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Barton S, Zovko A, Müller C, Krabichler Q, Schulze J, Wagner S, Grinevich V, Shamay-Tsoory S, Hurlemann R. A translational neuroscience perspective on loneliness: Narrative review focusing on social interaction, illness and oxytocin. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024:105734. [PMID: 38796125 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
This review addresses key findings on loneliness from the social, neurobiological and clinical fields. From a translational perspective, results from studies in humans and animals are included, with a focus on social interaction, mental and physical illness and the role of oxytocin in loneliness. In terms of social interactions, lonely individuals tend to exhibit a range of abnormal behaviors based on dysfunctional social cognitions that make it difficult for them to form meaningful relationships. Neurobiologically, a link has been established between loneliness and the hypothalamic peptide hormone oxytocin. Since social interactions and especially social touch regulate oxytocin signaling, lonely individuals may have an oxytocin imbalance, which in turn affects their health and well-being. Clinically, loneliness is a predictor of physical and mental illness and leads to increased morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that psychopathology is both a cause and a consequence of loneliness. The final section of this review summarizes the findings from social, neurobiological and clinical perspectives to present a new model of the complex construct of loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Barton
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Ana Zovko
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Christina Müller
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Quirin Krabichler
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Janna Schulze
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Shlomo Wagner
- Dep. of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa, Israel
| | - Valery Grinevich
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Simone Shamay-Tsoory
- Dept. of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa, Israel
| | - René Hurlemann
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
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Stevens L, Bregulla M, Scheele D. Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch - Neural and endocrine pathways. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105595. [PMID: 38373642 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
Trauma can shape the way an individual experiences the world and interacts with other people. Touch is a key component of social interactions, but surprisingly little is known about how trauma exposure influences the processing of social touch. In this review, we examine possible neurobiological pathways through which trauma can influence touch processing and lead to touch aversion and avoidance in trauma-exposed individuals. Emerging evidence indicates that trauma may affect sensory touch thresholds by modulating activity in the primary sensory cortex and posterior insula. Disturbances in multisensory integration and oxytocin reactivity combined with diminished reward-related and anxiolytic responses may induce a bias towards negative appraisal of touch contexts. Furthermore, hippocampus deactivation during social touch may reflect a dissociative state. These changes depend not only on the type and severity of the trauma but also on the features of the touch. We hypothesise that disrupted touch processing may impair social interactions and confer elevated risk for future stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Stevens
- Social Neuroscience, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Madeleine Bregulla
- Social Neuroscience, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
| | - Dirk Scheele
- Social Neuroscience, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
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Loos HM, Schaal B, Pause BM, Smeets MAM, Ferdenzi C, Roberts SC, de Groot J, Lübke KT, Croy I, Freiherr J, Bensafi M, Hummel T, Havlíček J. Past, Present, and Future of Human Chemical Communication Research. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023:17456916231188147. [PMID: 37669015 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231188147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Although chemical signaling is an essential mode of communication in most vertebrates, it has long been viewed as having negligible effects in humans. However, a growing body of evidence shows that the sense of smell affects human behavior in social contexts ranging from affiliation and parenting to disease avoidance and social threat. This article aims to (a) introduce research on human chemical communication in the historical context of the behavioral sciences; (b) provide a balanced overview of recent advances that describe individual differences in the emission of semiochemicals and the neural mechanisms underpinning their perception, that together demonstrate communicative function; and (c) propose directions for future research toward unraveling the molecular principles involved and understanding the variability in the generation, transmission, and reception of chemical signals in increasingly ecologically valid conditions. Achieving these goals will enable us to address some important societal challenges but are within reach only with the aid of genuinely interdisciplinary approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helene M Loos
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Department of Sensory Analytics and Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV
| | - Benoist Schaal
- Development of Olfactory Cognition and Communication Lab, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, CNRS UMR 6265, Université de Bourgogne
| | - Bettina M Pause
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
| | | | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, Inserm U1028, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier
| | | | | | - Katrin T Lübke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
| | - Ilona Croy
- Institute for Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
| | - Jessica Freiherr
- Department of Sensory Analytics and Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
| | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, CNRS UMR 5292, Inserm U1028, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier
| | - Thomas Hummel
- Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden
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Hou W, Huang S, Li L, Guo X, He Z, Shang S, Jia Z, Zhang L, Qu Y, Huang C, Li Y, Li Y, Lv Z, Tai F. Oxytocin treatments or activation of the paraventricular nucleus-the shell of nucleus accumbens pathway reduce adverse effects of chronic social defeat stress on emotional and social behaviors in Mandarin voles. Neuropharmacology 2023; 230:109482. [PMID: 36893984 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
Chronic social stress can cause psychological disease. Although oxytocin (OT) has been showed to modulate effects of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) on emotional and social behaviors, however, how OT circuits mediate effects of CSDS on emotional and social abnormalities remains unclear. Here, we found that repeated intraperitoneal OT administration in the process of CSDS buffered adverse effects of CSDS on emotional and social behaviors in mandarin voles (Microtus mandarinus) of both sexes except no effect on depression-like behavior of males. Repeated OT treatments during CSDS prevented decrease of oxytocin receptors in nucleus accumbens (NAc) in females, but produced no effects on males. Furthermore, using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs)-based chemogenetic tools, we determined that the activation of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN)-the shell of NAc (NAcs) projections before social defeat during CSDS process significantly prevented the increase of the anxiety-like behaviors and social avoidance induced by CSDS in both sexes, and reversed the depressive-like behaviors induced by CSDS only in females. Besides, optogenetic activation of PVN-NAcs projections after CSDS reduced anxiety-like behaviors and increased levels of sociality. Collectively, we suggest that PVN-NAcs projections modulate emotional and social behaviors during or after the process of CSDS sex-specifically, although AAV viruses did not specifically infect OT neurons. These findings offer potential targets for preventing or treating emotional and social disorders induced by chronic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Hou
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Shuying Huang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Lu Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Xing Guo
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Zhixiong He
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Shufeng Shang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China; College of Bioscience and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, 723000, China
| | - Ziyan Jia
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Lizi Zhang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Yishan Qu
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Caihong Huang
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Yin Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Yitong Li
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Zijian Lv
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China
| | - Fadao Tai
- Institute of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710062, China.
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Holz NE, Berhe O, Sacu S, Schwarz E, Tesarz J, Heim CM, Tost H. Early Social Adversity, Altered Brain Functional Connectivity, and Mental Health. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:430-441. [PMID: 36581495 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Early adverse environmental exposures during brain development are widespread risk factors for the onset of severe mental disorders and strong and consistent predictors of stress-related mental and physical illness and reduced life expectancy. Current evidence suggests that early negative experiences alter plasticity processes during developmentally sensitive time windows and affect the regular functional interaction of cortical and subcortical neural networks. This, in turn, may promote a maladapted development with negative consequences on the mental and physical health of exposed individuals. In this review, we discuss the role of functional magnetic resonance imaging-based functional connectivity phenotypes as potential biomarker candidates for the consequences of early environmental exposures-including but not limited to-childhood maltreatment. We take an expanded concept of developmentally relevant adverse experiences from infancy over childhood to adolescence as our starting point and focus our review of functional connectivity studies on a selected subset of functional magnetic resonance imaging-based phenotypes, including connectivity in the limbic and within the frontoparietal as well as default mode networks, for which we believe there is sufficient converging evidence for a more detailed discussion in a developmental context. Furthermore, we address specific methodological challenges and current knowledge gaps that complicate the interpretation of early stress effects on functional connectivity and deserve particular attention in future studies. Finally, we highlight the forthcoming prospects and challenges of this research area with regard to establishing functional connectivity measures as validated biomarkers for brain developmental processes and individual risk stratification and as target phenotypes for mechanism-based interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie E Holz
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Oksana Berhe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Seda Sacu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Emanuel Schwarz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jonas Tesarz
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine M Heim
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany; College of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
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Farruggia MC, Pellegrino R, Scheinost D. Functional Connectivity of the Chemosenses: A Review. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:865929. [PMID: 35813269 PMCID: PMC9257046 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.865929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional connectivity approaches have long been used in cognitive neuroscience to establish pathways of communication between and among brain regions. However, the use of these analyses to better understand how the brain processes chemosensory information remains nascent. In this review, we conduct a literature search of all functional connectivity papers of olfaction, gustation, and chemesthesis, with 103 articles discovered in total. These publications largely use approaches of seed-based functional connectivity and psychophysiological interactions, as well as effective connectivity approaches such as Granger Causality, Dynamic Causal Modeling, and Structural Equation Modeling. Regardless of modality, studies largely focus on elucidating neural correlates of stimulus qualities such as identity, pleasantness, and intensity, with task-based paradigms most frequently implemented. We call for further "model free" or data-driven approaches in predictive modeling to craft brain-behavior relationships that are free from a priori hypotheses and not solely based on potentially irreproducible literature. Moreover, we note a relative dearth of resting-state literature, which could be used to better understand chemosensory networks with less influence from motion artifacts induced via gustatory or olfactory paradigms. Finally, we note a lack of genomics data, which could clarify individual and heritable differences in chemosensory perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C. Farruggia
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States,*Correspondence: Michael C. Farruggia,
| | | | - Dustin Scheinost
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States,Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, New Haven, CT, United States,Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States,Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
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White-Traut R, Gillette P, Simpson P, Zhang L, Nazarloo HP, Carter CS. Early Postpartum Maternal and Newborn Responses to Auditory, Tactile, Visual, Vestibular, and Olfactory Stimuli. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2022; 51:402-417. [PMID: 35469779 DOI: 10.1016/j.jogn.2022.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare maternal psychological well-being, newborn behavior, and maternal and newborn salivary oxytocin (OT) and cortisol before and after two maternally administered multisensory behavioral interventions or an attention control group. DESIGN Randomized prospective clinical trial. SETTING U.S. Midwest community hospital. PARTICIPANTS Newborns and their mothers (n = 102 dyads) participated. Mothers gave birth vaginally at term gestation and had no physical or mental health diagnoses. Newborns with low Apgar scores, receipt of oxygen, suspected infection, or congenital anomalies were excluded. METHODS Dyads were randomly assigned to the auditory, tactile, visual, and vestibular (ATVV) intervention, the ATVV with odor from a baby lotion (ATVVO), or the attention control (AC) Group. Maternal psychological well-being, newborn behavior, and endocrine responses (salivary cortisol and OT) were measured before and after the intervention. RESULTS Newborns in the ATVV and ATVVO groups exhibited increases in potent engagement behaviors (p < .0001 and p = .001, respectively). Newborns in the AC group exhibited a decrease in potent engagement (p = .013) and an increase in potent disengagement (p = .029). Mothers in the ATVVO group exhibited an increase in OT (p = .01) and the largest change in OT (p = .02) compared to mothers in the ATVV and AC groups. We noted no change in maternal psychological well-being or newborn endocrine responses. CONCLUSION Inclusion of an odor via lotion with a behavioral intervention (ATVV) influenced maternal OT more than the behavioral intervention alone. Newborns were behaviorally responsive to the interventions; however, endocrine measures were not associated with intervention changes.
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Moog NK, Heim CM, Entringer S, Simhan HN, Wadhwa PD, Buss C. Transmission of the adverse consequences of childhood maltreatment across generations: Focus on gestational biology. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 215:173372. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Ellis BJ, Horn AJ, Carter CS, van IJzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ. Developmental programming of oxytocin through variation in early-life stress: Four meta-analyses and a theoretical reinterpretation. Clin Psychol Rev 2021; 86:101985. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Disorder- and emotional context-specific neurofunctional alterations during inhibitory control in generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2021; 30:102661. [PMID: 33866301 PMCID: PMC8060548 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
fMRI affective GO/NOGO tasks differentiates depression (MDD) from anxiety (GAD). MDD but not GAD showed impaired inhibitory control on the behavioral level. MDD exhibited decreased engagement of posterior frontal/mid-cingulate regions. The neural alterations were specific for MDD and inhibition in negative contexts. GAD showed intact inhibition and enhanced dlPFC activity relative to MDD.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are highly debilitating and often co-morbid disorders. The disorders exhibit partly overlapping dysregulations on the behavioral and neurofunctional level. The determination of disorder-specific behavioral and neurofunctional dysregulations may therefore promote neuro-mechanistic and diagnostic specificity. In order to determine disorder-specific alterations in the domain of emotion-cognition interactions the present study examined emotional context-specific inhibitory control in treatment-naïve MDD (n = 37) and GAD (n = 35) patients and healthy controls (n = 35). On the behavioral level MDD but not GAD exhibited impaired inhibitory control irrespective of emotional context. On the neural level, MDD-specific attenuated recruitment of inferior/medial parietal, posterior frontal, and mid-cingulate regions during inhibitory control were found during the negative context. GAD exhibited a stronger engagement of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex relative to MDD. Overall the findings from the present study suggest disorder- and emotional context-specific behavioral and neurofunctional inhibitory control dysregulations in major depression and may point to a depression-specific neuropathological and diagnostic marker.
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