1
|
Salsano I, Tain R, Giulietti G, Williams DP, Ottaviani C, Antonucci G, Thayer JF, Santangelo V. Negative emotions enhance memory-guided attention in a visual search task by increasing frontoparietal, insular, and parahippocampal cortical activity. Cortex 2024; 173:16-33. [PMID: 38354670 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Previous literature demonstrated that long-term memory representations guide spatial attention during visual search in real-world pictures. However, it is currently unknown whether memory-guided visual search is affected by the emotional content of the picture. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants were asked to encode the position of high-contrast targets embedded in emotional (negative or positive) or neutral pictures. At retrieval, they performed a visual search for targets presented at the same location as during encoding, but at a much lower contrast. Behaviorally, participants detected more accurately targets presented in negative pictures compared to those in positive or neutral pictures. They were also faster in detecting targets presented at encoding in emotional (negative or positive) pictures than in neutral pictures, or targets not presented during encoding (i.e., memory-guided attention effect). At the neural level, we found increased activation in a large circuit of regions involving the dorsal and ventral frontoparietal cortex, insular and parahippocampal cortex, selectively during the detection of targets presented in negative pictures during encoding. We propose that these regions might form an integrated neural circuit recruited to select and process previously encoded target locations (i.e., memory-guided attention sustained by the frontoparietal cortex) embedded in emotional contexts (i.e., emotional contexts recollection supported by the parahippocampal cortex and emotional monitoring supported by the insular cortex). Ultimately, these findings reveal that negative emotions can enhance memory-guided visual search performance by increasing neural activity in a large-scale brain circuit, contributing to disentangle the complex relationship between emotion, attention, and memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilenia Salsano
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; PhD Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Rongwen Tain
- Campus Center of Neuroimaging, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Giovanni Giulietti
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; SAIMLAL Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - DeWayne P Williams
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
| | | | - Gabriella Antonucci
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Julian F Thayer
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA
| | - Valerio Santangelo
- Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy; Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Amedick G, Krylova M, Mayer K, Izyurov I, Herrmann L, Martens L, Kasties V, Heller J, Li M, van der Meer J, Croy I, Engert V, Walter M, Colic L. Association among childhood adversity and susceptibility to interference during varying salience: two studies in healthy males. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7050. [PMID: 38528096 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57025-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Childhood adversity, a prevalent experience, is related to a higher risk for externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. Alterations in the development of cognitive processes, for example in the attention-interference domain may link childhood adversity and psychopathology. Interfering stimuli can vary in their salience, i.e. ability to capture attentional focus, and valence. However, it is not known if interference by salience or valence is associated with self-reported adversity. In two independent study samples of healthy men (Study 1: n = 44; mean age [standard deviation (SD)] = 25.9 [3.4] years; Study 2: n = 37; 43.5 [9.7] years) we used the attention modulation task (AMT) that probed interference by two attention-modulating conditions, salience and valence separately across repeated target stimuli. The AMT measures the effects of visual distractors (pictures) on the performance of auditory discrimination tasks (target stimuli). We hypothesized that participants reporting higher levels of childhood adversity, measured with the childhood trauma questionnaire, would show sustained interference in trials with lower salience. Due to conflicting reports on the valence-modulation, we tested the valence condition in an exploratory manner. Linear mixed models revealed an interaction between reported childhood adversity and the salience condition across tone presentations in both study samples (Sample 1: p = .03; Sample 2: p = .04), while there were no effects for the valence condition across both studies. Our study suggests that higher self-reported childhood adversity is related to faster processing of target cues during high salience, but slower during low salience conditions. These results hint to the mechanisms linking childhood adversity and psychopathological symptoms in the attentional domain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Greta Amedick
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina Krylova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Department of Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Kathrin Mayer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Igor Izyurov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Luisa Herrmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Louise Martens
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Kasties
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johanna Heller
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Psychology, Center for Mental Health, Hospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Meng Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Johan van der Meer
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Amsterdam UMC, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ilona Croy
- Institute for Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
| | - Veronika Engert
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, Psychotherapy and Psychooncology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Lejla Colic
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany.
- German Center for Mental Health, partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Jena, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kampa M, Sebastian A, Tüscher O, Stark R, Klucken T. Refocus on stopping! Replication of reduced right amygdala reactivity to negative, visual primes during inhibition of motor responses. NEUROIMAGE: REPORTS 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2022.100151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
4
|
Grützmann R, Kathmann N, Heinzel S. Effects of a three-week executive control training on adaptation to task difficulty and emotional interference. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0276994. [PMID: 36413545 PMCID: PMC9681094 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Intact executive functions are characterized by flexible adaptation to task requirements, while these effects are reduced in internalizing disorders. Furthermore, as executive functions play an important role in emotion regulation, deficits in executive functions may contribute to symptom generation in psychological disorders through increased emotional interference. Thus, the present study investigated transfer effects of a three-week executive control training on adaptation to task difficulty and emotional interference in healthy participants (n = 24) to further explore the training's suitability for clinical application. To assess the adaptation to task difficulty, the proportion congruency effect on behavioral data (response times, error rates) and ERP measures (N2, CRN) was assessed in a flanker task with varying frequency of incompatible trials (25%, 75%). To quantify emotional interference, flanker stimuli were superimposed on neutral or negative pictures. Replicating previous results, the training increased interference control as indexed by decreased response times and errors rates, increased N2 amplitude and decreased CRN amplitude in incompatible trials after training. Proportion congruency effects were weaker than expected and not affected by the training intervention. The training lead to a shift in the time-point of emotional interference: before training negative pictures lead to a reduction in CRN amplitude, while after training this reduction was observed for the N2. This pattern illustrates that the training leads to a change in task processing mode from predominant response-related cognitive control to predominant stimulus-related cognitive control (N2), indicating a proactive processing mode.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Grützmann
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Norbert Kathmann
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Metzlaff J, Finis J, Münchau A, Müller-Vahl K, Schnitzler A, Bellebaum C, Biermann-Ruben K, Niccolai V. Altered performance monitoring in Tourette Syndrome: an MEG investigation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8300. [PMID: 35585222 PMCID: PMC9117680 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12156-x] [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: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential component indexing processes of performance monitoring during simple stimulus-response tasks: the ERN is typically enhanced for error processing and conflicting response representations. Investigations in healthy participants and different patient groups have linked the ERN to the dopamine system and to prefrontal information processing. As in patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS) both dopamine release and prefrontal information processing are impaired, we hypothesized that performance monitoring would be altered, which was investigated with magnetencephalography (MEG). We examined performance monitoring in TS patients by assessing the magnetic equivalent of the ERN (mERN). The mERN was investigated in tic-free trials of eight adult, unmedicated TS patients without clinically significant comorbidity and ten matched healthy controls while performing a Go/NoGo task in selected frontocentral channels. The analysis of the response-related amplitudes of the event-related magnetic field showed that TS patients, in contrast to controls, did not show earlier amplitude modulation (between 70 and 105 ms after response onset) depending on response type (errors or correct responses). In both groups significant mERN amplitudes in the time-window between 105 and 160 ms after response onset were detected thus pointing at only later error processing in TS patients. In TS patients, early error-related processing might be affected by an enhanced motor control triggered by a conflict between the targeted high task performance and tic suppression. TS patients seem to tend to initially process all responses as erroneous responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Metzlaff
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany.
| | - Jennifer Finis
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Alexander Münchau
- Institute of Systems Motor Science, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany
| | - Kirsten Müller-Vahl
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Socialpsychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Christian Bellebaum
- Department of Biological Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ahumada-Méndez F, Lucero B, Avenanti A, Saracini C, Muñoz-Quezada MT, Cortés-Rivera C, Canales-Johnson A. Affective modulation of cognitive control: A systematic review of EEG studies. Physiol Behav 2022; 249:113743. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
7
|
Grützmann R, Kathmann N, Heinzel S. Cognitive control is quickly adapted to actual task requirements despite misleading context cues-Evidence from the N2, CRN, and ERN. Psychophysiology 2021; 59:e13961. [PMID: 34713905 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13961] [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: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control is flexibly adapted to task requirements in healthy individuals. Medio-frontal negativities in the event-related potential of the electroencephalogram can serve as indicators of cognitive control. With increasing conflict frequency, stimulus-locked control, as indexed by the N2, is increased and response-locked control, as indexed by the correct-related negativity, is reduced. On the behavioral level, this shift is associated with improved conflict resolution as evident in reduced response times and error rates in incompatible trials and a reduced response time congruency effect. Cognitive control adaptation might be implemented through experience-based task sets specifying advantageous processing strategies. Here, we investigated whether the cognitive control task set will be sustained when coupled with a contextual cue, even when the initial task requirements are no longer present. A flanker task with two conflict frequency conditions (25% incompatible and 75% incompatible trials) was presented. In the training phase, the conflict frequency conditions were paired with a distinct context cue (i.e., background color). In the test phase, the previously associated cues were again presented, but conflict frequency was identical in both conditions (50% incompatible trials). Although typical cognitive control adaptation was observed in the training phase on the behavioral and event-related potentials level, this pattern was not sustained in the test phase. Thus, the present study provides further evidence that cognitive control is flexibly adapted to task requirements even in the presence of misleading cues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Grützmann
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Norbert Kathmann
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|