Genetic and environmental influences on the relationship between flow proneness, locus of control and behavioral inhibition

Can flow proneness be protective against mental and cardiovascular health problems? A genetically informed prospective cohort study

Flow is a phenomenon where one experiences optimal challenge, marked by an intense, effortless, and rewarding concentration on a task. Past research shows that flow proneness is associated with good mental and cardiovascular health. However, this research has been primarily cross-sectional, based on self-report data, and has not controlled for potential confounding effects of neuroticism. In a large, longitudinal twin sample (N = 9361), we used nationwide patient registry data to test whether flow proneness predicted registry-based diagnoses of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, stress-related disorders, or cardiovascular diseases. We used survival analyses taking time to diagnosis into account to test if (a) there is a relationship between flow proneness and health diagnoses over time, (b) neuroticism confounds this relationship, and (c) the relationship remains present within discordant monozygotic twin pairs (N = 952), thereby controlling for genetic and shared environmental confounding. Individuals with higher flow proneness had a decreased risk of receiving diagnoses for depression (16%; CI [14%, 18%]), anxiety (16%; CI [13%, 18%]), schizophrenia (15%; CI [4%, 25%]), bipolar (12%; CI [6%, 18%]), stress-related (9%; CI [9%, 12%]), and cardiovascular disorders (4%; CI [1%, 8%]). When controlling for neuroticism, higher flow proneness still decreased the risk of depression (6%; CI [3%, 9%]) and anxiety diagnoses (5%; CI [1%, 8%]). Monozygotic twins who experienced more flow than their co-twin had a lower risk for depression (16%; CI [5%, 26%]) and anxiety (13%; CI [1%, 24%]), though only the association with depression remained significant when also controlling for neuroticism (13%; CI [1%, 24%]). Findings are in line with a causal protective role of flow experiences on depression and potentially anxiety and highlight that neuroticism and familial factors are notable confounding factors in observed associations between flow proneness and health outcomes.

Locus of Control as a Mediator of the Relationships Between Motivational Systems and Trait Anxiety

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, first proposed by Gray and later revised, describes three motivational systems: Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), Behavioral Activation System (BAS), and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). Studies have shown that high BIS and FFFS activation are positively related to anxiety symptoms, yet the relationship between BAS and anxiety remains unclear. Research data have also suggested that anxiety symptoms occur with the loss of perceived control. Thus, although studies on the direct effect of locus of control (LOC) on trait anxiety have accumulated for many years, the issue of how LOC may mediate the relationship between BIS/BAS/FFFS sensitivity and anxiety has not been addressed. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of LOC orientation on trait anxiety among young adults in association with these three motivational systems. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 422 volunteers. The BIS/BAS Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rotter's Internal-External LOC Scale were applied. A series of mediation analyses were performed to estimate total, indirect, and direct effects. The results showed that BIS and FFFS positively predicted trait anxiety. In addition, LOC positively predicted trait anxiety and BIS. The results of the mediation analyses indicated that LOC functioned as a partial mediator between BIS and trait anxiety. This finding revealed that a high BIS level, one of the motivational systems, was associated with external LOC, which in turn contributed to reporting high trait anxiety in young adults. Hence, BIS and external LOC orientation could be suggested as risk factors for trait anxiety. As the external LOC orientation of individuals with high punishment sensitivity increased, their trait anxiety levels also increased. Therefore, it was suggested that it might be useful to be aware that LOC orientations of individuals with BIS sensitivity may pose a risk for trait anxiety.

Development of Flow State Self-Regulation Skills and Coping With Musical Performance Anxiety: Design and Evaluation of an Electronically Implemented Psychological Program

Positive Psychology has turned its attention to the study of emotions in a scientific and rigorous way. Particularly, to how emotions influence people's health, performance, or their overall life satisfaction. Within this trend, Flow theory has established a theoretical framework that helps to promote the Flow experience. Flow state, or optimal experience, is a mental state of high concentration and enjoyment that, due to its characteristics, has been considered desirable for the development of the performing activity of performing musicians. Musicians are a population prone to health problems, both psychological and physical, owing to different stressors of their training and professional activity. One of the most common problems is Musical Performance Anxiety. In this investigation, an electronic intervention program was carried out for the development of psychological self-regulation skills whose main objective was to trigger the Flow response in performing musicians and the coping mechanism for Musical Performance Anxiety. A quasi-experimental design was used with a control group in which pre- and post-measures of Flow State, Musical Performance Anxiety and, also, Social Skills were taken. Sixty-two performing musicians from different music colleges in Spain participated in the program. Results indicated that the intervention significantly improved Flow State (t = -2.41, p = 0.02, d = 0.36), and Sense of Control (t = -2.48, p = 0.02, d = 0.47), and decreased Music Performance Anxiety (t = 2.64, p = 0.01, d = 0.24), and self-consciousness (t = -3.66, p = 0.00, d = 0.70) of the participants in the EG but not CG. The changes in the EG after the program showed the inverse relationship between Flow and Anxiety. Two important theoretical factors of both variables (especially in situations of performance and public exposure), such as worry and the feeling of lack of control, could be involved. The results are under discussion and future lines of research are proposed.

Flow in contemporary musicians: Individual differences in flow proneness, anxiety, and emotional intelligence

Flow is a highly focussed state of consciousness that is rewarding, fulfilling, and sought after by many, especially musicians. It is characterised by exceptional levels of concentration, loss of self-consciousness, and competent control over one's actions. Several personality and non-cognitive traits have been positively linked with flow proneness, such as emotional intelligence; however, anxiety is thought to be the antithesis of flow, yet the relationship between trait anxiety and flow proneness in musicians is not adequately characterised. This study investigated the individual differences in flow proneness in contemporary musicians (N = 664), focusing on the interaction of trait anxiety and emotional intelligence. We identified a significant negative correlation between trait anxiety and flow. Emotional intelligence was positively correlated with flow proneness and negatively with trait anxiety. Moderation analysis revealed a difference in the relationship between trait anxiety and flow depending on the level of emotional intelligence; there was no correlation in those with low emotional intelligence, whereas a strong negative relationship was found in those with high emotional intelligence. Finally, hierarchical regression indicated that musical training was the most substantial predictor of all the tested variables and that trait anxiety did not add any predictive power on top of the known predictors. Altogether, this study provided new insights into the possible disruption of flow proneness linked to high anxiety and low emotional intelligence in contemporary musicians.

The biology of medicinal resource substitution in Salvia

BACKGROUND

The decrease of wild reserves and the sharp increase of market demand have led to resource substitution, but it is still not clear how to discover medicinal alternative resources. Here we reveal the biology of medicinal resource substitution in the case of Salvia.

METHODS

A hypothesis was put forward that phylogeny and ecology were the main factors which determined alternative species selection. Phylogenetic analysis was performed based on chloroplast genomes. Spatial climatic pattern was assessed through three mathematical models.

RESULTS

Salvia miltiorrhiza and alternative species were mainly located in Clade 3 in topology, and their growth environment was clustered into an independent group 3 inferred from principal component analysis. Correlation and Maxent major climate factor analyses showed that the ecological variations within each lineage were significantly smaller than the overall divergent between any two lineages. Mantel test reconfirmed the inalienability between phylogeny and ecology (P = 0.002). Only the species that are genetically and ecologically related to S. miltiorrhiza can form a cluster with it.

CONCLUSIONS

Phylogenetic relationship and geographical climate work together to determine which species has the potential to be selected as substitutes. Other medicinal plants can learn from this biology towards developing alternative resources.

Does Believing in Fate Facilitate Active or Avoidant Coping? The Effects of Fate Control on Coping Strategies and Mental Well-Being

The development of control-related constructs has involved different approaches over time, and yet internal and external locus of control are conceptualized as dichotomous factors influencing active versus avoidant coping strategies. While external control is associated with avoidance, a similar belief construct fate control, which denotes that life events are pre-determined and influenced by external forces but predictable and alterable, challenges the assumption of incompatibility between fate and agency. To develop a dynamic model of control, we suggest that external control would affect avoidant coping, which in turn would affect psychological distress, whereas fate control would affect both active and avoidant coping when dealing with stress. The model was supported among Hong Kong Chinese using a cross-sectional approach in Study 1 (n = 251) and hypothetical stressful scenarios in Study 2 (n = 294). The moderating effect of perceived controllability was observed in coping behaviors using a diary approach in Study 3 (n = 188). Our findings offer an alternative perspective to the dichotomous view of control and provide implications for coping strategies and mental well-being.

Inhibited Personality Temperaments Translated Through Enhanced Avoidance and Associative Learning Increase Vulnerability for PTSD

Although many individuals who experience a trauma go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the rate of PTSD following trauma is only about 15-24%. There must be some pre-existing conditions that impart increased vulnerability to some individuals and not others. Diathesis models of PTSD theorize that pre-existing vulnerabilities interact with traumatic experiences to produce psychopathology. Recent work has indicated that personality factors such as behavioral inhibition (BI), harm avoidance (HA), and distressed (Type D) personality are vulnerability factors for the development of PTSD and anxiety disorders. These personality temperaments produce enhanced acquisition or maintenance of associations, especially avoidance, which is a criterion symptom of PTSD. In this review, we highlight the evidence for a relationship between these personality types and enhanced avoidance and associative learning, which may increase risk for the development of PTSD. First, we provide the evidence confirming a relationship among BI, HA, distressed (Type D) personality, and PTSD. Second, we present recent findings that BI is associated with enhanced avoidance learning in both humans and animal models. Third, we will review evidence that BI is also associated with enhanced eyeblink conditioning in both humans and animal models. Overall, data from both humans and animals suggest that these personality traits promote enhanced avoidance and associative learning, as well as slowing of extinction in some training protocols, which all support the learning diathesis model. These findings of enhanced learning in vulnerable individuals can be used to develop objective behavioral measures to pre-identify individuals who are more at risk for development of PTSD following traumatic events, allowing for early (possibly preventative) intervention, as well as suggesting possible therapies for PTSD targeted on remediating avoidance or associative learning. Future work should explore the neural substrates of enhanced avoidance and associative learning for behaviorally inhibited individuals in both the animal model and human participants.

Can flow experiences be protective of work-related depressive symptoms and burnout? A genetically informative approach

BACKGROUND

Genetic research on depression and burnout has focused mostly on adverse factors, although various aspects in daily life related to positive coping and well-being have been shown to potentially be protective. Using a large genetically informative sample, we aim to explore the potential relationship between flow proneness and work-related depressive symptoms and burnout.

METHODS

About 10,000 Swedish twins filled in the Swedish Flow Proneness Questionnaire, a subscale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL) depression scale, and the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. A higher score indicated more flow, less emotional exhaustion and less depression. The classical twin design and co-twin control analyses were applied.

RESULTS

Phenotypic correlations were .43 between depressive symptoms and flow proneness, .34 between burnout and flow proneness, and .62 between depressive symptoms and burnout. Broad-sense heritabilities (G) ranged between 33-35% for the three variables. Associations between the variables were due to significant genetic as well as non-shared environmental influences. Co-twin control analyses showed that associations remained significant when controlling for all genetic and shared familial factors, in line with a causal relationship.

LIMITATIONS

Although the co-twin control design can test for consistency of associations with a causal relationship, it cannot unequivocally establish causality.

CONCLUSIONS

Genetic liability has a substantial influence on associations between flow proneness and emotional problems at work (depression, burnout). However, the presence of significant environmental correlations is in line with a (partly) causal relationship between flow and work related depression and burnout, which in turn may suggest that interventions which increase flow could potentially reduce emotional problems at work.

The genetics of anxiety-related negative valence system traits

NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domain of negative valence systems (NVS) captures constructs of negative affect such as fear and distress traditionally subsumed under the various internalizing disorders. Through its aims to capture dimensional measures that cut across diagnostic categories and are linked to underlying neurobiological systems, a large number of phenotypic constructs have been proposed as potential research targets. Since "genes" represent a central "unit of analysis" in the RDoC matrix, it is important for studies going forward to apply what is known about the genetics of these phenotypes as well as fill in the gaps of existing knowledge. This article reviews the extant genetic epidemiological data (twin studies, heritability) and molecular genetic association findings for a broad range of putative NVS phenotypic measures. We find that scant genetic epidemiological data is available for experimentally derived measures such as attentional bias, peripheral physiology, or brain-based measures of threat response. The molecular genetic basis of NVS phenotypes is in its infancy, since most studies have focused on a small number of candidate genes selected for putative association to anxiety disorders (ADs). Thus, more research is required to provide a firm understanding of the genetic aspects of anxiety-related NVS constructs. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Predictors of continued playing or singing--from childhood and adolescence to adult years

Aim

Many individuals play an instrument or sing during childhood, but they often stop later in life. This study surveyed adults representative of the Swedish population about musical activities during childhood.

Methods

We asked 3820 adults (65% women) aged from 27 to 54 from the Swedish Twin Registry, who took extra music lessons to those provided at school, to fill in a web‐based questionnaire. Factors analysed were the age they started studying music, the instrument they played, kind of teaching, institution and educational content, number of lessons and perceived characteristics of the lessons, the music environment during their childhood years and their preferred music genre. All variables were dichotomised.

Results

Factors strongly associated with continued playing or singing were male sex, young starting age, cultural family background, self‐selected instrument, attending music classes and more than once a week, church‐related or private education, pop, rock or classical music, playing by ear and improvisation.

Conclusion

Several significant predictors determined whether a child continued to sing or play an instrument as an adult and many could be externally influenced, such as starting at a young age, taking music classes more than once a week, improvisation and the type of music they played.

The heritability of mental health and wellbeing defined using COMPAS-W, a new composite measure of wellbeing

Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness; rather it is a distinct entity representing wellness. Models of wellbeing have been proposed that emphasize components of subjective wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, or a combination of both. A new 26-item scale of wellbeing (COMPAS-W) was developed in a cohort of 1669 healthy adult twins (18-61 years). The scale was derived using factor analysis of multiple scales of complementary constructs and confirmed using tests of reliability and convergent validity. Bivariate genetic modeling confirmed its heritability. From an original 89 items we identified six independent subcomponents that contributed to wellbeing. The COMPAS-W scale and its subcomponents showed construct validity against psychological and physical health behaviors, high internal consistency (average r=0.71, Wellbeing r=0.84), and 12-month test-retest reliability (average r=0.62, Wellbeing r=0.82). There was a moderate contribution of genetics to total Wellbeing (heritability h(2)=48%) and its subcomponents: Composure (h(2)=24%), Own-worth (h(2)=42%), Mastery (h(2)=40%), Positivity (h(2)=42%), Achievement (h(2)=32%) and Satisfaction (h(2)=43%). Multivariate genetic modeling indicated genetic variance was correlated across the scales, suggesting common genetic factors contributed to Wellbeing and its subcomponents. The COMPAS-W scale provides a validated indicator of wellbeing and offers a new tool to quantify mental health.

Anxiety vulnerability in women: a two-hit hypothesis

Females are twice as likely to develop an anxiety disorder compared to males, and thus, are believed to possess an innate vulnerability that increases their susceptibility to develop an anxiety disorder. However, studies using aversive learning paradigms to model anxiety disorders in humans and animals have revealed contradictory results. While females exhibit the ability to rapidly acquire stimulus-response associations, which may result from a greater attentional bias towards threat, females are also capable to readily extinguish these associations. Thus, there is little evidence to suggest that the female sex represents a vulnerability factor of anxiety, per se. However, if females are to possess a second vulnerability factor that increases the inflexibility of stimulus-response associations, then an anxiety disorder may be more likely to develop. Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a vulnerability factor associated with the formation of inflexible stimulus-response associations. In this "two hit" model of anxiety vulnerability, females possessing a BI temperament will rapidly acquire stimulus-response associations that are resistant to extinction, resulting in the development of an anxiety disorder. In this review we explore evidence for a "two-hit" hypothesis underlying anxiety vulnerability in females. We explore the literature for evidence of a sex difference in attentional bias towards threat that may lead to the facilitated acquisition of stimulus-response associations in females. We also provide evidence that BI is associated with inflexible stimulus-response association formation. We conclude with data generated from our laboratory that highlights the additive effect of the female sex and behavioral inhibition vulnerabilities using a model behavior for anxiety disorder-susceptibility, active avoidance.

Getting into the musical zone: trait emotional intelligence and amount of practice predict flow in pianists

Being “in flow” or “in the zone” is defined as an extremely focused state of consciousness which occurs during intense engagement in an activity. In general, flow has been linked to peak performances (high achievement) and feelings of intense pleasure and happiness. However, empirical research on flow in music performance is scarce, although it may offer novel insights into the question of why musicians engage in musical activities for extensive periods of time. Here, we focused on individual differences in a group of 76 piano performance students and assessed their flow experience in piano performance as well as their trait emotional intelligence. Multiple regression analysis revealed that flow was predicted by the amount of daily practice and trait emotional intelligence. Other background variables (gender, age, duration of piano training and age of first piano training) were not predictive. To predict high achievement in piano performance (i.e., winning a prize in a piano competition), a seven-predictor logistic regression model was fitted to the data, and we found that the odds of winning a prize in a piano competition were predicted by the amount of daily practice and the age at which piano training began. Interestingly, a positive relationship between flow and high achievement was not supported. Further, we explored the role of musical emotions and musical styles in the induction of flow by a self-developed questionnaire. Results suggest that besides individual differences among pianists, specific structural and compositional features of musical pieces and related emotional expressions may facilitate flow experiences. Altogether, these findings highlight the role of emotion in the experience of flow during music performance and call for further experiments addressing emotion in relation to the performer and the music alike.

Into the square and out of the box: the effects of Quadrato Motor Training on creativity and alpha coherence

The objective of the present study was to investigate the body-cognitive relationship through behavioral and electrophysiological measures in an attempt to uncover the underlying mediating neuronal mechanism for movement-induced cognitive change. To this end we examined the effects of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), a new whole-body training paradigm on cognitive performance, including creativity and reaction time tasks, and electrophysiological change, using a within-subject pre-post design. Creativity was studied by means of the Alternate Uses Task, measuring ideational fluency and ideational flexibility. Electrophysiological effects were measured in terms of alpha power and coherence. In order to determine whether training-induced changes were driven by the cognitive or the motor aspects of the training, we used two control groups: Verbal Training (VT, identical cognitive training with verbal response) and Simple Motor Training (SMT, similar motor training with reduced choice requirements). Twenty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of the groups. Following QMT, we found enhanced inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric alpha coherence, and increased ideational flexibility, which was not the case for either the SMT or VT groups. These findings indicate that it is the combination of the motor and cognitive aspects embedded in the QMT which is important for increasing ideational flexibility and alpha coherence.

The relationship between self-disgust, guilt, and flow experience among Japanese undergraduates

PURPOSE

To determine the relationship between self-disgust, guilt, and flow experience.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a convenience sample of 142 Kibi International University students (mean age, 20.09 ± 1.24 years; 85 males and 57 females). Each participant was evaluated using the Flow Experience Checklist, Self-Disgust Scale, and Situational Guilt Inventory. Correlation analysis was used to describe the strength and direction of the relationship between variables. We employed Pearson's partial correlations, adjusted for age and sex, using dummy variables (female = 0, male = 1).

RESULTS

Analysis of the relationship between the frequency of flow experience and the Self-Disgust Scale scores showed a statistically significant negative correlation, whereas the duration of the activity and the Situational Guilt Inventory score showed a significant positive correlation. The quality of flow experience and the Situational Guilt Inventory score showed a significant positive correlation.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that flow experience could be helpful for those who need treatment to reduce negative emotions.