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Klugah-Brown B, Bore MC, Liu X, Gan X, Biswal BB, Kendrick KM, Chang DHF, Zhou B, Becker B. The neurostructural consequences of glaucoma and their overlap with disorders exhibiting emotional dysregulations: A voxel-based meta-analysis and tripartite system model. J Affect Disord 2024; 358:487-499. [PMID: 38705527 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glaucoma, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder leading to irreversible blindness, is associated with heightened rates of generalized anxiety and depression. This study aims to comprehensively investigate brain morphological changes in glaucoma patients, extending beyond visual processing areas, and explores overlaps with morphological alterations observed in anxiety and depression. METHODS A comparative meta-analysis was conducted, using case-control studies of brain structural integrity in glaucoma patients. We aimed to identify regions with gray matter volume (GMV) changes, examine their role within distinct large-scale networks, and assess overlap with alterations in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). RESULTS Glaucoma patients exhibited significant GMV reductions in visual processing regions (lingual gyrus, thalamus). Notably, volumetric reductions extended beyond visual systems, encompassing the left putamen and insula. Behavioral and functional network decoding revealed distinct large-scale networks, implicating visual, motivational, and affective domains. The insular region, linked to pain and affective processes, displayed reductions overlapping with alterations observed in GAD. LIMITATIONS While the study identified significant morphological alterations, the number of studies from both the glaucoma and GAD cohorts remains limited due to the lack of independent studies meeting our inclusion criteria. CONCLUSION The study proposes a tripartite brain model for glaucoma, with visual processing changes related to the lingual gyrus and additional alterations in the putamen and insular regions tied to emotional or motivational functions. These neuroanatomical changes extend beyond the visual system, implying broader implications for brain structure and potential pathological developments, providing insights into the overall neurological consequences of glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Mercy C Bore
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiqin Liu
- Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xianyang Gan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Bharat B Biswal
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, USA
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Dorita H F Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Bo Zhou
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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Lan C, Kou J, Liu Q, Qing P, Zhang X, Song X, Xu D, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Zhou X, Kendrick KM, Zhao W. Oral oxytocin blurs sex differences in amygdala responses to emotional scenes. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00143-5. [PMID: 38852918 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The sex differences were co-shaped by innate biological differences and social environment, and were frequently observed in human emotional neural responses. Oral administration of oxytocin, as an alternative and noninvasive intake method, has been demonstrated to produce sex-dependent effects on emotional face processing. However, it is unclear whether oral oxytocin produces similar sex-dependent effects on processing continuous emotional scenes. METHODS Current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled neuro-psychopharmacological fMRI experiment was conducted in 147 healthy participants (oxytocin=74, male/female=37/37; placebo=73, male/female=36/37) to examine the oral oxytocin effect on plasma oxytocin concentrations and neural response to emotional scenes in both sexes. RESULTS At the neuroendocrine level, females showed lower endogenous oxytocin concentrations than males, but oral oxytocin equally increased the oxytocin concentrations in both sexes. Regarding neural activity, emotional scenes evoked opposite valence-independent effects on right amygdala activation (females>males) and its functional connectivity with the insula (males>females) in two sexes in the placebo group. This sex difference were either attenuated (amygdala response) or even completely eliminated (amygdala-insula functional connectivity) in the oxytocin group. The multivariate pattern analysis confirmed these findings by developing an accurate sex-predictive neural pattern that including the amygdala and the insula under the placebo but not oxytocin condition. CONCLUSION Present study suggests a pronounced sex-difference in neural responses to emotional scenes which is abolished by oral oxytocin, with it having opposite modulatory effects in two sexes. Possibly this may reflect oral OXT enhancing emotional regulation to continuous emotional stimuli in both sexes by facilitating appropriate changes in sex-specific amygdala-insula circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunmei Lan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Juan Kou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Qi Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Peng Qing
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Xinwei Song
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Dan Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China
| | - Yingying Zhang
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, 89069, Germany
| | - Yuanshu Chen
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China.
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China; Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering of UESTC in Guangdong, Dongguan, 523808, China.
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3
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Mu J, Wu L, Wang C, Dun W, Hong Z, Feng X, Zhang M, Liu J. Individual differences of white matter characteristic along the anterior insula-based fiber tract circuit for pain empathy in healthy women and women with primary dysmenorrhea. Neuroimage 2024; 293:120624. [PMID: 38657745 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Pain empathy, defined as the ability of one person to understand another person's pain, shows large individual variations. The anterior insula is the core region of the pain empathy network. However, the relationship between white matter (WM) properties of the fiber tracts connecting the anterior insula with other cortical regions and an individual's ability to modulate pain empathy remains largely unclear. In this study, we outline an automatic seed-based fiber streamline (sFS) analysis method and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to predict the levels of pain empathy in healthy women and women with primary dysmenorrhoea (PDM). Using the sFS method, the anterior insula-based fiber tract network was divided into five fiber cluster groups. In healthy women, interindividual differences in pain empathy were predicted only by the WM properties of the five fiber cluster groups, suggesting that interindividual differences in pain empathy may rely on the connectivity of the anterior insula-based fiber tract network. In women with PDM, pain empathy could be predicted by a single cluster group. The mean WM properties along the anterior insular-rostroventral area of the inferior parietal lobule further mediated the effect of pain on empathy in patients with PDM. Our results suggest that chronic periodic pain may lead to maladaptive plastic changes, which could further impair empathy by making women with PDM feel more pain when they see other people experiencing pain. Our study also addresses an important gap in the analysis of the microstructural characteristics of seed-based fiber tract network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junya Mu
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China
| | - Leiming Wu
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710126, PR China
| | - Chenxi Wang
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710126, PR China
| | - Wanghuan Dun
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China
| | - Zilong Hong
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710126, PR China
| | - Xinyue Feng
- Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710126, PR China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China.
| | - Jixin Liu
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China; Center for Brain Imaging, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710126, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710126, PR China.
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Ioumpa K, Gallo S, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neural mechanisms of costly helping in the general population and mirror-pain synesthetes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11617. [PMID: 38773183 PMCID: PMC11109206 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62422-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been argued that experiencing the pain of others motivates helping. Here, we investigate the contribution of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others onto costly helping decisions, by contrasting the choices and brain activity of participants that report feeling somatic feelings (self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes) against those that do not. Participants in fMRI witnessed a confederate receiving pain stimulations whose intensity they could reduce by donating money. The pain intensity could be inferred either from the facial expressions of the confederate in pain (Face condition) or from the kinematics of the pain-receiving hand (Hand condition). Our results show that self-reported mirror-pain synesthetes increase their donation more steeply, as the intensity of the observed pain increases, and their somatosensory brain activity (SII and the adjacent IPL) was more tightly associated with donation in the Hand condition. For all participants, activation in insula, SII, TPJ, pSTS, amygdala and MCC correlated with the trial by trial donation made in the Face condition, while SI and MTG activation was correlated with the donation in the Hand condition. These results further inform us about the role of somatic feelings while witnessing the pain of others in situations of costly helping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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5
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Gan X, Zhou F, Xu T, Liu X, Zhang R, Zheng Z, Yang X, Zhou X, Yu F, Li J, Cui R, Wang L, Yuan J, Yao D, Becker B. A neurofunctional signature of subjective disgust generalizes to oral distaste and socio-moral contexts. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-024-01868-x. [PMID: 38641635 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01868-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
While disgust originates in the hard-wired mammalian distaste response, the conscious experience of disgust in humans strongly depends on subjective appraisal and may even extend to socio-moral contexts. Here, in a series of studies, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging with machine-learning-based predictive modelling to establish a comprehensive neurobiological model of subjective disgust. The developed neurofunctional signature accurately predicted momentary self-reported subjective disgust across discovery (n = 78) and pre-registered validation (n = 30) cohorts and generalized across core disgust (n = 34 and n = 26), gustatory distaste (n = 30) and socio-moral (unfair offers; n = 43) contexts. Disgust experience was encoded in distributed cortical and subcortical systems, and exhibited distinct and shared neural representations with subjective fear or negative affect in interoceptive-emotional awareness and conscious appraisal systems, while the signatures most accurately predicted the respective target experience. We provide an accurate functional magnetic resonance imaging signature for disgust with a high potential to resolve ongoing evolutionary debates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianyang Gan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ting Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaobo Liu
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ran Zhang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Zihao Zheng
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xi Yang
- Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Psychology and Behavior of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangwen Yu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jialin Li
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruifang Cui
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Lan Wang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiajin Yuan
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Psychology and Behavior of Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Dezhong Yao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
- State Key Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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6
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Li M, Racey C, Rae CL, Strawson W, Critchley HD, Ward J. Can the neural representation of physical pain predict empathy for pain in others? Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae023. [PMID: 38481007 PMCID: PMC11008503 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae023] [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: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The question of whether physical pain and vicarious pain have some shared neural substrates is unresolved. Recent research has argued that physical and vicarious pain are represented by dissociable multivariate brain patterns by creating biomarkers for physical pain (Neurologic Pain Signature, NPS) and vicarious pain (Vicarious Pain Signature, VPS), respectively. In the current research, the NPS and two versions of the VPS were applied to three fMRI datasets (one new, two published) relating to vicarious pain which focused on between-subject differences in vicarious pain (Datasets 1 and 3) and within-subject manipulations of perspective taking (Dataset 2). Results show that (i) NPS can distinguish brain responses to images of pain vs no-pain and to a greater extent in vicarious pain responders who report experiencing pain when observing pain and (ii) neither version of the VPS mapped on to individual differences in vicarious pain and the two versions differed in their success in predicting vicarious pain overall. This study suggests that the NPS (created to detect physical pain) is, under some circumstances, sensitive to vicarious pain and there is significant variability in VPS measures (created to detect vicarious pain) to act as generalizable biomarkers of vicarious pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Li
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - C Racey
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - C L Rae
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - W Strawson
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9PX, UK
| | - H D Critchley
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9PX, UK
| | - J Ward
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
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7
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Zheng X, Zhou F, Fu M, Xu L, Wang J, Li J, Li K, Sindermann C, Montag C, Becker B, Zhan Y, Kendrick KM. Patterns of neural activity in response to threatening faces are predictive of autistic traits: modulatory effects of oxytocin receptor genotype. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:168. [PMID: 38553454 PMCID: PMC10980722 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02889-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Autistic individuals generally demonstrate impaired emotion recognition but it is unclear whether effects are emotion-specific or influenced by oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genotype. Here we implemented a dimensional approach using an implicit emotion recognition task together with functional MRI in a large cohort of neurotypical adult participants (N = 255, male = 131, aged 17-29 years) to establish associations between autistic traits and neural and behavioral responses to specific face emotions, together with modulatory effects of OXTR genotype. A searchlight-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) revealed an extensive network of frontal, basal ganglia, cingulate and limbic regions exhibiting significant predictability for autistic traits from patterns of responses to angry relative to neutral expression faces. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a genotype interaction (OXTR SNPs rs2254298, rs2268491) for coupling between the orbitofrontal cortex and mid-cingulate during angry expression processing, with a negative association between coupling and autistic traits in the risk-allele group and a positive one in the non-risk allele group. Overall, results indicate extensive emotion-specific associations primarily between patterns of neural responses to angry faces and autistic traits in regions processing motivation, reward and salience but not in early visual processing. Functional connections between these identified regions were not only associated with autistic traits but also influenced by OXTR genotype. Thus, altered patterns of neural responses to threatening faces may be a potential biomarker for autistic symptoms although modulatory influences of OXTR genotype need to be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Zheng
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lei Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiayuan Wang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Cornelia Sindermann
- University of Stuttgart, Computational Digital Psychology, Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hongkong, Hongkong, China
| | - Yang Zhan
- Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
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8
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Sant'Anna MB, Kimura LF, Vieira WF, Zambelli VO, Novaes LS, Hösch NG, Picolo G. Environmental factors and their impact on chronic pain development and maintenance. Phys Life Rev 2024; 48:176-197. [PMID: 38320380 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2024.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
It is more than recognized and accepted that the environment affects the physiological responses of all living things, from bacteria to superior vertebrates, constituting an important factor in the evolution of all species. Environmental influences range from natural processes such as sunlight, seasons of the year, and rest to complex processes like stress and other mood disorders, infections, and air pollution, being all of them influenced by how each creature deals with them. In this chapter, it will be discussed how some of the environmental elements affect directly or indirectly neuropathic pain, a type of chronic pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. For that, it was considered the edge of knowledge in translational research, thus including data from human and experimental animals as well as the applicability of such findings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Louise Faggionato Kimura
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Willians Fernando Vieira
- Laboratory of Functional Neuroanatomy of Pain, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Leonardo Santana Novaes
- Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Gisele Picolo
- Laboratory of Pain and Signaling, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
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9
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Gerrans P. Pain suffering and the self. An active allostatic inference explanation. Neurosci Conscious 2024; 2024:niae002. [PMID: 38348334 PMCID: PMC10860504 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 01/06/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Distributed processing that gives rise to pain experience is anchored by a multidimensional self-model. I show how the phenomenon of pain asymbolia and other atypical pain-related conditions (Insensitivity to Pain, Chronic Pain, 'Social' Pain, Insensitivity to Pain, Chronic Pain, 'Social' Pain, empathy for pain and suffering) can be explained by this idea. It also explains the patterns of association and dissociation among neural correlates without importing strong modular assumptions. It treats pain processing as a species of allostatic active inference in which the mind co-ordinates its processing resources to optimize basic bodily functioning at different time scales. The self is inferred to be source and target of regulation in this process. The self-modelling account reconciles conflicting deaffectualization and depersonalization accounts of pain asymbolia by showing how depersonalization and pain asymbolia arise at different levels of hierarchical self modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Gerrans
- Department of Philosophy, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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10
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Gamble RS, Henry JD, Decety J, Vanman EJ. The role of external factors in affect-sharing and their neural bases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105540. [PMID: 38211739 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Affect-sharing, the ability to vicariously feel another person's emotions, is the primary component of empathy that is typically thought to rely on the observer's capacity to feel the emotions of others. However, external signals, such as the target's physical characteristics, have been demonstrated to influence affect-sharing in the neuroscientific literature that speaks to the underappreciated role of external factors in eliciting affect-sharing. We consider factors that influence affect-sharing, including physical cues, emotional cues, situational factors, and observer-target relationships, as well as the neural circuits involved in these processes. Our review reveals that, while neural network activation is primarily responsible for processing affect-sharing, external factors also co-activate a top-down cognitive processing network to modulate the conscious process of affect-sharing. From this knowledge, an integrative framework of external factor interactions with affect-sharing are explained in detail. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research in social and affective neuroscience, including research gaps and incorporation of ecologically valid paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger S Gamble
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Eric J Vanman
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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11
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Li S, He M, Lin L, Chen Q, Ru T, Zhou G. Altered neurophysiological responses during empathy for pain in insomnia: evidence from an EEG study in non-clinical samples. J Physiol Anthropol 2024; 43:4. [PMID: 38172965 PMCID: PMC10765821 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-023-00351-2] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aims to investigate the behavioral and neurophysiological changes accompanying the empathy for pain among individuals with insomnia in nonclinical samples, which has been scarcely explored in the existing literature despite the deleterious effects of sleep disturbance on social behavior, and interactions had been well-documented. METHODS Twenty-one individuals with insomnia in nonclinical samples and 20 healthy individuals as normal controls participated in the study. Electroencephalograph (EEG) was continuously recorded, while the participants underwent an empathy for pain task. RESULTS Subjective ratings of pain for painful and non-painful images revealed no statistically significant differences between the insomnia and control groups. The painful images induced a smaller P2 compared to non-painful images in the insomnia group, whereas no such difference was revealed for the controls. Moreover, a higher power density of the alpha and theta2 bands in the posterior brain regions was found in the insomnia group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that individuals with insomnia exhibit altered neurophysiological responses to pain stimuli and a lower capacity to share empathy for pain. These alterations may be associated with changes in attentional mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Li
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Meiheng He
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Li Lin
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Qingwei Chen
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Taotao Ru
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Guofu Zhou
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, National Center for International Research On Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
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12
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Badrulhisham F, Pogatzki-Zahn E, Segelcke D, Spisak T, Vollert J. Machine learning and artificial intelligence in neuroscience: A primer for researchers. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 115:470-479. [PMID: 37972877 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is often used to describe the automation of complex tasks that we would attribute intelligence to. Machine learning (ML) is commonly understood as a set of methods used to develop an AI. Both have seen a recent boom in usage, both in scientific and commercial fields. For the scientific community, ML can solve bottle necks created by complex, multi-dimensional data generated, for example, by functional brain imaging or *omics approaches. ML can here identify patterns that could not have been found using traditional statistic approaches. However, ML comes with serious limitations that need to be kept in mind: their tendency to optimise solutions for the input data means it is of crucial importance to externally validate any findings before considering them more than a hypothesis. Their black-box nature implies that their decisions usually cannot be understood, which renders their use in medical decision making problematic and can lead to ethical issues. Here, we present an introduction for the curious to the field of ML/AI. We explain the principles as commonly used methods as well as recent methodological advancements before we discuss risks and what we see as future directions of the field. Finally, we show practical examples of neuroscience to illustrate the use and limitations of ML.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Esther Pogatzki-Zahn
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Daniel Segelcke
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Tamas Spisak
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany; Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Neurology, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Jan Vollert
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom; Pain Research, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
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13
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Corradi‐Dell'Acqua C, Hofstetter C, Sharvit G, Hugli O, Vuilleumier P. Healthcare experience affects pain-specific responses to others' suffering in the anterior insula. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5655-5671. [PMID: 37608624 PMCID: PMC10619377 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26468] [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: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Medical students and professional healthcare providers often underestimate patients' pain, together with decreased neural responses to pain information in the anterior insula (AI), a brain region implicated in self-pain processing and negative affect. However, the functional significance and specificity of these neural changes remains debated. Across two experiments, we recruited university medical students and emergency nurses to test the role of healthcare experience on the brain reactivity to other's pain, emotions, and beliefs, using both pictorial and verbal cues. Brain responses to self-pain was also assessed and compared with those to observed pain. Our results confirmed that healthcare experience decreased the activity in AI in response to others' suffering. This effect was independent from stimulus modality (pictures or texts), but specific for pain, as it did not generalize to inferences about other mental or affective states. Furthermore, representational similarity and multivariate pattern analysis revealed that healthcare experience impacted specifically a component of the neural representation of others' pain that is shared with that of first-hand nociception, and related more to AI than to other pain-responsive regions. Taken together, our study suggests a decreased propensity to appraise others' suffering as one's own, associated with a reduced recruitment of pain-specific information in AI. These findings provide new insights into neural mechanisms leading to pain underestimation by caregivers in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Corradi‐Dell'Acqua
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE)University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Christoph Hofstetter
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Gil Sharvit
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Balgrist University Hospital and University of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Olivier Hugli
- Emergency Department, University Hospital of Lausanne (UHL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Geneva Neuroscience CenterUniversity of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Laboratory of Behavioural Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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14
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Schmidt L, Zabelberg S, Schlatter S, Adams I, Douplat M, Perchet C, Lilot M, Rey AE, Mazza S. The impact of shift work on pain recognition, a robust ability among intensive care nurses. Eur J Pain 2023; 27:1203-1215. [PMID: 37434490 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pain empathy is essential for high-quality of care. The cognitive ability to identify and understand the pain in others remains underexplored in the context of hospital shift work. This study aimed to observe the early subliminal ability to detect pain in other faces and to investigate pain intensity evaluations during day and night shifts. METHODS Twenty-one nurses (31 ± 7 years, 20 women) from cardio-paediatric intensive care participated in this study. Eighteen nurses completed all testing in the morning and evening hours, before and after the 12-hour day and night shift. In the first test, the nurses had to decide if facial stimuli presented subliminally showed pain or not. During the second test, they consciously determined the intensity of the painful faces on a numerical scale. Sleep, sleepiness and empathy were also measured. RESULTS Recognition accuracy and pain sensitivity remained stable over time, only sensitivity increased following the work shift (F(1,15) = 7.10, p = 0.018). Intensity ratings remained stable. Sleepiness at the end of the night shift was negatively correlated with accuracy (ρ = -0.51, p = 0.018) and positively correlated with prior night shifts (ρ = -0.50, p = 0.022). CONCLUSION The judgement of facial pain expressions seems robust across shift types, only individual factors such as sleepiness interfere with pain recognition. Pain sensitivity may be enhanced during working hours. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Some professions need to know how to assess pain 24/7 and a lack of sleep can disrupt the cognitive processes necessary for this assessment. Night shifts provoke a bias in pain management, and sleep deprivation, a decrease in pain evaluation. By conducting a repeated measure study in the field that applied a different paradigm (subliminal recognition of facial cues) we add evidence to the understanding of pain recognition and the impact of sleep deprivation on the early processing of pain in others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Schmidt
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Research on Healthcare Performance RESHAPE, INSERM U1290, Lyon, France
| | | | - Sophie Schlatter
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Research on Healthcare Performance RESHAPE, INSERM U1290, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Lyonnais d'enseignement par la simulation en Santé, CLESS, SimuLyon, Lyon, France
| | - Inga Adams
- Universität zu Köln, Psychologie, Cologne, Germany
| | - Marion Douplat
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Département des Urgences, Hôpital Lyon Sud, Lyon, France
| | - Caroline Perchet
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, FORGETTING, F-69500, Bron, France
| | - Marc Lilot
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Research on Healthcare Performance RESHAPE, INSERM U1290, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre Lyonnais d'enseignement par la simulation en Santé, CLESS, SimuLyon, Lyon, France
- Hospices Civils de Lyon, Département d'Anesthésie-Réanimation, Hôpital Louis Pradel, Groupement Hospitalier Est, Lyon, France
| | - Amandine Eve Rey
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, FORGETTING, F-69500, Bron, France
| | - Stéphanie Mazza
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, FORGETTING, F-69500, Bron, France
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15
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Zhuang Q, Qiao L, Xu L, Yao S, Chen S, Zheng X, Li J, Fu M, Li K, Vatansever D, Ferraro S, Kendrick KM, Becker B. The right inferior frontal gyrus as pivotal node and effective regulator of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical response inhibition circuit. PSYCHORADIOLOGY 2023; 3:kkad016. [PMID: 38666118 PMCID: PMC10917375 DOI: 10.1093/psyrad/kkad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Background The involvement of specific basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits in response inhibition has been extensively mapped in animal models. However, the pivotal nodes and directed causal regulation within this inhibitory circuit in humans remains controversial. Objective The main aim of the present study was to determine the causal information flow and critical nodes in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical inhibitory circuits and also to examine whether these are modulated by biological factors (i.e. sex) and behavioral performance. Methods Here, we capitalize on the recent progress in robust and biologically plausible directed causal modeling (DCM-PEB) and a large response inhibition dataset (n = 250) acquired with concomitant functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine key nodes, their causal regulation and modulation via biological variables (sex) and inhibitory performance in the inhibitory circuit encompassing the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), caudate nucleus (rCau), globus pallidum (rGP), and thalamus (rThal). Results The entire neural circuit exhibited high intrinsic connectivity and response inhibition critically increased causal projections from the rIFG to both rCau and rThal. Direct comparison further demonstrated that response inhibition induced an increasing rIFG inflow and increased the causal regulation of this region over the rCau and rThal. In addition, sex and performance influenced the functional architecture of the regulatory circuits such that women displayed increased rThal self-inhibition and decreased rThal to GP modulation, while better inhibitory performance was associated with stronger rThal to rIFG communication. Furthermore, control analyses did not reveal a similar key communication in a left lateralized model. Conclusions Together, these findings indicate a pivotal role of the rIFG as input and causal regulator of subcortical response inhibition nodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhuang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 311121, China
| | - Lei Qiao
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Lei Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610068, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
| | - Shuaiyu Chen
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 311121, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Zheng
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
- Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Deniz Vatansever
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Stefania Ferraro
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province 611731, China
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
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16
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Cormie MA, Kaya B, Hadjis GE, Mouseli P, Moayedi M. Insula-cingulate structural and functional connectivity: an ultra-high field MRI study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:9787-9801. [PMID: 37429832 PMCID: PMC10656949 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The insula and the cingulate are key brain regions with many heterogenous functions. Both regions are consistently shown to play integral roles in the processing of affective, cognitive, and interoceptive stimuli. The anterior insula (aINS) and the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) are two key hubs of the salience network (SN). Beyond the aINS and aMCC, previous 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging studies have suggested both structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) between other insular and cingulate subregions. Here, we investigate the SC and FC between insula and cingulate subregions using ultra-high field 7T diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). DTI revealed strong SC between posterior INS (pINS) and posterior MCC (pMCC), and rs-fMRI revealed strong FC between the aINS and aMCC that was not supported by SC, indicating the likelihood of a mediating structure. Finally, the insular pole had the strongest SC to all cingulate subregions, with a slight preference for the pMCC, indicative of a potential relay node of the insula. Together these finding shed new light on the understanding of insula-cingulate functioning, both within the SN and other cortical processes, through a lens of its SC and FC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Cormie
- Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Batu Kaya
- Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Georgia E Hadjis
- Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Pedram Mouseli
- Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Massieh Moayedi
- Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Dentistry, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
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17
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Stankewitz A, Mayr A, Irving S, Witkovsky V, Schulz E. Pain and the emotional brain: pain-related cortical processes are better reflected by affective evaluation than by cognitive evaluation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8273. [PMID: 37217563 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35294-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The experience of pain has been dissociated into two interwoven aspects: a sensory-discriminative aspect and an affective-motivational aspect. We aimed to explore which of the pain descriptors is more deeply rooted in the human brain. Participants were asked to evaluate applied cold pain. The majority of the trials showed distinct ratings: some were rated higher for unpleasantness and others for intensity. We compared the relationship between functional data recorded from 7 T MRI with unpleasantness and intensity ratings and revealed a stronger relationship between cortical data and unpleasantness ratings. The present study underlines the importance of the emotional-affective aspects of pain-related cortical processes in the brain. The findings corroborate previous studies showing a higher sensitivity to pain unpleasantness compared to ratings of pain intensity. For the processing of pain in healthy subjects, this effect may reflect the more direct and intuitive evaluation of emotional aspects of the pain system, which is to prevent harm and to preserve the physical integrity of the body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Stankewitz
- Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Astrid Mayr
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, A: Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, München, Germany
| | - Stephanie Irving
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Viktor Witkovsky
- Department of Theoretical Methods, Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Enrico Schulz
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, A: Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, München, Germany.
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
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18
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Liu Q, Song X, Zhou X, Huang L, Zhang X, Wang L, Zhu S, Lan C, Yang W, Zhao W. Regional superficial amygdala resting-state functional connectivity in adults infers childhood maltreatment severity. PSYCHORADIOLOGY 2023; 3:kkad004. [PMID: 38666120 PMCID: PMC11003424 DOI: 10.1093/psyrad/kkad004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Background Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a potential risk factor for some neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood (e.g. depression and anxiety) and alters trajectories of brain development. Accumulating evidence suggests that functional connectivity of the limbic system, especially the amygdala, is highly associated with childhood maltreatment, although not all studies have found this. These inconsistent results may be due to differential alterations of amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) following childhood maltreatment. Objective Our aim was to investigate the relationship between the rsFC of amygdala subregions and CM severity, as well as to develop a stable rsFC-based model for inferring the severity of CM. Methods In this study, we employed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to assess CM severity in each individual. We explored the relationship between the rsFC of amygdala subregions (i.e. centromedial -CMA, basolateral -BLA, superficial-SFA amygdala) and CM experience in a discovery dataset of n = 110 healthy Chinese participants by linear multiple regression analysis. Subsequent dimensional and categorical approach were performed to elucidate the relationship between rsFCs and CM severity and CM subtypes, respectively. A support vector regression model was then conducted to validate the associations between rsFCs and total CTQ scores. Moreover, we also verified the model into another independent replication dataset (n = 38). Results Our findings suggested that childhood maltreatment was negatively associated with rsFC between the right superficial amygdala and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC)/postcentral gyrus (PCG) but not the other two amygdala subregions. Moreover, SFA-pgACC coupling was more associated with physical neglect whereas the SFA-PCG was more related to emotional neglect. In addition, supervised machine learning confirmed that using these two rsFCs as predictors could stably estimate continuous maltreatment severity in both discovery and replication datasets. Conclusion The current study supports that the rsFCs of superficial amygdala are related to childhood maltreatment and which may be a potential biomarker for the effects of childhood maltreatment-related psychiatric disorders (i.e. depression and anxiety).
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Xinwei Song
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China
| | - Linghong Huang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Lan Wang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Siyu Zhu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Chunmei Lan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Wenxu Yang
- Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- Institute of Electronic and Information Engineering of UESTC in Guangdong, Dongguan 523808, China
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Xu S, Zhang Z, Li L, Zhou Y, Lin D, Zhang M, Zhang L, Huang G, Liu X, Becker B, Liang Z. Functional connectivity profiles of the default mode and visual networks reflect temporal accumulative effects of sustained naturalistic emotional experience. Neuroimage 2023; 269:119941. [PMID: 36791897 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining and decoding emotional brain processes under ecologically valid conditions remains a key challenge in affective neuroscience. The current functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) based emotion decoding studies are mainly based on brief and isolated episodes of emotion induction, while sustained emotional experience in naturalistic environments that mirror daily life experiences are scarce. Here we used 12 different 10-minute movie clips as ecologically valid emotion-evoking procedures in n = 52 individuals to explore emotion-specific fMRI functional connectivity (FC) profiles on the whole-brain level at high spatial resolution (432 parcellations including cortical and subcortical structures). Employing machine-learning based decoding and cross validation procedures allowed to investigate FC profiles contributing to classification that can accurately distinguish sustained happiness and sadness and that generalize across subjects, movie clips, and parcellations. Both functional brain network-based and subnetwork-based emotion classification results suggested that emotion manifests as distributed representation of multiple networks, rather than a single functional network or subnetwork. Further, the results showed that the Visual Network (VN) and Default Mode Network (DMN) associated functional networks, especially VN-DMN, exhibited a strong contribution to emotion classification. To further estimate the temporal accumulative effect of naturalistic long-term movie-based video-evoking emotions, we divided the 10-min episode into three stages: early stimulation (1∼200 s), middle stimulation (201∼400 s), and late stimulation (401∼600 s) and examined the emotion classification performance at different stimulation stages. We found that the late stimulation contributes most to the classification (accuracy=85.32%, F1-score=85.62%) compared to early and middle stimulation stages, implying that continuous exposure to emotional stimulation can lead to more intense emotions and further enhance emotion-specific distinguishable representations. The present work demonstrated that sustained happiness and sadness under naturalistic conditions are presented in emotion-specific network profiles and these expressions may play different roles in the generation and modulation of emotions. These findings elucidated the importance of network level adaptations for sustained emotional experiences during naturalistic contexts and open new venues for imaging network level contributions under naturalistic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuyue Xu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Zhiguo Zhang
- Institute of Computing and Intelligence, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China; Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518055, China; Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Linling Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Yongjie Zhou
- Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - Danyi Lin
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Min Zhang
- Institute of Computing and Intelligence, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Li Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Gan Huang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Xiqin Liu
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China.
| | - Zhen Liang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Shenzhen 518060, China; Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen 518060, China.
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20
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Fornari L, Ioumpa K, Nostro AD, Evans NJ, De Angelis L, Speer SPH, Paracampo R, Gallo S, Spezio M, Keysers C, Gazzola V. Neuro-computational mechanisms and individual biases in action-outcome learning under moral conflict. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1218. [PMID: 36878911 PMCID: PMC9988878 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36807-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning to predict action outcomes in morally conflicting situations is essential for social decision-making but poorly understood. Here we tested which forms of Reinforcement Learning Theory capture how participants learn to choose between self-money and other-shocks, and how they adapt to changes in contingencies. We find choices were better described by a reinforcement learning model based on the current value of separately expected outcomes than by one based on the combined historical values of past outcomes. Participants track expected values of self-money and other-shocks separately, with the substantial individual difference in preference reflected in a valuation parameter balancing their relative weight. This valuation parameter also predicted choices in an independent costly helping task. The expectations of self-money and other-shocks were biased toward the favored outcome but fMRI revealed this bias to be reflected in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex while the pain-observation network represented pain prediction errors independently of individual preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fornari
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kalliopi Ioumpa
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alessandra D Nostro
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nathan J Evans
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Lorenzo De Angelis
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sebastian P H Speer
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Riccardo Paracampo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Selene Gallo
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Spezio
- Psychology, Neuroscience, & Data Science, Scripps College, 1030 Columbia Ave, CA 91711, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - Christian Keysers
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, KNAW, Meibergdreef 47, 1105BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. .,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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21
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Speer SPH, Keysers C, Barrios JC, Teurlings CJS, Smidts A, Boksem MAS, Wager TD, Gazzola V. A multivariate brain signature for reward. Neuroimage 2023; 271:119990. [PMID: 36878456 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The processing of reinforcers and punishers is crucial to adapt to an ever changing environment and its dysregulation is prevalent in mental health and substance use disorders. While many human brain measures related to reward have been based on activity in individual brain regions, recent studies indicate that many affective and motivational processes are encoded in distributed systems that span multiple regions. Consequently, decoding these processes using individual regions yields small effect sizes and limited reliability, whereas predictive models based on distributed patterns yield larger effect sizes and excellent reliability. To create such a predictive model for the processes of rewards and losses, termed the Brain Reward Signature (BRS), we trained a model to predict the signed magnitude of monetary rewards on the Monetary Incentive Delay task (MID; N = 39) and achieved a highly significant decoding performance (92% for decoding rewards versus losses). We subsequently demonstrate the generalizability of our signature on another version of the MID in a different sample (92% decoding accuracy; N = 12) and on a gambling task from a large sample (73% decoding accuracy, N = 1084). We further provided preliminary data to characterize the specificity of the signature by illustrating that the signature map generates estimates that significantly differ between rewarding and negative feedback (92% decoding accuracy) but do not differ for conditions that differ in disgust rather than reward in a novel Disgust-Delay Task (N = 39). Finally, we show that passively viewing positive and negatively valenced facial expressions loads positively on our signature, in line with previous studies on morbid curiosity. We thus created a BRS that can accurately predict brain responses to rewards and losses in active decision making tasks, and that possibly relates to information seeking in passive observational tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian P H Speer
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Christian Keysers
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cas J S Teurlings
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ale Smidts
- Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten A S Boksem
- Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Valeria Gazzola
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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22
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Wang L, Zhou X, Song X, Gan X, Zhang R, Liu X, Xu T, Jiao G, Ferraro S, Bore MC, Yu F, Zhao W, Montag C, Becker B. Fear of missing out (FOMO) associates with reduced cortical thickness in core regions of the posterior default mode network and higher levels of problematic smartphone and social media use. Addict Behav 2023; 143:107709. [PMID: 37004381 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Fear of missing out (FOMO) promotes the desire or urge to stay continuously connected with a social reference group and updated on their activities, which may result in escalating and potentially addictive smartphone and social media use. The present study aimed to determine whether the neurobiological basis of FOMO encompasses core regions of the reward circuitry or social brain, and associations with levels of problematic smartphone or social media use. METHODS We capitalized on a dimensional neuroimaging approach to examine cortical thickness and subcortical volume associations in a sample of healthy young individuals (n = 167). Meta-analytic network and behavioral decoding analyses were employed to further characterize the identified regions. RESULTS Higher levels of FOMO associated with lower cortical thickness in the right precuneus. In contrast, no associations between FOMO and variations in striatal morphology were observed. Meta-analytic decoding revealed that the identified precuneus region exhibited a strong functional interaction with the default mode network (DMN) engaged in social cognitive and self-referential domains. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Together the present findings suggest that individual variations in FOMO are associated with the brain structural architecture of the right precuneus, a core hub within a large-scale functional network resembling the DMN and involved in social and self-referential processes. FOMO may promote escalating social media and smartphone use via social and self-referential processes rather than reward-related processes per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lan Wang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xinwei Song
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xianyang Gan
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ran Zhang
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiqin Liu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ting Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Guojuan Jiao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Stefania Ferraro
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Mercy Chepngetich Bore
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangwen Yu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and, MOE Key Laboratory of NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
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23
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Zhang R, Zhao W, Qi Z, Xu T, Zhou F, Becker B. Angiotensin II Regulates the Neural Expression of Subjective Fear in Humans: A Precision Pharmaco-Neuroimaging Approach. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:262-270. [PMID: 36174930 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rodent models and pharmacological neuroimaging studies in humans have been used to test novel pharmacological agents to reduce fear. However, these strategies are limited with respect to determining process-specific effects on the actual subjective experience of fear, which represents the key symptom that motivates patients to seek treatment. In this study, we used a novel precision pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging approach based on process-specific neuroaffective signatures to determine effects of the selective angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) antagonist losartan on the subjective experience of fear. METHODS In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging design, healthy participants (N = 87) were administered 50 mg losartan or placebo before they underwent an oddball paradigm that included neutral, novel, and fear oddballs. Effects of losartan on brain activity and connectivity as well as on process-specific multivariate neural signatures were examined. RESULTS AT1R blockade selectively reduced neurofunctional reactivity to fear-inducing visual oddballs in terms of attenuating dorsolateral prefrontal activity and amygdala-ventral anterior cingulate communication. Neurofunctional decoding further demonstrated fear-specific effects in that AT1R blockade reduced the neural expression of subjective fear but not of threat or nonspecific negative affect and did not influence reactivity to novel oddballs. CONCLUSIONS These results show a specific role of the AT1R in regulating the subjective fear experience and demonstrate the feasibility of a precision pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging approach to the affective characterization of novel receptor targets for fear in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Zhang
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ziyu Qi
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ting Xu
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, ChongQing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, ChongQing, China.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
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24
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Khatibi A, Roy M, Chen JI, Gill LN, Piche M, Rainville P. Brain responses to the vicarious facilitation of pain by facial expressions of pain and fear. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:6750003. [PMID: 36201353 PMCID: PMC9949570 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Observing pain in others facilitates self-pain in the observer. Vicarious pain facilitation mechanisms are poorly understood. We scanned 21 subjects while they observed pain, fear and neutral dynamic facial expressions. In 33% of the trials, a noxious electrical stimulus was delivered. The nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) and pain ratings were recorded. Both pain and fear expressions increased self-pain ratings (fear > pain) and the NFR amplitude. Enhanced response to self-pain following pain and fear observation involves brain regions including the insula (INS) (pain > fear in anterior part), amygdala, mid-cingulate cortex (MCC), paracentral lobule, precuneus, supplementary motor area and pre-central gyrus. These results are consistent with the motivational priming account where vicarious pain facilitation involves a global enhancement of pain-related responses by negatively valenced stimuli. However, a psychophysiological interaction analysis centered on the left INS revealed increased functional connectivity with the aMCC in response to the painful stimulus following pain observation compared to fear. The opposite connectivity pattern (fear > pain) was observed in the fusiform gyrus, cerebellum (I-IV), lingual gyrus and thalamus, suggesting that pain and fear expressions influence pain-evoked brain responses differentially. Distinctive connectivity patterns demonstrate a stronger effect of pain observation in the cingulo-insular network, which may reflect partly overlapping networks underlying the representation of pain in self and others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Khatibi
- Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada
| | - Mathieu Roy
- Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada.,Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1G1, Canada.,Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G1, Canada
| | - Jen-I Chen
- Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada.,Department of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Louis-Nascan Gill
- Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada
| | - Mathieu Piche
- Department of Anatomy, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
| | - Pierre Rainville
- Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3W 1W5, Canada.,Department of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
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25
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Klugah-Brown B, Wang P, Jiang Y, Becker B, Hu P, Uddin LQ, Biswal B. Structural-functional connectivity mapping of the insular cortex: a combined data-driven and meta-analytic topic mapping. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1726-1738. [PMID: 35511500 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we examined structural and functional profiles of the insular cortex and mapped associations with well-described functional networks throughout the brain using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) data. We used a data-driven method to independently estimate the structural-functional connectivity of the insular cortex. Data were obtained from the Human Connectome Project comprising 108 adult participants. Overall, we observed moderate to high associations between the structural and functional mapping scores of 3 different insular subregions: the posterior insula (associated with the sensorimotor network: RSFC, DTI = 50% and 72%, respectively), dorsal anterior insula (associated with ventral attention: RSFC, DTI = 83% and 83%, respectively), and ventral anterior insula (associated with the frontoparietal: RSFC, DTI = 42% and 89%, respectively). Further analyses utilized meta-analytic decoding maps to demonstrate specific cognitive and affective as well as gene expression profiles of the 3 subregions reflecting the core properties of the insular cortex. In summary, given the central role of the insular in the human brain, our results revealing correspondence between DTI and RSFC mappings provide a complementary approach and insight for clinical researchers to identify dysfunctional brain organization in various neurological disorders associated with insular pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Pan Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Yuan Jiang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Peng Hu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Newark, NJ 07102, United States
| | - Bharat Biswal
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, No. 2006, Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, 611731 Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
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26
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The Angiotensin Antagonist Losartan Modulates Social Reward Motivation and Punishment Sensitivity via Modulating Midbrain-Striato-Frontal Circuits. J Neurosci 2023; 43:472-483. [PMID: 36639890 PMCID: PMC9864573 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1114-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Social deficits and dysregulations in dopaminergic midbrain-striato-frontal circuits represent transdiagnostic symptoms across psychiatric disorders. Animal models suggest that interactions between the dopamine (DA) and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may modulate learning and reward-related processes. The present study therefore examined the behavioral and neural effects of the Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) antagonist losartan on social reward and punishment processing in humans. A preregistered randomized double-blind placebo-controlled between-subject pharmacological design was combined with a social incentive delay (SID) functional MRI (fMRI) paradigm during which subjects could avoid social punishment or gain social reward. Healthy volunteers received a single-dose of losartan (50 mg, n = 43, female = 17) or placebo (n = 44, female = 20). We evaluated reaction times (RTs) and emotional ratings as behavioral and activation and functional connectivity as neural outcomes. Relative to placebo, losartan modulated the reaction time and arousal differences between social punishment and social reward. On the neural level the losartan-enhanced motivational salience of social rewards was accompanied by stronger ventral striatum-prefrontal connectivity during reward anticipation. Losartan increased the reward-neutral difference in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and attenuated VTA associated connectivity with the bilateral insula in response to punishment during the outcome phase. Thus, losartan modulated approach-avoidance motivation and emotional salience during social punishment versus social reward via modulating distinct core nodes of the midbrain-striato-frontal circuits. The findings document a modulatory role of the renin-angiotensin system in these circuits and associated social processes, suggesting a promising treatment target to alleviate social dysregulations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Social deficits and anhedonia characterize several mental disorders and have been linked to the midbrain-striato-frontal circuits of the brain. Based on initial findings from animal models we here combine the pharmacological blockade of the Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) via losartan with functional MRI (fMRI) to demonstrate that AT1R blockade enhances the motivational salience of social rewards and attenuates the negative impact of social punishment via modulating the communication in the midbrain-striato-frontal circuits in humans. The findings demonstrate for the first time an important role of the AT1R in social reward processing in humans and render the AT1R as promising novel treatment target for social and motivational deficits in mental disorders.
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Yu F, Li J, Xu L, Zheng X, Fu M, Li K, Yao S, Kendrick KM, Montag C, Becker B. Opposing associations of Internet Use Disorder symptom domains with structural and functional organization of the striatum: A dimensional neuroimaging approach. J Behav Addict 2022; 11:1068-1079. [PMID: 36422683 PMCID: PMC9881660 DOI: 10.1556/2006.2022.00078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence suggests brain structural and functional alterations in Internet Use Disorder (IUD). However, conclusions are strongly limited due to the retrospective case-control design of the studies, small samples, and the focus on general rather than symptom-specific approaches. METHODS We here employed a dimensional multi-methodical MRI-neuroimaging design in a final sample of n = 203 subjects to examine associations between levels of IUD and its symptom-dimensions (loss of control/time management, craving/social problems) with brain structure, resting state and task-based (pain empathy, affective go/no-go) brain function. RESULTS Although the present sample covered the entire range of IUD, including normal, problematic as well as pathological levels, general IUD symptom load was not associated with brain structural or functional alterations. However, the symptom-dimensions exhibited opposing associations with the intrinsic and structural organization of the brain, such that loss of control/time management exhibited negative associations with intrinsic striatal networks and hippocampal volume, while craving/social problems exhibited a positive association with intrinsic striatal networks and caudate volume. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provided the first evidence for IUD symptom-domain specific associations with progressive alterations in the intrinsic structural and functional organization of the brain, particularly of striatal systems involved in reward, habitual and cognitive control processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangwen Yu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Xu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China,Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Zheng
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China,Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M. Kendrick
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Christian Montag
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China,Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Center of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China,Corresponding author. E-mail:
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Commanding or Being a Simple Intermediary: How Does It Affect Moral Behavior and Related Brain Mechanisms? eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0508-21.2022. [PMID: 36171058 PMCID: PMC9581580 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0508-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychology and neuroscience research have shown that fractioning operations among several individuals along a hierarchical chain allows diffusing responsibility between components of the chain, which has the potential to disinhibit antisocial actions. Here, we present two studies, one using fMRI (Study 1) and one using EEG (Study 2), designed to help understand how commanding or being in an intermediary position impacts the sense of agency and empathy for pain. In the age of military drones, we also explored whether commanding a human or robot agent influences these measures. This was done within a single behavioral paradigm in which participants could freely decide whether or not to send painful shocks to another participant in exchange for money. In Study 1, fMRI reveals that activation in social cognition-related and empathy-related brain regions was equally low when witnessing a victim receive a painful shock while participants were either commander or simple intermediary transmitting an order, compared with being the agent directly delivering the shock. In Study 2, results indicated that the sense of agency did not differ between commanders and intermediary, no matter whether the executing agent was a robot or a human. However, we observed that the neural response over P3 event-related potential was higher when the executing agent was a robot compared with a human. Source reconstruction of the EEG signal revealed that this effect was mediated by areas including the insula and ACC. Results are discussed regarding the interplay between the sense of agency and empathy for pain for decision-making.
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Zhao Y, Zhang L, Rütgen M, Sladky R, Lamm C. Effective connectivity reveals distinctive patterns in response to others' genuine affective experience of disgust. Neuroimage 2022; 259:119404. [PMID: 35750254 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy is significantly influenced by the identification of others' emotions. In a recent study, we have found increased activation in the anterior insular cortex (aIns) that could be attributed to affect sharing rather than perceptual saliency, when seeing another person genuinely experiencing pain as opposed to merely acting to be in pain. In that prior study, effective connectivity between aIns and the right supramarginal gyrus (rSMG) was revealed to represent what another person really feels. In the present study, we used a similar paradigm to investigate the corresponding neural signatures in the domain of empathy for disgust - with participants seeing others genuinely sniffing unpleasant odors as compared to pretending to smell something disgusting (in fact the disgust expressions in both conditions were acted for reasons of experimental control). Consistent with the previous findings on pain, we found stronger activations in aIns associated with affect sharing for genuine disgust (inferred) compared with pretended disgust. However, instead of rSMG we found engagement of the olfactory cortex. Using dynamic causal modeling (DCM), we estimated the neural dynamics of aIns and the olfactory cortex between the genuine and pretended conditions. This revealed an increased excitatory modulatory effect for genuine disgust compared to pretended disgust. For genuine disgust only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a link between the observed modulatory effect and a few empathic traits. Altogether, the current findings complement and expand our previous work, by showing that perceptual saliency alone does not explain responses in the insular cortex. Moreover, it reveals that different brain networks are implicated in a modality-specific way when sharing the affective experiences associated with pain vs. disgust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yili Zhao
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Lei Zhang
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Ronald Sladky
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria.
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30
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Learning about threat from friends and strangers is equally effective: An fMRI study on observational fear conditioning. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119648. [PMID: 36162633 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans often benefit from social cues when learning about the world. For instance, learning about threats from others can save the individual from dangerous first-hand experiences. Familiarity is believed to increase the effectiveness of social learning, but it is not clear whether it plays a role in learning about threats. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we undertook a naturalistic approach and investigated whether there was a difference between observational fear learning from friends and strangers. Participants (observers) witnessed either their friends or strangers (demonstrators) receiving aversive (shock) stimuli paired with colored squares (observational learning stage). Subsequently, participants watched the same squares, but without receiving any shocks (direct-expression stage). We observed a similar pattern of brain activity in both groups of observers. Regions related to threat responses (amygdala, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex) and social perception (fusiform gyrus, posterior superior temporal sulcus) were activated during the observational phase, possibly reflecting the emotional contagion process. The anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex were also activated during the subsequent stage, indicating the expression of learned threat. Because there were no differences between participants observing friends and strangers, we argue that social threat learning is independent of the level of familiarity with the demonstrator.
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31
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Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML. On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation. Psychol Med 2022; 52:1801-1816. [PMID: 35796023 PMCID: PMC9340849 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722001611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Motivational processes underlie behaviors that enrich the human experience, and impairments in motivation are commonly observed in psychiatric illness. While motivated behavior is often examined with respect to extrinsic reinforcers, not all actions are driven by reactions to external stimuli; some are driven by 'intrinsic' motivation. Intrinsically motivated behaviors are computationally similar to extrinsically motivated behaviors, in that they strive to maximize reward value and minimize punishment. However, our understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie intrinsically motivated behavior remains limited. Dysfunction in intrinsic motivation represents an important trans-diagnostic facet of psychiatric symptomology, but due to a lack of clear consensus, the contribution of intrinsic motivation to psychopathology remains poorly understood. This review aims to provide an overview of the conceptualization, measurement, and neurobiology of intrinsic motivation, providing a framework for understanding its potential contributions to psychopathology and its treatment. Distinctions between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are discussed, including divergence in the types of associated rewards or outcomes that drive behavioral action and choice. A useful framework for understanding intrinsic motivation, and thus separating it from extrinsic motivation, is developed and suggestions for optimization of paradigms to measure intrinsic motivation are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel S. Morris
- Department of Psychiatry, Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Mora M. Grehl
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122 USA
| | - Sarah B. Rutter
- Department of Psychiatry, Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Marishka Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry, Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029 USA
| | - Margaret L. Westwater
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
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Xu X, Xin F, Liu C, Chen Y, Yao S, Zhou X, Zhou F, Huang Y, Dai J, Wang J, Zou Z, Kendrick KM, Zhou B, Becker B. Disorder- and cognitive demand-specific neurofunctional alterations during social emotional working memory in generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. J Affect Disord 2022; 308:98-105. [PMID: 35427713 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are both characterized by cognitive and social impairments. Determining disorder-specific neurobiological alterations in GAD and MDD by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may promote determination of precise diagnostic markers. METHODS This study aimed to examine disorder-specific behavioral and neural alterations at the intersection of social and cognitive processing in treatment-naïve first-episode GAD (n = 35) and MDD (n = 37) patients compared to healthy controls (n = 35) by employing a social-emotional n-back fMRI paradigm. RESULTS No behavioral differences between patients and healthy controls were observed. However, GAD patients exhibited decreased bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) engagement during the 0-back condition yet increased dmPFC engagement during the 1-back condition compared to MDD and healthy participants. In contrast, MDD patients exhibited increased dmPFC-insula coupling during 0-back, yet decreased coupling during 1-back, compared to GAD and healthy participants. Dimensional symptom-load analysis confirmed that increased dmPFC-insula connectivity during 0-back was positively associated with depressive symptom load. LIMITATIONS The moderate sample size in the present study did not allow us to further explore gender differences. In addition, some patients exhibited GAD and MDD comorbidity according to the M.I.N.I. interview. Finally, the paradigm we used did not allow to further disentangle emotion-specific effects on working memory. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the dmPFC engaged in integrating affective and cognitive components and self-other processing exhibits GAD-specific neurofunctional dysregulations whereas functional dmPFC communication with the insula, a region involved in salience processing, may represent an MDD-specific neurofunctional deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China
| | - Fei Xin
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, China
| | - Congcong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Henan 453003, China
| | - Yuanshu Chen
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Yulan Huang
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, China
| | - Jing Dai
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; Chengdu Mental Health Center, The Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan 610036, China
| | - Jinyu Wang
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, China
| | - Zhili Zou
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Bo Zhou
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, China.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China.
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33
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Yoder KJ, Harenski CL, Kiehl KA, Decety J. Psychopathic traits modulate functional connectivity during pain perception and perspective-taking in female inmates. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 34:102984. [PMID: 35276604 PMCID: PMC8907686 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.102984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PCL-R scores are associated with altered functional connectivity in female inmates. PCL-R Factor 1 and Factor 2 subscores predicted opposite shifts in connectivity. Functional connectivity in the salience network is altered during pain perception. Connectivity in the social cognition network is altered during perspective-taking.
The ability to share and understand the distress of others is critical for successful social interactions and is a fundamental building block of morality. Psychopathy is a personality disorder that includes lack of empathy and concern for others. In the present study, functional MRI was used to examine neural responses and functional connectivity associated with empathy and affective perspective-taking in female inmates (N = 109) with various levels of psychopathic traits, as measured with Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Participants viewed hands and feet in painful or non-painful situations while adopting a first person or third person perspective. All participants demonstrated robust neural responses in anterior insula (aINS), anterior cingulate (ACC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and supplementary motor area (SMA) when viewing pain, both during imagine-self and imagine-other blocks. Psychopathy shifted the functional connectivity seeded in core nodes of the salience and social cognition networks. Perceiving stimuli depicting somatic pain led to decreased functional coupling from right temporoparietal junction to superior temporal sulcus, which correlated with scores on PCL-R Factor 1 (Affective/Interpersonal). In contrast, connectivity from right insula to precuneus increased with Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial) scores. When adopting a third-person perspective, psychopathic traits modulated connectivity from the social cognition network, but not the salience network, with Factor 1 scores associated with increased connectivity to sensorimotor cortex and temporal pole, while Factor 2 scores were associated with decreased connectivity with ACC/SMA and inferior frontal gyrus. Overall, these results demonstrate that psychopathic traits in incarcerated females are associated with atypical functional connectivity within the salience network during pain-empathy processing and within the social cognition network during affective perspective-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith J Yoder
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
| | - Carla L Harenski
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical, Albuquerque, NM, United States; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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Vaccaro AG, Heydari P, Christov-Moore L, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Perspective-taking is associated with increased discriminability of affective states in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:1082-1090. [PMID: 35579186 PMCID: PMC9714424 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent work using multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has found that distinct affective states produce correspondingly distinct patterns of neural activity in the cerebral cortex. However, it is unclear whether individual differences in the distinctiveness of neural patterns evoked by affective stimuli underlie empathic abilities such as perspective-taking (PT). Accordingly, we examined whether we could predict PT tendency from the classification of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activation patterns while participants (n = 57) imagined themselves in affectively charged scenarios. We used an MVPA searchlight analysis to map where in the brain activity patterns permitted the classification of four affective states: happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Classification accuracy was significantly above chance levels in most of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior medial cortices. Furthermore, participants' self-reported PT was positively associated with classification accuracy in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula. This finding has implications for understanding affective processing in the prefrontal cortex and for interpreting the cognitive significance of classifiable affective brain states. Our multivariate approach suggests that PT ability may rely on the grain of internally simulated affective representations rather than simply the global strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Panthea Heydari
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Leonardo Christov-Moore
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Jon Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0001, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Correspondence should be addressed to Jonas T. Kaplan, Brain and Creativity Institute, 3620A McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. E-mail:
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35
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Jabakhanji R, Vigotsky AD, Bielefeld J, Huang L, Baliki MN, Iannetti G, Apkarian AV. Limits of decoding mental states with fMRI. Cortex 2022; 149:101-122. [PMID: 35219121 PMCID: PMC9238276 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A growing number of studies claim to decode mental states using multi-voxel decoders of brain activity. It has been proposed that the fixed, fine-grained, multi-voxel patterns in these decoders are necessary for discriminating between and identifying mental states. Here, we present evidence that the efficacy of these decoders might be overstated. Across various tasks, decoder patterns were spatially imprecise, as decoder performance was unaffected by spatial smoothing; 90% redundant, as selecting a random 10% of a decoder's constituent voxels recovered full decoder performance; and performed similarly to brain activity maps used as decoders. We distinguish decoder performance in discriminating between mental states from performance in identifying a given mental state, and show that even when discrimination performance is adequate, identification can be poor. Finally, we demonstrate that simple and intuitive similarity metrics explain 91% and 62% of discrimination performance within- and across-subjects, respectively. These findings indicate that currently used across-subject decoders of mental states are superfluous and inappropriate for decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rami Jabakhanji
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Andrew D Vigotsky
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Statistics, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Jannis Bielefeld
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Lejian Huang
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Marwan N Baliki
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Giandomenico Iannetti
- Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, UK; Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
| | - A Vania Apkarian
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA; Center for Translational Pain Research, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA.
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36
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Yang D, Tao H, Ge H, Li Z, Hu Y, Meng J. Altered Processing of Social Emotions in Individuals With Autistic Traits. Front Psychol 2022; 13:746192. [PMID: 35310287 PMCID: PMC8931733 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.746192] [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: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Social impairment is a defining phenotypic feature of autism. The present study investigated whether individuals with autistic traits exhibit altered perceptions of social emotions. Two groups of participants (High-AQ and Low-AQ) were recruited based on their scores on the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ). Their behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by social and non-social stimuli with positive, negative, and neutral emotional valence were compared in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed to view social-emotional and non-social emotional pictures. In Experiment 2, participants were instructed to listen to social-emotional and non-social emotional audio recordings. More negative emotional reactions and smaller amplitudes of late ERP components (the late positive potential in Experiment 1 and the late negative component in Experiment 2) were found in the High-AQ group than in the Low-AQ group in response to the social-negative stimuli. In addition, amplitudes of these late ERP components in both experiments elicited in response to social-negative stimuli were correlated with the AQ scores of the High-AQ group. These results suggest that individuals with autistic traits have altered emotional processing of social-negative emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Yang
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,School of Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Emotion and Mental Health, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China
| | - Hengheng Tao
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,School of Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hongxin Ge
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,School of Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zuoshan Li
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,School of Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuanyan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Emotion and Mental Health, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, China
| | - Jing Meng
- Key Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China.,School of Education, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
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Medial prefrontal and occipito-temporal activity at encoding determines enhanced recognition of threatening faces after 1.5 years. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1655-1672. [PMID: 35174416 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02462-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Studies demonstrated that faces with threatening emotional expressions are better remembered than non-threatening faces. However, whether this memory advantage persists over years and which neural systems underlie such an effect remains unknown. Here, we employed an individual difference approach to examine whether the neural activity during incidental encoding was associated with differential recognition of faces with emotional expressions (angry, fearful, happy, sad and neutral) after a retention interval of > 1.5 years (N = 89). Behaviorally, we found a better recognition for threatening (angry, fearful) versus non-threatening (happy and neutral) faces after a delay of > 1.5 years, which was driven by forgetting of non-threatening faces compared with immediate recognition after encoding. Multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) on the behavioral responses further confirmed the discriminative recognition performance between threatening and non-threatening faces. A voxel-wise whole-brain analysis on the concomitantly acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data during incidental encoding revealed that neural activity in bilateral inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) and ventromedial prefrontal/orbitofrontal cortex (vmPFC/OFC) was associated with the individual differences in the discriminative emotional face recognition performance measured by an innovative behavioral pattern similarity analysis (BPSA). The left fusiform face area (FFA) was additionally determined using a regionally focused analysis. Overall, the present study provides evidence that threatening facial expressions lead to persistent face recognition over periods of > 1.5 years, and that differential encoding-related activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and occipito-temporal cortex may underlie this effect.
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Gan X, Zhou X, Li J, Jiao G, Jiang X, Biswal B, Yao S, Klugah-Brown B, Becker B. Common and distinct neurofunctional representations of core and social disgust in the brain: Coordinate-based and network meta-analyses. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104553. [PMID: 35122784 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Disgust represents a multifaceted defensive-avoidance response. On the behavioral level, the response includes withdrawal and a disgust-specific facial expression. While both serve the avoidance of pathogens, the latter additionally transmits social-communicative information. Given that common and distinct brain representation of the primary defensive-avoidance response (core disgust) and encoding of the social-communicative signal (social disgust) remain debated, we employed neuroimaging meta-analyses to (1) determine brain systems generally engaged in disgust processing, and (2) segregate common and distinct brain systems for core and social disgust. Disgust processing, in general, engaged a bilateral network encompassing the insula, amygdala, occipital and prefrontal regions. Core disgust evoked stronger reactivity in left-lateralized threat detection and defensive response network including amygdala, occipital and frontal regions, while social disgust engaged a right-lateralized superior temporal-frontal network engaged in social cognition. Anterior insula, inferior frontal and fusiform regions were commonly engaged during core and social disgust, suggesting a shared neurofunctional basis. We demonstrate a common and distinct neural basis of primary disgust responses and encoding of associated social-communicative signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianyang Gan
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Guojuan Jiao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Xi Jiang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Bharat Biswal
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ 7102, United States
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China
| | - Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China.
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39
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Ren Q, Yang Y, Wo Y, Lu X, Hu L. Different priming effects of empathy on neural processing associated with firsthand pain and nonpain perception. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2021; 1509:184-202. [PMID: 34877680 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The shared-representation model of empathy is still debated. One of the major questions is whether empathy-eliciting stimuli depicting others' pain selectively activate the representations of self-pain. To address this issue, we assessed the priming effects of empathy-eliciting pictures on firsthand pain and nonpain perception, as well as its associated neural processing. In Experiment 1, when compared with nonpainful pictures depicting individuals' body parts with no injury, participants primed by painful pictures showing individuals' body parts with injury reported higher ratings for perceived intensity, unpleasantness, and salience of nociceptive and auditory stimuli, but they only exhibited increased N2 amplitude in response to nociceptive stimuli. In Experiment 2, the results from another group of participants replicated the observations of Experiment 1 and validated the findings in the non-nociceptive somatosensory modality. Importantly, participants' concern ratings for priming pictures predicted their unpleasantness ratings for subsequent nociceptive stimuli, while participants' attention ratings predicted their unpleasantness ratings for subsequent auditory and tactile stimuli. This finding implies that empathy for pain might influence pain and nonpain perception via different psychological mechanisms. In summary, our findings highlight the existence of pain-selective representations in empathy for pain and contribute to a better understanding of the shared-representation model of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoyue Ren
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,General and Experimental Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Ye Yang
- Centre for Mental Health Research in School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
| | - Ye Wo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuejing Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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40
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Decety J, Holvoet C. The emergence of empathy: A developmental neuroscience perspective. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2021.100999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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41
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Zhou F, Zhao W, Qi Z, Geng Y, Yao S, Kendrick KM, Wager TD, Becker B. A distributed fMRI-based signature for the subjective experience of fear. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6643. [PMID: 34789745 PMCID: PMC8599690 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26977-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The specific neural systems underlying the subjective feeling of fear are debated in affective neuroscience. Here, we combine functional MRI with machine learning to identify and evaluate a sensitive and generalizable neural signature predictive of the momentary self-reported subjective fear experience across discovery (n = 67), validation (n = 20) and generalization (n = 31) cohorts. We systematically demonstrate that accurate fear prediction crucially requires distributed brain systems, with important contributions from cortical (e.g., prefrontal, midcingulate and insular cortices) and subcortical (e.g., thalamus, periaqueductal gray, basal forebrain and amygdala) regions. We further demonstrate that the neural representation of subjective fear is distinguishable from the representation of conditioned threat and general negative affect. Overall, our findings suggest that subjective fear, which exhibits distinct neural representation with some other aversive states, is encoded in distributed systems rather than isolated 'fear centers'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Zhou
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Ziyu Qi
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yayuan Geng
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
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42
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Ferraro S, Klugah-Brown B, Tench CR, Yao S, Nigri A, Demichelis G, Pinardi C, Bruzzone MG, Becker B. Dysregulated anterior insula reactivity as robust functional biomarker for chronic pain-Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 43:998-1010. [PMID: 34734458 PMCID: PMC8764475 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 10/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurobiological pain models propose that chronic pain is accompanied by neurofunctional changes that mediate pain processing dysfunctions. In contrast, meta‐analyses of neuroimaging studies in chronic pain conditions have not revealed convergent evidence for robust alterations during experimental pain induction. Against this background, the present neuroimaging meta‐analysis combined three different meta‐analytic approaches with stringent study selection criteria for case–control functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments during acute pain processing with a focus on chronic pain disorders. Convergent neurofunctional dysregulations in chronic pain patients were observed in the left anterior insula cortex. Seed‐based resting‐state functional connectivity based on a large publicly available dataset combined with a meta‐analytic task‐based approach identified the anterior insular region as a key node of an extended bilateral insula‐fronto‐cingular network, resembling the salience network. Moreover, the meta‐analytic decoding showed that this region presents a high probability to be specifically activated during pain‐related processes, although we cannot exclude an involvement in autonomic processes. Together, the present findings indicate that dysregulated left anterior insular activity represents a robust neurofunctional maladaptation and potential treatment target in chronic pain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Ferraro
- The Clinical Hospital of the Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Clinical Hospital of the Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Christopher R Tench
- Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical Neurology, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of the Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Anna Nigri
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Greta Demichelis
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Pinardi
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Bruzzone
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of the Chengdu Brain Science Institute, School of Life Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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43
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Zhao Y, Zhang L, Rütgen M, Sladky R, Lamm C. Neural dynamics between anterior insular cortex and right supramarginal gyrus dissociate genuine affect sharing from perceptual saliency of pretended pain. eLife 2021; 10:e69994. [PMID: 34409940 PMCID: PMC8443248 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy for pain engages both shared affective responses and self-other distinction. In this study, we addressed the highly debated question of whether neural responses previously linked to affect sharing could result from the perception of salient affective displays. Moreover, we investigated how the brain network involved in affect sharing and self-other distinction underpinned our response to a pain that is either perceived as genuine or pretended (while in fact both were acted for reasons of experimental control). We found stronger activations in regions associated with affect sharing (anterior insula [aIns] and anterior mid-cingulate cortex) as well as with affective self-other distinction (right supramarginal gyrus [rSMG]), in participants watching video clips of genuine vs. pretended facial expressions of pain. Using dynamic causal modeling, we then assessed the neural dynamics between the right aIns and rSMG in these two conditions. This revealed a reduced inhibitory effect on the aIns to rSMG connection for genuine pain compared to pretended pain. For genuine pain only, brain-to-behavior regression analyses highlighted a linkage between this inhibitory effect on the one hand, and pain ratings as well as empathic traits on the other. These findings imply that if the pain of others is genuine and thus calls for an appropriate empathic response, neural responses in the aIns indeed seem related to affect sharing and self-other distinction is engaged to avoid empathic over-arousal. In contrast, if others merely pretend to be in pain, the perceptual salience of their painful expression results in neural responses that are down-regulated to avoid inappropriate affect sharing and social support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yili Zhao
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Lei Zhang
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Ronald Sladky
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of ViennaViennaAustria
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44
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Wu T, Han S. Neural mechanisms of modulations of empathy and altruism by beliefs of others' pain. eLife 2021; 10:e66043. [PMID: 34369378 PMCID: PMC8373377 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceived cues signaling others' pain induce empathy which in turn motivates altruistic behavior toward those who appear suffering. This perception-emotion-behavior reactivity is the core of human altruism but does not always occur in real-life situations. Here, by integrating behavioral and multimodal neuroimaging measures, we investigate neural mechanisms underlying modulations of empathy and altruistic behavior by beliefs of others' pain (BOP). We show evidence that lack of BOP reduces subjective estimation of others' painful feelings and decreases monetary donations to those who show pain expressions. Moreover, lack of BOP attenuates neural responses to their pain expressions within 200 ms after face onset and modulates neural responses to others' pain in the insular, post-central, and frontal cortices. Our findings suggest that BOP provide a cognitive basis of human empathy and altruism and unravel the intermediate neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taoyu Wu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/MGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Shihui Han
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/MGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking UniversityBeijingChina
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45
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Hartmann H, Riva F, Rütgen M, Lamm C. Placebo Analgesia Does Not Reduce Empathy for Naturalistic Depictions of Others' Pain in a Somatosensory Specific Way. Cereb Cortex Commun 2021; 2:tgab039. [PMID: 34296184 PMCID: PMC8276832 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgab039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The shared representations account postulates that sharing another's pain recruits underlying brain functions also engaged during first-hand pain. Critically, direct causal evidence for this was mainly shown for affective pain processing, while the contribution of somatosensory processes to empathy remains controversial. This controversy may be explained, however, by experimental paradigms that did not direct attention towards a specific body part, or that did not employ naturalistic depictions of others' pain. In this preregistered functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we aimed to test whether causal manipulation of first-hand pain affects empathy for naturalistic depictions of pain in a somatosensory-matched manner. Forty-five participants underwent a placebo analgesia induction in their right hand and observed pictures of other people's right and left hands in pain. We found neither behavioral nor neural evidence for somatosensory-specific modulation of pain empathy. However, exploratory analyses revealed a general effect of the placebo on empathy, and higher brain activity in bilateral anterior insula when viewing others' right hands in pain (i.e., corresponding to one's own placebo hand). These results refine our knowledge regarding the neural mechanisms of pain empathy, and imply that the sharing of somatosensory representations seems to play less of a causal role than the one of affective representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Hartmann
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Federica Riva
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
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46
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Becker B. Neurocognition in stimulant addiction: reply to Robbins (2021). PSYCHORADIOLOGY 2021; 1:91-93. [PMID: 38665360 PMCID: PMC10917236 DOI: 10.1093/psyrad/kkab010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Becker
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Life Science and Technology, China
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47
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Rütgen M, Pfabigan DM, Tik M, Kraus C, Pletti C, Sladky R, Klöbl M, Woletz M, Vanicek T, Windischberger C, Lanzenberger R, Lamm C. Detached empathic experience of others' pain in remitted states of depression - An fMRI study. Neuroimage Clin 2021; 31:102699. [PMID: 34049164 PMCID: PMC8167276 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder is strongly associated with impairments and difficulties in social interactions. Deficits in empathy, a vital skill for social interactions, have been identified as a risk factor for relapse. However, research on empathy in remitted states of depression is scarce. We chose a social neuroscience approach to investigate potentially altered neural processes involved in sub-components of empathy in remitted states of depression. We expected aberrations in cognitive components of empathy, based on previous reports regarding their role as risk factors for relapse. METHODS Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging and a pain empathy task (video clips of painful medical treatments), we compared behavioral and neural empathic responses of unmedicated remitted depressive patients (N = 32) to those of untreated acutely depressed patients (N = 29) and healthy controls (N = 35). Self-report ratings of pain evaluation and affect-sharing were obtained. RESULTS Compared to controls and acutely depressed patients, remitted depressive patients reported higher pain evaluation and showed increased activity in the right temporo-parietal junction. This region, which is central to self-other distinction and which has been linked to adopting a detached perspective, also exhibited reduced connectivity to the anterior insula. Furthermore, we observed reduced activity in regions involved in emotion processing (amygdala) and perception of affective facial expressions (fusiform face area, posterior superior temporal sulcus). CONCLUSIONS Remitted states of depression are associated with a detached empathic style in response to others' pain, characterized by increased self-other distinction, lowered affective processing, and reduced connectivity between empathy-related brain regions. Although this may prevent emotional harm in specific situations, it may reduce opportunities for positive experiences in social interactions in the long run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Rütgen
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Daniela Melitta Pfabigan
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Tik
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Kraus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Carolina Pletti
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Developmental Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Ronald Sladky
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manfred Klöbl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Woletz
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Vanicek
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Windischberger
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rupert Lanzenberger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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48
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Schurz M, Uddin LQ, Kanske P, Lamm C, Sallet J, Bernhardt BC, Mars RB, Bzdok D. Variability in Brain Structure and Function Reflects Lack of Peer Support. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4612-4627. [PMID: 33982758 PMCID: PMC8408465 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are a highly social species. Complex interactions for mutual support range from helping neighbors to building social welfare institutions. During times of distress or crisis, sharing life experiences within one's social circle is critical for well-being. By translating pattern-learning algorithms to the UK Biobank imaging-genetics cohort (n = ~40 000 participants), we have delineated manifestations of regular social support in multimodal whole-brain measurements. In structural brain variation, we identified characteristic volumetric signatures in the salience and limbic networks for high- versus low-social support individuals. In patterns derived from functional coupling, we also located interindividual differences in social support in action-perception circuits related to binding sensory cues and initiating behavioral responses. In line with our demographic profiling analysis, the uncovered neural substrates have potential implications for loneliness, substance misuse, and resilience to stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Schurz
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK
- Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Address correspondence to Matthias Schurz, PhD, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, & Behaviour, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, B.0305, 6525 HR Nijmegen, Netherlands. and Danilo Bzdok, MD, PhD, Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 rue University, Bureau #872D, Montréal (Québec) H3A 2B4, Canada.
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124, USA
- Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, USA
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01187 Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK
- University of Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, INSERM, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Boris C Bernhardt
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (BIC), Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Danilo Bzdok
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre (BIC), Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
- Mila-Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Montreal, Quebec H2S 3H1, Canada
- Address correspondence to Matthias Schurz, PhD, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, & Behaviour, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, B.0305, 6525 HR Nijmegen, Netherlands. and Danilo Bzdok, MD, PhD, Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 rue University, Bureau #872D, Montréal (Québec) H3A 2B4, Canada.
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Dirupo G, Totaro S, Richard J, Corradi-Dell'Acqua C. Medical education and distrust modulate the response of insular-cingulate network and ventral striatum in pain diagnosis. eLife 2021; 10:63272. [PMID: 33904406 PMCID: PMC8104963 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthcare providers often underestimate patients’ pain, sometimes even when aware of their reports. This could be the effect of experience reducing sensitivity to others pain, or distrust toward patients’ self-evaluations. Across multiple experiments (375 participants), we tested whether senior medical students differed from younger colleagues and lay controls in the way they assess people’s pain and take into consideration their feedback. We found that medical training affected the sensitivity to pain faces, an effect shown by the lower ratings and highlighted by a decrease in neural response of the insula and cingulate cortex. Instead, distrust toward the expressions’ authenticity affected the processing of feedbacks, by decreasing activity in the ventral striatum whenever patients’ self-reports matched participants’ evaluations, and by promoting strong reliance on the opinion of other doctors. Overall, our study underscores the multiple processes which might influence the evaluation of others’ pain at the early stages of medical career.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Dirupo
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sabrina Totaro
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jeanne Richard
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, Swiss Distance University Institute, Brig, Switzerland
| | - Corrado Corradi-Dell'Acqua
- Theory of Pain Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Geneva Neuroscience Center, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Expressive suppression to pain in others reduces negative emotion but not vicarious pain in the observer. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:292-310. [PMID: 33759062 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00873-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Although there are situations where it may be appropriate to reduce one's emotional response to the pain of others, the impact of an observer's emotional expressivity on their response to pain in others is still not well understood. In the present study, we examined how the emotion regulation strategy expressive suppression influences responses to pain in others. Based on prior research findings on expressive suppression and pain empathy, we hypothesized that expressive suppression to pain expression faces would reduce neural representations of negative emotion, vicarious pain, or both. To test this, we applied two multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA)-derived neural signatures to our data, the Picture Induced Negative Emotion Signature (PINES; Chang, Gianaros, Manuck, Krishnan, and Wager (2015)) and a neural signature of facial expression induced vicarious pain (Zhou et al., 2020). In a sample of 60 healthy individuals, we found that viewing pain expression faces increased neural representations of negative emotion and vicarious pain. However, expressive suppression to pain faces reduced neural representations of negative emotion only. Providing support for a connection between neural representations of negative emotion and pain empathy, PINES responses to pain faces were associated with participants' trait-level empathy and the perceived unpleasantness of pain faces. Findings suggest that a consequence of suppressing one's facial expressions in response to the pain of others may be a reduction in the affective aspect of empathy but not the experience of vicarious pain itself.
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