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Qi S, Cross L, Wise T, Sui X, O'Doherty J, Mobbs D. The Role of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Spatial Margin of Safety Calculations. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1162222024. [PMID: 38997158 PMCID: PMC11340276 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1162-22.2024] [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: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Naturalistic observations show that animals pre-empt danger by moving to locations that increase their success in avoiding future threats. To test this in humans, we created a spatial margin of safety (MOS) decision task that quantifies pre-emptive avoidance by measuring the distance subjects place themselves to safety when facing different threats whose attack locations vary in predictability. Behavioral results show that human participants place themselves closer to safe locations when facing threats that attack in spatial locations with more outliers. Using both univariate and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) on fMRI data collected during a 2 h session on participants of both sexes, we demonstrate a dissociable role for the vmPFC in MOS-related decision-making. MVPA results revealed that the posterior vmPFC encoded for more unpredictable threats with univariate analyses showing a functional coupling with the amygdala and hippocampus. Conversely, the anterior vmPFC was more active for the more predictable attacks and showed coupling with the striatum. Our findings converge in showing that during pre-emptive danger, the anterior vmPFC may provide a safety signal, possibly via foreseeable outcomes, while the posterior vmPFC drives unpredictable danger signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Qi
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Logan Cross
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
- Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Toby Wise
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Xin Sui
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - John O'Doherty
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
- Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
- Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125
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2
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Fanti KA, Mavrommatis I, Díaz-Vázquez B, López-Romero L, Romero E, Álvarez-Voces M, Colins OF, Andershed H, Thomson N. Fearlessness as an Underlying Mechanism Leading to Conduct Problems: Testing the INTERFEAR Model in a Community Sample in Spain. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:546. [PMID: 38790541 PMCID: PMC11119632 DOI: 10.3390/children11050546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Conduct problems (CP) in childhood and adolescence have a significant impact on the individual, family, and community. To improve treatment for CP, there is a need to improve the understanding of the developmental pathways leading to CP in boys and girls. Prior research has linked the child's fearlessness and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, as well as experiences of parental warmth and punitive parenting, to CP. However, few studies have tested the interplay of these factors in contributing to future CP development. The present study aimed to test the InterFear model, which suggests that fearlessness in early childhood leads to CP through an indirect pathway involving low positive parenting, high negative/punitive parenting, and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. The sample included 2467 Spanish children (48.1% girls; Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91), followed up across a five-year period. Besides a direct association between fearlessness in early childhood and future CP, the results found an indirect pathway whereby fearlessness reduces positive parenting and increases punitive parenting, which contributes to the development of CU traits and sets the stage for CP in later childhood. The specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CP via CU traits accounted for most of the variance, suggesting the existence of a temperamental pathway independent of parental variables. Further, two additional indirect pathways, exclusive of fearlessness, were identified, which started with low parental warmth and positive parenting, leading to CP via CU traits. These findings support the InterFear model, demonstrating multiple pathways to CP with the involvement of fearlessness, parenting practices, and CU traits. This model might play a pivotal role in the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for CP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kostas A. Fanti
- Department of Psychology, Faculty od Social Sciences and Education, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus;
| | - Ioannis Mavrommatis
- Department of Psychology, Faculty od Social Sciences and Education, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus;
| | - Beatriz Díaz-Vázquez
- Instituto de Psicoloxía (IPsiUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (B.D.-V.); (L.L.-R.); (E.R.); (M.Á.-V.)
| | - Laura López-Romero
- Instituto de Psicoloxía (IPsiUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (B.D.-V.); (L.L.-R.); (E.R.); (M.Á.-V.)
| | - Estrella Romero
- Instituto de Psicoloxía (IPsiUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (B.D.-V.); (L.L.-R.); (E.R.); (M.Á.-V.)
| | - María Álvarez-Voces
- Instituto de Psicoloxía (IPsiUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (B.D.-V.); (L.L.-R.); (E.R.); (M.Á.-V.)
| | - Olivier F. Colins
- Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Siences, Ghent University, Dunantlaan 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium;
| | - Henrik Andershed
- School of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences, Örebro University, 701 82 Örebro, Sweden;
| | - Nicholas Thomson
- Department of Surgery and Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA;
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Paz Y, Perkins ER, Colins O, Perlstein S, Wagner NJ, Hawes SW, Byrd A, Viding E, Waller R. Evaluating the sensitivity to threat and affiliative reward (STAR) model in relation to the development of conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits across early adolescence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 65:1327-1339. [PMID: 38480986 PMCID: PMC11393184 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) model proposes low threat sensitivity and low affiliation as risk factors for callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Preliminary evidence for the STAR model comes from work in early childhood. However, studies are needed that explore the STAR dimensions in late childhood and adolescence when severe conduct problems (CP) emerge. Moreover, it is unclear how variability across the full spectrum of threat sensitivity and affiliation gives rise to different forms of psychopathology beyond CU traits. METHODS The current study addressed these gaps using parent- and child-reported data from three waves and a sub-study of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® of 11,878 youth (48% female; ages 9-12). RESULTS Consistent with the STAR model, low threat sensitivity and low affiliation were independently related to CU traits across informants and time. Moreover, there was significant interaction between the STAR dimensions, such that children with lower sensitivity to threat and lower affiliation had higher parent-reported CU traits. Unlike CU traits, children with higher threat sensitivity had higher parent-reported CP and anxiety. Finally, children with lower affiliation had higher parent-reported CP, anxiety, and depression. Results largely replicated across informants and time, and sensitivity analysis revealed similar findings in children with and without DSM-5 defined CP. CONCLUSIONS Results support the STAR model hypotheses as they pertain to CU traits and delineate threat sensitivity and affiliation as independent transdiagnostic risk factors for different types of psychopathology. Future research is needed to develop fuller and more reliable and valid measures of affiliation and threat sensitivity across multiple assessment modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Paz
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Emily R Perkins
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Olivier Colins
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Special Needs Education, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Samantha Perlstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Nicholas J Wagner
- Department of Brain and Psychological Science, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Samuel W Hawes
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Amy Byrd
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PN, USA
| | - Essi Viding
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rebecca Waller
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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McVeigh K, Kleckner IR, Quigley KS, Satpute AB. Fear-related psychophysiological patterns are situation and individual dependent: A Bayesian model comparison approach. Emotion 2024; 24:506-521. [PMID: 37603002 PMCID: PMC10882564 DOI: 10.1037/emo0001265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Is there a universal mapping of physiology to emotion, or do these mappings vary substantially by person or situation? Psychologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists have debated this question for decades. Most previous studies have focused on differentiating emotions on the basis of accompanying autonomic responses using analytical approaches that often assume within-category homogeneity. In the present study, we took an alternative approach to this question. We determined the extent to which the relationship between subjective experience and autonomic reactivity generalizes across, or depends upon, the individual and situation for instances of a single emotion category, specifically, fear. Electrodermal activity and cardiac activity-two autonomic measures that are often assumed to show robust relationships with instances of fear-were recorded while participants reported fear experience in response to dozens of fear-evoking videos related to three distinct situations: spiders, heights, and social encounters. We formally translated assumptions from diverse theoretical models into a common framework for model comparison analyses. Results exceedingly favored a model that assumed situation-dependency in the relationship between fear experience and autonomic reactivity, with subject variance also significant but constrained by situation. Models that assumed generalization across situations and/or individuals performed much worse by comparison. These results call into question the assumption of generalizability of autonomic-subjective mappings across instances of fear, as required in translational research from nonhuman animals to humans, and advance a situated approach to understanding the autonomic correlates of fear experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran McVeigh
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 125 NI, Boston, MA 02115
| | | | - Karen S. Quigley
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 125 NI, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Ajay B. Satpute
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 125 NI, Boston, MA 02115
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5
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Bao L, Rao J, Yu D, Zheng B, Yin B. Decoding the language of fear: Unveiling objective and subjective indicators in rodent models through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105537. [PMID: 38215801 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105537] [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: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
While rodent models are vital for studying mental disorders, the underestimation of construct validity of fear indicators has led to limitations in translating to effective clinical treatments. Addressing this gap, we systematically reviewed 5054 articles from the 1960 s, understanding underlying theoretical advancement, and selected 68 articles with at least two fear indicators for a three-level meta-analysis. We hypothesized correlations between different indicators would elucidate similar functions, while magnitude differences could reveal distinct neural or behavioral mechanisms. Our findings reveal a shift towards using freezing behavior as the primary fear indicator in rodent models, and strong, moderate, and weak correlations between freezing and conditioned suppression ratios, 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, and autonomic nervous system responses, respectively. Using freezing as a reference, moderator analysis shows treatment types and fear stages significantly influenced differences in magnitudes between two indicators. Our analysis supports a two-system model of fear in rodents, where objective and subjective fears could operate on a threshold-based mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Bao
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Jiaojiao Rao
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Delin Yu
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Benhuiyuan Zheng
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China
| | - Bin Yin
- School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, China; Key Laboratory for Learning and Behavioral Sciences, Fujian Normal University, China.
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6
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Silverstein SE, O'Sullivan R, Bukalo O, Pati D, Schaffer JA, Limoges A, Zsembik L, Yoshida T, O'Malley JJ, Paletzki RF, Lieberman AG, Nonaka M, Deisseroth K, Gerfen CR, Penzo MA, Kash TL, Holmes A. A distinct cortical code for socially learned threat. Nature 2024; 626:1066-1072. [PMID: 38326610 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-07008-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Animals can learn about sources of danger while minimizing their own risk by observing how others respond to threats. However, the distinct neural mechanisms by which threats are learned through social observation (known as observational fear learning1-4 (OFL)) to generate behavioural responses specific to such threats remain poorly understood. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) performs several key functions that may underlie OFL, including processing of social information and disambiguation of threat cues5-11. Here we show that dmPFC is recruited and required for OFL in mice. Using cellular-resolution microendoscopic calcium imaging, we demonstrate that dmPFC neurons code for observational fear and do so in a manner that is distinct from direct experience. We find that dmPFC neuronal activity predicts upcoming switches between freezing and moving state elicited by threat. By combining neuronal circuit mapping, calcium imaging, electrophysiological recordings and optogenetics, we show that dmPFC projections to the midbrain periaqueductal grey (PAG) constrain observer freezing, and that amygdalar and hippocampal inputs to dmPFC opposingly modulate observer freezing. Together our findings reveal that dmPFC neurons compute a distinct code for observational fear and coordinate long-range neural circuits to select behavioural responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shana E Silverstein
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Ruairi O'Sullivan
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Olena Bukalo
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dipanwita Pati
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Julia A Schaffer
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Aaron Limoges
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leo Zsembik
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Takayuki Yoshida
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - John J O'Malley
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Abby G Lieberman
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mio Nonaka
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Mario A Penzo
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Thomas L Kash
- Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Andrew Holmes
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Seo D, Balderston NL, Berenbaum H, Hur J. The interactive effects of different facets of threat uncertainty and cognitive load in shaping fear and anxiety responses. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14404. [PMID: 37559195 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14404] [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: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
A large body of research indicates that exaggerated response to uncertainty of a future threat is at the core of anxiety and related disorders, underscoring the need for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Although behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested a close relationship between uncertainty responses and cognitive control, little is known about what elements of uncertainty are more or less vulnerable to cognitive modulation in shaping aversive responses. Leveraging a novel paradigm, an n-back working memory task embedded within a modified threat-of-shock paradigm, we examined how the influences of different facets of uncertainty (i.e., occurrence and timing) on psychophysiological responses were modulated by cognitive load. Psychophysiological responses were assessed using the acoustic startle reflex. Replicating prior work, the effects of cognitive load and temporal unpredictability of threat on startle responses were evident. The effect of occurrence unpredictability appears to depend on other factors. Under low cognitive load, startle response was potentiated when both the occurrence and the timing of threat were predictable. Under high cognitive load, startle response was significantly reduced, especially when a threat context involves uncertainty in both temporal and probability domains. These observations provide a framework for refining the model of fear and anxiety and for understanding the etiology of psychological disorders characterized by maladaptive uncertainty responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deachul Seo
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Nicholas L Balderston
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Howard Berenbaum
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
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8
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Varella MAC. Nocturnal selective pressures on the evolution of human musicality as a missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1215481. [PMID: 37860295 PMCID: PMC10582961 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1215481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Human musicality exhibits the necessary hallmarks for biological adaptations. Evolutionary explanations focus on recurrent adaptive problems that human musicality possibly solved in ancestral environments, such as mate selection and competition, social bonding/cohesion and social grooming, perceptual and motor skill development, conflict reduction, safe time-passing, transgenerational communication, mood regulation and synchronization, and credible signaling of coalition and territorial/predator defense. Although not mutually exclusive, these different hypotheses are still not conceptually integrated nor clearly derived from independent principles. I propose The Nocturnal Evolution of Human Musicality and Performativity Theory in which the night-time is the missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle of human musicality and performing arts. The expansion of nocturnal activities throughout human evolution, which is tied to tree-to-ground sleep transition and habitual use of fire, might help (i) explain the evolution of musicality from independent principles, (ii) explain various seemingly unrelated music features and functions, and (iii) integrate many ancestral adaptive values proposed. The expansion into the nocturnal niche posed recurrent ancestral adaptive challenges/opportunities: lack of luminosity, regrouping to cook before sleep, imminent dangerousness, low temperatures, peak tiredness, and concealment of identity. These crucial night-time features might have selected evening-oriented individuals who were prone to acoustic communication, more alert and imaginative, gregarious, risk-taking and novelty-seeking, prone to anxiety modulation, hedonistic, promiscuous, and disinhibited. Those night-time selected dispositions may have converged and enhanced protomusicality into human musicality by facilitating it to assume many survival- and reproduction-enhancing roles (social cohesion and coordination, signaling of coalitions, territorial defense, antipredatorial defense, knowledge transference, safe passage of time, children lullabies, and sexual selection) that are correspondent to the co-occurring night-time adaptive challenges/opportunities. The nocturnal dynamic may help explain musical features (sound, loudness, repetitiveness, call and response, song, elaboration/virtuosity, and duetting/chorusing). Across vertebrates, acoustic communication mostly occurs in nocturnal species. The eveningness chronotype is common among musicians and composers. Adolescents, who are the most evening-oriented humans, enjoy more music. Contemporary tribal nocturnal activities around the campfire involve eating, singing/dancing, storytelling, and rituals. I discuss the nocturnal integration of musicality's many roles and conclude that musicality is probably a multifunctional mental adaptation that evolved along with the night-time adaptive landscape.
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Perlstein S, Wagner N, Domínguez-Álvarez B, Gómez-Fraguela JA, Romero E, Lopez-Romero L, Waller R. Psychometric Properties, Factor Structure, and Validity of the Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward Scale in Children and Adults. Assessment 2023; 30:1914-1934. [PMID: 36245403 PMCID: PMC10687739 DOI: 10.1177/10731911221128946] [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] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits identify children at high risk of antisocial behavior. A recent theoretical model proposed that CU traits arise from low sensitivity to threat and affiliation. To assess these dimensions, we developed the parent- and self-reported Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward Scale (STARS) and tested its psychometric properties, factor structure, and construct validity. Samples 1 (N =3 03; age 3-10; United States) and 2 (N = 854 age 5-9; Spain) were children and Sample 3 was 514 young adults (Mage = 19.89; United States). In Sample 1, differential item functioning and item response theory techniques were used to identify the best-performing items from a 64-item pool, resulting in 28 items that functioned equivalently across age and gender. Factor analysis indicated acceptable fit for the theorized two-factor structure with separate threat and affiliation factors in all three samples, which showed predictive validity in relation to CU traits in children and psychopathic traits in young adults.
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10
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Abend R. Understanding anxiety symptoms as aberrant defensive responding along the threat imminence continuum. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105305. [PMID: 37414377 PMCID: PMC10528507 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105305] [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: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Threat-anticipatory defensive responses have evolved to promote survival in a dynamic world. While inherently adaptive, aberrant expression of defensive responses to potential threat could manifest as pathological anxiety, which is prevalent, impairing, and associated with adverse outcomes. Extensive translational neuroscience research indicates that normative defensive responses are organized by threat imminence, such that distinct response patterns are observed in each phase of threat encounter and orchestrated by partially conserved neural circuitry. Anxiety symptoms, such as excessive and pervasive worry, physiological arousal, and avoidance behavior, may reflect aberrant expression of otherwise normative defensive responses, and therefore follow the same imminence-based organization. Here, empirical evidence linking aberrant expression of specific, imminence-dependent defensive responding to distinct anxiety symptoms is reviewed, and plausible contributing neural circuitry is highlighted. Drawing from translational and clinical research, the proposed framework informs our understanding of pathological anxiety by grounding anxiety symptoms in conserved psychobiological mechanisms. Potential implications for research and treatment are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- School of Psychology, Reichman University, P.O. Box 167, Herzliya 4610101, Israel; Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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11
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Grogans SE, Bliss-Moreau E, Buss KA, Clark LA, Fox AS, Keltner D, Cowen AS, Kim JJ, Kragel PA, MacLeod C, Mobbs D, Naragon-Gainey K, Fullana MA, Shackman AJ. The nature and neurobiology of fear and anxiety: State of the science and opportunities for accelerating discovery. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 151:105237. [PMID: 37209932 PMCID: PMC10330657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Fear and anxiety play a central role in mammalian life, and there is considerable interest in clarifying their nature, identifying their biological underpinnings, and determining their consequences for health and disease. Here we provide a roundtable discussion on the nature and biological bases of fear- and anxiety-related states, traits, and disorders. The discussants include scientists familiar with a wide variety of populations and a broad spectrum of techniques. The goal of the roundtable was to take stock of the state of the science and provide a roadmap to the next generation of fear and anxiety research. Much of the discussion centered on the key challenges facing the field, the most fruitful avenues for future research, and emerging opportunities for accelerating discovery, with implications for scientists, funders, and other stakeholders. Understanding fear and anxiety is a matter of practical importance. Anxiety disorders are a leading burden on public health and existing treatments are far from curative, underscoring the urgency of developing a deeper understanding of the factors governing threat-related emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon E Grogans
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kristin A Buss
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA
| | - Lee Anna Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Dacher Keltner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Jeansok J Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Philip A Kragel
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Colin MacLeod
- Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA; Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Kristin Naragon-Gainey
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Miquel A Fullana
- Adult Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain; Imaging of Mood, and Anxiety-Related Disorders Group, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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12
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Stegmann Y, Andreatta M, Wieser MJ. The effect of inherently threatening contexts on visuocortical engagement to conditioned threat. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14208. [PMID: 36325884 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14208] [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: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fear and anxiety are crucial for adaptive responding in life-threatening situations. Whereas fear is a phasic response to an acute threat accompanied by selective attention, anxiety is characterized by a sustained feeling of apprehension and hypervigilance during situations of potential threat. In the current literature, fear and anxiety are usually considered mutually exclusive, with partially separated neural underpinnings. However, there is accumulating evidence that challenges this distinction between fear and anxiety, and simultaneous activation of fear and anxiety networks has been reported. Therefore, the current study experimentally tested potential interactions between fear and anxiety. Fifty-two healthy participants completed a differential fear conditioning paradigm followed by a test phase in which the conditioned stimuli were presented in front of threatening or neutral contextual images. To capture defense system activation, we recorded subjective (threat, US-expectancy), physiological (skin conductance, heart rate) and visuocortical (steady-state visual evoked potentials) responses to the conditioned stimuli as a function of contextual threat. Results demonstrated successful fear conditioning in all measures. In addition, threat and US-expectancy ratings, cardiac deceleration, and visuocortical activity were enhanced for fear cues presented in threatening compared with neutral contexts. These results are in line with an additive or interactive rather than an exclusive model of fear and anxiety, indicating facilitated defensive behavior to imminent danger in situations of potential threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannik Stegmann
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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13
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Landin JD, Chandler LJ. Adolescent alcohol exposure alters threat avoidance in adulthood. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1098343. [PMID: 36761697 PMCID: PMC9905129 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1098343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescent binge-like alcohol exposure impairs cognitive function and decision making in adulthood and may be associated with dysfunction of threat avoidance, a critical mechanism of survival which relies upon executive function. The present study investigated the impact of binge-like alcohol exposure during adolescence on active avoidance in adulthood. Male and female rats were subjected to adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure by vapor inhalation and then tested in adulthood using a platform-mediated avoidance task. After training to press a lever to receive a sucrose reward, the rats were conditioned to a tone that co-terminated with a foot-shock. A motivational conflict was introduced by the presence of an escape platform that isolated the rat from the shock, but also prevented access to the sucrose reward while the rat was on the platform. During the task training phase, both male and female rats exhibited progressive increases in active avoidance (platform escape) in response to the conditioned tone, whereas innate fear behavior (freezing) remained relatively constant over training days. A history of AIE exposure did not impact either active avoidance or freezing behavior during task acquisition. On the test day following platform acquisition training, female rats exhibited higher levels of both active avoidance and freezing compared to male rats, while AIE-exposed male but not female rats exhibited significantly greater levels of active avoidance compared to controls. In contrast, neither male nor female AIE-exposed rats exhibited alterations in freezing compared to controls. Following 5 days of extinction training, female rats continued to display higher levels of active avoidance and freezing during tone presentation compared to males. Male AIE-exposed rats also had higher levels of both active avoidance and freezing compared to the male control rats. Together, the results demonstrate that female rats exhibit elevated levels of active avoidance and freezing compared to males and further reveal a sex-specific impact of AIE on threat responding in adulthood.
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14
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Cain CK. Beyond Fear, Extinction, and Freezing: Strategies for Improving the Translational Value of Animal Conditioning Research. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 64:19-57. [PMID: 37532965 PMCID: PMC10840073 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Translational neuroscience for anxiety has had limited success despite great progress in understanding the neurobiology of Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction. This chapter explores the idea that conditioning paradigms have had a modest impact on translation because studies in animals and humans are misaligned in important ways. For instance, animal conditioning studies typically use imminent threats to assess short-duration fear states with single behavioral measures (e.g., freezing), whereas human studies typically assess weaker or more prolonged anxiety states with physiological (e.g., skin conductance) and self-report measures. A path forward may be more animal research on conditioned anxiety phenomena measuring dynamic behavioral and physiological responses in more complex environments. Exploring transitions between defensive brain states during extinction, looming threats, and post-threat recovery may be particularly informative. If care is taken to align paradigms, threat levels, and measures, this strategy may reveal stable patterns of non-conscious defense in animals and humans that correlate better with conscious anxiety. This shift in focus is also warranted because anxiety is a bigger problem than fear, even in disorders defined by dysfunctional fear or panic reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher K Cain
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
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15
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Zhong C, Wang L, Cao Y, Sun C, Huang J, Wang X, Pan S, He S, Huang K, Lu Z, Xu F, Lu Y, Wang L. A neural circuit from the dorsal CA3 to the dorsomedial hypothalamus mediates balance between risk exploration and defense. Cell Rep 2022; 41:111570. [PMID: 36323263 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
An appropriate balance between explorative and defensive behavior is essential for the survival and reproduction of prey animals in risky environments. However, the neural circuit and mechanism that allow for such a balance remains poorly understood. Here, we use a semi-naturalistic predator threat test (PTT) to observe and quantify the defense-exploration balance, especially risk exploration behavior in mice. During the PTT, the activity of the putative dorsal CA3 glutamatergic neurons (dCA3Glu) is suppressed by predatory threat and risk exploration, whereas the neurons are activated during contextual exploration. Moreover, optogenetic excitation of these neurons induces a significant increase in risk exploration. A circuit, comprising the dorsal CA3, dorsal lateral septal, and dorsomedial hypothalamic (dCA3Glu-dLSGABA-DMH) areas, may be involved. Moreover, activation of the dCA3Glu-dLSGABA-DMH circuit promotes the switch from defense to risk exploration and suppresses threat-induced increase in arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zhong
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Lulu Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yi Cao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Chongyang Sun
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jianyu Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xufang Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Suwan Pan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Shuyu He
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Kang Huang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zhonghua Lu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Fuqiang Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China; Center for Brain Science, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Yi Lu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China.
| | - Liping Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China.
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16
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Almada RC, Falconi-Sobrinho LL, da Silva JA, Wotjak CT, Coimbra NC. Augmented anandamide signalling in the substantia nigra pars reticulata mediates panicolytic-like effects in mice confronted by Crotalus durissus terrificus pit vipers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:2753-2769. [PMID: 35650304 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06127-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The endocannabinoid modulation of fear and anxiety due to the on-demand synthesis and degradation is supported by a large body of research. Although it has been proposed that anandamide (AEA) in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) seems to be important for the organisation of innate fear-related behaviours, a role for endogenous AEA has yet to be clarified. METHODS Mice were treated with the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) selective inhibitor URB597 at different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1 nmol/0.1 µL) in the SNpr and confronted by rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus terrificus). The most effective dose of URB597 (1 nmol) was also preceded by microinjections of the CB1 receptor antagonist AM251 (0.1 nmol) into the SNpr, and mice were then confronted by the venomous snake. RESULTS URB597 (0.1 and 1 nmol) in the SNpr decreased the expression of defensive behaviours such as defensive attention, escape, and time spent inside the burrow of mice confronted by rattlesnakes. Moreover, pretreatment of SNpr with AM251 suppressed these antiaversive effects of URB597 in this midbrain structure. CONCLUSION Overall, these data clearly indicate that the panicolytic consequences of endogenous AEA enhancement in the SNpr are mediated by CB1 receptor signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael C Almada
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil.,Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, Humanities and Languages, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Assis, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luiz Luciano Falconi-Sobrinho
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil.,Behavioural Neurosciences Institute (INeC), São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.,Ophidiarium LNN-FMRP-USP/INeC, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.,NAP-USP-Neurobiology of Emotions Research Centre (NuPNE), Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana A da Silva
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil.,Behavioural Neurosciences Institute (INeC), São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Carsten T Wotjak
- Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,Central Nervous System Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Gesellschaft Mit Beschränkter Haftung & Compagnie Kommanditgesellschaft, Biberach an der Riß, Germany
| | - Norberto C Coimbra
- Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil. .,Behavioural Neurosciences Institute (INeC), São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. .,Ophidiarium LNN-FMRP-USP/INeC, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. .,NAP-USP-Neurobiology of Emotions Research Centre (NuPNE), Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
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17
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Trott JM, Hoffman AN, Zhuravka I, Fanselow MS. Conditional and unconditional components of aversively motivated freezing, flight and darting in mice. eLife 2022; 11:e75663. [PMID: 35616523 PMCID: PMC9173745 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear conditioning is one of the most frequently used laboratory procedures for modeling learning and memory generally, and anxiety disorders in particular. The conditional response (CR) used in the majority of fear conditioning studies in rodents is freezing. Recently, it has been reported that under certain conditions, running, jumping, or darting replaces freezing as the dominant CR. These findings raise both a critical methodological problem and an important theoretical issue. If only freezing is measured but rodents express their learning with a different response, then significant instances of learning, memory, or fear may be missed. In terms of theory, whatever conditions lead to these different behaviors may be a key to how animals transition between different defensive responses and different emotional states. In mice, we replicated these past results but along with several novel control conditions. Contrary to the prior conclusions, running and darting were primarily a result of nonassociative processes and were actually suppressed by associative learning. Darting and flight were taken to be analogous to nonassociative startle or alpha responses that are potentiated by fear. Additionally, associative processes had some impact on the topography of flight behavior. On the other hand, freezing was the purest reflection of associative learning. We also uncovered a rule that describes when these movements replace freezing: when afraid, freeze until there is a sudden novel change in stimulation, then burst into vigorous flight attempts. This rule may also govern the change from fear to panic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy M Trott
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Ann N Hoffman
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Irina Zhuravka
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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18
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Assessing the Relationships between Internet Addiction, Depression, COVID-19-Related Fear, Anxiety, and Suspicion among Graduate Students in Educational Administration: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14095356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
This study aims to examine the relationships between Internet addiction, depression, COVID-19-related fear, anxiety, and suspicion in graduate students. A total of 482 students pursuing a master’s degree in educational administration participated in the study, which was designed according to the relational survey model. The data of the study were collected using online questionnaires, and the proposed hypotheses were tested and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the study revealed that COVID-19-related suspicion positively and significantly predicted COVID-19-related fear and anxiety. In this context, the increased suspicion of graduate students due to COVID-19 also increased their fear and COVID-19-related anxiety, and this increased the possibility that they would exhibit depressive behaviors. However, a positive and significant relationship was found between COVID-19-related suspicion and depression. This result confirms that the increased suspicion of the participant students due to COVID-19 led to an increase in their depression scores. SEM results have shown a positive relationship between fear and anxiety related to COVID-19 and Internet addiction, and that the increase in students’ anxiety and fear levels also increases their Internet addiction levels. In addition, the results of the study revealed that depression has a negligible indirect effect on the relationship between COVID-19-related fear, anxiety, and suspicion and Internet addiction. In conclusion, the proposed hypothetical model is confirmed after having examined the relationships among depression, Internet addiction, COVID-19-related fear and anxiety, and suspicion.
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19
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Labrenz F, Woud ML, Elsenbruch S, Icenhour A. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly-Chances, Challenges, and Clinical Implications of Avoidance Research in Psychosomatic Medicine. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:841734. [PMID: 35250678 PMCID: PMC8894646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.841734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behaviors are shaped by associative learning processes in response to fear of impending threats, particularly physical harm. As part of a defensive repertoire, avoidance is highly adaptive in case of acute danger, serving a potent protective function. However, persistent or excessive fear and maladaptive avoidance are considered key factors in the etiology and pathophysiology of anxiety- and stress-related psychosomatic disorders. In these overlapping conditions, avoidance can increase the risk of mental comorbidities and interfere with the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment approaches built on fear extinction. Despite resurging interest in avoidance research also in the context of psychosomatic medicine, especially in conditions associated with pain, disturbed interoception, and disorders of the gut-brain axis, current study designs and their translation into the clinical context face significant challenges limiting both, the investigation of mechanisms involved in avoidance and the development of novel targeted treatment options. We herein selectively review the conceptual framework of learning and memory processes, emphasizing how classical and operant conditioning, fear extinction, and return of fear shape avoidance behaviors. We further discuss pathological avoidance and safety behaviors as hallmark features in psychosomatic diseases, with a focus on anxiety- and stress-related disorders. Aiming to emphasize chances of improved translational knowledge across clinical conditions, we further point out limitations in current experimental avoidance research. Based on these considerations, we propose means to improve existing avoidance paradigms to broaden our understanding of underlying mechanisms, moderators and mediators of avoidance, and to inspire tailored treatments for patients suffering from psychosomatic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Labrenz
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Marcella L Woud
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sigrid Elsenbruch
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Department of Neurology and Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Adriane Icenhour
- Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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20
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Abend R, Ruiz SG, Bajaj MA, Harrewijn A, Linke JO, Atlas LY, Winkler AM, Pine DS. Threat imminence reveals links among unfolding of anticipatory physiological response, cortical-subcortical intrinsic functional connectivity, and anxiety. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 16:100428. [PMID: 35036479 PMCID: PMC8749274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Excessive expression of fear responses in anticipation of threat occurs in anxiety, but understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is limited. Animal research indicates that threat-anticipatory defensive responses are dynamically organized by threat imminence and rely on conserved circuitry. Insight from basic neuroscience research in animals on threat imminence could guide mechanistic research in humans mapping abnormal function in this circuitry to aberrant defensive responses in pathological anxiety. 50 pediatric anxiety patients and healthy-comparisons (33 females) completed an instructed threat-anticipation task whereby cues signaled delivery of painful (threat) or non-painful (safety) thermal stimulation. Temporal changes in skin-conductance indexed anxiety effects on anticipatory responding as function of threat imminence. Multivariate network analyses of resting-state functional connectivity data from a subsample were used to identify intrinsic-function correlates of anticipatory-response dynamics, within a specific, distributed network derived from translational research on defensive responding. By considering threat imminence, analyses revealed specific anxiety effects. Importantly, pathological anxiety was associated with excessive deployment of anticipatory physiological response as threat, but not safety, outcomes became more imminent. Magnitude of increase in threat-anticipatory physiological responses corresponded with magnitude of intrinsic connectivity within a cortical-subcortical circuit. Moreover, more severe anxiety was associated with stronger associations between anticipatory physiological responding and connectivity that ventromedial prefrontal cortex showed with hippocampus and basolateral amygdala, regions implicated in animal models of anxiety. These findings link basic and clinical research, highlighting variations in intrinsic function in conserved defensive circuitry as a potential pathophysiological mechanism in anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Sonia G. Ruiz
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Mira A. Bajaj
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Julia O. Linke
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Lauren Y. Atlas
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Anderson M. Winkler
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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21
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Stein DJ, Craske MG, Rothbaum BO, Chamberlain SR, Fineberg NA, Choi KW, de Jonge P, Baldwin DS, Maj M. The clinical characterization of the adult patient with an anxiety or related disorder aimed at personalization of management. World Psychiatry 2021; 20:336-356. [PMID: 34505377 PMCID: PMC8429350 DOI: 10.1002/wps.20919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical construct of "anxiety neurosis" was broad and poorly defined, so that the delineation of specific anxiety disorders in the DSM-III was an important advance. However, anxiety and related disorders are not only frequently comorbid, but each is also quite heterogeneous; thus diagnostic manuals provide only a first step towards formulating a management plan, and the development of additional decision support tools for the treatment of anxiety conditions is needed. This paper aims to describe systematically important domains that are relevant to the personalization of management of anxiety and related disorders in adults. For each domain, we summarize the available research evidence and review the relevant assessment instruments, paying special attention to their suitability for use in routine clinical practice. We emphasize areas where the available evidence allows the clinician to personalize the management of anxiety conditions, and we point out key unmet needs. Overall, the evidence suggests that we are becoming able to move from simply recommending that anxiety and related disorders be treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or their combination, to a more complex approach which emphasizes that the clinician has a broadening array of management modalities available, and that the treatment of anxiety and related disorders can already be personalized in a number of important respects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan J Stein
- South African Medical Research Council Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michelle G Craske
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Samuel R Chamberlain
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Naomi A Fineberg
- School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, and Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Hatfield, UK
- University of Cambridge Clinical Medical School, Cambridge, UK
| | - Karmel W Choi
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Peter de Jonge
- Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Baldwin
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Mario Maj
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy
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22
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Ma J, du Hoffmann J, Kindel M, Beas BS, Chudasama Y, Penzo MA. Divergent projections of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus mediate the selection of passive and active defensive behaviors. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:1429-1440. [PMID: 34413514 PMCID: PMC8484052 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00912-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The appropriate selection of passive and active defensive behaviors in threatening situations is essential for survival. Previous studies have shown that passive defensive responses depend on activity of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), whereas active ones primarily rely on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the mechanisms underlying flexible switching between these two types of responses remain unknown. Here, we show in mice that the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) mediates the selection of defensive behaviors through its interaction with the CeA and the NAc. We show that the PVT–CeA pathway drives conditioned freezing responses, whereas the PVT–NAc pathway is inhibited during freezing and instead signals active avoidance events. Optogenetic manipulations revealed that activity in the PVT–CeA or PVT–NAc pathway biases behavior toward the selection of passive or active defensive responses, respectively. These findings provide evidence that the PVT mediates flexible switching between opposing defensive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ma
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Johann du Hoffmann
- Central Nervous System Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riß, Germany.,Rodent Behavioral Core, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Morgan Kindel
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - B Sofia Beas
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yogita Chudasama
- Rodent Behavioral Core, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.,Section on Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mario A Penzo
- Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Soares VPMN, de Andrade TGCS, Canteras NS, Coimbra NC, Wotjak CT, Almada RC. Orexin 1 and 2 Receptors in the Prelimbic Cortex Modulate Threat Valuation. Neuroscience 2021; 468:158-167. [PMID: 34126185 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The ability to distinguish between threatening (repulsors), neutral and appetitive stimuli (attractors) stimuli is essential for survival. The orexinergic neurons of hypothalamus send projections to the limbic structures, such as different subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), suggesting that the orexinergic mechanism in the prelimbic cortex (PL) is involved in the processing of fear and anxiety. We investigated the role of orexin receptors type 1 (OX1R) and type 2 (OX2R) in the PL in such processes upon confrontation with an erratically moving robo-beetle in mice. The selective blockade of OX1R and OX2R in the PL with SB 334867 (3, 30, 300 nM) and TCS OX2 29 (3, 30, 300 nM), respectively, did not affect general exploratory behavior or reactive fear such as avoidance, jumping or freezing, but significantly enhances tolerance and approach behavior at the highest dose of each antagonist tested (300 nM). We interpret these findings as evidence for an altered cognitive appraisal of the potential threatening stimulus. Consequently, the orexin system seems to bias the perception of stimuli towards danger or threat via OX1R and OX2R in the PL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor P M N Soares
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Sciences, Humanities and Languages of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), Assis, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Telma G C S de Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Sciences, Humanities and Languages of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), Assis, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Newton S Canteras
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Sciences Institute of the University of São Paulo (ICB-USP), São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Norberto C Coimbra
- Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; Behavioural Neuroscience Institute (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; NAP-USP-Neurobiology of Emotions Research Centre (NuPNE), Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carsten T Wotjak
- Neuronal Plasticity Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; Central Nervous System Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Die Gesellschaft mit Beschränkter Haftung & Compagnie Kommanditgesellschaft, Biberach Riss, Germany
| | - Rafael C Almada
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Sciences, Humanities and Languages of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), Assis, São Paulo, Brazil; Behavioural Neuroscience Institute (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Waller R, Wagner NJ, Flom M, Ganiban J, Saudino KJ. Fearlessness and low social affiliation as unique developmental precursors of callous-unemotional behaviors in preschoolers. Psychol Med 2021; 51:777-785. [PMID: 31875794 PMCID: PMC7316617 DOI: 10.1017/s003329171900374x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors identify children at risk for severe and persistent aggression and antisocial behavior. Recent work suggests that fearlessness and low social affiliation are implicated in the etiology of CU behaviors, although more research is needed to clarify these etiological pathways, as well as the role of parenting. METHOD Using a sample of preschoolers (N = 620), we examined pathways between observed fear in response to social and non-social stimuli and observed social affiliation during social interactions at age 3 and increases child CU behaviors and oppositional-defiant behaviors from ages 3 to 5. To elucidate the role of parenting in exacerbating or buffering the relationships between low fear and social affiliation and CU behaviors, we tested whether parental harshness or low warmth moderated these pathways. RESULTS Fearlessness and low social affiliation uniquely predicted increases in CU behaviors, but not oppositional-defiant behaviors, from ages 3 to 5. Moreover, there was evidence for differential moderation of the fear pathway by harsh parenting, such that harsh parenting predicted increases in CU behaviors in fearless children but increases in oppositional-defiant behaviors in fearful children. CONCLUSIONS Fearlessness and low social affiliation contribute to the development of CU behaviors. Harsh parenting can exacerbate the risky fearlessness pathway. Preventative interventions aimed at reducing risk for CU behaviors and persistent aggression and antisocial behavior should target socioaffiliative processes and provide parents with strategies and training to manage and scaffold rule-compliant behavior when children show low fearful arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Megan Flom
- Boston University, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
| | - Jody Ganiban
- Department of Psychology, George Washington University
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25
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Hur J, Smith JF, DeYoung KA, Anderson AS, Kuang J, Kim HC, Tillman RM, Kuhn M, Fox AS, Shackman AJ. Anxiety and the Neurobiology of Temporally Uncertain Threat Anticipation. J Neurosci 2020; 40:7949-7964. [PMID: 32958570 PMCID: PMC7548695 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0704-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
When extreme, anxiety-a state of distress and arousal prototypically evoked by uncertain danger-can be debilitating. Uncertain anticipation is a shared feature of situations that elicit signs and symptoms of anxiety across psychiatric disorders, species, and assays. Despite the profound significance of anxiety for human health and wellbeing, the neurobiology of uncertain-threat anticipation remains unsettled. Leveraging a paradigm adapted from animal research and optimized for fMRI signal decomposition, we examined the neural circuits engaged during the anticipation of temporally uncertain and certain threat in 99 men and women. Results revealed that the neural systems recruited by uncertain and certain threat anticipation are anatomically colocalized in frontocortical regions, extended amygdala, and periaqueductal gray. Comparison of the threat conditions demonstrated that this circuitry can be fractionated, with frontocortical regions showing relatively stronger engagement during the anticipation of uncertain threat, and the extended amygdala showing the reverse pattern. Although there is widespread agreement that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsal amygdala-the two major subdivisions of the extended amygdala-play a critical role in orchestrating adaptive responses to potential danger, their precise contributions to human anxiety have remained contentious. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these regions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat anticipation. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing anxiety and fear, for understanding the functional neuroanatomy of threat anticipation in humans, and for accelerating the development of more effective intervention strategies for pathological anxiety.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anxiety-an emotion prototypically associated with the anticipation of uncertain harm-has profound significance for public health, yet the underlying neurobiology remains unclear. Leveraging a novel neuroimaging paradigm in a relatively large sample, we identify a core circuit responsive to both uncertain and certain threat anticipation, and show that this circuitry can be fractionated into subdivisions with a bias for one kind of threat or the other. The extended amygdala occupies center stage in neuropsychiatric models of anxiety, but its functional architecture has remained contentious. Here we demonstrate that its major subdivisions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat. Collectively, these observations indicate the need to revise how we think about the neurobiology of anxiety and fear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyoen Hur
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | - Allegra S Anderson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Jinyi Kuang
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Hyung Cho Kim
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
| | | | - Manuel Kuhn
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478
| | - Andrew S Fox
- Department of Psychology
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Departments of Psychology
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
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Wake S, Wormwood J, Satpute AB. The influence of fear on risk taking: a meta-analysis. Cogn Emot 2020; 34:1143-1159. [PMID: 32116122 PMCID: PMC7423744 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1731428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A common finding in the study of emotion and decision making is the tendency for fear and anxiety to decrease risk taking. The current meta-analysis summarises the strength and variability of this effect in the extant empirical literature. Our analysis of 136 effect sizes, derived from 68 independent samples and 9,544 participants, included studies that experimentally manipulated fear or measured naturally varying levels of fear or anxiety in both clinical and non-clinical samples, and studies measuring risky decision making and risk estimation. A multilevel random effects model estimated a small to moderate average effect size (r = 0.22), such that fear was related to decreased risky decision making and increased risk estimation. There was also high heterogeneity in the effect sizes. Moderator analyses showed that effect sizes were greater when risk tasks used tangible (e.g. monetary) outcomes and when studies used clinically anxious participants. However, there also remained considerable variability in effect sizes, the sources of which remain unknown. We posit several potential factors that may contribute to observed variability in this effect for future study, including factors concerning both the nature of fear experience and the risk taking context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean Wake
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jolie Wormwood
- Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Ajay B. Satpute
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
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27
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Proximal threats promote enhanced acquisition and persistence of reactive fear-learning circuits. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16678-16689. [PMID: 32601212 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004258117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Physical proximity to a traumatic event increases the severity of accompanying stress symptoms, an effect that is reminiscent of evolutionarily configured fear responses based on threat imminence. Despite being widely adopted as a model system for stress and anxiety disorders, fear-conditioning research has not yet characterized how threat proximity impacts the mechanisms of fear acquisition and extinction in the human brain. We used three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality technology to manipulate the egocentric distance of conspecific threats while healthy adult participants navigated virtual worlds during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Consistent with theoretical predictions, proximal threats enhanced fear acquisition by shifting conditioned learning from cognitive to reactive fear circuits in the brain and reducing amygdala-cortical connectivity during both fear acquisition and extinction. With an analysis of representational pattern similarity between the acquisition and extinction phases, we further demonstrate that proximal threats impaired extinction efficacy via persistent multivariate representations of conditioned learning in the cerebellum, which predicted susceptibility to later fear reinstatement. These results show that conditioned threats encountered in close proximity are more resistant to extinction learning and suggest that the canonical neural circuitry typically associated with fear learning requires additional consideration of a more reactive neural fear system to fully account for this effect.
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28
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How do different kinds of incidental emotions influence risk decision making? Biol Psychol 2020; 154:107920. [PMID: 32534902 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Incidental emotions, which are irrelevant to the ongoing decision, play a significant role in decision-making processes. In this study, we investigated the influence of specific incidental emotions on behavioral, psychological, and electrophysiological responses during the process of decision making. Participants finished a forced-choice gambling task, during which incidental emotions (anger/fear/happiness) were elicited by recalling emotional experiences. Behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded in the experiment. Behavioral results showed that risk preference was weaker in the fearful condition than in the angry and happy conditions, but emotional feelings to outcome feedback were not influenced by incidental emotions. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitude was larger in the fearful condition than in the angry, happy, and neutral conditions for large outcomes, whereas there was no difference between the four conditions for small outcomes. In addition, the influence of outcome magnitude (small/large) on the P3 amplitude was stronger in the fearful condition than in the angry, happy, and neutral conditions. We suggest that incidental fear elicits risk-avoidant behavior (manifested in behavioral choices), stronger motivation (manifested in the FRN amplitude) and cognitive resources (manifested in the P3 amplitude) for risky outcomes of decision making unconsciously (indicated by unchanged subjective emotional experiences). The current findings have expanded our understanding of the role of specific incidental emotions in decision making.
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29
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Pittig A, Wong AH, Glück VM, Boschet JM. Avoidance and its bi-directional relationship with conditioned fear: Mechanisms, moderators, and clinical implications. Behav Res Ther 2020; 126:103550. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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30
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Mobbs D, Headley DB, Ding W, Dayan P. Space, Time, and Fear: Survival Computations along Defensive Circuits. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:228-241. [PMID: 32029360 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Naturalistic observations show that decisions to avoid or escape predators occur at different spatiotemporal scales and that they are supported by different computations and neural circuits. At their extremes, proximal threats are addressed by a limited repertoire of reflexive and myopic actions, reflecting reduced decision and state spaces and model-free (MF) architectures. Conversely, distal threats allow increased information processing supported by model-based (MB) operations, including affective prospection, replay, and planning. However, MF and MB computations are often intertwined, and under conditions of safety the foundations for future effective reactive execution can be laid through MB instruction of MF control. Together, these computations are associated with distinct population codes embedded within a distributed defensive circuitry whose goal is to determine and realize the best policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, HSS 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, HSS 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Drew B Headley
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Weilun Ding
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and Computation, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, HSS 228-77, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Peter Dayan
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; The University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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31
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The Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) model and the development of callous-unemotional traits. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:656-671. [PMID: 31618611 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Research implicates callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., lack of empathy, prosociality, and guilt, and reduced sensitivity to others' emotions) in the development of severe and persistent antisocial behavior. To improve etiological models of antisocial behavior and develop more effective treatments, we need a better understanding of the origins of CU traits. In this review, we discuss the role of two psychobiological and mechanistic precursors to CU traits: low affiliative reward (i.e., deficits in seeking out or getting pleasure from social bonding and closeness with others) and low threat sensitivity (i.e., fearlessness to social and non-social threat). We outline the Sensitivity to Threat and Affiliative Reward (STAR) model and review studies that have examined the development of affiliative reward and threat sensitivity across animal, neuroimaging, genetic, and behavioral perspectives. We next evaluate evidence for the STAR model, specifically the claim that CU traits result from deficits in both affiliative reward and threat sensitivity. We end with constructive suggestions for future research to test the hypotheses generated by the STAR model.
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32
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Satpute AB, Lindquist KA. The Default Mode Network's Role in Discrete Emotion. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:851-864. [PMID: 31427147 PMCID: PMC7281778 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Emotions are often assumed to manifest in subcortical limbic and brainstem structures. While these areas are clearly important for representing affect (e.g., valence and arousal), we propose that the default mode network (DMN) is additionally important for constructing discrete emotional experiences (of anger, fear, disgust, etc.). Findings from neuroimaging studies, invasive electrical stimulation studies, and lesion studies support this proposal. Importantly, our framework builds on a constructionist theory of emotion to explain how instances involving diverse physiological and behavioral patterns can be conceptualized as belonging to the same emotion category. We argue that this ability requires abstraction (from concrete features to broad mental categories), which the DMN is well positioned to support, and we make novel predictions from our proposed framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay B Satpute
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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33
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Pittig A. Incentive-based extinction of safety behaviors: Positive outcomes competing with aversive outcomes trigger fear-opposite action to prevent protection from fear extinction. Behav Res Ther 2019; 121:103463. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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34
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Headley DB, Kanta V, Kyriazi P, Paré D. Embracing Complexity in Defensive Networks. Neuron 2019; 103:189-201. [PMID: 31319049 PMCID: PMC6641575 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The neural basis of defensive behaviors continues to attract much interest, not only because they are important for survival but also because their dysregulation may be at the origin of anxiety disorders. Recently, a dominant approach in the field has been the optogenetic manipulation of specific circuits or cell types within these circuits to dissect their role in different defensive behaviors. While the usefulness of optogenetics is unquestionable, we argue that this method, as currently applied, fosters an atomistic conceptualization of defensive behaviors, which hinders progress in understanding the integrated responses of nervous systems to threats. Instead, we advocate for a holistic approach to the problem, including observational study of natural behaviors and their neuronal correlates at multiple sites, coupled to the use of optogenetics, not to globally turn on or off neurons of interest, but to manipulate specific activity patterns hypothesized to regulate defensive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew B Headley
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Vasiliki Kanta
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Pinelopi Kyriazi
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Denis Paré
- Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University - Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
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Korn CW, Bach DR. Minimizing threat via heuristic and optimal policies recruits hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 3:733-745. [PMID: 31110338 PMCID: PMC6629544 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0603-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Jointly minimizing multiple threats over extended time horizons enhances survival. Consequently, many tests of approach-avoidance conflicts incorporate multiple threats for probing corollaries of animal and human anxiety. To facilitate computations necessary for threat minimization, the human brain may concurrently harness multiple decision policies and associated neural controllers, but it is unclear which. We combine a task that mimics foraging under predation with behavioural modelling and functional neuroimaging. Human choices rely on immediate predator probability-a myopic heuristic policy-and on the optimal policy, which integrates all relevant variables. Predator probability relates positively and the associated choice uncertainty relates negatively to activations in the anterior hippocampus, amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The optimal policy is positively associated with dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity. We thus provide a decision-theoretic outlook on the role of the human hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex in resolving approach-avoidance conflicts relevant for anxiety and integral for survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph W Korn
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics; Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Dominik R Bach
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics; Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging and Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing, University College London, London, UK
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Fung BJ, Qi S, Hassabis D, Daw N, Mobbs D. Slow escape decisions are swayed by trait anxiety. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 3:702-708. [PMID: 31110337 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0595-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical models distinguish between neural responses elicited by distal threats and those evoked by more immediate threats1-3. Specifically, slower 'cognitive' fear responses towards distal threats involve a network of brain regions including the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), while immediate 'reactive' fear responses rely on regions such as the periaqueductal grey4,5. However, it is unclear how anxiety and its neural substrates relate to these distinct defensive survival circuits. We tested whether individual differences in trait anxiety would impact escape behaviour and neural responses to slow and fast attacking predators: conditions designed to evoke cognitive and reactive fear, respectively. Behaviourally, we found that trait anxiety was not related to escape decisions for fast threats, but individuals with higher trait anxiety escaped earlier during slow threats. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that when subjects faced slow threats, trait anxiety positively correlated with activity in the vHPC, mPFC, amygdala and insula. Furthermore, the strength of functional coupling between two components of the cognitive circuit-the vHPC and mPFC-was correlated with the degree of trait anxiety. This suggests that anxiety predominantly affects cognitive fear circuits that are involved in volitional strategic escape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bowen J Fung
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Song Qi
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Nathaniel Daw
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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Barrett LF, Finlay BL. Concepts, Goals and the Control of Survival-Related Behaviors. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018; 24:172-179. [PMID: 31157289 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Scientists have long studied the actions that impact basic survival in various domains of life, such as defense, foraging, reproduction, thermoregulation, and so on, as if such actions will reveal the nature of emotion. Each domain of survival came to be characterized by a repertoire of distinct actions, and each action was thought to be caused by a dedicated neural circuit, called a survival circuit. Survival circuits are thought to be triggered by sensory events in the world, quickly producing obligatory, stereotypic reflexes as well as more flexible, deliberate responses. In this paper, we consider recent evidence from behavioral ecology that even so-called "reflexes" are better understood as purposeful, flexible actions that unfold across a range of temporal trajectories. They are highly context-dependent and tailored to the requirements of the situation. We then consider evidence from the neuroscience of motor control that motor actions are assembled by neural populations, not triggered by simple circuits. We end by considering the value of these suggestions for understanding the species-general vs. species-specific contributions to emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University.,Psychiatric Neuroimaging Division, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital
| | - Barbara L Finlay
- Behavioral and Evolutionary Neuroscience Group, Department of Psychology, Cornell University
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Yao S, Qi S, Kendrick KM, Mobbs D. Attentional set to safety recruits the ventral medial prefrontal cortex. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15395. [PMID: 30337608 PMCID: PMC6193957 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33953-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Early detection of danger is highly adaptive, yet fast orientation towards safety is also key to survival. This study aimed to explore how human brain searches for safety by manipulating subjects' attentional set. Subjects were asked to judge random dots motion (RDM) direction and could be shocked for incorrect responses (RDM trials) while keeping alert in detecting shock probability cues (cue detection trials). Relative to safe condition, where attention was set to search cues associated with no shock, incorrect responses to 'dangerous+' cues would increase and correct responses to 'dangerous-' cues would decrease shock probability. In RDM trials, relative to the 'dangerous+', the safe and 'dangerous-' attentional set induced stronger activation in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a core region involved in flexible threat assessment and safety signalling. In cue detection trials, shorter response times and greater accuracy were observed for 'dangerous+' than 'dangerous-' and safe cues. At neural level 'dangerous+' cues induced stronger activity in the frontoparietal attention network than safe cues. Overall, our findings demonstrate that attentional set for searching safety recruits the vmPFC, while detection of threat-related cues elicits activity in the frontoparietal attention network, suggesting new roles for these regions in human defensive survival circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China
| | - Song Qi
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA
- Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China.
| | - Dean Mobbs
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA.
- Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
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