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Röhr AK, Kohn N, Bergs R, Clemens B, Lampert A, Spehr M, Habel U, Wagels L. Increased anger and stress and heightened connectivity between IFG and vmPFC in victims during social interaction. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8471. [PMID: 38605132 PMCID: PMC11009292 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57585-y] [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: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Self-identification as a victim of violence may lead to increased negative emotions and stress and thus, may change both structure and function of the underlying neural network(s). In a trans-diagnostic sample of individuals who identified themselves as victims of violence and a matched control group with no prior exposure to violence, we employed a social exclusion paradigm, the Cyberball task, to stimulate the re-experience of stress. Participants were partially excluded in the ball-tossing game without prior knowledge. We analyzed group differences in brain activity and functional connectivity during exclusion versus inclusion in exclusion-related regions. The victim group showed increased anger and stress levels during all conditions. Activation patterns during the task did not differ between groups but an enhanced functional connectivity between the IFG and the right vmPFC distinguished victims from controls during exclusion. This effect was driven by aberrant connectivity in victims during inclusion rather than exclusion, indicating that victimization affects emotional responses and inclusion-related brain connectivity rather than exclusion-related brain activity or connectivity. Victims may respond differently to the social context itself. Enhanced negative emotions and connectivity deviations during social inclusion may depict altered social processing and may thus affect social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Kristin Röhr
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Nils Kohn
- Donders Institute, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rene Bergs
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) - Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Germany
| | - Angelika Lampert
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Uniklinik RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Scientific Center for Neuropathic Pain Aachen - SCN Aachen, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Marc Spehr
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) - Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) - Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Germany.
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Kulakova E, Graumann L, Wingenfeld K. The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Social Cognition in Borderline Personality Disorder. Curr Neuropharmacol 2024; 22:378-394. [PMID: 37539934 PMCID: PMC10845078 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x21666230804085639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by emotional instability, impulsivity and unstable interpersonal relationships. Patients experience discomforting levels of distress, inducing symptoms like dissociation, aggression or withdrawal. Social situations are particularly challenging, and acute social stress can reduce patients' cognitive and social functioning. In patients with Major Depressive Disorder or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, which show high comorbidity with BPD, the endocrine stress response is characterized by Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction, which affects cognitive functioning. Compared to these clinical groups, research on HPA-axis function in BPD is relatively scarce, but evidence points towards a blunted cortisol reactivity to acute stress. Since BPD patients are particularly prone to social stress and experience high subjective difficulties in these situations, it seems plausible that HPA-axis dysregulation might contribute to decreased social cognition in BPD. The present review summarizes findings on the HPA-axis function in BPD and its association with social cognition following acute social stress. For this purpose, we review literature that employed a widely used social stressor (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) to study the effects of acute social stress on social cognition and the HPA-axis response. We contrast these findings with studies on social cognition that employed Cyberball, another widely used social stressor that lacks HPA-axis involvement. We conclude that research on social cognition in BPD reveals heterogeneous results with no clear relationship between social functioning and HPA-axis response. More research is needed to better understand the psychophysiological underpinnings of impaired social cognition in BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Kulakova
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Livia Graumann
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Wingenfeld
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
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Kogler L, Müller VI, Moser E, Windischberger C, Gur RC, Habel U, Eickhoff SB, Derntl B. Testosterone and the Amygdala's Functional Connectivity in Women and Men. J Clin Med 2023; 12:6501. [PMID: 37892639 PMCID: PMC10607739 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12206501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The amygdala contains androgen receptors and is involved in various affective and social functions. An interaction between testosterone and the amygdala's functioning is likely. We investigated the amygdala's resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) network in association with testosterone in 94 healthy young adult women and men (final data available for analysis from 42 women and 39 men). Across the whole sample, testosterone was positively associated with the rsFC between the right amygdala and the right middle occipital gyrus, and it further predicted lower agreeableness scores. Significant sex differences appeared for testosterone and the functional connectivity between the right amygdala and the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), showing higher testosterone levels with lower connectivity in women. Sex further predicted the openness and agreeableness scores. Our results show that testosterone modulates the rsFC between brain areas involved in affective processing and executive functions. The data indicate that the cognitive control of the amygdala via the frontal cortex is dependent on the testosterone levels in a sex-specific manner. Testosterone seems to express sex-specific patterns (1) in networks processing affect and cognition, and (2) in the frontal down-regulation of the amygdala. The sex-specific coupling between the amygdala and the frontal cortex in interaction with the hormone levels may drive sex-specific differences in a variety of behavioral phenomena that are further associated with psychiatric illnesses that show sex-specific prevalence rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) Partner Site, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Veronika I. Müller
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: Brain and Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; (V.I.M.); (S.B.E.)
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ewald Moser
- High-Field MR Center, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (E.M.); (C.W.)
| | - Christian Windischberger
- High-Field MR Center, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (E.M.); (C.W.)
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory and Neurodevelopment and Psychosis Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany;
- JARA BRAIN Institute I, Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: Brain and Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; (V.I.M.); (S.B.E.)
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, Calwerstrasse 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) Partner Site, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Network, University of Tübingen, Walter-Simon-Straße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for the Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction (IMPRS-MMFD), Otfried-Müller-Str. 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Xing J, Wu H, Wang X, Yi S, Wei Y, Zhao Y, Hu X. Psychological, physiological, and biochemical correlations after negative emotional videos in college students with and without premenstrual syndrome. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1228276. [PMID: 37649559 PMCID: PMC10463732 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1228276] [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] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) suffer heavily from emotional problems, the pathogenesis of which is believed to be related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, autonomic nervous system (ANS) and central nervous system (CNS). We took into account all 3 aspects to observed the psychological, physiological and biochemical correlations under anger and sadness in college students with and without PMS. Methods 33 students with PMS and 24 healthy students participated in the emotion induction experiment, and were required to fill out self-report scales. Their salivary cortisol (SCort), skin conductivity level (SCL), heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP) and electroencephalogram (EEG) data were collected at the resting stage and 10-15 minutes after each video. Results Compared to healthy controls, students with PMS showed lower SCort level and higher VLF at rest, and no statistic difference in activities of ANS and HPA axis after emotional videos, but different results in EEG in all conditions. The decreases in SBP during angry video, SCort after angry and neutral videos, and increases in θ band power during sad video were moderately correlated with increases in PMS score. No intergroup differences were found in self-report emotions. Discussion Students with PMS had lower activity of HPA axis and possibly higher activity of PNS at rest, and different response patterns in CNS in all conditions. Several EEG frequencies, especially θ band, in specific encephalic regions during emotional videos, as well as declined HPA activities in dealing with angry and neutral stressors, in which γ activity in frontal lobe may play a role, showed moderate correlations with more severe PMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyu Xing
- School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Wu
- Medical Department, Huguosi Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Xue Wang
- Chemical Industry Press Co., LTD, Beijing, China
| | - Shuang Yi
- School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Wei
- China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Zhao
- School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Xingang Hu
- Internal Encephalopathy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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Stout ME, Keirns BH, Hawkins MAW. Hypocortisolemic reactivity to acute social stress among lonely young women. Soc Neurosci 2023; 18:171-182. [PMID: 37381132 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2023.2229082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
We examined biopsychosocial stress of acute social pain in relation to chronic loneliness. Hypotheses: 1) Cyberball exclusion (vs. inclusion) would be associated with lower cortisol reactivity to a speech task, and 2) loneliness would moderate the relationship between social exclusion and cortisol reactivity to a speech task, such that higher loneliness would be linked to lower cortisol. Participants (n = 31, women, aged 18-25, 51.6% non-Hispanic white) were randomized to be excluded or included in a game of Cyberball, then completed a speech task. Salivary cortisol was measured at baseline, pre-speech, post-speech, and 15 minutes post-speech. Cortisol reactivity was calculated using area under the curve-increase (AUCi). ANOVA revealed a non-significant, meaningful effect of Cyberball exclusion on cortisol AUCi (p=.103, ηp2=.10), accounting for contraceptive use. Moderation analysis revealed among women with high loneliness, women in the exclusion condition had significantly lower cortisol reactivity than women in the inclusion condition (p=.001). For women with low and medium loneliness, there were no significant differences by Cyberball condition. In sum, lonely young women who are excluded may have hypocortisolemic responses to social stress. Results are consistent with literature suggesting that chronic stress is linked to lower cortisol responses, which is linked to negative physical health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison E Stout
- Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
| | - Bryant H Keirns
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
| | - Misty A W Hawkins
- Department of Health & Wellness Design, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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Defayette AB, Esposito-Smythers C, Cero I, Harris KM, Whitmyre ED, López R. Interpersonal stress and proinflammatory activity in emerging adults with a history of suicide risk: A pilot study. JOURNAL OF MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS 2023; 2:100016. [PMID: 37693104 PMCID: PMC10486198 DOI: 10.1016/j.xjmad.2023.100016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Interpersonal stress during adolescence and young adulthood can threaten healthy developmental trajectories. A "primed" proinflammatory response to acute stress may serve as an underlying process that results in negative outcomes for youth. The present pilot study examined the relation between interpersonal stress and two proinflammatory cytokines in a sample of 42 university-recruited emerging adults with recent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Participants completed self-report measures of mood, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, recent peer-related stressors, and interpersonal sensitivity. They also participated in an acute laboratory social stress task and provided three saliva samples to measure their proinflammatory responses (IL-6 and TNF-α) to the stressor. Participants reported significant increases in sadness and exclusion, and significant decreases in inclusion, following task participation. Importantly, no participants reported an increase in or onset of suicidal thoughts. No significant associations between interpersonal stress and proinflammatory cytokines were found. Changes in affect during the task coupled with lack of increased suicidal thoughts indicate it is acceptable to use this exclusion and rejection paradigm with this population, with proper debriefing and positive mood induction procedures. Given all other nonsignificant associations, future research considerations are discussed, including impact of COVID-19 on task potency and incorporation of multiple stress response systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annamarie B. Defayette
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | | | - Ian Cero
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Katherine M. Harris
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - Emma D. Whitmyre
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
| | - Roberto López
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, 3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
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Zhang X, Wang X, Dong D, Sun X, Zhong X, Xiong G, Cheng C, Lei H, Chai Y, Yu M, Quan P, Gehrman PR, Detre JA, Yao S, Rao H. Persistent Ventral Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Resolved Amygdala Hyper-responses to Negative Outcomes After Depression Remission: A Combined Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Study. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:268-278. [PMID: 36567087 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent mood disorder affecting more than 300 million people worldwide. Biased processing of negative information and neural hyper-responses to negative events are hallmarks of depression. This study combined cross-sectional and longitudinal experiments to explore both persistent and resolved neural hyper-responses to negative outcomes from risky decision making in patients with current MDD (cMDD) and remitted MDD (rMDD). METHODS A total of 264 subjects participated in the cross-sectional study, including 117 patients with medication-naïve, first-episode current depression; 45 patients with rMDD with only 1 episode of depression; and 102 healthy control subjects. Participants completed a modified balloon analog risk task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. In the longitudinal arm of the study, 42 patients with cMDD were followed and 26 patients with rMDD were studied again after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment. RESULTS Patients with cMDD showed hyper-responses to loss outcomes in multiple limbic regions including the amygdala and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC). Amygdala but not vACC hyperactivity correlated with depression scores in patients with cMDD. Furthermore, amygdala hyperactivity resolved while vACC hyperactivity persisted in patients with rMDD in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. CONCLUSIONS These findings provide consistent evidence supporting differential patterns of amygdala and vACC hyper-responses to negative outcomes during depression remission. Amygdala hyperactivity may be a symptomatic and state-dependent marker of depressive neural responses, while vACC hyperactivity may reflect a persistent and state-independent effect of depression on brain function. These findings offer new insights into the neural underpinnings of depression remission and prevention of depression recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaocui Zhang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, China; Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; School of Educational Science, Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, China
| | - Daifeng Dong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Xiaoqiang Sun
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Xue Zhong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Ge Xiong
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Chang Cheng
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hui Lei
- College of Education, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ya Chai
- Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China; Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Meichen Yu
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Peng Quan
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Research Center for Quality of Life and Applied Psychology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China
| | - Philip R Gehrman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - John A Detre
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, China
| | - Hengyi Rao
- Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China; Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Bürger Z, Müller VI, Hoffstaedter F, Habel U, Gur RC, Windischberger C, Moser E, Derntl B, Kogler L. Stressor-Specific Sex Differences in Amygdala-Frontal Cortex Networks. J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12030865. [PMID: 36769521 PMCID: PMC9918214 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12030865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Females and males differ in stress reactivity, coping, and the prevalence rates of stress-related disorders. According to a neurocognitive framework of stress coping, the functional connectivity between the amygdala and frontal regions (including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)) plays a key role in how people deal with stress. In the current study, we investigated the effects of sex and stressor type in a within-subject counterbalanced design on the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the amygdala and these frontal regions in 77 healthy participants (40 females). Both stressor types led to changes in subjective ratings, with decreasing positive affect and increasing negative affect and anger. Females showed higher amygdala-vACC and amygdala-mPFC rsFC for social exclusion than for achievement stress, and compared to males. Whereas a higher amygdala-vACC rsFC indicates the activation of emotion processing and coping, a higher amygdala-mPFC rsFC indicates feelings of reward and social gain, highlighting the positive effects of social affiliation. Thus, for females, feeling socially affiliated might be more fundamental than for males. Our data indicate interactions of sex and stressor in amygdala-frontal coupling, which translationally contributes to a better understanding of the sex differences in prevalence rates and stress coping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoé Bürger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Correspondence: (Z.B.); (L.K.); Tel.: +49-(0)-707129-85736 (Z.B.)
| | - Veronika I. Müller
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-7, Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Felix Hoffstaedter
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-7, Research Centre Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- JARA BRAIN Institute I, Translational Brain Medicine, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Neuropsychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Christian Windischberger
- High-Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ewald Moser
- High-Field MR Center, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Centre for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical Faculty, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Correspondence: (Z.B.); (L.K.); Tel.: +49-(0)-707129-85736 (Z.B.)
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9
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Hofhansel L, Weidler C, Clemens B, Habel U, Votinov M. Personal insult disrupts regulatory brain networks in violent offenders. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:4654-4664. [PMID: 36124828 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac369] [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: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The failure to adequately regulate negative emotions represents a prominent characteristic of violent offenders. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we used technical, nonsocial frustration to elicit anger in violent offenders (n = 19) and then increased the provocation by adding personal insults (social provocation). The aim was to investigate neural connectivity patterns involved in anger processing, to detect the effect of increasing provocation by personal insult, and to compare anger-related connectivity patterns between offenders and noncriminal controls (n = 12). During technical frustration, the offenders showed increased neural connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex compared to the controls. Conversely, personal insults, and thus increased levels of provocation, resulted in a significant reduction of neural connectivity between regions involved in cognitive control in the offenders but not controls. We conclude that, when (nonsocially) frustrated, offenders were able to employ regulatory brain networks by displaying stronger connectivity between regulatory prefrontal and limbic regions than noncriminal controls. In addition, offenders seemed particularly sensitive to personal insults, which led to increased implicit aggression (by means of motoric responses) and reduced connectivity in networks involved in cognitive control (including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, middle/superior temporal regions).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Hofhansel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Carmen Weidler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Mikhail Votinov
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Research Center Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strase 52428 Jülich, Germany
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10
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Brain activation elicited by acute stress: An ALE meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:706-724. [PMID: 34801579 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Stress abounds in daily life and is closely related to psychiatric disease. Less is known about the neural basis for the gender differences in stress, and the common and specific neural mechanism for physiological and psychosocial stress. The current study obtained 141 stress-oriented neuroimaging experiments from 126 eligible articles and sorted them into nine types of neuroimaging datasets based on the combination of stress (general, physiological or psychosocial) and gender (overall, male or female). An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was conducted on each dataset to detect the spatial convergence of activations. A hierarchical clustering analysis was also conducted to uncover the relationship between the stress-induced paradigms and spatial distribution of brain activations. We found that the physiological stress and psychosocial stress showed common activation in the bilateral anterior insula and brainstem, but different activation likelihood in the bilateral insula, thalami, middle cingulate cortex, left fusiform gyri, and left amygdala. Men were more likely to activate the bilateral thalami during physiological stress, whereas women were more likely to activate the left amygdala during psychosocial stress. The activation patterns are more consistent among different physiological stress paradigms than psychosocial stress paradigms. Our results suggest that physiological stress and psychosocial stress activate common brain regions for movement and attentional regulation but different brain regions for sensory and affective processing.
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11
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Johnson LE, Parra LA, Ugarte E, Weissman DG, Han SG, Robins RW, Guyer AE, Hastings PD. Patterns of poverty across adolescence predict salivary cortisol stress responses in Mexican-origin youths. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 132:105340. [PMID: 34246154 PMCID: PMC8820840 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Poverty is a chronic stressor associated with disruptions in psychophysiological development during adolescence. This study examined associations of chronic poverty and income changes experienced from pre- to mid-adolescence with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses in late adolescence. Participants (N = 229) were adolescents of Mexican-origin (48.7% female). Household income (converted to income-to-needs ratios) was assessed annually when children were 10-16 years old. At 17 years, adolescents completed Cyberball, a social exclusion simulation task while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Saliva samples were collected prior to and five times over a 50-minute period following the scan, from which salivary cortisol was assayed. Results showed that differential trajectories of poverty from ages 10-16 predicted HPA axis activity at age 17. Relative to others, distinct HPA suppression (hyporeactivity) was demonstrated by youth who started adolescence in deep poverty and were still living in poverty at age 16 despite experiencing some income gains. Youth from more economically secure families evinced typical cortisol increases following the lab stressor. These results suggest that subsequent HPA functioning varies as a function of economic status throughout adolescence, and that efforts to increase family income may promote healthy HPA functioning for youths in the most impoverished circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa E. Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis,Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
| | - Luis A. Parra
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis,Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis,Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California
| | - Elisa Ugarte
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis,Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis
| | | | - Sasha G. Han
- Department of Psychology, St. Bonaventure University
| | | | - Amanda E. Guyer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis,Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis
| | - Paul D. Hastings
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis,Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
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12
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Radke S, Jankowiak K, Tops S, Abel T, Habel U, Derntl B. Neurobiobehavioral responses to virtual social rejection in females-exploring the influence of oxytocin. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:326-333. [PMID: 33326562 PMCID: PMC7943366 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, especially adolescents and young adults interact frequently via social media and digital communication. Mimicking an online communication platform where participants could initiate short conversations with two computerized interlocutors, the Verbal Interaction Social Threat Task (VISTTA) was used to induce feelings of social rejection. Motivational and physiological reactions were investigated in 43 healthy young women undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), of which 22 received 24 international units (IU) intranasal oxytocin and 21 received placebo. Replicating previous findings, social rejection entailed a lower willingness to cooperate with the two peers. Increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula/inferior frontal gyrus was observed when receiving negative feedback from others, and in the precuneus when subsequently rating one's willingness to cooperate with them in the future. Oxytocin did not seem to alter responses to social rejection. The current findings provide validation of the VISTTA for examining consequences of rejection in a virtual social interaction that bears a strong resemblance to online communication platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina Radke
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH, Aachen 52074, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – BRAIN Institute I: Brain Structure-Function Relationships: Decoding the Human Brain at Systemic Levels, Research Center Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Kathrin Jankowiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH, Aachen 52074, Germany
- Research Center for Bioelectromagnetic Interaction (femu) – Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Sanne Tops
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Ted Abel
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH, Aachen 52074, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – BRAIN Institute I: Brain Structure-Function Relationships: Decoding the Human Brain at Systemic Levels, Research Center Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52074, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
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13
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Sorella S, Grecucci A, Piretti L, Job R. Do anger perception and the experience of anger share common neural mechanisms? Coordinate-based meta-analytic evidence of similar and different mechanisms from functional neuroimaging studies. Neuroimage 2021; 230:117777. [PMID: 33503484 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural bases of anger are still a matter of debate. In particular we do not know whether anger perception and anger experience rely on similar or different neural mechanisms. To study this topic, we performed activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analyses of human neuroimaging studies on 61 previous studies on anger perception and experience. Anger perception analysis resulted in significant activation in the amygdala, the right superior temporal gyrus, the right fusiform gyrus and the right IFG, thus revealing the role of perceptual temporal areas for perceiving angry stimuli. Anger experience analysis resulted in the bilateral activations of the insula and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, thus revealing a role for these areas in the subjective experience of anger and, possibly, in a subsequent evaluation of the situation. Conjunction analyses revealed a common area localized in the right inferior frontal gyrus, probably involved in the conceptualization of anger for both perception and experience. Altogether these results provide new insights on the functional architecture underlying the neural processing of anger that involves separate and joint mechanisms. According to our tentative model, angry stimuli are processed by temporal areas, such as the superior temporal gyrus, the fusiform gyrus and the amygdala; on the other hand, the subjective experience of anger mainly relies on the anterior insula; finally, this pattern of activations converges in the right IFG. This region seems to play a key role in the elaboration of a general meaning of this emotion, when anger is perceived or experienced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Sorella
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luca Piretti
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Remo Job
- Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (DiPSCo), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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14
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Berretz G, Packheiser J, Kumsta R, Wolf OT, Ocklenburg S. The brain under stress-A systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of changes in BOLD signal associated with acute stress exposure. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 124:89-99. [PMID: 33497786 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is an omnipresent phenomenon whose neural correlates in humans are still poorly understood. Several paradigms have been developed to induce acute stress in fMRI settings, but it is unclear whether there is a global brain activation pattern related to psychosocial stress. To integrate the different neuronal activation patterns, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation analysis on 31 studies totaling 1279 participants. Studies used the ScanSTRESS, Montreal Imaging Stress Test, aversive viewing paradigm (AVP), Social-Evaluative Threat or Cyberball. The analysis revealed bilateral activation clusters comprising the claustrum, insula and inferior frontal gyrus. This indicates that exposure to psychosocial stress leads to activations in brain areas involved in affective processing and the endocrine stress response. Furthermore, in a systematic review, Cyberball and AVP presented themselves as outliers due to increased activation in motor areas and lack of induction of stress related activity changes, respectively. As different paradigms emphasize different dimensions of psychosocial stress such as social evaluation or performance pressure, future research is needed to identify differences between the paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Berretz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Robert Kumsta
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Institute of Health and Development, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Oliver T Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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15
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Mwilambwe-Tshilobo L, Spreng RN. Social exclusion reliably engages the default network: A meta-analysis of Cyberball. Neuroimage 2020; 227:117666. [PMID: 33359341 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Social exclusion refers to the experience of being disregarded or rejected by others and has wide-ranging negative consequences for well-being and cognition. Cyberball, a game where a ball is virtually tossed between players, then leads to the exclusion of the research participant, is a common method used to examine the experience of social exclusion. The neural correlates of social exclusion remain a topic of debate, particularly with regards to the role of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the concept of social pain. Here we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to identify brain activity reliably engaged by social exclusion during Cyberball task performance (Studies = 53; total N = 1,817 participants). Results revealed consistent recruitment in ventral anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate cortex, inferior and superior frontal gyri, posterior insula, and occipital pole. No reliable activity was observed in dACC. Using a probabilistic atlas to define dACC, fewer than 15% of studies reported peak coordinates in dACC. Meta-analytic connectivity mapping suggests patterns of co-activation are consistent with the topography of the default network. Reverse inference for cognition associated with reliable Cyberball activity computed in Neurosynth revealed social exclusion to be associated with cognitive terms Social, Autobiographical, Mental States, and Theory of Mind. Taken together, these findings highlight the role of the default network in social exclusion and warns against interpretations of the dACC as a key region involved in the experience of social exclusion in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laetitia Mwilambwe-Tshilobo
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - R Nathan Spreng
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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16
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Virtual and real-life ostracism and its impact on a subsequent acute stressor. Physiol Behav 2020; 228:113205. [PMID: 33058901 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
While ostracism constitutes a social stressor with negative effects on physical and mental health, social inclusion seems to increase resilience. This may be true not only for face-to-face settings, but also for computer-mediated interactions. Hence, this study examined the differences between ostracism and social inclusion in real-life or Virtual Reality (VR) regarding self-reported stress, neuroendocrine and cardiovascular reactivity in a subsequent real-life socio-evaluative task. 84 females were randomly assigned to a 3 (agency: face-to-face/human controlled VR-avatar/computer VR-agent) x 2 (inclusion status: inclusion/exclusion) between-subject design using a Cyberball paradigm. Subsequently, they were exposed to a real-life Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Results indicate that the experience of ostracism constitutes a threat to fundamental social needs independent of agency. Excluded participants showed cardiovascular reactivity during TSST; also face-to-face and avatar excluded individuals had elevated salivary cortisol levels. Included participants reported more perceived social support during Cyberball and showed a blunted cortisol response to the TSST. These results suggest that face-to-face and avatar-related ostracism provokes responses in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Furthermore, they reveal that social inclusion may act as a stress-protector as it alters HPA- and SNS-related stress responsiveness to subsequent stressors.
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17
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Associations between brain activity and endogenous and exogenous cortisol - A systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 120:104775. [PMID: 32592873 PMCID: PMC7502528 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
To arrive at a coherent understanding of the relation between glucocorticoids and the human brain, we systematically reviewed the literature for studies examining the associations between endogenous or exogenous cortisol and human brain function. Higher levels of endogenous cortisol during psychological stress were related to increased activity in the middle temporal gyrus and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), decreased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and altered function (i.e., mixed findings, increased or decreased) in the amygdala, hippocampus and inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, endogenous cortisol response to psychological stress was related to increased activity in the inferior temporal gyrus and altered function in the amygdala during emotional tasks that followed psychological stress. Exogenous cortisol administration was related to increased activity in the postcentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus and ACC, and altered function in the amygdala and hippocampus during conditioning, emotional and reward-processing tasks after cortisol administration. These findings were in line with those from animal studies on amygdala activity during and after stress.
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18
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Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, Bezek J, Bruno A, Denson TF, Hendler T, Lowe L, Mariotti V, Muscatello MR, Palumbo S, Pellegrini S, Pietrini P, Rizzo A, Verona E. The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:480-497. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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19
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Lobmaier JS, Probst F, Lory V, Meyer AH, Meinlschmidt G. Increased sensitivity to social exclusion during the luteal phase: Progesterone as resilience factor buffering against ostracism? Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 107:217-224. [PMID: 31152968 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
A woman's social behaviour reportedly varies across the menstrual cycle. In this study, we estimated changes in sensitivity to social exclusion across the menstrual cycle and scrutinized the related role of progesterone. Forty-nine naturally cycling women played a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball) to manipulate social inclusion. All participants underwent inclusion and exclusion conditions during the late follicular and the luteal phase. We assessed salivary progesterone concentrations at each cycle phase. After each Cyberball session we measured positive/negative mood using the Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire (MDMQ). Multilevel analyses indicated that women showed worse mood following exclusion as compared to inclusion conditions (p = 0.014). Notably, this exclusion effect was more pronounced during the luteal phase than the late follicular phase (p = 0.029). As expected, progesterone concentrations were higher during the luteal phase as compared to the late follicular phase, but interestingly, progesterone concentrations were negatively associated with exclusion effects. When accounting for mediation via progesterone, direct cycle-phase related differences in social exclusion effects even increased as compared to the model without mediator. These findings suggest that progesterone may function as buffer against negative feelings that result from being socially excluded. The relevance of these findings for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) are discussed, and we conclude that social exclusion may represent an important research domain criterion (RDoC) of relevance for PMDD, with progesterone pointing to new potential pharmacological targets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabian Probst
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Vanda Lory
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea H Meyer
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Gunther Meinlschmidt
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; International Psychoanalytic University, Division of Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Switzerland
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20
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Tops S, Habel U, Abel T, Derntl B, Radke S. The Verbal Interaction Social Threat Task: A New Paradigm Investigating the Effects of Social Rejection in Men and Women. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:830. [PMID: 31440131 PMCID: PMC6692967 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, digital communication and social media have taken an indispensable role in human society. Social interactions are no longer bound to real-life encounters, but more often happen from behind a screen. Mimicking an online communication platform, we developed a new, fMRI compatible, social threat paradigm to investigate sex differences in reactions to social rejection. During the Verbal Interaction Social Threat Task (VISTTA), participants initiate 30 short conversations by selecting one of four predefined opening sentences. Two computerized interlocutors respond to the opening sentence mostly with negative comments and rejections toward the participant, which should induce social-evaluative threat. Physiological and subjective responses were measured, before, during, and after the VISTTA in 61 (29 male and 32 female) first year students who received either mostly negative (n = 31; threat group) or neutral comments (n = 30; control group). Two-level behavioral validation included social threat-induced mood changes in participants, and interlocutor evaluation. The latter consisted of multiple variables such as "willingness to cooperate" after every conversation, an overall fairness evaluation of interlocutors, and evaluations per reaction indicating how positive or negative it was received. We acquired additional physiological measures including cortisol assays via saliva samples, heart rate, and blood pressure. Confirming our hypotheses, peer rejection and exclusion during the VISTTA led to less willingness to cooperate and lower fairness evaluation of interlocutors. It also induced feelings of anger and surprise and lower happiness in the social-threat group. Women showed overall higher emotion ratings compared to men. Contrary to our a priori hypothesis, the VISTTA did not induce cortisol and heart rate increases. However, the stable cortisol response in women in the threat group does not follow the circadian decline and might reflect an endocrinological response. The decline in cortisol response in men in both the threat and control group could indicate faster habituation to the VISTTA. Taken together, these findings indicate effects of social-evaluative threat on a behavioral level, and more moderate effects on the emotional and physiological level. Sex differences in affective and cortisol responses may indicate that women are more susceptible for the social-evaluative threat than men. With a realistic implementation of verbal, interactive, and social components, the VISTTA is designed as an fMRI paradigm that can be applied to elucidate the neural representation of social-evaluative threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne Tops
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance – BRAIN Institute I: Brain Structure–Function Relationships: Decoding the Human Brain at Systemic Levels, Research Center Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ted Abel
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Iowa Neuroscience Institute, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sina Radke
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance – BRAIN Institute I: Brain Structure–Function Relationships: Decoding the Human Brain at Systemic Levels, Research Center Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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21
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Kroll SL, Williams DP, Thoma M, Staib M, Binz TM, Baumgartner MR, Kirschbaum C, Thayer JF, Quednow BB. Non-medical prescription opioid users exhibit dysfunctional physiological stress responses to social rejection. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 100:264-275. [PMID: 30594739 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Non-medical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) recently increased dramatically, especially in the U.S. Although chronic opioid use is commonly accompanied by deficits in social functioning and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenergic (HPA) stress axis, little is known about the impact of NMPOU on psychosocial stress responses. Therefore, we measured physiological responses of the autonomic nervous system and the HPA axis to social rejection using the Cyberball paradigm. We compared 23 individuals with NMPOU, objectively confirmed by hair and urine analyses, with 29 opioid-naïve, healthy controls. As expected, heart rate variability (HRV), an index of parasympathetic activity, increased significantly during exclusion within controls, while in the NMPOU group only a trend in the same direction was found. However, increased HRV was robustly moderated by opioid craving indicating worse emotion regulation to social exclusion specifically in individuals with high opioid craving. Greater levels of the adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol responses to social rejection were found in the NMPOU group indicating hyperreactivity of the HPA axis to social exclusion. Self-ratings suggest that opioid users were aware of rejection, but less emotionally affected by exclusion. Furthermore, controls showed greater negative mood after the Cyberball confirming the task's validity. Moreover, NMPOU individuals reported a smaller social network size compared to controls. Present findings suggest that chronic NMPOU is associated with dysfunctional physiological responses to psychosocial stressors such as social rejection. In sum, NMPOU was associated with poorer regulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, especially under opioid craving highlighting its potential importance in relapse prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara L Kroll
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - DeWayne P Williams
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Martina Thoma
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Staib
- Psychological Institute, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestrasse 14, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tina M Binz
- Center for Forensic Hair Analysis, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Kurvenstrasse 17, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Markus R Baumgartner
- Center for Forensic Hair Analysis, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Kurvenstrasse 17, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Clemens Kirschbaum
- Institute of Biological Psychology, Technical University of Dresden, Zellescher Weg 19, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Boris B Quednow
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
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22
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Ponsi G, Monachesi B, Panasiti V, Aglioti SM, Panasiti MS. Physiological and behavioral reactivity to social exclusion: a functional infrared thermal imaging study in patients with psoriasis. J Neurophysiol 2018; 121:38-49. [PMID: 30379630 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00555.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity can be heavily impacted not only by basic threats to survival but also by threats to social bonds. In this study we explored the behavioral and physiological consequences of social exclusion/inclusion in patients with psoriasis, a disease frequently associated with the experience of being ostracized and with deficient emotion regulation skills. We employed a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball) to induce the experience of social exclusion/inclusion. We then used a Trust Game to measure the effects of this social modulation on trust. During Cyberball, infrared thermal imaging was used to record participants' facial temperature and thus obtain an online measure of SNS activation. Behavioral data showed that social exclusion shifted participants' trust toward unfamiliar players who had not previously excluded them. Physiological data indicated that in control participants, social exclusion triggered higher SNS activation than inclusion. No such effect was found in patients with psoriasis, whose SNS activity was the same during inclusion as it was during exclusion, suggesting that they benefit less from inclusive experiences than control participants. In addition, in patients but not in controls, higher SNS activation during social exclusion was linked to higher monetary investment toward unfamiliar players, a result in keeping with the social reconnection hypothesis, according to which emotions triggered by social rejection can be regulated by investing in new social interactions. We also found that an increase in periorbital temperature is accompanied by a decrease in happiness ratings after social exclusion was experienced during the Cyberball game. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous research on emotional processes in psoriasis has mainly employed self-report measures. In this study we used thermal imaging to obtain an online measure of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity during social exclusion and tested how this experience influenced subsequent trust. We found that being included was a less positive experience for patients compared with controls and that SNS activity during exclusion had a stronger influence on subsequent trust in patients than in controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgia Ponsi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome , Rome , Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation , Rome , Italy
| | - Bianca Monachesi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome , Rome , Italy
| | - Vincenzo Panasiti
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome , Rome , Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome , Rome , Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation , Rome , Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome , Rome , Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation , Rome , Italy
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