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Lu H, Song Y, Wang X, Liu J. The neural correlates of perceived social support and its relationship to psychological well-being. Front Behav Neurosci 2024; 17:1295668. [PMID: 38259632 PMCID: PMC10800560 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1295668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Perceived social support is considered to play a significant role in promoting individuals' health and well-being, and yet the neural correlates of perceived social support were not fully understood. An exploration of the neural correlates of individual differences in the SPS can help us to gain more comprehensive understanding about the neural correlates of perceived social support. What's more, our study will explore the relationship among perceived social support, brain regions, and psychological well-being, which may provide new insights into the neural correlates underlying the relationship between perceived social support and psychological well-being from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. Methods Herein, we used the Social Provisions Scale to assess individuals' perceived social support, and magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the gray matter (GM) volume of the whole brain. What's more, we also measured psychological well-being using the Psychological Well-Being Scale, and mediation analysis was used to explore the relationship among perceived social support, brain regions, and psychological well-being. Results The voxel-based morphometry analysis of the whole brain revealed that perceived social support was positively correlated with GM volume of the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). The finding indicated that a person with greater GM volume in the left MTG perceived more social support. More importantly, the left MTG GM volume observed above was also associated with psychological well-being, and the link between the two was mediated by perceived social support. Discussion These results revealed the importance of MTG for perceived social support and psychological well-being, and also suggested that perceived social support might explain the relationship between MTG and psychological well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanhua Lu
- School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yiying Song
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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2
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Zrenner B, Zrenner C, Balderston N, Blumberger DM, Kloiber S, Laposa JM, Tadayonnejad R, Trevizol AP, Zai G, Feusner JD. Toward personalized circuit-based closed-loop brain-interventions in psychiatry: using symptom provocation to extract EEG-markers of brain circuit activity. Front Neural Circuits 2023; 17:1208930. [PMID: 37671039 PMCID: PMC10475600 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2023.1208930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Symptom provocation is a well-established component of psychiatric research and therapy. It is hypothesized that specific activation of those brain circuits involved in the symptomatic expression of a brain pathology makes the relevant neural substrate accessible as a target for therapeutic interventions. For example, in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), symptom provocation is an important part of psychotherapy and is also performed prior to therapeutic brain stimulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Here, we discuss the potential of symptom provocation to isolate neurophysiological biomarkers reflecting the fluctuating activity of relevant brain networks with the goal of subsequently using these markers as targets to guide therapy. We put forward a general experimental framework based on the rapid switching between psychiatric symptom states. This enable neurophysiological measures to be derived from EEG and/or TMS-evoked EEG measures of brain activity during both states. By subtracting the data recorded during the baseline state from that recorded during the provoked state, the resulting contrast would ideally isolate the specific neural circuits differentially activated during the expression of symptoms. A similar approach enables the design of effective classifiers of brain activity from EEG data in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). To obtain reliable contrast data, psychiatric state switching needs to be achieved multiple times during a continuous recording so that slow changes of brain activity affect both conditions equally. This is achieved easily for conditions that can be controlled intentionally, such as motor imagery, attention, or memory retention. With regard to psychiatric symptoms, an increase can often be provoked effectively relatively easily, however, it can be difficult to reliably and rapidly return to a baseline state. Here, we review different approaches to return from a provoked state to a baseline state and how these may be applied to different symptoms occurring in different psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Zrenner
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University Psychiatry Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Zrenner
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University Neurology Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nicholas Balderston
- Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress (CNDS), Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Daniel M. Blumberger
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stefan Kloiber
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Judith M. Laposa
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Reza Tadayonnejad
- TMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Alisson Paulino Trevizol
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gwyneth Zai
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jamie D. Feusner
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Bas‐Hoogendam JM, Groenewold NA, Aghajani M, Freitag GF, Harrewijn A, Hilbert K, Jahanshad N, Thomopoulos SI, Thompson PM, Veltman DJ, Winkler AM, Lueken U, Pine DS, van der Wee NJA, Stein DJ. ENIGMA-anxiety working group: Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:83-112. [PMID: 32618421 PMCID: PMC8805695 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Revised: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Marie Bas‐Hoogendam
- Department of Developmental and Educational PsychologyLeiden University, Institute of PsychologyLeidenThe Netherlands
- Department of PsychiatryLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Nynke A. Groenewold
- Department of Psychiatry & Mental HealthUniversity of Cape TownCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Moji Aghajani
- Department of PsychiatryAmsterdam UMC / VUMCAmsterdamThe Netherlands
- Department of Research & InnovationGGZ inGeestAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Gabrielle F. Freitag
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Anita Harrewijn
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Kevin Hilbert
- Department of PsychologyHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Neda Jahanshad
- University of Southern California Keck School of MedicineImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics InstituteLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Sophia I. Thomopoulos
- University of Southern California Keck School of MedicineImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics InstituteLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Paul M. Thompson
- University of Southern California Keck School of MedicineImaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics InstituteLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of PsychiatryAmsterdam UMC / VUMCAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Anderson M. Winkler
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Ulrike Lueken
- Department of PsychologyHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Daniel S. Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health, Emotion and Development BranchBethesdaMarylandUSA
| | - Nic J. A. van der Wee
- Department of PsychiatryLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and CognitionLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Dan J. Stein
- Department of Psychiatry & Mental HealthUniversity of Cape TownCape TownSouth Africa
- University of Cape TownSouth African MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental DisordersCape TownSouth Africa
- University of Cape TownNeuroscience InstituteCape TownSouth Africa
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Yu X, Ruan Y, Zhang Y, Wang J, Liu Y, Zhang J, Zhang L. Cognitive Neural Mechanism of Social Anxiety Disorder: A Meta-Analysis Based on fMRI Studies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18115556. [PMID: 34067468 PMCID: PMC8196988 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Objective: The present meta-analysis aimed to explore the cognitive and neural mechanism of social anxiety disorder (SAD) from a whole-brain view, and compare the differences in brain activations under different task paradigms. Methods: We searched Web of Science Core Collection and other databases with the keywords related to social anxiety, social phobia, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for comparing persons with SAD to healthy controls and used the activation likelihood estimation method. Thirty-seven papers met the inclusion criteria, including 15 with emotional faces as stimuli, 8 presenting specific situations as stimuli, and 14 using other types of tasks as stimuli. Among these papers, 654 participants were in the SAD group and 594 participants were in the control group with 335 activation increase points and 115 activation decrease points. Results: Whole-brain analysis showed that compared with healthy controls, persons with SAD showed significantly lower activation of the left anterior cingulate gyrus (MNI coordinate: x = −6, y = 22, z = 38; p 0.001). Sub-group analysis based on task indicated that when performing tasks with emotional faces as stimuli, persons with SAD showed significantly lower activation of the left cerebellar slope and fusiform gyrus (MNI coordinate: x = −26, y = −68, z = −12; p 0.001), and significantly higher activation of the right supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus, than healthy controls (MNI coordinate: x = 58, y = −52, z = 30; p 0.001). Conclusion: Individuals with social anxiety disorder show abnormal activation in the cingulate gyrus, which is responsible for the process of attention control, and task type can influence the activation pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianglian Yu
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430056, China
| | - Yijun Ruan
- Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China;
| | - Yawen Zhang
- Department of Medical Psychology, School of Health Humanities, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China;
| | - Jiayi Wang
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
| | - Yuting Liu
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
| | - Jibiao Zhang
- Department of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China; (X.Y.); (J.W.); (Y.L.)
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (L.Z.); Tel.: +86-151-1631-9551 (J.Z.); Tel.: +86-186-2215-2329 (L.Z.)
| | - Lin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430056, China
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (L.Z.); Tel.: +86-151-1631-9551 (J.Z.); Tel.: +86-186-2215-2329 (L.Z.)
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McDermott TJ, Kirlic N, Aupperle RL. Roadmap for optimizing the clinical utility of emotional stress paradigms in human neuroimaging research. Neurobiol Stress 2018; 8:134-146. [PMID: 29888309 PMCID: PMC5991342 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The emotional stress response is relevant to a number of psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in particular. Research using neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe stress-related neural processing have provided some insights into psychiatric disorders. Treatment providers and individual patients would benefit from clinically useful fMRI paradigms that provide information about patients' current brain state and responses to stress in order to inform the treatment selection process. However, neuroimaging has not yet made a meaningful impact on real-world clinical practice. This lack of clinical utility may be related to a number of basic psychometric properties that are often overlooked during fMRI task development. The goals of the current review are to discuss important methodological considerations for current human fMRI stress-related paradigms and to provide a roadmap for developing methodologically sound and clinically useful paradigms. This would include establishing various aspects of reliability, including internal consistency, test-retest and multi-site, as well as validity, including face, content, construct, and criterion. In addition, the establishment of standardized normative data from a large sample of participants would support our understanding of how any one individual compares to the general population. Addressing these methodological gaps will likely have a powerful effect on improving the replicability of findings and optimize our chances for improving real-world clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J. McDermott
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, United States
| | - Namik Kirlic
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States
| | - Robin L. Aupperle
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States
- Department of Community Medicine, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, United States
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6
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Becker MPI, Simon D, Miltner WHR, Straube T. Altered activation of the ventral striatum under performance-related observation in social anxiety disorder. Psychol Med 2017; 47:2502-2512. [PMID: 28464974 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717001076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by fear of social and performance situations. The consequence of scrutiny by others for the neural processing of performance feedback in SAD is unknown. METHODS We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activation to positive, negative, and uninformative performance feedback in patients diagnosed with SAD and age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy control subjects who performed a time estimation task during a social observation condition and a non-social control condition: while either being monitored or unmonitored by a body camera, subjects received performance feedback after performing a time estimation that they could not fully evaluate without external feedback. RESULTS We found that brain activation in ventral striatum (VS) and midcingulate cortex was modulated by an interaction of social context and feedback type. SAD patients showed a lack of social-context-dependent variation of feedback processing, while control participants showed an enhancement of brain responses specifically to positive feedback in VS during observation. CONCLUSIONS The present findings emphasize the importance of social-context processing in SAD by showing that scrutiny prevents appropriate reward-processing-related signatures in response to positive performances in SAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- M P I Becker
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology,Friedrich Schiller University,D-07743 Jena,Germany
| | - D Simon
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology,Friedrich Schiller University,D-07743 Jena,Germany
| | - W H R Miltner
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology,Friedrich Schiller University,D-07743 Jena,Germany
| | - T Straube
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology,Friedrich Schiller University,D-07743 Jena,Germany
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7
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Bas-Hoogendam JM, van Steenbergen H, Nienke Pannekoek J, Fouche JP, Lochner C, Hattingh CJ, Cremers HR, Furmark T, Månsson KN, Frick A, Engman J, Boraxbekk CJ, Carlbring P, Andersson G, Fredrikson M, Straube T, Peterburs J, Klumpp H, Phan KL, Roelofs K, Veltman DJ, van Tol MJ, Stein DJ, van der Wee NJ. Voxel-based morphometry multi-center mega-analysis of brain structure in social anxiety disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 16:678-688. [PMID: 30140607 PMCID: PMC6103329 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent and disabling mental disorder, associated with significant psychiatric co-morbidity. Previous research on structural brain alterations associated with SAD has yielded inconsistent results concerning the direction of the changes in gray matter (GM) in various brain regions, as well as on the relationship between brain structure and SAD-symptomatology. These heterogeneous findings are possibly due to limited sample sizes. Multi-site imaging offers new opportunities to investigate SAD-related alterations in brain structure in larger samples. An international multi-center mega-analysis on the largest database of SAD structural T1-weighted 3T MRI scans to date was performed to compare GM volume of SAD-patients (n = 174) and healthy control (HC)-participants (n = 213) using voxel-based morphometry. A hypothesis-driven region of interest (ROI) approach was used, focusing on the basal ganglia, the amygdala-hippocampal complex, the prefrontal cortex, and the parietal cortex. SAD-patients had larger GM volume in the dorsal striatum when compared to HC-participants. This increase correlated positively with the severity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms. No SAD-related differences in GM volume were present in the other ROIs. Thereby, the results of this mega-analysis suggest a role for the dorsal striatum in SAD, but previously reported SAD-related changes in GM in the amygdala, hippocampus, precuneus, prefrontal cortex and parietal regions were not replicated. Our findings emphasize the importance of large sample imaging studies and the need for meta-analyses like those performed by the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium. Multi-center mega-analysis on gray matter (GM) in social anxiety disorder (SAD) Largest sample available for analysis to date: 174 SAD-patients vs 213 controls Larger GM volume in the right putamen in SAD-patients No SAD-related alterations in amygdala-hippocampal, prefrontal or parietal regions Results stress need for larger samples and meta-analyses - cf. ENIGMA Consortium
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author at: Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - J. Nienke Pannekoek
- Neuropsychopharmacology Unit, Centre for Psychiatry, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Paul Fouche
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Christine Lochner
- SU/UCT MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, South Africa
- Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
| | - Coenraad J. Hattingh
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Henk R. Cremers
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tomas Furmark
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer N.T. Månsson
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andreas Frick
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jonas Engman
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carl-Johan Boraxbekk
- Umeå Centre for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance (DRCMR), Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Per Carlbring
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gerhard Andersson
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Psychology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Mats Fredrikson
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Jutta Peterburs
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Heide Klumpp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
- Department of Psychology, 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 Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marie-José van Tol
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Dan J. Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
- SU/UCT MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, South Africa
| | - Nic J.A. van der Wee
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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8
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Burklund LJ, Torre JB, Lieberman MD, Taylor SE, Craske MG. Neural responses to social threat and predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in social anxiety disorder. Psychiatry Res 2017; 261:52-64. [PMID: 28129556 PMCID: PMC5435374 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has often highlighted hyperactivity in emotion regions to simple, static social threat cues in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Investigation of the neurobiology of SAD using more naturalistic paradigms can further reveal underlying mechanisms and how these relate to clinical outcomes. We used fMRI to investigate responses to novel dynamic rejection stimuli in individuals with SAD (N=70) and healthy controls (HC; N=17), and whether these responses predicted treatment outcomes following cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Both HC and SAD groups reported greater distress to rejection compared to neutral social stimuli. At the neural level, HCs exhibited greater activations in social pain/rejection regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, to rejection stimuli. The SAD group evidenced a different pattern, with no differences in these rejection regions and relatively greater activations in the amygdala and other regions to neutral stimuli. Greater responses in anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala to rejection vs. neutral stimuli predicted better CBT outcomes. In contrast, enhanced activity in sensory-focused posterior insula predicted ACT responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J Burklund
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States.
| | - Jared B Torre
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Matthew D Lieberman
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Shelley E Taylor
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
| | - Michelle G Craske
- University of California Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States
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9
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Heitmann CY, Feldker K, Neumeister P, Brinkmann L, Schrammen E, Zwitserlood P, Straube T. Brain activation to task-irrelevant disorder-related threat in social anxiety disorder: The impact of symptom severity. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 14:323-333. [PMID: 28224080 PMCID: PMC5310170 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Revised: 12/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Unintentional and uncontrollable processing of threat has been suggested to contribute to the pathology of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The present study investigated the neural correlates of processing task-irrelevant, highly ecologically valid, disorder-related stimuli as a function of symptom severity in SAD. Twenty-four SAD patients and 24 healthy controls (HC) performed a feature-based comparison task during functional magnetic resonance imaging, while task-irrelevant, disorder-related or neutral scenes were presented simultaneously at a different spatial position. SAD patients showed greater activity than HC in response to disorder-related versus neutral scenes in brain regions associated with self-referential processing (e.g. insula, precuneus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) and emotion regulation (e.g. dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), inferior frontal gyrus). Symptom severity was positively associated with amygdala activity, and negatively with activation in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dlPFC in SAD patients. Additional correlation analysis revealed that amygdala-prefrontal coupling was positively associated with symptom severity. A network of brain regions is thus involved in SAD patients' processing of task-irrelevant, complex, ecologically valid, disorder-related scenes. Furthermore, increasing symptom severity in SAD patients seems to reflect a growing imbalance between neural mechanisms related to stimulus-driven bottom-up and regulatory top-down processes resulting in dysfunctional regulation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Yvonne Heitmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Katharina Feldker
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Paula Neumeister
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Leonie Brinkmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Schrammen
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | | | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
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Peterburs J, Sandrock C, Miltner WHR, Straube T. Look who's judging—Feedback source modulates brain activation to performance feedback in social anxiety. Neuroimage 2016; 133:430-437. [PMID: 27033687 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Revised: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jutta Peterburs
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Carolin Sandrock
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Wolfgang H R Miltner
- Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149 Münster, Germany
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11
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Glassman LH, Kuster AT, Shaw JA, Forman EM, Izzetoglu M, Matteucci A, Herbert JD. The relationship between dorsolateral prefrontal activation and speech performance-based social anxiety using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Brain Imaging Behav 2016; 11:797-807. [DOI: 10.1007/s11682-016-9554-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Straube T. Effects of Psychotherapy on Brain Activation Patterns in Anxiety Disorders. ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PSYCHOLOGIE-JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1027/2151-2604/a000240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for most mental disorders, including anxiety disorders. Successful psychotherapy implies new learning experiences and therefore neural alterations. With the increasing availability of functional neuroimaging methods, it has become possible to investigate psychotherapeutically induced neuronal plasticity across the whole brain in controlled studies. However, the detectable effects strongly depend on neuroscientific methods, experimental paradigms, analytical strategies, and sample characteristics. This article summarizes the state of the art, discusses current theoretical and methodological issues, and suggests future directions of the research on the neurobiology of psychotherapy in anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany
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13
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Heitmann CY, Feldker K, Neumeister P, Zepp BM, Peterburs J, Zwitserlood P, Straube T. Abnormal brain activation and connectivity to standardized disorder-related visual scenes in social anxiety disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:1559-72. [PMID: 26806013 PMCID: PMC6867294 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Revised: 01/07/2016] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of altered emotional processing in social anxiety disorder (SAD) is hampered by a heterogeneity of findings, which is probably due to the vastly different methods and materials used so far. This is why the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated immediate disorder-related threat processing in 30 SAD patients and 30 healthy controls (HC) with a novel, standardized set of highly ecologically valid, disorder-related complex visual scenes. SAD patients rated disorder-related as compared with neutral scenes as more unpleasant, arousing and anxiety-inducing than HC. On the neural level, disorder-related as compared with neutral scenes evoked differential responses in SAD patients in a widespread emotion processing network including (para-)limbic structures (e.g. amygdala, insula, thalamus, globus pallidus) and cortical regions (e.g. dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and precuneus). Functional connectivity analysis yielded an altered interplay between PCC/precuneus and paralimbic (insula) as well as cortical regions (dmPFC, precuneus) in SAD patients, which emphasizes a central role for PCC/precuneus in disorder-related scene processing. Hyperconnectivity of globus pallidus with amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) additionally underlines the relevance of this region in socially anxious threat processing. Our findings stress the importance of specific disorder-related stimuli for the investigation of altered emotion processing in SAD. Disorder-related threat processing in SAD reveals anomalies at multiple stages of emotion processing which may be linked to increased anxiety and to dysfunctionally elevated levels of self-referential processing reported in previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina Yvonne Heitmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
| | - Katharina Feldker
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
| | - Paula Neumeister
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
| | - Britta Maria Zepp
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
| | - Jutta Peterburs
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
| | | | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, MuensterGermany
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14
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Herrmann MJ, Boehme S, Becker MPI, Tupak SV, Guhn A, Schmidt B, Brinkmann L, Straube T. Phasic and sustained brain responses in the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis during threat anticipation. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 37:1091-102. [PMID: 26678871 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Revised: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 12/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are differentially involved in phasic and sustained fear. Even though, results from neuroimaging studies support this distinction, a specific effect of a temporal dissociation with phasic responses to onset versus sustained responses during prolonged states of threat anticipation has not been shown yet. To explore this issue, we investigated brain activation during anticipation of threat in 38 healthy participants by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were presented different visual cues indicated the temporally unpredictable occurrence of a subsequent aversive or neutral stimulus. During the onset of aversive versus neutral anticipatory cues, results showed a differential phasic activation of amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). In contrast, activation in the BNST and other brain regions, including insula, dorsolateral PFC, ACC, cuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, and periaqueductal grey was characterized by a sustained response during the threat versus neutral anticipation period. Analyses of functional connectivity showed phasic amygdala response as positively associated with activation, mainly in sensory cortex areas whereas sustained BNST activation was negatively associated with activation in visual cortex and positively correlated with activation in the insula and thalamus. These findings suggest that the amygdala is responsive to the onset of cues signaling the unpredictable occurrence of a potential threat while the BNST in concert with other areas is involved in sustained anxiety. Furthermore, the amygdala and BNST are characterized by distinctive connectivity patterns during threat anticipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J Herrmann
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Fuechsleinstraße 15, Würzburg, D-97080, Germany
| | - Stephanie Boehme
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Fuechsleinstraße 15, Würzburg, D-97080, Germany
| | - Michael P I Becker
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, Muenster, D-48149, Germany
| | - Sara V Tupak
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, Muenster, D-48149, Germany
| | - Anne Guhn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Fuechsleinstraße 15, Würzburg, D-97080, Germany
| | - Brigitte Schmidt
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Fuechsleinstraße 15, Würzburg, D-97080, Germany
| | - Leonie Brinkmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, Muenster, D-48149, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, Muenster, D-48149, Germany
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(1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy in social anxiety disorder. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2015; 58:97-104. [PMID: 25549832 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Revised: 12/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by excessive anxiety about social interaction or performance situations, leading to avoidance and clinically significant distress. A growing literature on the neurobiology of SAD has suggested that the reward/avoidance basal ganglia circuitry in general and the glutamatergic system in particular may play a role. In the current study, we investigated (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) concentrations in cortical, striatal, and thalamic circuitry, as well as their associations with measures of social anxiety and related symptoms, in patients with primary SAD. METHODOLOGY Eighteen adult individuals with SAD and 19 age- and sex- matched controls participated in this study. (1)H-MRS was used to determine relative metabolite concentrations in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using single voxel spectroscopy (reporting relative N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), N-acetyl-aspartate with N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAA+NAAG), glycerophosphocholine with phosphocholine (GPC+PCh), myo-inositol, glutamate (Glu), and glutamate with its precursor glutamine (Glu+Gln)), and the caudate, putamen and thalami bilaterally using two dimensional chemical shift imaging (reporting relative NAA+NAAG and GPC+PCh). Relationships between metabolite concentrations and measures of social anxiety and related symptoms were also determined. Measures of social anxiety included symptom severity, blushing propensity, and gaze anxiety/avoidance. RESULTS We found, first, decreased relative glutamate concentration in the ACC of SAD and changes in myo-inositol with measures of social anxiety. Second, NAA metabolite concentration was increased in thalamus of SAD, and choline metabolite concentrations were related to measures of social anxiety. Lastly, choline metabolite concentration in the caudate and putamen showed changes in relation to measures of social anxiety. CONCLUSION These findings are consistent with evidence that the reward/avoidance basal ganglia circuitry, as well as the glutamatergic system, play a role in mediating SAD symptoms.
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Epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene influences the perception of anger and fear in the human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:3308-13. [PMID: 25675509 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1422096112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In humans, the neuropeptide oxytocin plays a critical role in social and emotional behavior. The actions of this molecule are dependent on a protein that acts as its receptor, which is encoded by the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). DNA methylation of OXTR, an epigenetic modification, directly influences gene transcription and is variable in humans. However, the impact of this variability on specific social behaviors is unknown. We hypothesized that variability in OXTR methylation impacts social perceptual processes often linked with oxytocin, such as perception of facial emotions. Using an imaging epigenetic approach, we established a relationship between OXTR methylation and neural activity in response to emotional face processing. Specifically, high levels of OXTR methylation were associated with greater amounts of activity in regions associated with face and emotion processing including amygdala, fusiform, and insula. Importantly, we found that these higher levels of OXTR methylation were also associated with decreased functional coupling of amygdala with regions involved in affect appraisal and emotion regulation. These data indicate that the human endogenous oxytocin system is involved in attenuation of the fear response, corroborating research implicating intranasal oxytocin in the same processes. Our findings highlight the importance of including epigenetic mechanisms in the description of the endogenous oxytocin system and further support a central role for oxytocin in social cognition. This approach linking epigenetic variability with neural endophenotypes may broadly explain individual differences in phenotype including susceptibility or resilience to disease.
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