1
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Ikeda S. Interoceptive sensitivity and perception of others' emotions: an investigation based on a two-stage model. Cogn Process 2024; 25:229-239. [PMID: 38383909 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-024-01176-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Recent research shows that sensitivity to interoceptive sensitivity is associated with a more granular experience of emotions. These studies suggest that individuals sensitive to their interoceptive signals can better perceive somatic physiological changes as compared to their counterparts. Therefore, they discriminate among a wide and subtle range of emotions. Further, the perception of others' emotions could be based on our own emotional experiences. However, whether interoceptive sensitivity is related to the perception of others' emotions remains unclear. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and emotional perception. Considering the model that emotion perception comprises two processes, categorization of facial expressions and approach-avoidance responses, this study examined both categorizations of facial expressions and approach-avoidance responses. The results showed no relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and the perception of emotion, which suggests that interoceptive sensitivity is related to the experience of emotion but does not affect the granularity of emotional perception. Future studies should diversely and empirically examine the role of the body in emotional perception from the perspective of interoceptive sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinnosuke Ikeda
- Human and Social Administration Department, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa University Kakuma-Machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, 920-1192, Japan.
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2
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Kimm S, Kim JJ, Choi JS. The central amygdala modulates distinctive conflict-like behaviors in a naturalistic foraging task. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1212884. [PMID: 37600757 PMCID: PMC10433198 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1212884] [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: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Conflict situations elicit a diverse range of behaviors that extend beyond the simplistic approach or avoidance dichotomy. However, many conflict-related studies have primarily focused on approach suppression, neglecting the complexity of these behaviors. In our study, we exposed rats to a semi-naturalistic foraging task, presenting them with a trade-off between a food reward and a predatory threat posed by a robotic agent. We observed that rats displayed two conflict-like behaviors (CLBs)-diagonal approach and stretched posture-when facing a robotic predator guarding a food pellet. After electrolytic lesions to the central amygdala (CeA), both conflict behaviors were significantly reduced, accompanied by a decrease in avoidance behavior (hiding) and an increase in approach behavior (frequency of interactions with the robot). A significant negative correlation between avoidance and approach behaviors emerged after the CeA lesion; however, our data suggest that CLBs are not tightly coupled with either approach or avoidance behaviors, showing no significant correlation to those behaviors. Our findings indicate that the CeA plays a crucial role in modulating conflict behaviors, competing with approach suppression in risky situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunwhi Kimm
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeansok J. Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - June-Seek Choi
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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3
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Fernandez-Leon JA, Engelke DS, Aquino-Miranda G, Goodson A, Rasheed MN, Do Monte FH. Neural correlates and determinants of approach-avoidance conflict in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. eLife 2021; 10:74950. [PMID: 34913438 PMCID: PMC8853658 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The recollection of environmental cues associated with threat or reward allows animals to select the most appropriate behavioral responses. Neurons in the prelimbic (PL) cortex respond to both threat- and reward-associated cues. However, it remains unknown whether PL regulates threat-avoidance vs. reward-approaching responses when an animals’ decision depends on previously associated memories. Using a conflict model in which male Long–Evans rats retrieve memories of shock- and food-paired cues, we observed two distinct phenotypes during conflict: (1) rats that continued to press a lever for food (Pressers) and (2) rats that exhibited a complete suppression in food seeking (Non-pressers). Single-unit recordings revealed that increased risk-taking behavior in Pressers is associated with persistent food-cue responses in PL, and reduced spontaneous activity in PL glutamatergic (PLGLUT) neurons during conflict. Activating PLGLUT neurons in Pressers attenuated food-seeking responses in a neutral context, whereas inhibiting PLGLUT neurons in Non-pressers reduced defensive responses and increased food approaching during conflict. Our results establish a causal role for PLGLUT neurons in mediating individual variability in memory-based risky decision-making by regulating threat-avoidance vs. reward-approach behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Douglas S Engelke
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | - Guillermo Aquino-Miranda
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | | | - Maria N Rasheed
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
| | - Fabricio H Do Monte
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, United States
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4
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Illescas-Huerta E, Ramirez-Lugo L, Sierra RO, Quillfeldt JA, Sotres-Bayon F. Conflict Test Battery for Studying the Act of Facing Threats in Pursuit of Rewards. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:645769. [PMID: 34017234 PMCID: PMC8129192 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.645769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Survival depends on the ability of animals to avoid threats and approach rewards. Traditionally, these two opposing motivational systems have been studied separately. In nature, however, they regularly compete for the control of behavior. When threat- and reward-eliciting stimuli (learned or unlearned) occur simultaneously, a motivational conflict emerges that challenges individuals to weigh available options and execute a single behavioral response (avoid or approach). Most previous animal models using approach/avoidance conflicts have often focused on the ability to avoid threats by forgoing or delaying the opportunity to obtain rewards. In contrast, behavioral tasks designed to capitalize on the ability to actively choose to execute approach behaviors despite threats are scarce. Thus, we developed a behavioral test battery composed of three conflict tasks to directly study rats confronting threats to obtain rewards guided by innate and conditioned cues. One conflict task involves crossing a potentially electrified grid to obtain food on the opposite end of a straight alley, the second task is based on the step-down threat avoidance paradigm, and the third one is a modified version of the open field test. We used diazepam to pharmacologically validate conflict behaviors in our tasks. We found that, regardless of whether competing stimuli were conditioned or innate, a low diazepam dose decreased risk assessment and facilitated taking action to obtain rewards in the face of threats during conflict, without affecting choice behavior when there was no conflict involved. Using this pharmacologically validated test battery of ethologically designed innate/learned conflict tasks could help understand the fundamental brain mechanisms underlying the ability to confront threats to achieve goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Illescas-Huerta
- Cell Physiology Institute-Neuroscience, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Leticia Ramirez-Lugo
- Cell Physiology Institute-Neuroscience, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Jorge A Quillfeldt
- Department of Biophysics, Biosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Francisco Sotres-Bayon
- Cell Physiology Institute-Neuroscience, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
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5
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Bravo-Rivera H, Rubio Arzola P, Caban-Murillo A, Vélez-Avilés AN, Ayala-Rosario SN, Quirk GJ. Characterizing Different Strategies for Resolving Approach-Avoidance Conflict. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:608922. [PMID: 33716644 PMCID: PMC7947632 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.608922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [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: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of animals to maximize benefits and minimize costs during approach-avoidance conflicts is an important evolutionary tool, but little is known about the emergence of specific strategies for conflict resolution. Accordingly, we developed a simple approach-avoidance conflict task in rats that pits the motivation to press a lever for sucrose against the motivation to step onto a distant platform to avoid a footshock delivered at the end of a 30 s tone (sucrose is available only during the tone). Rats received conflict training for 16 days to give them a chance to optimize their strategy by learning to properly time the expression of both behaviors across the tone. Rats unexpectedly separated into three distinct subgroups: those pressing early in the tone and avoiding later (Timers, 49%); those avoiding throughout the tone (Avoidance-preferring, 32%); and those pressing throughout the tone (Approach-preferring, 19%). The immediate early gene cFos revealed that Timers showed increased activity in the ventral striatum and midline thalamus relative to the other two subgroups, Avoidance-preferring rats showed increased activity in the amygdala, and Approach-preferring rats showed decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex. This pattern is consistent with low fear and high behavioral flexibility in Timers, suggesting the potential of this task to reveal the neural mechanisms of conflict resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hector Bravo-Rivera
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Patricia Rubio Arzola
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Albit Caban-Murillo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Adriana N. Vélez-Avilés
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Shantée N. Ayala-Rosario
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Gregory J. Quirk
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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6
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Reinforcement sensitivity, approach and avoidance goals and relational aggression in romantic relationships. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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7
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Williams JHG, Huggins CF, Zupan B, Willis M, Van Rheenen TE, Sato W, Palermo R, Ortner C, Krippl M, Kret M, Dickson JM, Li CSR, Lowe L. A sensorimotor control framework for understanding emotional communication and regulation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 112:503-518. [PMID: 32070695 PMCID: PMC7505116 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Our research team was asked to consider the relationship of the neuroscience of sensorimotor control to the language of emotions and feelings. Actions are the principal means for the communication of emotions and feelings in both humans and other animals, and the allostatic mechanisms controlling action also apply to the regulation of emotional states by the self and others. We consider how motor control of hierarchically organised, feedback-based, goal-directed action has evolved in humans, within a context of consciousness, appraisal and cultural learning, to serve emotions and feelings. In our linguistic analysis, we found that many emotion and feelings words could be assigned to stages in the sensorimotor learning process, but the assignment was often arbitrary. The embodied nature of emotional communication means that action words are frequently used, but that the meanings or senses of the word depend on its contextual use, just as the relationship of an action to an emotion is also contextually dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin H G Williams
- University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, United Kingdom.
| | - Charlotte F Huggins
- University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Barbra Zupan
- Central Queensland University, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Bruce Highway, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia
| | - Megan Willis
- Australian Catholic University, School of Psychology, ARC Centre for Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia
| | - Tamsyn E Van Rheenen
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, 161 Barry Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - Wataru Sato
- Kyoto University, Kokoro Research Centre, 46 Yoshidashimoadachicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
| | - Romina Palermo
- University of Western Australia, School of Psychological Science, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Catherine Ortner
- Thompson Rivers University, Department of Psychology, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
| | - Martin Krippl
- Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Psychology, Universitätsplatz 2, Magdeburg, 39106, Germany
| | - Mariska Kret
- Leiden University, Cognitive Psychology, Pieter de la Court, Waassenaarseweg 52, Leiden, 2333 AK, the Netherlands
| | - Joanne M Dickson
- Edith Cowan University, Psychology Department, School of Arts and Humanities, 270 Joondalup Dr, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Yale University, Connecticut Mental Health Centre, S112, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519-1109, USA
| | - Leroy Lowe
- Neuroqualia, Room 229A, Forrester Hall, 36 Arthur Street, Truro, Nova Scotia, B2N 1X5, Canada
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Amemori KI, Amemori S, Gibson DJ, Graybiel AM. Striatal Beta Oscillation and Neuronal Activity in the Primate Caudate Nucleus Differentially Represent Valence and Arousal Under Approach-Avoidance Conflict. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:89. [PMID: 32116529 PMCID: PMC7019018 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
An approach-avoidance (Ap–Av) conflict arises when an individual has to decide whether to accept or reject a compound offer that has features indicating both reward and punishment. During value judgments of likes and dislikes, arousal responses simultaneously emerge and influence reaction times and the frequency of behavioral errors. In Ap–Av decision-making, reward and punishment differentially influence valence and arousal, allowing us to dissociate their neural processing. The primate caudate nucleus (CN) has been implicated in affective judgment, but it is still unclear how neural responses in the CN represent decision-related variables underlying choice. To address this issue, we recorded spikes and local field potentials (LFPs) from the CN while macaque monkeys performed an Ap–Av decision-making task. We analyzed 450 neuronal units and 667 beta oscillatory activities recorded during the performance of the task. To examine how these activities represented valence, we focused on beta-band responses and unit activities that encoded the chosen value (ChV) of the compound offer as derived from an econometric model. Unit activities exhibited either positive (65.0% = 26/40) or negative (35.0% = 14/40) correlations with the ChV, whereas beta responses exhibited almost exclusively positive correlations with the ChV (98.4% = 62/63). We examined arousal representation by focusing on beta responses and unit activities that encoded the frequency of omission errors (FOE), which were negatively correlated with arousal. The unit activities were either positively (65.3% = 17/26) or negatively (34.6% = 9/26) correlated with the FOE, whereas the beta responses were almost entirely positively correlated with the FOE (95.8% = 23/24). We found that the temporal onset of the beta-band responses occurred sequentially across conditions: first, the negative-value, then low-arousal, and finally, high-value conditions. These findings suggest the distinctive roles of CN beta oscillations that were sequentially activated for the valence and arousal conditions. By identifying dissociable groups of CN beta-band activity responding in relation to valence and arousal, we demonstrate that the beta responses mainly exhibited selective activation for the high-valence and low-arousal conditions, whereas the unit activities simultaneously recorded in the same experiments responded to chosen value and other features of decision-making under approach-avoidance conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken-Ichi Amemori
- The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan
| | - Satoko Amemori
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Daniel J Gibson
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Ann M Graybiel
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
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9
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McNaughton N, Corr PJ. Hierarchical Levels of Control: The State-Trait Distinction. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2019.1646058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Neil McNaughton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Philip J. Corr
- Department of Psychology, University London, London, United Kingdom
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11
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Neumann SR, Linscott RJ. The relationships among aberrant salience, reward motivation, and reward sensitivity. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 2018; 27:e1615. [PMID: 29691918 PMCID: PMC6877145 DOI: 10.1002/mpr.1615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Change in reward processing and motivation may mediate the relationship between dopaminergic dysregulation and positive symptoms of schizophrenia. We sought to investigate the measurement of aberrant salience and its relationship with behavioural measures of reward and motivation. METHODS Participants (n = 82) completed measures of aberrant salience (Aberrant Salience Inventory and Salience Attribution Task), motivation (Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task), and reinforcer sensitivity (Stimulus Chase Task). Hypotheses were tested using correlation and generalised linear modelling. RESULTS Results indicated no relationship between aberrant salience measures. The Aberrant Salience Inventory was positively related to effort expenditure for lower less likely rewards and predicted the use of probability alone in decision-making. The only significant relationship between reward and motivation was a positive relationship between gain sensitivity and motivated behaviour for higher more likely rewards. CONCLUSIONS Although some support for a relationship between measures of reward motivation and aberrant salience were found, there was no evidence that the aberrant salience measures had concurrent validity. Our results suggest caution is warranted when interpreting measures of aberrant salience.
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12
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Neuroanatomical Correlates of Hierarchical Personality Traits in Chimpanzees: Associations with Limbic Structures. PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 1:e4. [PMID: 32435726 PMCID: PMC7219892 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2018.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A converging literature has revealed the existence of a set of largely consistent, hierarchically organized personality traits, that is broader traits are able to be differentiated into more fine-grained traits, in both humans and chimpanzees. Despite recent work suggesting a neural basis to personality in chimpanzees, little is known with regard to the involvement of limbic structures (i.e., amygdala and hippocampus), which are thought to play important roles in emotion. Using saved maximum likelihood estimated exploratory factor scores (two to five factors) in the context of a series of path analyses, the current study examined associations among personality dimensions across various levels of the personality hierarchy and individual variability of amygdala and hippocampal grey matter (GM) volume in a sample of captive chimpanzees (N=191). Whereas results revealed no association between personality dimensions and amygdala volume, a more nuanced series of associations emerged between hippocampal GM volume and personality dimensions at various levels of the hierarchy. Hippocampal GM volume associated most notably with Alpha (a dimension reflecting a tendency to behave in an undercontrolled and agonistic way) at the most basic two-factor level of the hierarchy; associated positively with Disinhibition at the next level of the hierarchy (“Big Three”); and finally, associated positively with Impulsivity at the most fine-grained level (“five-factor model”) of the hierarchy. Findings underscore the importance of the hippocampus in the neurobiological foundation of personality, with support for its regulatory role of emotion. Further, results suggest the importance of the distinction between structure and function, particularly with regard to the amygdala.
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Agroskin D, Jonas E, Klackl J, Prentice M. Inhibition Underlies the Effect of High Need for Closure on Cultural Closed-Mindedness under Mortality Salience. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1583. [PMID: 27826261 PMCID: PMC5078785 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The hypothesis that people respond to reminders of mortality with closed-minded, ethnocentric attitudes has received extensive empirical support, largely from research in the Terror Management Theory (TMT) tradition. However, the basic motivational and neural processes that underlie this effect remain largely hypothetical. According to recent neuropsychological theorizing, mortality salience (MS) effects on cultural closed-mindedness may be mediated by activity in the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), which leads to passive avoidance and decreased approach motivation. This should be especially true for people motivated to avoid unfamiliar and potentially threatening stimuli as reflected in a high need for closure (NFC). In two studies involving moderated mediation analyses, people high on trait NFC responded to MS with increased BIS activity (as indicated by EEG and the line bisection task), which is characteristic of inhibited approach motivation. BIS activity, in turn, predicted a reluctance to explore foreign cultures (Study 1) and generalized ethnocentric attitudes (Study 2). In a third study, inhibition was induced directly and caused an increase in ethnocentrism for people high on NFC. Moreover, the effect of the inhibition manipulation × NFC interaction on ethnocentrism was explained by increases in BIS-related affect (i.e., anxious inhibition) at high NFC. To our knowledge, this research is the first to establish an empirical link between very basic, neurally-instantiated inhibitory processes and rather complex, higher-order manifestations of intergroup negativity in response to MS. Our findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the cultural worldview defense phenomenon by illuminating the motivational underpinnings of cultural closed-mindedness in the wake of existential threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitrij Agroskin
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Eva Jonas
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Johannes Klackl
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Mike Prentice
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
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14
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Lopes DA, Lemes JA, Melo-Thomas L, Schor H, de Andrade JS, Machado CM, Horta-Júnior JA, Céspedes IC, Viana MB. Unpredictable chronic mild stress exerts anxiogenic-like effects and activates neurons in the dorsal and caudal region and in the lateral wings of the dorsal raphe nucleus. Behav Brain Res 2016; 297:180-6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2015] [Revised: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/03/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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15
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Shadli SM, Glue P, McIntosh J, McNaughton N. An improved human anxiety process biomarker: characterization of frequency band, personality and pharmacology. Transl Psychiatry 2015; 5:e699. [PMID: 26670284 PMCID: PMC5068587 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2015.188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2015] [Revised: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illness in the western world with a major impact on disability. But their diagnosis has lacked objective biomarkers. We previously demonstrated a human anxiety process biomarker, goal-conflict-specific electroencephalography (EEG) rhythmicity (GCSR) in the stop-signal task (SST). Here we have developed and characterized an improved test appropriate for clinical group testing. We modified the SST to produce balanced numbers of trials in clearly separated stop-signal delay groups. As previously, right frontal (F8) GCSR was extracted as the difference in EEG log Fourier power between matching stop and go trials (that is, stop-signal-specific power) of a quadratic contrast of the three delay values (that is, power when stopping and going are in balanced conflict compared with the average of when stopping or going is greater). Separate experiments assessed drug sensitivity (n=34) and personality relations (n=59). GCSR in this new SST was reduced by three chemically distinct anxiolytic drugs (administered double-blind): buspirone (10 mg), triazolam (0.25 mg) and pregabalin (75 mg); had a frequency range (4-12 Hz) consistent with rodent model data; and positively correlated significantly with neuroticism and nonsignificantly with trait anxiety scores. GCSR, measured in our new form of the SST, should be suitable as a biomarker for one specific anxiety process in the testing of clinical groups and novel drugs and in the development of measures suitable for individual diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Shadli
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - P Glue
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - J McIntosh
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - N McNaughton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand,Department of Psychology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. E-mail:
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16
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Laricchiuta D. Editorial: Individual differences: from neurobiological bases to new insight on approach and avoidance behavior. Front Syst Neurosci 2015; 9:125. [PMID: 26441557 PMCID: PMC4569743 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy ; Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University "Sapienza" of Rome Rome, Italy
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17
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Everett KV, Linscott RJ. Dimensionality vs taxonicity of schizotypy: some new data and challenges ahead. Schizophr Bull 2015; 41 Suppl 2:S465-74. [PMID: 25810059 PMCID: PMC4373639 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbu221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Heterogeneity in the expression of schizotypy may arise from underlying dimensional processes or a taxonic population structure. In a 2-phase study, we tested the taxonicity of self-reported schizotypy within a general psychiatric sample (n = 109) and examined taxon validity by testing its association with clinical schizotaxia in follow-up subsamples. Taxometric analyses indicated a taxonic structure (schizotypy prevalence = 38.8%) provided the best description of the underlying population distribution. After a year, schizotypal (n = 14) and nonschizotypal (n = 14) subsamples returned for diagnosis of clinical schizotaxia by assessment of executive functioning, attention, memory, and negative symptoms. Seven patients met diagnostic criteria, all members of the schizotypy class. Schizotypy was associated with impaired attention and memory, more negative symptoms, poorer global functioning, and more extensive psychiatric histories. We reconcile inconsistencies in the literature by discussing threats to the validity of this and similar research on Meehl's taxonomic model of schizotypy, including conceptual limitations of the lexical hypothesis and conventions of factor analysis. Scrutiny of Meehl's model should involve disambiguation and better measurement of the schizotaxia-schizotypy phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty V Everett
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Porirua CMHT, Capital and Coast District Health Board, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Richard J Linscott
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Åhs F, Dunsmoor JE, Zielinski D, LaBar KS. Spatial proximity amplifies valence in emotional memory and defensive approach-avoidance. Neuropsychologia 2014; 70:476-85. [PMID: 25541499 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2014] [Revised: 12/19/2014] [Accepted: 12/21/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In urban areas, people often have to stand or move in close proximity to others. The egocentric distance to stimuli is a powerful determinant of defensive behavior in animals. Yet, little is known about how spatial proximity to others alters defensive responses in humans. We hypothesized that the valence of social cues scales with egocentric distance, such that proximal social stimuli have more positive or negative valence than distal stimuli. This would predict enhanced defensive responses to proximal threat and reduced defensive responses to proximal reward. We tested this hypothesis across four experiments using 3-D virtual reality simulations. Results from Experiment 1 confirmed that proximal social stimuli facilitate defensive responses, as indexed by fear-potentiated startle, relative to distal stimuli. Experiment 2 revealed that interpersonal defensive boundaries flexibly increase with aversive learning. Experiment 3 examined whether spatial proximity enhances memory for aversive experiences. Fear memories for social threats encroaching on the body were more persistent than those acquired at greater interpersonal distances, as indexed by startle. Lastly, Experiment 4 examined how egocentric distance influenced startle responses to social threats during defensive approach and avoidance. Whereas fear-potentiated startle increased with proximity when participants actively avoided receiving shocks, startle decreased with proximity when participants tolerated shocks to receive monetary rewards, implicating opposing gradients of distance on threat versus reward. Thus, proximity in egocentric space amplifies the valence of social stimuli that, in turn, facilitates emotional memory and approach-avoidance responses. These findings have implications for understanding the consequences of increased urbanization on affective interpersonal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrik Åhs
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, 751 42 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - David Zielinski
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Kevin S LaBar
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
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Laricchiuta D, Petrosini L. Individual differences in response to positive and negative stimuli: endocannabinoid-based insight on approach and avoidance behaviors. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:238. [PMID: 25565991 PMCID: PMC4273613 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 11/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Approach and avoidance behaviors-the primary responses to the environmental stimuli of danger, novelty and reward-are associated with the brain structures that mediate cognitive functionality, reward sensitivity and emotional expression. Individual differences in approach and avoidance behaviors are modulated by the functioning of amygdaloid-hypothalamic-striatal and striatal-cerebellar networks implicated in action and reaction to salient stimuli. The nodes of these networks are strongly interconnected and by acting on them the endocannabinoid and dopaminergic systems increase the intensity of appetitive or defensive motivation. This review analyzes the approach and avoidance behaviors in humans and rodents, addresses neurobiological and neurochemical aspects of these behaviors, and proposes a possible synaptic plasticity mechanism, related to endocannabinoid-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression that allows responding to salient positive and negative stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of RomeRome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University “Sapienza” of RomeRome, Italy
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