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Giannopoulos AE, Zioga I, Papageorgiou P, Pervanidou P, Makris G, Chrousos GP, Stachtea X, Capsalis C, Papageorgiou C. Evaluating the Modulation of the Acoustic Startle Reflex in Children and Adolescents via Vertical EOG and EEG: Sex, Age, and Behavioral Effects. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:798667. [PMID: 35464323 PMCID: PMC9019526 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.798667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic startle reflex (ASR) constitutes a reliable, cross-species indicator of sensorimotor and inhibitory mechanisms, showing distinct signature in cognitive aging, sex, and psychopathological characterization. ASR can be modulated by the prepulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm, which comprises the suppression of reactivity to a startling stimulus (pulse) following a weak prepulse (30- to 500-ms time difference), being widely linked to inhibitory capabilities of the sensorimotor system. If the prepulse–pulse tones are more clearly separated (500–2,000 ms), ASR amplitude is enhanced, termed as prepulse facilitation (PPF), reflecting sustained or selective attention. Our study aimed to investigate early-life sensorimotor sex/age differences using Electroencephalographic recordings to measure muscular and neural ASR in a healthy young population. Sixty-three children and adolescents aged 6.2–16.7 years (31 females) took part in the experiment. Neural ASR was assessed by two different analyses, namely, event-related potentials (ERPs) and first-derivative potentials (FDPs). As expected, PPF showed enhanced responses compared with PPI, as indicated by eyeblink, ERP and FDP measures, confirming the gating effect hypothesis. Sex-related differences were reflected in FDPs, with females showing higher ASR than males, suggesting increased levels of poststartle excitability. Intragroup age effects were evaluated via multipredictor regression models, noticing positive correlation between age versus eyeblink and ERP responses. Attention-related ERPs (N100 and P200) showed distinct patterns in PPI versus PPF, potentially indicative for alternative attentional allocation and block-out of sensory overload. Screening measures of participants’ neurodevelopmental (assessed by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and behavioral (assessed by Child Behavior Checklist) markers were also associated with increased N100/P200 responses, presumably indexing synergy between perceptual consistency, personality profiling, and inhibitory performance. Conclusively, modulation of ASR by PPI and PPF is associated with biological sex and internal/external personality traits in childhood and adolescence, potentially useful to guide symptomatology and prevention of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasios E. Giannopoulos
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- *Correspondence: Anastasios E. Giannopoulos,
| | - Ioanna Zioga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
| | - Panos Papageorgiou
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Panagiota Pervanidou
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gerasimos Makris
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George P. Chrousos
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Xanthi Stachtea
- Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “COSTAS STEFANIS” (UMHRI), University Mental Health, Athens, Greece
| | - Christos Capsalis
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Charalabos Papageorgiou
- Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “COSTAS STEFANIS” (UMHRI), University Mental Health, Athens, Greece
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Giannopoulos AE, Zioga I, Kontoangelos K, Papageorgiou P, Kapsali F, Capsalis CN, Papageorgiou C. Deciding on Optical Illusions: Reduced Alpha Power in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12020293. [PMID: 35204056 PMCID: PMC8870663 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined defects in appearance. Optical illusions induce illusory effects that distort the presented stimulus, thus leading to ambiguous percepts. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated whether BDD is related to differentiated perception during illusory percepts. METHODS A total of 18 BDD patients and 18 controls were presented with 39 optical illusions together with a statement testing whether or not they perceived the illusion. After a delay period, they were prompted to answer whether the statement was right/wrong and their degree of confidence in their answer. We investigated differences of BDD patients on task performance and self-reported confidence and analyzed the brain oscillations during decision-making using nonparametric cluster statistics. RESULTS Behaviorally, the BDD group exhibited reduced confidence when responding incorrectly, potentially attributed to higher levels of doubt. Electrophysiologically, the BDD group showed significantly reduced alpha power at the fronto-central and parietal scalp areas, suggesting impaired allocation of attention. Interestingly, the lower the alpha power of the identified cluster, the higher the BDD severity, as assessed by BDD psychometrics. CONCLUSIONS Results evidenced that alpha power during illusory processing might serve as a quantitative EEG biomarker of BDD, potentially associated with reduced inhibition of task-irrelevant areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasios E. Giannopoulos
- School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-6982045009
| | - Ioanna Zioga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
- First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Eginition Hospital, 11528 Athens, Greece;
| | - Konstantinos Kontoangelos
- First Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Eginition Hospital, 11528 Athens, Greece;
| | - Panos Papageorgiou
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, 26334 Patras, Greece;
| | | | - Christos N. Capsalis
- School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece;
| | - Charalabos Papageorgiou
- Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “Costas Stefanis”, University Mental Health, 11527 Athens, Greece;
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