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Amedick G, Krylova M, Mayer K, Izyurov I, Herrmann L, Martens L, Kasties V, Heller J, Li M, van der Meer J, Croy I, Engert V, Walter M, Colic L. Association among childhood adversity and susceptibility to interference during varying salience: two studies in healthy males. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7050. [PMID: 38528096 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57025-x] [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: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Childhood adversity, a prevalent experience, is related to a higher risk for externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. Alterations in the development of cognitive processes, for example in the attention-interference domain may link childhood adversity and psychopathology. Interfering stimuli can vary in their salience, i.e. ability to capture attentional focus, and valence. However, it is not known if interference by salience or valence is associated with self-reported adversity. In two independent study samples of healthy men (Study 1: n = 44; mean age [standard deviation (SD)] = 25.9 [3.4] years; Study 2: n = 37; 43.5 [9.7] years) we used the attention modulation task (AMT) that probed interference by two attention-modulating conditions, salience and valence separately across repeated target stimuli. The AMT measures the effects of visual distractors (pictures) on the performance of auditory discrimination tasks (target stimuli). We hypothesized that participants reporting higher levels of childhood adversity, measured with the childhood trauma questionnaire, would show sustained interference in trials with lower salience. Due to conflicting reports on the valence-modulation, we tested the valence condition in an exploratory manner. Linear mixed models revealed an interaction between reported childhood adversity and the salience condition across tone presentations in both study samples (Sample 1: p = .03; Sample 2: p = .04), while there were no effects for the valence condition across both studies. Our study suggests that higher self-reported childhood adversity is related to faster processing of target cues during high salience, but slower during low salience conditions. These results hint to the mechanisms linking childhood adversity and psychopathological symptoms in the attentional domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Amedick
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina Krylova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Department of Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Kathrin Mayer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Igor Izyurov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Luisa Herrmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Louise Martens
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Kasties
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johanna Heller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Psychology, Center for Mental Health, Hospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Johan van der Meer
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Amsterdam UMC, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ilona Croy
- Institute for Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
| | - Veronika Engert
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Lejla Colic
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany.
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany.
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The effect of acute stress on spatial selectivity in dual-stream emotion induced blindness: The role of cortisol and spontaneous frontal EEG theta/beta ratio. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 183:71-80. [PMID: 36442666 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The current study explored the effect of acute stress on dual-stream emotion induced blindness (EIB). We focused on spatially localised target processing induced by stress, as well as the role of cortisol and the frontal EEG theta/beta ratio (TBR). Eight-minutes spontaneous EEG data were recorded first. After performing a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or a corresponding control task a week apart, the participants completed a dual-stream EIB task. Changes in cortisol levels over time were likewise recorded. We found that stress promoted the target processing in the same stream location as the distractor, eliminating the spatial-localisation effect. Cortisol and frontal TBR positively and negatively, respectively, predicted a reduced spatially localised target detection induced by stress following negative distractors. Overall, acute stress apparently reduced the dual-stream EIB due to the effective allocation of limited resources. Further, the role of cortisol associated with better target detection was more specific to the negative distractor condition and partially disassociated from the general stress response. Cortisol levels and frontal TBR independently predicted the spatially localised processing, suggesting differentiated influence paths of trait and state factors on target detection following emotional distractors.
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Bendezú JJ, Calhoun CD, Vinograd M, Patterson MW, Rudolph KD, Giletta M, Hastings P, Nock MK, Slavich GM, Prinstein MJ. Exploring joint HPA-inflammatory stress response profiles in adolescent girls: Implications for developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22247. [PMID: 35312047 PMCID: PMC8944282 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Prior research has struggled to differentiate cortisol stress response patterns reflective of well-regulated versus dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function among adolescents. Here, we show how exploring profiles of joint HPA-inflammatory stress responsivity, and linking those profiles to pubertal development and peer stress exposure may aid such distinction. Adolescent girls (N = 157, Mage = 14.72 years, SD = 1.38) at risk for psychopathology completed assessments of salivary cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6) prior to and following the Trier Social Stress Test. Adolescents, a close friend, and a caregiver completed questionnaire measures of peer stress and pubertal status. Multitrajectory modeling of adolescents' cortisol and cytokine levels revealed three profiles: low cortisol response-stably low cytokine (n = 75), high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine (n = 47), and low cortisol response-stably high cytokine (n = 35). Relative to low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine profile were more advanced in their pubertal development, but presented with similarly low levels of peer stress exposure. Despite showing cortisol responses that were indistinguishable from low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the low cortisol response-stably high cytokine profile were more pubertally advanced, but also more likely to have experienced chronic peer strain (self-report) and relational peer victimization (close friend-report). These findings thus illustrate the potential value of taking a multisystem approach to studying adolescent stress responsivity and underscore the importance of considering developmental and social factors when interpreting cortisol stress response patterns. Ultimately, such work may help inform developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation and related risk for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason José Bendezú
- The Institute of Child Development and Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota
| | - Casey D. Calhoun
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Meghan Vinograd
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System and Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego
| | - Megan W. Patterson
- Department of Psychiatry, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado
| | - Karen D. Rudolph
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Matteo Giletta
- Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University and Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University
| | - Paul Hastings
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis
| | | | - George M. Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Mitchell J. Prinstein
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Jopling E, Tracy A, LeMoult J. Cognitive disengagement and biological stress responses in early adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 126:105166. [PMID: 33592367 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in biological responses to stress increase risk for the onset and exacerbation of health and psychiatric conditions. Biases in cognitive disengagement are hypothesized to underlie these individual differences in biological responses to stress. However, no studies have examined which cognitive disengagement bias has the strongest relation with biological responses to stress, and no studies have examined this relation during early adolescence, despite evidence that this is a critical developmental window in which patterns of cognition and biological responses to stress influence trajectories of health throughout life. The current study is the first to test whether difficulty disengaging attention versus working memory from valenced stimuli is associated with biological responses to stress in early adolescence. Youth between 11 and 13 years of age completed two computer-based tasks to assess biases in attention and working memory disengagement to valenced stimuli, and then completed a standardized psychosocial stressor. Consistent with expectations, attention and working memory disengagement biases were associated with stress responses of both the neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous systems, but bias valence and cognitive system influenced the directionality of results. These findings inform our understanding of cognitive mechanisms that influence biological stress reactivity.
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Smith KE, Leitzke BT, Pollak SD. Youths' processing of emotion information: Responses to chronic and video-based laboratory stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 122:104873. [PMID: 33070023 PMCID: PMC7686118 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Integrating multiple sources of information about others' emotional states is critical to making accurate emotional inferences. There is evidence that both acute and chronic stress influence how individuals perceive emotional information. However, there is little research examining how acute and chronic stress interact to impact these processes. The current study examined whether acute and chronic stress interact to influence how children make emotional inferences. Eighty-nine youths (aged 11-15 years) underwent a novel video-based social stressor. Children completed an emotion recognition task prior to and after the stressor in which they saw integrated displays of facial expressions and contexts depicting congruent or incongruent emotional information. Eye tracking assessed changes in attention to the stimuli. Children became more likely to use and attended more to facial information than contextual information when labeling emotions following exposure to acute stress. Moreover, the effect of acute stress on use of facial information to label emotions was stronger for children who experienced higher levels of chronic stress. These data suggest that acute stress shifts attention towards facial information while suppressing processing of other sources of emotional information, and that youths with a history of chronic stress are more susceptible to these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen E. Smith
- Department of Psychology and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison,Correspondence should be directed to Karen E. Smith, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Rm 392, Madison, WI 53705.
| | - Brian T. Leitzke
- Department of Psychology and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison
| | - Seth D. Pollak
- Department of Psychology and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Biological sensitivity to context: A test of the hypothesized U-shaped relation between early adversity and stress responsivity. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:641-660. [PMID: 31347484 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419000518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We conducted signal detection analyses to test for curvilinear, U-shaped relations between early experiences of adversity and heightened physiological responses to challenge, as proposed by biological sensitivity to context theory. Based on analysis of an ethnically diverse sample of 338 kindergarten children (4-6 years old) and their families, we identified levels and types of adversity that, singly and interactively, predicted high (top 25%) and low (bottom 25%) rates of stress reactivity. The results offered support for the hypothesized U-shaped curve and conceptually replicated and extended the work of Ellis, Essex, and Boyce (2005). Across both sympathetic and adrenocortical systems, a disproportionate number of children growing up under conditions characterized by either low or high adversity (as indexed by restrictive parenting, family stress, and family economic condition) displayed heightened stress reactivity, compared with peers growing up under conditions of moderate adversity. Finally, as hypothesized by the adaptive calibration model, a disproportionate number of children who experienced exceptionally stressful family conditions displayed blunted cortisol reactivity to stress.
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McLean MA, Van den Bergh BR, Baart M, Vroomen J, van den Heuvel MI. The late positive potential (LPP): A neural marker of internalizing problems in early childhood. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 155:78-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 05/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Condon EM. Chronic Stress in Children and Adolescents: A Review of Biomarkers for Use in Pediatric Research. Biol Res Nurs 2018; 20:473-496. [PMID: 29865855 DOI: 10.1177/1099800418779214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
PROBLEM Incorporating biomarkers of chronic stress into pediatric research studies may help to explicate the links between exposure to adversity and lifelong health, but there are currently very few parameters to guide nurse researchers in choosing appropriate biomarkers of chronic stress for use in research with children and adolescents. METHODS Biomarkers of chronic stress are described, including primary mediators (glucocorticoids, catecholamines, and cytokines) and secondary outcomes (neurologic, immune, metabolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, and anthropometric) of the chronic stress response. RESULTS Evidence of the use of each biomarker in pediatric research studies is reviewed. Recommendations for pediatric researchers, including selection of appropriate biomarkers, measurement considerations, potential moderators, and future directions for research, are presented. DISCUSSION A wide range of biomarkers is available for use in research studies with children. While primary mediators of chronic stress have been frequently measured in studies of children, measurement of secondary outcomes, particularly immune and metabolic biomarkers, has been limited. With thoughtful and theoretically based approaches to selection and measurement, these biomarkers present an important opportunity to further explore the physiologic pathways linking exposure to chronic stress with later health and disease. CONCLUSION The incorporation of chronic stress biomarkers into pediatric research studies may provide valuable insight into the mechanisms through which stressful environments "get under the skin" and ultimately inform efforts to promote health and reduce inequities among children exposed to adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen M Condon
- 1 Yale School of Nursing, West Campus Drive, Orange, CT, USA
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Bendezú JJ, Wadsworth ME. Person-centered examination of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to psychosocial stress: Links to preadolescent behavioral functioning and coping. Biol Psychol 2018; 132:143-153. [PMID: 29248565 PMCID: PMC5801083 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
This study adopted a person-centered approach to identify preadolescent salivary cortisol (sC) and alpha-amylase (sAA) co-activation response patterns and examine links to behavioral functioning and coping. Children (N = 151, 51.7% male) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and one of two randomly-assigned, post-TSST coping conditions: distraction or avoidance. Multi-trajectory modeling yielded four child subgroups. Child internalizing and externalizing positively predicted High sC-High sAA relative to Low sC-Low sAA and Low sC-High sAA relative to High sC-Low sAA subgroup membership, respectively. Low sC-Low sAA children demonstrated more efficient sC recovery when primed with distraction and more protracted sC recovery when primed with avoidance. For High sC-High sAA, internalizing children, the opposite was true. Findings illustrate adjustment-linked variability in preadolescent sC-sAA co-activation response patterns that further articulates for whom effortful coping works to effectively manage stressor-induced neuroendocrine activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason José Bendezú
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
| | - Martha E Wadsworth
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
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Zhao Q, Li H, Hu B, Li Y, Gillebert CR, Mantini D, Liu Q. Neural Correlates of Drug-Related Attentional Bias in Heroin Dependence. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 11:646. [PMID: 29410620 PMCID: PMC5787086 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The attention of drug-dependent persons tends to be captured by stimuli associated with drug consumption. This involuntary cognitive process is considered as attentional bias (AB). AB has been hypothesized to have causal effects on drug abuse and drug relapse, but its underlying neural mechanisms are still unclear. This study investigated the neural basis of AB in abstinent heroin addicts (AHAs), combining event-related potential (ERP) analysis and source localization techniques. Electroencephalography data were collected in 21 abstinent heroin addicts and 24 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) during a dot-probe task. In the task, a pair of drug-related image and neutral image was presented randomly in left and right side of the cross fixation, followed by a dot probe replacing one of the images. Behaviorally, AHAs had shorter reaction times (RTs) for the congruent condition compared to the incongruent condition, whereas this was not the case in the HCs. This finding demonstrated the presence of AB towards drug cues in AHAs. Furthermore, the image-evoked ERPs in AHAs had significant shorter P1 latency compared to HCs, as well as larger N1, N2, and P2 amplitude, suggesting that drug-related stimuli might capture attention early and overall require more attentional resources in AHAs. The target-related P3 had significantly shorter latency and lower amplitude in the congruent than incongruent condition in AHAs compared to HCs. Moreover, source localization of ERP components revealed increased activity for AHAs as compared to HCs in the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (dPCC), superior parietal lobule and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for image-elicited responses, and decreased activity in the occipital and the medial parietal lobes for target-elicited responses. Overall, the results of our study confirmed that AHAs may exhibit AB in drug-related contexts, and suggested that the bias might be related to an abnormal neural activity, both in early and late attention processing stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinglin Zhao
- Ubiquitous Awareness and Intelligent Solutions Lab, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Hongqian Li
- Ubiquitous Awareness and Intelligent Solutions Lab, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Bin Hu
- Ubiquitous Awareness and Intelligent Solutions Lab, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yonghui Li
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Céline R. Gillebert
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dante Mantini
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Quanying Liu
- Research Centre for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neural Control of Movement Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Gibb BE, McGeary JE, Beevers CG. Attentional biases to emotional stimuli: Key components of the RDoC constructs of sustained threat and loss. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2016; 171B:65-80. [PMID: 26369836 PMCID: PMC5664953 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Biased attention to emotional stimuli plays a key role in the RDoC constructs of Sustained Threat and Loss. In this article, we review approaches to assessing these biases, their links with psychopathology, and the underlying neural influences. We then review evidence from twin and candidate gene studies regarding genetic influences on attentional biases. We also discuss the impact of developmental and environmental influences and end with a number of suggestions for future research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - John E. McGeary
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Division of Behavioral Genetics, Rhode Island Hospital
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University
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