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Derntl B, Eber CH, Kogler L, Rehbein E, Sundstöm-Poromaa I, Morawetz C. Estradiol modulates changes in effective connectivity in emotion regulation networks. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 167:107103. [PMID: 38924828 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107103] [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] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Hormonal changes in ovarian hormones like estradiol (E2) during the menstrual cycle affect emotional processes, including emotion recognition, memory, and regulation. So far, the neural underpinnings of the effect of E2 on emotional experience have been investigated using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional connectivity. In the present study, we examined whether the intrinsic network dynamics at rest (i.e., directed effective connectivity) related to emotion regulation are (1) modulated by E2 levels and (2) linked to behavioral emotion regulation ability. Hence, 29 naturally cycling women participated in two resting-state fMRI scans in their early follicular phase after being administered a placebo or an E2 valerate, respectively. Emotion regulation ability was assessed using a standard emotion regulation task in which participants were asked to down-regulate their emotions in response to negative images. The regions of two functionally predefined neural networks related to emotional down-regulation and reactivity were used to investigate effective connectivity at rest using spectral dynamic causal modelling. We found that E2, compared to placebo, resulted in changes in effective connectivity in both networks. In the regulation network, prefrontal regions showed distinct connectivity in the E2 compared to the placebo condition, while mixed results evolved in the emotional reactivity network. Stepwise regressions revealed that in the E2 condition a connection from the parietal to the prefrontal cortex predicted regulation ability. Our results demonstrate that E2 levels influence effective connectivity in networks underlying emotion regulation and emotional reactivity. Thus, E2 and its potential modification via hormonal administration may play a supporting role in the treatment of mental disorders that show a dysregulation of emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Women's Mental Health & Brain Function, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner site Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Corinna H Eber
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Women's Mental Health & Brain Function, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner site Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Rehbein
- Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany; Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, Berlin, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research, München-Neuherberg, Germany
| | | | - Carmen Morawetz
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
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Scarth M, Hauger LE, Thorsby PM, Leknes S, Hullstein IR, Westlye LT, Bjørnebekk A. Supraphysiological testosterone levels from anabolic steroid use and reduced sensitivity to negative facial expressions in men. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:701-715. [PMID: 37993638 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06497-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are used to improve physical performance and appearance, but have been associated with deficits in social cognitive functioning. Approximately 30% of people who use AAS develop a dependence, increasing the risk for undesired effects. OBJECTIVES To assess the relationship between AAS use (current/previous), AAS dependence, and the ability to recognize emotional facial expressions, and investigate the potential mediating role of hormone levels. METHODS In total 156 male weightlifters, including those with current (n = 45) or previous (n = 34) AAS use and never-using controls (n = 77), completed a facial Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). Participants were presented with faces expressing one out of six emotions (sadness, happiness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise) and were instructed to indicate which of the six emotions each face displayed. ERT accuracy and response time were recorded and evaluated for association with AAS use status, AAS dependence, and serum reproductive hormone levels. Mediation models were used to evaluate the mediating role of androgens in the relationship between AAS use and ERT performance. RESULTS Compared to never-using controls, men currently using AAS exhibited lower recognition accuracy for facial emotional expressions, particularly anger (Cohen's d = -0.57, pFDR = 0.03) and disgust (d = -0.51, pFDR = 0.05). Those with AAS dependence (n = 47) demonstrated worse recognition of fear relative to men without dependence (d = 0.58, p = 0.03). Recognition of disgust was negatively correlated with serum free testosterone index (FTI); however, FTI did not significantly mediate the association between AAS use and recognition of disgust. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate impaired facial emotion recognition among men currently using AAS compared to controls. While further studies are needed to investigate potential mechanisms, our analysis did not support a simple mediation effect of serum FTI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Scarth
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Research Group, Section for Clinical Addiction Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Postbox 4959, Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway.
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Lisa Evju Hauger
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Research Group, Section for Clinical Addiction Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Postbox 4959, Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway
| | - Per Medbøe Thorsby
- Hormone laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biochemical endocrinology and metabolism research group, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingunn R Hullstein
- Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Astrid Bjørnebekk
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Research Group, Section for Clinical Addiction Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Postbox 4959, Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway
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Boboc B, Oinonen KA. Symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and cycle phase are associated with enhanced facial emotion detection: An online cross-sectional study. WOMEN'S HEALTH (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 20:17455057241259176. [PMID: 38877749 PMCID: PMC11179547 DOI: 10.1177/17455057241259176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a depressive disorder affecting 5%-8% of people with menstrual cycles. Despite evidence that facial emotion detection is altered in depressive disorders, with enhanced detection of negative emotions (negativity bias), minimal research exists on premenstrual dysphoric disorder. OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms and the premenstrual phase on accuracy and intensity at detection of facial emotions. DESIGN Cross-sectional quasi-experimental design. METHOD The Facial Emotion Detection Task was administered to 72 individuals assigned female at birth with no premenstrual dysphoric disorder (n = 30), and provisional PMDD (n = 42), based on a retrospective Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition-based measure of premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Facial emotion detection was examined both irrespective of menstrual cycle phase, and as a function of premenstrual phase (yes, no). The task used neutral-to-emotional facial expression morphs (15 images/morph). Participants indicated the emotion detected for each image within the progressive intensity morph. For all six basic emotions (sad, angry, fearful, happy, disgust, and surprise), two scores were calculated: accuracy of responses and the intensity within the morph at which the correct emotion was first detected (image number). RESULTS Individuals reporting moderate/severe symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder had more accurate and earlier detection of disgust, regardless of cycle phase. In addition, those with provisional premenstrual dysphoric disorder detected sad emotions earlier. A premenstrual dysphoric disorder group × cycle phase interaction also emerged: individuals reporting premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms were more accurate at detecting facial emotions during the premenstrual phase compared to the rest of the cycle, with a large effect size for sad emotions. CONCLUSION The findings suggest enhanced facial emotion processing in individuals reporting symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, particularly for sadness and disgust. However, replication is required with larger samples and prospective designs. This premenstrual dysphoric disorder premenstrual emotion detection advantage suggests an adaptive cognitive mechanism in premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and challenges stigma surrounding premenstrual experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bianca Boboc
- Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
| | - Kirsten A Oinonen
- Department of Psychology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
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Rafiee Y, Heine C, Schacht A. Does the interplay of emotion-related personality traits and reproductive hormones predict individual variation in emotion recognition? PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295176. [PMID: 38117736 PMCID: PMC10732445 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Person-related variation has been identified in many socio-cognitive domains, and there is evidence for links between certain personality traits and individual emotion recognition. Some studies, utilizing the menstrual cycle as a hormonal model, attempted to demonstrate that hormonal fluctuations could predict variations in emotion recognition, but with merely inconsistent findings. Remarkably, the interplay between hormone fluctuations and other person-related factors that could potentially influence emotion recognition remains understudied. In the current study, we examined if the interactions of emotion-related personality traits, namely openness, extraversion, and neuroticism, and the ovulatory cycle predict individual variation in facial emotion recognition in healthy naturally cycling women. We collected salivary ovarian hormones measures from N = 129 (n = 72 validated via LH test) women across their late follicular and mid-luteal phases of the ovulatory cycle. The results revealed a negative association between neuroticism scores and emotion recognition when progesterone levels (within-subject) were elevated. However, the results did not indicate a significant moderating influence of neuroticism, openness, and extraversion on emotion recognition across phases (late follicular vs. mid-luteal) of the menstrual cycle. Additionally, there was no significant interaction between openness or extraversion and ovarian hormone levels in predicting facial emotion recognition. The current study suggests future lines of research to compare these findings in a clinical setting, as both neuroticism and ovarian hormone dysregulation are associated with some psychiatric disorders such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasaman Rafiee
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus “Primate Cognition”, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Charlotte Heine
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anne Schacht
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz ScienceCampus “Primate Cognition”, Göttingen, Germany
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Brouillard A, Davignon LM, Turcotte AM, Marin MF. Morphologic alterations of the fear circuitry: the role of sex hormones and oral contraceptives. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1228504. [PMID: 38027091 PMCID: PMC10661904 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1228504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Endogenous sex hormones and oral contraceptives (OCs) have been shown to influence key regions implicated in fear processing. While OC use has been found to impact brain morphology, methodological challenges remain to be addressed, such as avoiding selection bias between OC users and non-users, as well as examining potential lasting effects of OC intake. Objective We investigated the current and lasting effects of OC use, as well as the interplay between the current hormonal milieu and history of hormonal contraception use on structural correlates of the fear circuitry. We also examined the role of endogenous and exogenous sex hormones within this network. Methods We recruited healthy adults aged 23-35 who identified as women currently using (n = 62) or having used (n = 37) solely combined OCs, women who never used any hormonal contraceptives (n = 40), or men (n = 41). Salivary endogenous sex hormones and current users' salivary ethinyl estradiol (EE) were assessed using liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging, we extracted surface-based gray matter volumes (GMVs) and cortical thickness (CT) for regions of interest of the fear circuitry. Exploratory whole-brain analyses were conducted with surface-based and voxel-based morphometry methods. Results Compared to men, all three groups of women exhibited a larger GMV of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, while only current users showed a thinner ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Irrespective of the menstrual cycle phase, never users exhibited a thicker right anterior insular cortex than past users. While associations with endogenous sex hormones remain unclear, we showed that EE dosage in current users had a greater influence on brain anatomy compared to salivary EE levels and progestin androgenicity, with lower doses being associated with smaller cortical GMVs. Discussion Our results highlight a sex difference for the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex GMV (a fear-promoting region), as well as a reduced CT of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (a fear-inhibiting region) specific to current OC use. Precisely, this finding was driven by lower EE doses. These findings may represent structural vulnerabilities to anxiety and stress-related disorders. We showed little evidence of durable anatomical effects, suggesting that OC intake can (reversibly) affect fear-related brain morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Brouillard
- Research Center of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Lisa-Marie Davignon
- Research Center of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Marie-France Marin
- Research Center of the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Oral contraceptives and cognition: A systematic review. Front Neuroendocrinol 2022; 69:101052. [PMID: 36581228 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2022.101052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Oral contraceptives (OCs) are widely used. While the physical impacts of OCs have been well researched, there is increasing interest on potential impacts of OCs on brain, behaviour and cognition. We systematically reviewed the literature to determine the influence of OCs on cognition, including neurocognition, social cognition and emotional processing. Inclusionary criteria were: (a) premenopausal females taking OCs; (b) a control group of naturally cycling women or OCs users in their inactive (i.e. 'sugar pill') phase; and (c) at least one measure of performance on a neurocognitive or social cognitive task. The systematic review found that OC use was associated with some differences in performance on all cognitive domains examined (with the exception of basic auditory attention and psychomotor performance). Several factors were identified that are likely to modulate the way OCs influence cognition, including task related factors, OC type and control group characteristics. Directions for future research are highlighted.
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McCrackin SD, Ristic J. Emotional context can reduce the negative impact of face masks on inferring emotions. Front Psychol 2022; 13:928524. [PMID: 36211857 PMCID: PMC9537697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.928524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While face masks prevent the spread of disease, they occlude lower face parts and thus impair facial emotion recognition. Since emotions are often also contextually situated, it remains unknown whether providing a descriptive emotional context alongside the facial emotion may reduce some of the negative impact of facial occlusion on emotional communication. To address this question, here we examined how emotional inferences were affected by facial occlusion and the availability of emotional context. Participants were presented with happy or sad emotional faces who were either fully visible or partially obstructed by an opaque surgical mask. The faces were shown either within an emotionally congruent (e.g., "Her cat was found/lost yesterday afternoon") or neutral ("Get ready to see the next person") context. Participants were asked to infer the emotional states of the protagonists by rating their emotional intensity and valence. Facial occlusion by masks impacted the ratings, such that protagonists were judged to feel less intense and more neutral emotions when they wore masks relative to when their face was fully visible. Importantly, this negative impact of visual occlusion by mask was reduced but not fully eliminated when the faces were presented within a congruent emotional context. Thus, visual occlusion of facial emotions impairs understanding of emotions, with this negative effect of face masks partially mitigated by the availability of a larger emotional context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jelena Ristic
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Kimmig ACS, Bischofberger JA, Birrenbach AD, Drotleff B, Lämmerhofer M, Sundström-Poromaa I, Derntl B. No Evidence for a Role of Oral Contraceptive-Use in Emotion Recognition But Higher Negativity Bias in Early Follicular Women. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 15:773961. [PMID: 35126066 PMCID: PMC8814336 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.773961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Accuracy in facial emotion recognition has shown to vary with ovarian hormones, both in naturally cycling women, as well as in women taking oral contraceptives. It remains uncertain however, if specific – endogenous and exogenous – hormonal levels selectively impact recognition of certain basic emotions (or neutral faces) and if this relationship coincides with certain affective states. Therefore, we investigated 86 women under different hormonal conditions and compared their performance in an emotion recognition task as well as self-reported measures of affective states. Based on self-reported cycle days and ovulation testing, the participants have been split into groups of naturally cycling women during their early follicular phase (fNC, n = 30), naturally cycling women during their peri-ovulatory phase (oNC, n = 26), and women taking oral contraceptives (OC, n = 30). Participants were matched for age and did not differ in education or neuropsychological abilities. Self-reported anxiety and depressive affective state scores were similar across groups, but current affective state turned out to be significantly more negative in fNC women. Independent of negative affective state, fNC women showed a significantly higher negativity bias in recognizing neutral faces, resulting in a lower recognition accuracy of neutral faces compared to oNC and OC women. In the OC group only, negative affective state was associated with lower recognition accuracy and longer response times for neutral faces. Furthermore, there was a significant, positive association between disgust recognition accuracy and negative affective state in the fNC group. Low progesterone levels during the early follicular phase were linked to higher negative affective state, whereas in the peri-ovulatory phase they were linked to elevated positive affective state. Overall, previous findings regarding impaired emotion recognition during OC-use were not confirmed. Synthetic hormones did not show a correlation with emotion recognition performance and affective state. Considering the important role of emotion recognition in social communication, the elevated negativity bias in neutral face recognition found for fNC women may adversely impact social interactions in this hormonal phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Christin Sophie Kimmig
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Ann-Christin Sophie Kimmig,
| | - Jasper Amadeus Bischofberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Annika Dorothea Birrenbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Drotleff
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael Lämmerhofer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Tübingen Neuro Campus, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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