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Jenkins KC, Difatta J, Jones EE, Kreutzer KA, Way BM, Phan KL, Gorka SM. Sleep quality impacts the link between reactivity to uncertain threat and anxiety and alcohol use in youth. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14490. [PMID: 38217499 PMCID: PMC10922133 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14490] [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: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Individual differences in reactivity to unpredictable threat (U-threat) have repeatedly been linked to symptoms of anxiety and drinking behavior. An emerging theory is that individuals who are hyper-reactive to U-threat experience chronic anticipatory anxiety, hyperarousal, and are vulnerable to excessive alcohol use via negative reinforcement processes. Notably, anxiety and alcohol use commonly relate to disruptions in sleep behavior and recent findings suggest that sleep quality may impact the link between reactivity to U-threat and psychiatric symptoms and behaviors. The aim of the current study was to examine the unique and interactive effects of reactivity to U-threat and sleep quality on anxiety symptoms and drinking behavior in a cohort of youth, ages 16-19 years. Participants (N = 112) completed a well-validated threat-of-shock task designed to probe individual differences in reactivity to U-threat and predictable threat (P-threat). Startle eyeblink potentiation was recorded during the task as an index of aversive reactivity. Participants also completed well-validated self-report measures of anxiety and depression symptoms, lifetime alcohol use, and current sleep quality. Results revealed significant startle reactivity to U-threat by sleep quality interactions on anxiety symptoms and lifetime drinking behavior. At high levels of sleep disturbance (only), greater reactivity to U-threat was associated with greater anxiety symptoms and total number of lifetime alcoholic beverages. These results suggest that sensitivity to uncertainty and chronic hyperarousal increases anxiety symptoms and alcohol use behavior, particularly in the context of poor sleep quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn C Jenkins
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Jordan Difatta
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Emily E Jones
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Kayla A Kreutzer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Baldwin M Way
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Beatty CC, Ferry RA, Eaton NR, Klein DN, Nelson BD. Neurobiological sensitivity to unpredictable threat and familial risk for the internalizing and externalizing spectra in adolescents. Psychol Med 2023; 53:5395-5404. [PMID: 35982518 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722002434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is a key developmental period for the emergence of psychiatric disorders. However, there is still no consensus on the core mechanisms of dysfunction in youth. Neurobiological sensitivity to unpredictable threat has been associated with several psychiatric disorders in adults. The present study examined adolescent defensive motivation (startle reflex) and attention (event-related potentials) in anticipation of unpredictable threat in relation to both adolescent and maternal (i.e. familial risk) internalizing and externalizing spectra. METHODS The sample included 395 15-year-old adolescents and their biological mothers. Adolescent startle potentiation and probe P300 suppression (indicating increased attention to threat) were measured in anticipation of predictable and unpredictable threat. Adolescent and maternal lifetime history of psychiatric disorders were assessed via semi-structured diagnostic interviews, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to model internalizing and externalizing spectra. RESULTS The adolescent internalizing spectrum was positively associated with adolescent startle potentiation and probe P300 suppression to unpredictable threat. Conversely, the adolescent externalizing spectrum was negatively associated with adolescent P300 suppression to unpredictable threat. The maternal internalizing spectrum was positively associated with adolescent startle potentiation to unpredictable threat and P300 suppression to both predictable and unpredictable threat. The maternal externalizing spectrum was negatively associated with adolescent startle potentiation to unpredictable threat and P300 suppression to both predictable and unpredictable threat. Adolescent and maternal internalizing and externalizing spectra were independently related to adolescent startle potentiation and P300 suppression. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent neurobiological sensitivity to unpredictable threat is associated with both personal history and familial risk for the internalizing and externalizing spectra.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Beatty
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Rachel A Ferry
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Nicholas R Eaton
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Daniel N Klein
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
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Tabibnia G, Ghahremani DG, Pochon JBF, Diaz MP, London ED. Negative affect and craving during abstinence from smoking are both linked to default mode network connectivity. Drug Alcohol Depend 2023; 249:109919. [PMID: 37270935 PMCID: PMC10516582 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative affect and craving during abstinence from cigarettes predict resumption of smoking. Therefore, understanding their neural substrates may guide development of new interventions. Negative affect and craving have traditionally been linked to functions of the brain's threat and reward networks, respectively. However, given the role of default mode network (DMN), particularly the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), in self-related thought, we examined whether DMN activity underlies both craving and negative affective states in adults who smoke. METHODS 46 adults who smoke abstained from smoking overnight and underwent resting-state fMRI, after self-reporting their psychological symptoms (negative affect) and craving on the Shiffman-Jarvik Withdrawal Scale and state anxiety (negative affect) on the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Within-DMN functional connectivity using 3 different anterior PCC seeds was tested for correlations with self-report measures. Additionally, independent component analysis with dual regression was performed to measure associations of self-report with whole-brain connectivity of the DMN component. RESULTS Craving correlated positively with connectivity of all three anterior PCC seeds with posterior PCC clusters (pcorr<0.04). The measures of negative affective states correlated positively with connectivity of the DMN component to various brain regions, including posterior PCC (pcorr=0.02) and striatum (pcorr<0.008). Craving and state anxiety were correlated with connectivity of an overlapping region of PCC (pcorr=0.003). Unlike the state measures, nicotine dependence and trait anxiety were not associated with PCC connectivity within DMN. CONCLUSIONS Although negative affect and craving are distinct subjective states, they appear to share a common neural pathway within the DMN, particularly involving the PCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Golnaz Tabibnia
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
| | - Dara G Ghahremani
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jean-Baptiste F Pochon
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Maylen Perez Diaz
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Edythe D London
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Dell’Acqua C, Palomba D, Patron E, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Rethinking the risk for depression using the RDoC: A psychophysiological perspective. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1108275. [PMID: 36814670 PMCID: PMC9939768 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1108275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering that the classical categorical approach to mental disorders does not allow a clear identification of at-risk conditions, the dimensional approach provided by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) is useful in the exploration of vulnerability to psychopathology. In the RDoC era, psychophysiological models have an important role in the reconceptualization of mental disorders. Indeed, progress in the study of depression vulnerability has increasingly been informed by psychophysiological models. By adopting an RDoC lens, this narrative review focuses on how psychophysiological models can be used to advance our knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression vulnerability. Findings from psychophysiological research that explored multiple RDoC domains in populations at-risk for depression are reviewed and discussed. Future directions for the application of psychophysiological research in reaching a more complete understanding of depression vulnerability and, ultimately, improving clinical utility, are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell’Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,*Correspondence: Carola Dell’Acqua, ✉
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy,Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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Maresh K, Papageorgiou A, Ridout D, Harrison NA, Mandy W, Skuse D, Muntoni F. Startle responses in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a novel biomarker of brain dystrophin deficiency. Brain 2023; 146:252-265. [PMID: 35136951 PMCID: PMC9825594 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by loss of dystrophin in muscle, however patients also have variable degree of intellectual disability and neurobehavioural co-morbidities. In contrast to muscle, in which a single full-length dystrophin isoform (Dp427) is produced, multiple isoforms are produced in the brain, and their deficiency accounts for the variability of CNS manifestations, with increased risk of comorbidities in patients carrying mutations affecting the 3' end of the gene, which disrupt expression of shorter Dp140 and Dp71 isoforms. A mouse model (mdx mouse) lacks Dp427 in muscle and CNS and exhibits exaggerated startle responses to threat, linked to the deficiency of dystrophin in limbic structures such as the amygdala, which normalize with postnatal brain dystrophin-restoration therapies. A pathological startle response is not a recognized feature of DMD, and its characterization has implications for improved clinical management and translational research. To investigate startle responses in DMD, we used a novel fear-conditioning task in an observational study of 56 males aged 7-12 years (31 affected boys, mean age 9.7 ± 1.8 years; 25 controls, mean age 9.6 ± 1.4 years). Trials of two neutral visual stimuli were presented to participants: one 'safe' cue presented alone; one 'threat' cue paired with an aversive noise to enable conditioning of physiological startle responses (skin conductance response and heart rate). Retention of conditioned physiological responses was subsequently tested by presenting both cues without the aversive noise in an 'Extinction' phase. Primary outcomes were the initial unconditioned skin conductance and change in heart rate responses to the aversive 'threat' and acquisition and retention of conditioned responses after conditioning. Secondary and exploratory outcomes were neuropsychological measures and genotype associations. The mean unconditioned skin conductance response was greater in the DMD group than controls [mean difference 3.0 µS (1.0, 5.1); P = 0.004], associated with a significant threat-induced bradycardia only in the patient group [mean difference -8.7 bpm (-16.9, -0.51); P = 0.04]. Participants with DMD found the task more aversive than controls, with increased early termination rates during the Extinction phase (26% of DMD group versus 0% of controls; P = 0.007). This study provides the first evidence that boys with DMD show similar increased unconditioned startle responses to threat to the mdx mouse, which in the mouse respond to brain dystrophin restoration. Our study provides new insights into the neurobiology underlying the complex neuropsychiatric co-morbidities in DMD and defines an objective measure of this CNS phenotype, which will be valuable for future CNS-targeted dystrophin-restoration studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Maresh
- Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
- Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Andriani Papageorgiou
- Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Deborah Ridout
- Population, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
- NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Neil A Harrison
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
| | - William Mandy
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David Skuse
- Department of Behavioural and Brain Sciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Francesco Muntoni
- Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
- Queen Square Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Newsome P, Ruiz SG, Gold AL, Pine DS, Abend R. Fear-potentiated startle reveals diminished threat extinction in pathological anxiety. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 183:81-91. [PMID: 36442665 PMCID: PMC9812922 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major theories propose that perturbed threat learning is central to pathological anxiety, but empirical support is inconsistent. Failures to detect associations with anxiety may reflect limitations in quantifying conditioned responses to anticipated threat, and hinder translation of theory into empirical work. In prior work, we could not detect threat-specific anxiety effects on states of conditioned threat using psychophysiology in a large sample of patients and healthy comparisons. Here, we examine the utility of an alternative fear potentiated startle (FPS) scoring in revealing associations between anxiety and threat conditioning and extinction in this dataset. Secondary analyses further explored associations among conditioned threat responses, subcortical morphometry, and treatment outcomes. METHODS Youths and adults with anxiety disorders and healthy comparisons (n = 306; 178 female participants; 8-50 years) previously completed a well-validated differential threat learning paradigm. FPS and skin conductance response (SCR) quantified psychophysiological responses during threat conditioning and extinction. In this report, we examined normalizing raw FPS scores to intertrial intervals (ITI) to address challenges in more common approaches to FPS scoring which could mask group effects. Secondary analyses examined associations between FPS and subcortical morphometry and with response to exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy in a subsample of patients. RESULTS Patients and comparisons showed comparable differential threat conditioning using FPS and SCR. While SCR suggested comparable extinction between groups, FPS revealed stronger retention of threat contingency during extinction in individuals with anxiety disorders. Extinction indexed with FPS was not associated with age, morphometry, or anxiety treatment outcome. CONCLUSION ITI-normalized FPS may have utility in detecting difficulties in extinguishing conditioned threat responses in anxiety. These findings provide support for extinction theories of anxiety and encourage continued research on aberrant extinction in pathological anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Newsome
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sonia G Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Andrea L Gold
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rany Abend
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Israel.
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Mumper EE, Ferry RA, Klein DN, Nelson BD. Effects of early childhood behavioral inhibition and parental anxiety disorder on adolescents' startle response to predictable and unpredictable threat. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2022; 50:1327-1338. [PMID: 35689731 PMCID: PMC9613508 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00942-0] [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] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies in children, adolescents and adults have reported that anxiety disorders and symptoms are associated with greater threat-potentiated startle responses. This suggests that it may also be related to risk factors that have been implicated in the genesis of anxiety disorders. Therefore, we examined the roles of early childhood temperamental behavioral inhibition (BI) and parental history of anxiety disorders in predicting threat-potentiated startle response in a community sample of 346 adolescents. Parental history of anxiety disorders moderated the effects of BI on subsequent startle responses. For both total startle response and unpredictable threat startle potentiation, higher levels of BI at age 3 predicted larger startle responses at age 15, but only among offspring of parents with a history of anxiety disorders. Among offspring of parents with no lifetime history of anxiety disorder, BI was unrelated to startle magnitude. These findings were evident even after adjusting for youth's biological sex, concurrent anxiety symptoms, and lifetime history of anxiety disorders. In contrast, neither BI nor parental anxiety significantly predicted startle potentiation to predictable threat. These findings have implications for tracing pathways to the development of anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma E Mumper
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, 11794-2500, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Rachel A Ferry
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, 11794-2500, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Daniel N Klein
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, 11794-2500, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, 11794-2500, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Gray ZJ, Shields GS, Sichko S, Bui TQ, Vinograd M, Olvera-Alvarez HA, Slavich GM. Neural and peripheral markers of reward during positive social evaluation are associated with less clinician-rated depression symptom severity in adolescence. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 11:100149. [PMID: 35856064 PMCID: PMC9287766 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Although blunted sensitivity to reward is thought to play a key role in promoting risk for depression, most research on this topic has utilized monetary reward paradigms and focused on currently depressed adults. To address this issue, we analyzed neural reward and β-endorphin data from the Psychobiology of Stress and Adolescent Depression (PSY SAD) Study, which recruited a well-characterized sample of adolescent girls at high vs. low risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) (N = 52, Mage = 14.90, SD = 1.35) based on their mothers’ lifetime history of MDD. As hypothesized, greater striatal activity while receiving positive (vs. neutral) social evaluation was associated with lower depression symptom severity as independently assessed by the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). This association was present for girls at high but not low risk for MDD, suggesting that this neural response may represent a pre-clinical marker of risk for depression. Consistent with these results, higher post-social evaluation levels of a peripheral marker of reward sensitivity, β-endorphin, were related to lower clinician-rated depression symptom severity. Together, these results indicate that neural and peripheral markers of responsivity to social reward are both related to depression severity, which may have implications for understanding the pathophysiology of depression. The neurobiological reward processes underlying adolescent depression risk are unclear. To address this issue, we recruited adolescent girls at high vs. low risk for MDD. We assessed their striatal activity, β-endorphin levels, & depression symptom severity. Striatal activity & β-endorphin levels during social evaluation predicted depression severity. These effects differed for high-vs. low-risk youth, suggesting pre-clinical risk biomarkers.
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Beatty CC, Ferry RA, Nelson BD. Intolerance of uncertainty and psychophysiological reactivity in anticipation of unpredictable threat in youth. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 179:110-118. [PMID: 35787438 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.017] [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: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a key transdiagnostic feature of internalizing psychopathology. An increasing body of research suggests that IU is associated with increased psychophysiological reactivity in anticipation of unpredictable threat. However, most studies examining the psychophysiological correlates of IU have been conducted in adults. There is a critical need to understand the relationship between IU and psychophysiological reactivity in anticipation of unpredictable threat during adolescence, a key developmental period associated with increased exploration of situations with uncertain outcomes. Thus, the present study examined the association between (1) youth IU and (2) parental IU (as an indicator of risk) in relation to youth defensive motivation (startle reflex) and attention (startle probe N100 and P300) in anticipation of unpredictable threat. METHODS The sample included 193 13 to 22-year-old (M = 17.33, SD = 1.97) females and a biological parent. Participants and their parent completed a self-report measure of prospective and inhibitory IU. Youth startle potentiation, probe N100 enhancement, and probe P300 suppression (indicating increased attention to threat) were measured in anticipation of predictable and unpredictable threat. RESULTS Youth prospective IU and inhibitory IU were not related to youth psychophysiological reactivity to predictable or unpredictable threat. Greater parental prospective IU was associated with greater youth startle potentiation and probe N100 enhancement in anticipation of unpredictable threat. CONCLUSION The present study suggests that parental IU, but not concurrent IU, is associated with heightened defensive motivation and attentional engagement in anticipation of unpredictable threat in youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Beatty
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, United States of America.
| | - Rachel A Ferry
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, United States of America
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, United States of America
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Correa KA, Li LY, Nelson BD, Shankman SA. Event-related potentials to acoustic startle probes during unpredictable threat are associated with individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 174:66-75. [PMID: 35143906 PMCID: PMC8923991 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in sensitivity to unpredictable threat may be a critical mechanism for internalizing psychopathology phenotypes. The present study examined whether the startle probe-elicited N100 and P300 during unpredictable threat - two event-related potentials indexing early and elaborative attentional processing of unpredictable threat - may be endophenotypes for internalizing psychopathology, including fear and distress/misery disorders and intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a clinical trait that is transdiagnostically associated with internalizing disorders. A large sample of adult siblings (N = 375) completed the no, predictable, and unpredictable threat task, during which the N100 and P300 were recorded. Relative to the no threat condition, N100 was more strongly enhanced in anticipation of unpredictable than predictable threat while P300 was suppressed to both predictable and unpredictable threat. While neither N100 enhancement nor P300 suppression to unpredictable threat was associated with fear or distress/misery disorders, they were negatively linked to inhibitory IU (a facet of IU). Thus, individuals high in inhibitory IU showed reduced attentional engagement with the threatening context when it was unpredictable. Further, N100 enhancement and, to a lesser degree, P300 suppression to unpredictable threat showed familial aggregation - a key criterion for determining whether a biomarker is an endophenotype. In sum, N100 enhancement and P300 suppression to unpredictable threat may be endophenotypes for dimensional measures of internalizing psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A Correa
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lilian Y Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Khorrami KJ, Manzler CA, Kreutzer KA, Gorka SM. Neural and Self-report Measures of Sensitivity to Uncertainty as Predictors of COVID-Related Negative Affect. Psychiatry Res 2022; 319:111414. [PMID: 34902781 PMCID: PMC8608787 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Research indicates individuals differ in their response to uncertainty and these differences are mediated by anterior insula (aINS) function. Those most sensitive to uncertainty are likely vulnerable to negative affect in the context of the pandemic. The current study was designed to directly test this question using both neural and self-reported measures of sensitivity to uncertainty. Fifty-nine volunteers completed a task designed to probe neural response to anticipation of predictable (P-) and unpredictable (U-) threat-of-electric-shock during functional magnetic resonance imaging and a self-report measure of intolerance of uncertainty (IU). Approximately two years later, during the peak of the pandemic, participants reported their emotional reactions to the COVID-19 crisis. Multilevel mixed models revealed that greater aINS activation to U-threat and greater self-reported IU were independent predictors of increased COVID-related negative affect. These findings were significant when adjusting for biological sex and depression and anxiety symptom severity. The results add to a growing literature demonstrating that individual differences in response to uncertainty have a robust impact on mood and functioning. Results also highlight that individuals highly sensitive to uncertainty may be at increased risk for poor mental health during the ongoing pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kia J Khorrami
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA; Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
| | - Charles A Manzler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA; Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
| | - Kayla A Kreutzer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA; Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 370W. 9th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA; Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210 USA.
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Correa KA, Carrillo V, Funkhouser CJ, Shenberger ER, Shankman SA. Ethnic differences in behavioral and physiological indicators of sensitivity to threat. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 85:102508. [PMID: 34864540 PMCID: PMC8760157 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The clinical presentation of anxiety may differ between Hispanics/Latinx (H/L) and non-H/L, although findings on ethnic differences in self-reported anxiety symptoms have been mixed. Fewer studies have focused on ethnic differences in quick and relatively automatic laboratory-assessed indicators of anxiety symptoms, which have the potential to be more objective indicators than self-report. Therefore, the present study examined ethnic differences in two laboratory-assessed indicators of threat sensitivity (an important transdiagnostic mechanism of anxiety): attentional bias to threat and electromyography startle reactivity to threat. White H/L (n = 117) and White non-H/L (n = 168) adults who were matched on demographics and lifetime psychopathology (including anxiety) completed a dot-probe task to assess attentional bias to threat and the No-Predictable-Unpredictable threat (NPU) task to assess startle reactivity to threat. Results indicated that H/L displayed less Slow OrientationRB (β = -0.27, p = 0.032, R2β∗ = 0.02), and increased Slow DisengagementRB (β = 0.31, p = 0.016, R2β∗ = 0.02) compared to non-H/L. H/L exhibited blunted overall startle compared to non-H/L (β = -0.30, p = 0.014, R2β∗ = 0.02), but groups did not differ in startle reactivity to either predictable or unpredictable threat. In summary, H/L and non-H/L may differ in their experience and presentation of anxiety symptoms and such differences may vary across indicators of sensitivity to threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A Correa
- University of Illinois at Chicago, United States; Northwestern University, United States
| | | | - Carter J Funkhouser
- University of Illinois at Chicago, United States; Northwestern University, United States
| | - Elyse R Shenberger
- University of Illinois at Chicago, United States; Northwestern University, United States
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13
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Ostlund B, Myruski S, Buss K, Pérez-Edgar KE. The centrality of temperament to the research domain criteria (RDoC): The earliest building blocks of psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 33:1584-1598. [PMID: 34365985 PMCID: PMC10039756 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The research domain criteria (RDoC) is an innovative approach designed to explore dimensions of human behavior. The aim of this approach is to move beyond the limits of psychiatric categories in the hope of aligning the identification of psychological health and dysfunction with clinical neuroscience. Despite its contributions to adult psychopathology research, RDoC undervalues ontogenetic development, which circumscribes our understanding of the etiologies, trajectories, and maintaining mechanisms of psychopathology risk. In this paper, we argue that integrating temperament research into the RDoC framework will advance our understanding of the mechanistic origins of psychopathology beginning in infancy. In illustrating this approach, we propose the incorporation of core principles of temperament theories into a new "life span considerations" subsection as one option for infusing development into the RDoC matrix. In doing so, researchers and clinicians may ultimately have the tools necessary to support emotional development and reduce a young child's likelihood of psychological dysfunction beginning in the first years of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan Ostlund
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, US
| | - Sarah Myruski
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, US
| | - Kristin Buss
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, US
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, US
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14
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Park H, Forthman KL, Kuplicki R, Victor TA, Yeh HW, Thompson WK, Paulus MP. Polygenic risk for neuroticism moderates response to gains and losses in amygdala and caudate: Evidence from a clinical cohort. J Affect Disord 2021; 293:124-132. [PMID: 34186230 PMCID: PMC8411869 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.06.016] [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: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroticism is a heritable trait that contributes to the vulnerability to depression. We used polygenic risk scores (PRS) to examine genetic vulnerability to neuroticism and its associations with reward/punishment processing in a clinical sample with mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. It was hypothesized that higher PRS for neuroticism is associated with attenuated neural responses to reward/punishment. METHOD Four hundred sixty-nine participants were genotyped and their PRSs for neuroticism were computed. Associations between PRS for neuroticism and anticipatory processing of monetary incentives were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS Individuals with higher PRS for neuroticism showed less anticipatory activation in the left amygdala and caudate region to incentives regardless of incentive valence. Further, these individuals exhibited altered sensitivity to gain/loss processing in the right anterior insula. Higher PRSs for neuroticism were also associated with reduced processing of gains in the precuneus. LIMITATIONS The study population consisted of a transdiagnostic sample with dysfunctions in positive and negative valence processing. PRS for neuroticism may be correlated with current clinical symptoms due to the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS Greater genetic loading for neuroticism was associated with attenuated anticipatory responsiveness in reward/punishment processing with altered sensitivity to valences. Thus, a higher genetic risk for neuroticism may limit the degree to which positive and/or negative outcomes influence the current mood state, which may contribute to the development of positive and negative affective dysfunctions in individuals with mood, anxiety, and addictive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Hung-Wen Yeh
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, USA,Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO
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15
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Grillon C, Ernst M. A way forward for anxiolytic drug development: Testing candidate anxiolytics with anxiety-potentiated startle in healthy humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 119:348-354. [PMID: 33038346 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
This review introduces a research strategy that may radically transform the pursuit of new anxiolytics, via the use of human models of anxiety in healthy individuals. Despite enormous investments in developing novel pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders, pharmacotherapy for these conditions remains suboptimal. Most candidate anxiolytics from animal studies fail in clinical trials. We propose an additional screening step to help select candidate anxiolytics before launching clinical trials. This intermediate step moves the evidence for the potential anxiolytic property of candidate drugs from animals to humans, using experimental models of anxiety in healthy individuals. Anxiety-potentiated startle is a robust translational model of anxiety. The review of its face, construct, and predictive validity as well as its psychometric properties in humans establishes it as a promising tool for anxiolytic drug development. In conclusion, human models of anxiety may stir a faster, more efficient path for the development of clinically effective anxiolytics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Grillon
- National Institute of Mental Health, Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, Building 15K, Room 203, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA.
| | - Monique Ernst
- National Institute of Mental Health, Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, Building 15K, Room 203, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA.
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16
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Imburgio MJ, Banica I, Hill KE, Weinberg A, Foti D, MacNamara A. Establishing norms for error-related brain activity during the arrow Flanker task among young adults. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116694. [PMID: 32142881 PMCID: PMC7197955 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychological assessments typically rely on self-report and behavioral measures. Augmenting these with neurophysiological measures of the construct in question may increase the accuracy and predictive power of these assessments. Moreover, thinking about neurophysiological measures from an assessment perspective may facilitate under-utilized research approaches (e.g., brain-based recruitment of participants). However, the lack of normative data for most neurophysiological measures has prevented the comparison of individual responses to the general population, precluding these approaches. The current work examines the distributions of two event-related potentials (ERPs) commonly used in individual differences research: the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe). Across three lab sites, 800 unselected participants between the ages of 18 and 30 performed the arrow version of a Flanker task while EEG was recorded. Percentile scores and distributions for ERPs on error trials, correct trials, and the difference (ΔERN, ΔPe; error minus correct) at Fz, Cz and Pz are reported. The 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile values for the ΔERN at Cz were -2.37 μV, -5.41 μV, and -8.65 μV, respectively. The same values for ΔPe at Cz were 7.51 μV, 11.18 μV, and 15.55 μV. Females displayed significantly larger ΔPe magnitudes and smaller ΔERN magnitudes than males. Additionally, normative data for behavioral performance (accuracy, post-error slowing, and reaction time) on the Flanker task is reported. Results provide a means by which ERN and Pe amplitudes of young adults elicited by the arrow Flanker task can be benchmarked, facilitating the classification of neural responses as 'large,' 'medium,' or 'small'. The ability to classify responses in this manner is a necessary step towards expanded use of these measures in assessment and research settings. These norms may not apply to ERPs elicited by other tasks, and future work should establish similar norms using other tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Imburgio
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
| | - Iulia Banica
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Kaylin E Hill
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Dan Foti
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Annmarie MacNamara
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
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17
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Gender differences in anxiety: The mediating role of sensitivity to unpredictable threat. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 153:127-134. [PMID: 32417225 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders and symptoms disproportionately impact women relative to men, but it is unclear what mechanism(s) contribute to this phenomenon. The present study examined sensitivity to unpredictable threat as a potential mechanism of gender differences in panic symptoms. The sample included 67 participants (35 women) who completed the no, predictable, and unpredictable threat (NPU-threat) startle paradigm with electric shocks as the aversive stimulus. Participants also completed the self-report Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms to assess current panic and depression symptoms. Results indicated that women, relative to men, reported greater panic symptoms and demonstrated increased startle potentiation in anticipation of predictable and unpredictable threat. Furthermore, across all participants increased startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable (but not predictable) threat was associated with greater panic symptoms, but there was no relationship with depression symptoms. Finally, the gender difference in panic symptoms was mediated by startle potentiation in anticipation of unpredictable (but not predictable) threat. The present study suggests that a heightened sensitivity to unpredictable threat might be a mechanism that contributes to increased anxiety in women.
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18
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Horn SR, Fisher PA, Pfeifer JH, Allen NB, Berkman ET. Levers and barriers to success in the use of translational neuroscience for the prevention and treatment of mental health and promotion of well-being across the lifespan. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 129:38-48. [PMID: 31868386 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Neuroscientific tools and approaches such as neuroimaging, measures of neuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune activity, and peripheral physiology are increasingly used in clinical science and health psychology research. We define translational neuroscience (TN) as a systematic, theory-driven approach that aims to develop and leverage basic and clinical neuroscientific knowledge to aid the development and optimization of clinical and public health interventions. There is considerable potential across basic and clinical science fields for this approach to provide insights into mental and physical health pathology that had previously been inaccessible. For example, TN might hold the potential to enhance diagnostic specificity, better recognize increased vulnerability in at-risk populations, and augment intervention efficacy. Despite this potential, there has been limited consideration of the advantages and limitations of such an approach. In this article, we articulate extant challenges in defining TN and propose a unifying conceptualization. We illustrate how TN can inform the application of neuroscientific tools to realistically guide clinical research and inform intervention design. We outline specific leverage points of the TN approach and barriers to progress. Ten principles of TN are presented to guide and shape the emerging field. We close by articulating ongoing issues facing TN research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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19
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Kwan JW, Bauer IE, Hautzinger M, Meyer TD. Reward sensitivity and the course of bipolar disorder: A survival analysis in a treatment seeking sample. J Affect Disord 2020; 261:126-130. [PMID: 31614277 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Reward sensitivity is suggested to be an influence on the onset and reoccurrence of bipolar disorder (BD) in observational longitudinal studies. The current study examined whether reward sensitivity predicted the recurrence of mood episodes in a treatment seeking sample. We also explored if reward sensitivity moderated treatment outcomes of psychosocial treatment. METHODS Seventy-six euthymic adult patients with BD were randomly assigned to either Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Supportive Therapy (ST) and followed up for 2 years after completing therapy (Meyer and Hautzinger, 2012). The primary outcome measure was recurrence of mood episodes. The final multivariate Cox regression models included potential covariates, therapy conditions, BAS reward sensitivity, and the interaction between BAS and therapy conditions. RESULTS BAS emerged as the only significant predictor of time till recurrence of mania, but not depression, but the overall model did not reach significance. There was no interaction between treatment and BAS reward sensitivity. Interestingly, a diagnosis of BD II predicted time till recurrence of depression. CONCLUSION The main result regarding BAS partially confirms prior studies linking BAS and mania, but power and the specific sample seeking psychosocial treatment might have reduced the effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet W Kwan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Isabelle E Bauer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Martin Hautzinger
- Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas D Meyer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, United States.
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20
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Stevens ES, Lieberman L, Funkhouser CJ, Correa KA, Shankman SA. Startle during threat longitudinally predicts functional impairment independent of DSM diagnoses. Psychiatry Res 2019; 279:207-215. [PMID: 30853118 PMCID: PMC6713600 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.02.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Heightened responsivity to unpredictable, and perhaps predictable, threat characterizes some internalizing disorders and may be vulnerability factors for psychopathology as well. However, few studies have directly tested whether individual differences in unpredictable and/or predictable threat responding longitudinally predict symptoms of psychopathology and functional outcomes. Examining functioning is particularly important given that functioning is separable from symptoms of psychopathology. The present study examined whether electromyography startle measures of predictable and/or unpredictable threat responding was associated with interviewer-assessed symptoms of internalizing psychopathology and functional impairment at baseline (n = 409) and one-year follow-up (n = 104). Elevated startle responding to unpredictable and predictable threat longitudinally predicted a worsening of functioning over time and this effect was independent of change of symptoms over time. Importantly, threat responding at baseline predicted functional impairment during the follow-up independent of the effects of DSM-defined fear-based (e.g., panic disorder) or distress-misery (e.g., major depressive disorder) internalizing disorders. These findings provide initial support for the incremental validity of neurobiological vulnerability markers of threat responding over and above DSM disorders and highlight the importance of distinguishing functional outcomes from symptom outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lynne Lieberman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Kelly A Correa
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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21
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Neueder D, Andreatta M, Pauli P. Contextual Fear Conditioning and Fear Generalization in Individuals With Panic Attacks. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:152. [PMID: 31379530 PMCID: PMC6653660 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Context conditioning is characterized by unpredictable threat and its generalization may constitute risk factors for panic disorder (PD). Therefore, we examined differences between individuals with panic attacks (PA; N = 21) and healthy controls (HC, N = 22) in contextual learning and context generalization using a virtual reality (VR) paradigm. Successful context conditioning was indicated in both groups by higher arousal, anxiety and contingency ratings, and increased startle responses and skin conductance levels (SCLs) in an anxiety context (CTX+) where an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) occurred unpredictably vs. a safety context (CTX−). PA compared to HC exhibited increased differential responding to CTX+ vs. CTX− and overgeneralization of contextual anxiety on an evaluative verbal level, but not on a physiological level. We conclude that increased contextual conditioning and contextual generalization may constitute risk factors for PD or agoraphobia contributing to the characteristic avoidance of anxiety contexts and withdrawal to safety contexts and that evaluative cognitive process may play a major role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Neueder
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Center for Mental Health, Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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22
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Radoman M, Phan KL, Gorka SM. Neural correlates of predictable and unpredictable threat in internalizing psychopathology. Neurosci Lett 2019; 701:193-201. [PMID: 30825592 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.02.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Converging lines of evidence suggest that heightened responding to unpredictable threat may be an important neurobiological marker of internalizing psychopathology (IP). Prior data also indicate that aversive responding to uncertainty may be mediated by hyperactivation of several brain regions within the frontolimbic circuit, namely the anterior insula (aINS) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). To date, however, the majority of this research has been focused on individual diagnoses and it is unclear whether abnormal neural reactivity to unpredictable threat is observed within heterogeneous, transdiagnostic IP patient populations, as theory would suggest. The aim of the current study was to therefore examine the neural correlates of temporally unpredictable (U) and predictable (P) threat in a sample of healthy controls (n = 24) and patients with a broad range of IP diagnoses (n = 51). We also examined whether symptom severity measures of fear and distress/misery dimensions correlated with neural reactivity to U- and P-threat. All participants completed a modified version of a well-validated threat-of-shock task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Across all participants, U- and P-threat elicited heightened activation in the aINS and brainstem, while P-threat alone also activated the dACC. Relative to healthy controls, patients displayed greater activation in the right aINS during U-threat, and greater right brainstem activation during P-threat. In addition, we found that brainstem activity during U-threat correlated with fear, but not distress/misery, psychopathology. Taken together, these preliminary results suggest that exaggerated aINS reactivity during U-threat and brainstem reactivity during P-threat may have the potential to become important transdiagnostic biomarkers of IP; however, future research efforts are needed to corroborate and expand the present findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Radoman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
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23
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Lago TR, Hsiung A, Leitner BP, Duckworth CJ, Chen KY, Ernst M, Grillon C. Exercise decreases defensive responses to unpredictable, but not predictable, threat. Depress Anxiety 2018; 35:868-875. [PMID: 29637654 PMCID: PMC6314494 DOI: 10.1002/da.22748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research supports the anxiolytic effect of exercise, but the mechanism underlying this effect is unclear. This study examines the influence of exercise in healthy controls on two distinct defensive states implicated in anxiety disorders: fear, a phasic response to a predictable threat, and anxiety, a sustained response to an unpredictable threat. METHODS Thirty-four healthy volunteers (17 male, age M = 26.18, SD = 5.6) participated in sessions of exercise (biking at 60-70% of heart rate reserve) and control (biking at 10-20% of heart rate reserve) activity for 30 min, separated by 1 week. Threat responses were measured by eyeblink startle and assessed with the "Neutral-Predictable-Unpredictable threat test," which includes a neutral (N) and two threat conditions, one with predictable (P) and one with unpredictable (U) shock. RESULTS Results show that exercise versus control activity reduces startle potentiation during unpredictable threat (P = .031), but has no effect on startle potentiation during predictable threat (P = .609). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that exercise reduces defensive response to unpredictable, but not predictable, threat, a dissociation that may help inform clinical indications for this behavioral intervention, as well as provide clues to its underlying neurobehavioral mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany R Lago
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Abigail Hsiung
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Brooks P Leitner
- Energy Metabolism Section, Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Courtney J Duckworth
- Energy Metabolism Section, Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kong Y Chen
- Energy Metabolism Section, Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Monique Ernst
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christian Grillon
- Section on the Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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24
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Tenenbaum RB, Musser ED, Raiker JS, Coles EK, Gnagy EM, Pelham WE. Specificity of Reward Sensitivity and Parasympathetic-Based Regulation among Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Disruptive Behavior Disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 46:965-977. [PMID: 28875352 PMCID: PMC5839917 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0343-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with disruptionsin reward sensitivity and regulatory processes. However, it is unclear whether thesedisruptions are better explained by comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD)symptomology. This study sought to examine this question using multiple levels ofanalysis (i.e., behavior, autonomic reactivity). One hundred seventeen children (aged 6 to 12 years; 72.6% male; 69 with ADHD) completed theBalloon-Analogue Risk Task (BART) to assess external reward sensitivity behaviorally.Sympathetic-based internal reward sensitivity and parasympathetic-based regulationwere indexed via cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia(RSA), respectively. Children with ADHD exhibited reduced internal reward sensitivity (i.e.,lengthened PEP; F(1,112)=4.01, p=0.047) compared to healthy controls and werecharacterized by greater parasympathetic-based dysregulation (i.e., reduced RSAaugmentation F(1,112)=10.12, p=0.002). However, follow-up analyses indicated theADHD effect was better accounted for by comorbid DBD diagnoses; that is, childrenwith ADHD and comorbid ODD were characterized by reduced internal rewardsensitivity (i.e., lengthened PEP; t=2.47, p=0.046) and by parasympathetic-baseddysregulation (i.e., reduced RSA augmentation; t=3.51, p=0.002) in response to rewardwhen compared to typically developing youth. Furthermore, children with ADHD and comorbid CD exhibited greater behaviorally-based external reward sensitivity (i.e.,more total pops; F(3,110)= 5.96, p=0.001) compared to children with ADHD only (t=3.87, p=0.001) and children with ADHD and ODD (t=3.56, p=0.003). Results suggest that disruptions in sensitivity to reward may be betteraccounted for, in part, by comorbid DBD.Key Words: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autonomic nervous system,disruptive behavior disorders, reward sensitivityPowered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel B Tenenbaum
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA.
| | - Joseph S Raiker
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Erika K Coles
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Gnagy
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
| | - William E Pelham
- Department of Psychology, Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., AHC 4 455, Miami, FL, 33100, USA
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Culbreth AJ, Moran EK, Barch DM. Effort-cost decision-making in psychosis and depression: could a similar behavioral deficit arise from disparate psychological and neural mechanisms? Psychol Med 2018; 48:889-904. [PMID: 28889803 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717002525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Motivational impairment is a common feature of both depression and psychosis; however, the psychological and neural mechanisms that give rise to motivational impairment in these disorders are poorly understood. Recent research has suggested that aberrant effort-cost decision-making (ECDM) may be a potential contributor to motivational impairment in both psychosis and depression. ECDM refers to choices that individuals make regarding the amount of 'work' they are willing to expend to obtain a certain outcome or reward. Recent experimental work has suggested that those with psychosis and depression may be less willing to expend effort to obtain rewards compared with controls, and that this effort deficit is related to motivational impairment in both disorders. In the current review, we aim to summarize the current literature on ECDM in psychosis and depression, providing evidence for transdiagnostic impairment. Next, we discuss evidence for the hypothesis that a seemingly similar behavioral ECDM deficit might arise from disparate psychological and neural mechanisms. Specifically, we argue that effort deficits in psychosis might be largely driven by deficits in cognitive control and the neural correlates of cognitive control processes, while effort deficits in depression might be largely driven by reduced reward responsivity and the associated neural correlates of reward responsivity. Finally, we will provide some discussion regarding future directions, as well as interpretative challenges to consider when examining ECDM transdiagnostically.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Culbreth
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,Washington University in Saint Louis,St. Louis, MO,USA
| | - E K Moran
- Department of Psychiatry,Washington University in Saint Louis,St. Louis, MO,USA
| | - D M Barch
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,Washington University in Saint Louis,St. Louis, MO,USA
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26
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Stevens ES, Weinberg A, Nelson BD, Meissel EEE, Shankman SA. The effect of panic disorder versus anxiety sensitivity on event-related potentials during anticipation of threat. J Anxiety Disord 2018; 54:1-10. [PMID: 29291580 PMCID: PMC5820143 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Attention-related abnormalities are key components of the abnormal defensive responding observed in panic disorder (PD). Although behavioral studies have found aberrant attentional biases towards threat in PD, psychophysiological studies have been mixed. Predictability of threat, an important feature of threat processing, may have contributed to these mixed findings. Additionally, anxiety sensitivity, a dimensional trait associated with PD, may yield stronger associations with cognitive processes than categorical diagnoses of PD. In this study, 171 participants with PD and/or depression and healthy controls completed a task that differentiated anticipation of predictable vs. unpredictable shocks, while startle eyeblink and event-related potentials (ERPs [N100, P300]) were recorded. In all participants, relative to the control condition, probe N100 was enhanced to both predictable and unpredictable threat, whereas P300 suppression was unique to predictable threat. Probe N100, but not P300, was associated with startle eyeblink during both threatening conditions, and was strongest for unpredictable threat. PD was not associated with ERPs, but anxiety sensitivity (physical concerns) was positively associated with probe N100 (indicating reduced responding) in the unpredictable condition independent of PD diagnosis. Vulnerability to panic-related psychopathology may be characterized by aberrant early processing of threat, which may be especially evident during anticipation of unpredictable threats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
| | | | | | - Stewart A. Shankman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA,Corresponding author. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, 60607 United States, (S. Shankman)
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Klumpp H, Shankman SA. Using Event-Related Potentials and Startle to Evaluate Time Course in Anxiety and Depression. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2018; 3:10-18. [PMID: 29397073 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria initiative is a research framework designed toward understanding psychopathology as abnormalities of dimensional neurobehavioral constructs rather than in terms of DSM-defined categories. Research Domain Criteria constructs within the negative valence domain are particularly relevant for understanding anxiety and depressive disorders, which are pervasive, debilitating, and characterized by negative processing bias. One important direction for Research Domain Criteria research is investigating processes and parameters related to the time course (or chronometry) of negative valenced constructs. Two reliable methods for assessing chronometry are event-related potentials (ERPs) and startle blink. In this qualitative review, we examine ERP and startle studies of individuals with anxiety or depression or individuals vulnerable to affective disorders. The aim of the review is to highlight how these methods can inform the role of chronometry in the spectrum of anxiety and depression. ERP studies examining different chronometry facets of negative valenced responses have shown that transdiagnostic groups of individuals with internalizing psychopathologies exhibit abnormalities at early stages of processing. Startle reactivity studies have robustly differentiated fear-based disorders (e.g., panic disorder, social phobia) from other anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder) and have also shown that different internalizing phenotypes exhibit different patterns of habituation. Findings lend support to the value of ERP and startle measures in identifying groups that cut across conventional classification systems. We also highlight methodological issues that can aid in the validity and reproducibility of ERP and startle findings and, ultimately, in the goal of developing more precise models of anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
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28
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Grillon C, O'Connell K, Lieberman L, Alvarez G, Geraci M, Pine DS, Ernst M. Distinct responses to predictable and unpredictable threat in anxiety pathologies: effect of panic attack. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2017; 2:575-581. [PMID: 29104945 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2016.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Background Delineating specific clinical phenotypes of anxiety disorders is a crucial step toward better classification and understanding of these conditions. The present study sought to identify differential aversive responses to predictable and unpredictable threat of shock in healthy comparisons and in non-medicated anxiety patients with and without a history of panic attacks (PAs). Method 143 adults (72 healthy controls; 71 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or/and social anxiety disorder (SAD), 24 with and 47 without PAs) were exposed to three conditions: 1) predictable shocks signaled by a cue, 2) unpredictable shocks, and 3) no shock. Startle magnitude was used to assess aversive responses. Results Across disorders, a PA history was specifically associated with hypersensitivity to unpredictable threat. By disorder, SAD was associated with hypersensitivity to predictable threat, whereas GAD was associated with exaggerated baseline startle. Conclusions These results identified three physiological patterns. The first is hypersensitivity to unpredictable threat in individuals with PAs. The second is hypersensitivity to predictable threat, which characterizes SAD. The third is enhanced baseline startle in GAD, which may reflect propensity for self-generated anxious thoughts in the absence of imminent danger. These results inform current thinking by linking specific clinical features to particular physiology profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Daniel S Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD
| | - Monique Ernst
- National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD
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29
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Gorka SM, Lieberman L, Klumpp H, Kinney KL, Kennedy AE, Ajilore O, Francis J, Duffecy J, Craske MG, Nathan J, Langenecker S, Shankman SA, Phan KL. Reactivity to unpredictable threat as a treatment target for fear-based anxiety disorders. Psychol Med 2017; 47:2450-2460. [PMID: 28436351 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717000964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Heightened reactivity to unpredictable threat (U-threat) is a core individual difference factor underlying fear-based psychopathology. Little is known, however, about whether reactivity to U-threat is a stable marker of fear-based psychopathology or if it is malleable to treatment. The aim of the current study was to address this question by examining differences in reactivity to U-threat within patients before and after 12-weeks of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). METHODS Participants included patients with principal fear (n = 22) and distress/misery disorders (n = 29), and a group of healthy controls (n = 21) assessed 12-weeks apart. A well-validated threat-of-shock task was used to probe reactivity to predictable (P-) and U-threat and startle eyeblink magnitude was recorded as an index of defensive responding. RESULTS Across both assessments, individuals with fear-based disorders displayed greater startle magnitude to U-threat relative to healthy controls and distress/misery patients (who did not differ). From pre- to post-treatment, startle magnitude during U-threat decreased only within the fear patients who received CBT. Moreover, within fear patients, the magnitude of decline in startle to U-threat correlated with the magnitude of decline in fear symptoms. For the healthy controls, startle to U-threat across the two time points was highly reliable and stable. CONCLUSIONS Together, these results indicate that startle to U-threat characterizes fear disorder patients and is malleable to treatment with CBT but not SSRIs within fear patients. Startle to U-threat may therefore reflect an objective, psychophysiological indicator of fear disorder status and CBT treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - L Lieberman
- Department of Psychology,University of Illinois-Chicago,1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285) Chicago, IL 60607,USA
| | - H Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - K L Kinney
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - A E Kennedy
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - O Ajilore
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - J Francis
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - J Duffecy
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - M G Craske
- Department of Psychology,University of California,Los Angeles, Franz Hall - Box 95156 Los Angeles, CA 90094,USA
| | - J Nathan
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - S Langenecker
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - S A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
| | - K L Phan
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois-Chicago,1747 West Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608,USA
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30
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Impact of anxiety symptoms and problematic alcohol use on error-related brain activity. Int J Psychophysiol 2017; 118:32-39. [PMID: 28606471 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Revised: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are associated with enhanced defensive reactivity to errors, measured via the error-related negativity (ERN). There is some evidence to suggest that problematic alcohol use is also associated with an enhanced ERN; although prior studies have been almost exclusively in men and have yet to examine the potential interactive effects of anxiety and alcohol abuse symptoms. The aim of the current study was to address the gaps in this literature by examining the unique and interactive effects of anxiety symptoms and problematic alcohol use on the ERN in a sample of 79 heterogeneous internalizing disorder patients. All participants completed a flanker task designed to robustly elicit the ERN and questionnaires assessing current internalizing symptoms and problematic alcohol use. As expected, results revealed that greater anxiety symptoms, but not depressive symptoms, were associated with a more enhanced ERN. There was no main effect of problematic alcohol use but there was a significant anxiety by problematic alcohol use interaction. At high anxiety symptoms, greater problematic alcohol use was associated with a more enhanced ERN; at low anxiety symptoms, alcohol use was unrelated to the ERN. There was no depression by alcohol abuse interaction. The findings suggest that within anxious individuals, heightened reactivity to errors/threat may be related to risk for alcohol abuse. The findings also converge with a broader literature suggesting that heightened reactivity to threat may be a shared vulnerability factor for anxiety and alcohol abuse and a novel prevention and intervention target for anxiety-alcohol abuse comorbidity.
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31
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Gorka SM, Lieberman L, Shankman SA, Phan KL. Association between neural reactivity and startle reactivity to uncertain threat in two independent samples. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:652-662. [PMID: 28150320 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies indicate that anxiety disorders are associated with heightened sensitivity to uncertain threat (U threat). Individual differences in reactivity to U threat have been measured in the laboratory with two methodologies-startle eyeblink potentiation and fMRI. While startle and fMRI are purported to relate to each other, very little research exists on whether individual differences in one measure are associated with individual differences in another and, thus, whether startle and fMRI capture shared mechanisms. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate if and where in the brain measures of startle potentiation and fMRI BOLD signal correlate during response to U threat across two independent samples. Participants in both studies completed two threat anticipation tasks-once during collection of startle potentiation and once during fMRI. In Study 1 (n = 43), the startle and fMRI tasks both used electric shock as the threat. As an extension, in Study 2 (n = 38), the startle task used electric shock but the fMRI task used aversive images. Despite these methodological differences, greater startle potentiation to U threat was associated with greater dorsal anterior cingulate, caudate, and orbitofrontal cortex reactivity to U threat in both samples. The findings suggest that startle and fMRI measures of responding to U threat overlap, and points toward an integrated brain-behavior profile of aberrant U threat responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lynne Lieberman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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32
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Levinson AR, Speed BC, Infantolino ZP, Hajcak G. Reliability of the electrocortical response to gains and losses in the doors task. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:601-607. [PMID: 28072462 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The ability to differentiate between rewards and losses is critical for motivated action, and aberrant reward and loss processing has been associated with psychopathology. The reward positivity (RewP) and feedback negativity (FN) are ERPs elicited by monetary gains and losses, respectively, and are promising individual difference measures. However, few studies have reported on the psychometric properties of the RewP and FN-crucial characteristics necessary for valid individual difference measures. The current study examined the internal consistency and 1-week test-retest reliability of the RewP and FN as elicited by the doors task among 59 young adults. The RewP, FN, and their difference score (ΔRewP) all showed significant correlations between Time 1 and Time 2. The RewP and FN also achieved acceptable internal consistency at both time points within 20 trials using both Cronbach's α and a generalizability theory-derived dependability measure. Internal consistency for ΔRewP was notably weaker at both time points, which is expected from two highly intercorrelated constituent scores. In conclusion, the RewP and FN have strong psychometric properties in a healthy adult sample. Future research is needed to assess the psychometric properties of these ERPs in different age cohorts and in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R Levinson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | - Brittany C Speed
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
| | | | - Greg Hajcak
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA
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33
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Gorka SM, Hee D, Lieberman L, Mittal VA, Phan KL, Shankman SA. Reactivity to uncertain threat as a familial vulnerability factor for alcohol use disorder. Psychol Med 2016; 46:3349-3358. [PMID: 27624067 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291716002415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND When sober, problematic drinkers display exaggerated reactivity to threats that are uncertain (U-threat). Since this aversive affective state can be alleviated via acute alcohol intoxication, it has been posited that individuals who exhibit heightened reactivity to U-threat at baseline are motivated to use alcohol as a means of avoidance-based coping, setting the stage for excessive drinking. To date, however, no study has attempted to characterize the dispositional nature of exaggerated reactivity to U-threat and test whether it is a vulnerability factor or exclusively a disease marker of problematic alcohol use. METHOD The current investigation utilized a family study design to address these gaps by examining whether (1) reactivity to U-threat is associated with risk for problematic alcohol use, defined by family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and (2) reactivity to U-threat is correlated amongst adult biological siblings. A total of 157 families, and 458 individuals, participated in the study and two biological siblings completed a threat-of-shock task designed to probe reactivity to U-threat and predictable threat (P-threat). Startle potentiation was collected as an index of aversive responding. RESULTS Within biological siblings, startle potentiation to U-threat [intraclass correlation (ICC) = 0.35] and P-threat (ICC = 0.63) was significantly correlated. In addition, independent of an individuals' own AUD status, startle potentiation to U-threat, but not P-threat, was positively associated with risk for AUD (i.e. AUD family history). CONCLUSION This suggests that heightened reactivity to U-threat may be a familial vulnerability factor for problematic drinking and a novel prevention target for AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, IL,USA
| | - D Hee
- Department of Psychology,University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, IL,USA
| | - L Lieberman
- Department of Psychology,University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, IL,USA
| | - V A Mittal
- Department of Psychology,Northwestern University,Evanston, IL,USA
| | - K L Phan
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, IL,USA
| | - S A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry,University of Illinois at Chicago,Chicago, IL,USA
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Gorka SM, Lieberman L, Shankman SA, Phan KL. Startle potentiation to uncertain threat as a psychophysiological indicator of fear-based psychopathology: An examination across multiple internalizing disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 126:8-18. [PMID: 27868423 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Heightened reactivity to uncertain threat (U-threat) is an important individual difference factor that may characterize fear-based internalizing psychopathologies (IPs) and distinguish them from distress/misery IPs. To date, however, the majority of existing research examining reactivity to U-threat has been within individuals with panic disorder and major depressive disorder (MDD) and no prior study has directly tested this hypothesis across multiple IPs. The current study therefore explored whether heightened reactivity to U-threat is a psychophysiological indicator of fear-based psychopathology across 5 groups: current (a) social anxiety disorder (SAD); (b) specific phobia (SP); (c) generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); (d) MDD; and (c) individuals with no history of psychopathology (controls). All 160 adults completed a well-validated threat-of-shock task designed to probe responses to predictable (P-) and U-threat. Startle eyeblink potentiation was recorded as an index of aversive arousal. Results indicated that individuals with SAD and SP evidenced greater startle potentiation to U-threat, but not P-threat, relative to individuals with GAD, MDD, and controls (who did not differ). The current findings, along with the prior panic disorder and MDD literature, suggest that heightened reactivity to U-threat is a psychophysiological indicator of fear-based disorders and could represent a neurobiological organizing principle for internalizing psychopathology. The findings also suggest that individuals with fear disorders generally display a hypersensitivity to uncertain aversive events, which could contribute to their psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - K Luan Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois-Chicago
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35
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Perkins ER, Yancey JR, Drislane LE, Venables NC, Balsis S, Patrick CJ. Methodological issues in the use of individual brain measures to index trait liabilities: The example of noise-probe P3. Int J Psychophysiol 2016; 111:145-155. [PMID: 27856400 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Recent research initiatives have called for an increased use of biological concepts and measures in defining and studying mental health problems, but important measurement-related challenges confront efforts in this direction. This article highlights some of these challenges with reference to an intriguing measure of neural reactivity: the probe P3 response, a mid-latency brain potential evoked by an intense, unexpected acoustic-probe stimulus. Using data for a large adult sample (N=418), we report evidence that amplitude of probe P3 response to unwarned noise bursts occurring in a picture-viewing task exhibits robust, independent associations with two distinct trait constructs: weak inhibitory control (or disinhibition; DIS) and threat sensitivity (THT). Additionally, we report a selective association for THT with attentional suppression of probe P3 response during viewing of aversive pictures compared to neutral. These results point to separable elements of variance underlying the probe P3 response, including one element reflecting DIS-related variations in cognitive-elaborative processing, and others reflecting THT-related variations in aversive foreground engagement and abrupt defensive reorientation. Key measurement issues are considered in relation to these specific findings, and methodological and statistical approaches for addressing these issues are discussed in relation to advancement of a quantitatively sound, biologically informed science of psychopathology.
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36
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Sarapas C, Weinberg A, Langenecker SA, Shankman SA. Relationships among attention networks and physiological responding to threat. Brain Cogn 2016; 111:63-72. [PMID: 27816781 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2016.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Although researchers have long hypothesized a relationship between attention and anxiety, theoretical and empirical accounts of this relationship have conflicted. We attempted to resolve these conflicts by examining relationships of attentional abilities with responding to predictable and unpredictable threat - related but distinct motivational process implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Eighty-one individuals completed a behavioral task assessing efficiency of three components of attention - alerting, orienting, and executive control (Attention Network Test - Revised). We also assessed startle responding during anticipation of both predictable, imminent threat (of mild electric shock) and unpredictable contextual threat. Faster alerting and slower disengaging from non-emotional attention cues were related to heightened responding to unpredictable threat, whereas poorer executive control of attention was related to heightened responding to predictable threat. This double dissociation helps to integrate models of attention and anxiety and may be informative for treatment development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey Sarapas
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States.
| | - Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States.
| | - Scott A Langenecker
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 S. Wood St., Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
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Lieberman L, Gorka SM, Shankman SA, Phan KL. Impact of Panic on Psychophysiological and Neural Reactivity to Unpredictable Threat in Depression and Anxiety. Clin Psychol Sci 2016; 5:52-63. [PMID: 28138418 DOI: 10.1177/2167702616666507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Exaggerated anxious responding to unpredictable threat (U-threat) is a core feature of panic disorder (PD). However, it is unknown whether this abnormality is specific to the diagnosis of PD or would manifest along a continuum of panic symptomatology (PS). Additionally, little is known about the neural processes underlying this abnormality among those high in PS. Finally, no studies have tested whether startle potentiation and limbic neural reactivity - commonly used indices of U-threat responsivity - are associated and therefore reflect common abnormalities. These questions were investigated in 42 adults with a range of PS. U-threat responding was measured twice during threat-of-shock - once with startle and once with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As hypothesized, PS positively predicted startle potentiation and dACC reactivity to U-threat. Startle potentiation and dACC activation to U-threat were positively associated. These results suggest a biobehavioral profile of aberrant responding to U-threat associated with PS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynne Lieberman
- University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607; University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608
| | - K Luan Phan
- University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607; University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608; University of Illinois-Chicago, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, 808 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612; Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Mental Health Service Line, 820 S. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612
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38
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Schiller CE, Johnson SL, Abate AC, Schmidt PJ, Rubinow DR. Reproductive Steroid Regulation of Mood and Behavior. Compr Physiol 2016; 6:1135-60. [PMID: 27347888 PMCID: PMC6309888 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c150014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we examine evidence supporting the role of reproductive steroids in the regulation of mood and behavior in women and the nature of that role. In the first half of the article, we review evidence for the following: (i) the reproductive system is designed to regulate behavior; (ii) from the subcellular to cellular to circuit to behavior, reproductive steroids are powerful neuroregulators; (iii) affective disorders are disorders of behavioral state; and (iv) reproductive steroids affect virtually every system implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. In the second half of the article, we discuss the diagnosis of the three reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum depression, and perimenopausal depression) and present evidence supporting the relevance of reproductive steroids to these conditions. Existing evidence suggests that changes in reproductive steroid levels during specific reproductive states (i.e., the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, parturition, and the menopause transition) trigger affective dysregulation in susceptible women, thus suggesting the etiopathogenic relevance of these hormonal changes in reproductive mood disorders. Understanding the source of individual susceptibility is critical to both preventing the onset of illness and developing novel, individualized treatments for reproductive-related affective dysregulation. © 2016 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 6:1135-1160, 2016e.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal Edler Schiller
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah L. Johnson
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Anna C. Abate
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Peter J. Schmidt
- Section on Behavioral Endocrinology, National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - David R. Rubinow
- Psychiatry Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Luking KR, Pagliaccio D, Luby JL, Barch DM. Reward Processing and Risk for Depression Across Development. Trends Cogn Sci 2016; 20:456-468. [PMID: 27131776 PMCID: PMC4875800 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Striatal response to reward has been of great interest in the typical development and psychopathology literatures. These parallel lines of inquiry demonstrate that although typically developing adolescents show robust striatal response to reward, adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and those at high risk for MDD show a blunted response to reward. Understanding how these findings intersect is crucial for the development and application of early preventative interventions in at-risk children, ideally before the sharp increase in the rate of MDD onset that occurs in adolescence. Robust findings relating blunted striatal response to reward and MDD risk are reviewed and situated within a normative developmental context. We highlight the need for future studies investigating longitudinal development, specificity to MDD, and roles of potential moderators and mediators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R Luking
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
| | - David Pagliaccio
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Joan L Luby
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Neuroscience Program, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
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Abstract
Blunted reward response appears to be a trait-like marker of vulnerability for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). As such, it should be present in remitted individuals; however, depression is a heterogeneous syndrome. Reward-related impairments may be more pronounced in individuals with melancholic depression. The present study examined neural responses to rewards in remitted melancholic depression (rMD; N = 29), remitted non-melancholic depression (rNMD; N = 56), and healthy controls (HC; N = 81). Event-related potentials to monetary gain and loss were recorded during a simple gambling paradigm. rMD was characterized by a blunted response to rewards relative to both the HC and the rNMD groups, who did not differ from one another. Moreover, the rMD and rNMD groups did not differ in course or severity of their past illnesses, or current depressive symptoms or functioning. Results suggest that blunted response to rewards may be a viable vulnerability marker for melancholic depression.
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Agreement Between Self- and Informant-Reported Ratings of Personality Traits: The Moderating Effects of Major Depressive and/or Panic Disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis 2016; 204:306-13. [PMID: 26658660 PMCID: PMC4808382 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Several personality traits are risk factors for psychopathology. As symptoms of psychopathology may influence self-rated personality, informant reports of personality are also sometimes collected. However, little is known about self-informant agreement in individuals with anxiety and/or depression. We investigated whether self-informant agreement on positive and negative affectivity (PA and NA) and anxiety sensitivity differs for individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD; total n = 117). Informant- and self-reported PA was correlated among those with MDD, but not among those without MDD. Informant- and self-reported anxiety sensitivity was correlated among those with PD, but not among those without PD. Informant- and self-reported NA was correlated irrespective of diagnosis. Results indicate that the agreement of self- and informant-reported personality may vary as a function of depression and/or anxiety disorders.
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Luking KR, Pagliaccio D, Luby JL, Barch DM. Depression Risk Predicts Blunted Neural Responses to Gains and Enhanced Responses to Losses in Healthy Children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016; 55:328-37. [PMID: 27015724 PMCID: PMC4808567 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Revised: 12/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Maternal major depressive disorder (MDD) increases risk for MDD and predicts reduced reward responding in adolescent offspring. However, it is unclear whether alterations in neural response to reward can be detected in school-aged children at high risk before the typical increase in reward response observed in adolescence. METHOD To assess relationships between neural response to gain/loss feedback, MDD risk, and child depressive symptoms, 47 psychiatrically healthy 7- to 10-year-old children (16 at high risk given maternal MDD) completed questionnaires and a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) card-guessing game in which candy was gained and lost. RESULTS High-risk children showed both blunted response to gain and greater deactivation/reduced activation to loss within the ventral striatum and anterior insula. Within the striatum, risk-group differences in response to loss feedback were significantly larger than for gain, with greater deactivation to loss predicting risk-group status above and beyond blunted gain activation. Anhedonia was related to reduced deactivation to loss (i.e., reduced sensitivity to loss), whereas negative mood was related to enhanced deactivation to loss (i.e., enhanced sensitivity to loss) in the ventral striatum. CONCLUSION High-risk children showed blunted ventral striatal activation to gain feedback, but ventral striatal deactivation to loss was a stronger predictor of MDD risk. Furthermore, relationships between response to loss and elevated depressive symptoms within the ventral striatum and cingulate differed depending on the type of depressive symptom. Together these results highlight the potentially important role of response to loss of reward in childhood risk for depression.
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Lack of political diversity and the framing of findings in personality and clinical psychology. Behav Brain Sci 2016; 38:e149. [PMID: 26786842 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x14001253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
I extend the arguments of Duarte et al. by examining the implications of political uniformity for the framing of findings in personality and clinical psychology. I argue that the one-sided framing of psychological research on political ideology has limited our understanding of the personality correlates of liberalism and conservatism.
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Johnson SL, Carver CS, Joormann J, Cuccaro ML. Genetic polymorphisms related to behavioral approach and behavioral inhibition scales. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Nusslock R, Walden K, Harmon-Jones E. Asymmetrical frontal cortical activity associated with differential risk for mood and anxiety disorder symptoms: An RDoC perspective. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 98:249-261. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Revised: 06/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Shankman SA, Gorka SM. Psychopathology research in the RDoC era: Unanswered questions and the importance of the psychophysiological unit of analysis. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 98:330-337. [PMID: 25578646 PMCID: PMC4497934 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 12/31/2014] [Accepted: 01/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative seeks to re-conceptualize psychopathology by identifying transdiagnostic constructs that reflect core mechanisms of psychopathology. Although the RDoC framework has been discussed in many prior papers, there are several methodological and conceptual points that have yet to be fully specified. For example, little discussion exists on the importance of distinguishing each construct's nomological network and linking it to risk for psychopathology. It has also been unclear the extent to which RDoC constructs (within and across systems) should relate to one another and how these associations may differ as a function of developmental period. These are important questions as we enter the RDoC era and psychophysiological measures represent an exciting tool to address these issues. In this paper, we discuss the currently un- (or under-)specified aspects of the RDoC initiative and highlight the advantages of the psychophysiological 'unit of analysis.' We also briefly review existing psychophysiological studies, within the positive and negative valence systems, that exemplify the RDoC approach and make recommendations for how future studies can help the field progress in this mission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stewart A Shankman
- University of Illinois - Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607, United States.
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- University of Illinois - Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 West Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607, United States
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Bradford DE, Starr MJ, Shackman AJ, Curtin JJ. Empirically based comparisons of the reliability and validity of common quantification approaches for eyeblink startle potentiation in humans. Psychophysiology 2015; 52:1669-81. [PMID: 26372120 PMCID: PMC4715694 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Startle potentiation is a well‐validated translational measure of negative affect. Startle potentiation is widely used in clinical and affective science, and there are multiple approaches for its quantification. The three most commonly used approaches quantify startle potentiation as the increase in startle response from a neutral to threat condition based on (1) raw potentiation, (2) standardized potentiation, or (3) percent‐change potentiation. These three quantification approaches may yield qualitatively different conclusions about effects of independent variables (IVs) on affect when within‐ or between‐group differences exist for startle response in the neutral condition. Accordingly, we directly compared these quantification approaches in a shock‐threat task using four IVs known to influence startle response in the no‐threat condition: probe intensity, time (i.e., habituation), alcohol administration, and individual differences in general startle reactivity measured at baseline. We confirmed the expected effects of time, alcohol, and general startle reactivity on affect using self‐reported fear/anxiety as a criterion. The percent‐change approach displayed apparent artifact across all four IVs, which raises substantial concerns about its validity. Both raw and standardized potentiation approaches were stable across probe intensity and time, which supports their validity. However, only raw potentiation displayed effects that were consistent with a priori specifications and/or the self‐report criterion for the effects of alcohol and general startle reactivity. Supplemental analyses of reliability and validity for each approach provided additional evidence in support of raw potentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Bradford
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Mark J Starr
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Alexander J Shackman
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, and Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - John J Curtin
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Kujawa A, Proudfit GH, Klein DN. Neural reactivity to rewards and losses in offspring of mothers and fathers with histories of depressive and anxiety disorders. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 123:287-297. [PMID: 24886003 DOI: 10.1037/a0036285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Depression appears to be characterized by reduced neural reactivity to receipt of reward. Despite evidence of shared etiologies and high rates of comorbidity between depression and anxiety, this abnormality may be relatively specific to depression. However, it is unclear whether children at risk for depression also exhibit abnormal reward responding, and if so, whether risk for anxiety moderates this association. The feedback negativity (FN) is an event-related potential component sensitive to receipt of rewards versus losses that is reduced in depression. Using a large community sample (N = 407) of 9-year-old children who had never experienced a depressive episode, we examined whether histories of depression and anxiety in their parents were associated with the FN following monetary rewards and losses. Results indicated that maternal history of depression was associated with a blunted FN in offspring, but only when there was no maternal history of anxiety. In addition, greater severity of maternal depression was associated with greater blunting of the FN in children. No effects of paternal psychopathology were observed. Results suggest that blunted reactivity to rewards versus losses may be a vulnerability marker that is specific to pure depression, but is not evident when there is also familial risk for anxiety. In addition, these findings suggest that abnormal reward responding is evident as early as middle childhood, several years prior to the sharp increase in the prevalence of depression and rapid changes in neural reward circuitry in adolescence.
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Weinberg A, Liu H, Hajcak G, Shankman SA. Blunted neural response to rewards as a vulnerability factor for depression: Results from a family study. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [PMID: 26214708 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Depressive disorders are associated with significant economic and public health burdens as well as increased morbidity. Yet, perhaps due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease, prevention and intervention efforts are only moderately efficacious. A better understanding of core mechanisms of depressive disorders might aid in the development of more targeted intervention, and perhaps help identify individuals at risk. One mechanism that may be particularly important to depressive phenotypes is reward insensitivity. Examination of neurobiological correlates of reward-processing, which should relate more directly to the neuropathology of depression, may be helpful in identifying liability for the disorder. To that end, we used a family study design to examine whether a neural response to rewards is a familial risk factor for depression in a sample of probands with a wide range of internalizing psychopathology, as well as their biological siblings. Event-related potentials were recorded during a simple forced-choice gambling paradigm, in which participants could either win or lose small amounts of money. Lower levels of positive affect in probands predicted a reduced neural response to rewards in siblings, even over and above the sibling's own level of positive and negative affect. Additionally, the neural response to rewards was familial (i.e., correlated among siblings). Combined, these analyses suggest that a blunted neural response to rewards may be useful in identifying individuals vulnerable to depressive illnesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Weinberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Huiting Liu
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Greg Hajcak
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University
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Time course of threat responding in panic disorder and depression. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 98:87-94. [PMID: 26168883 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Revised: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 07/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Heightened sensitivity to threat is a characteristic feature of panic disorder (PD). It is also a factor that is considered to be central to PD but not major depressive disorder (MDD) – a related disorder that commonly co-occurs with PD. However, sensitivity to threat is a broad construct and it is unclear whether individuals with PD exhibit heightened initial threat reactivity, impairments in modulating their threat responding over time, or both. It is also unclear how these different facets of threat responding apply to predictable and/or unpredictable threat. The aim of the current study was to examine whether there are differences in initial threat reactivity and the time course of threat responding during predictable and unpredictable threat-of-shock in 186 adults with: 1) current PD and no history of depression (i.e., PD-only), 2) current MDD and no history of an anxiety disorder (i.e., MDD-only), 3) current comorbid PD and MDD, or 4) no lifetime history of psychopathology (i.e., controls). Threat responding was assessed using an electromyography startle paradigm. Relative to controls, individuals in the three psychopathology groups exhibited heightened initial threat reactivity to predictable and unpredictable threat and did not differ from each other. Multilevel mixed model analyses indicated that those with PD evidenced less of a decline over time in startle responding during unpredictable threat relative to those without PD. Those with MDD displayed a greater slope of decline in startle responding during predictable threat compared with those without MDD. The pattern of results suggests that there may be conceptual differences between measures of initial threat reactivity and time course of threat responding. Moreover, time course of threat responding, not initial threat reactivity, may differentiate PD from MDD.
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