to rewarding social information, often witnessed in affective disorders, like depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Murray
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Kalliopi Apazoglou
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Neuroscience Department, Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Zeynep Celen
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Dayer
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Mood Disorder Unit, Psychiatric Specialties Service, Geneva University Hospital, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Michel Aubry
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Mood Disorder Unit, Psychiatric Specialties Service, Geneva University Hospital, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Dimitri Van De Ville
- Medical Image Processing Laboratory, Center for Neuroprosthetics, Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Neuroscience Department, Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Camille Piguet
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Mood Disorder Unit, Psychiatric Specialties Service, Geneva University Hospital, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
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Gao S, Luo L, Gou T. Criticism in a foreign language hurts less. Cogn Emot 2019; 34:822-830. [PMID: 31537167 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2019.1668751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding emotional resonances to social evaluations delivered in different languages may contribute to favourable social communication in today's increasingly internationalised world. The present study thus investigated the language-induced emotionality differences by presenting Chinese-English bilinguals with self-referential praising and criticising statements in both their native Chinese and foreign English languages and asking them to make their affective and cognitive judgments on the comments, namely, to rate how pleased they were by the comments and how truly the comments described their attributes. Results revealed that while criticism was rated more unpleasant than praise in both languages, the unpleasantness was reduced by the use of English as compared to Chinese. Intriguingly, no cross-language differences were found in the cognitive assessment. Our findings may shed light on facilitating affective social communication using different languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Gao
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.,The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
| | - Lizhu Luo
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
| | - Ting Gou
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
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