Pub Date : 2025-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.003
Erik M Elster, Ruth Pauli, Graeme Fairchild, Maria McDonald, Sarah Baumann, Justina Sidlauskaite, Stephane De Brito, Christine M Freitag, Kerstin Konrad, Veit Roessner, Inti A Brazil, Patricia L Lockwood, Gregor Kohls
Objective: Conduct disorder (CD) is associated with deficits in the use of punishment for reinforcement learning (RL) and subsequent decision-making, contributing to reckless, antisocial, and aggressive behaviors. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether differences in behavioral learning rates derived from computational modeling, particularly for punishment, are reflected in aberrant neural responses in youths with CD compared to typically-developing controls (TDCs).
Methods: 75 youths with CD and 99 TDCs (9-18 years, 47% girls) performed a probabilistic RL task with punishment, reward, and neutral contingencies. Using fMRI data in conjunction with computational modeling indices (learning rate α), we investigated group differences for the three learning conditions in whole-brain and regions-of-interest (ROI) analyses, including the ventral striatum and insula.
Results: Whole-brain analysis revealed typical neural responses for RL in both groups. However, linear regression models for the ROI analyses revealed that only the response pattern of the (anterior) insula during punishment learning was different in CD compared to TDCs.
Conclusions: Youths with CD have atypical neural responses to learning from punishment (but not from reward), specifically in the insula. This suggests a selective dysfunction of RL mechanisms in CD thereby contributing to 'punishment insensitivity/hyposensitivity' as a hallmark of the disorder. As the (anterior) insula is involved in avoidance behaviors related to negative affect or arousal, insula dysfunction in CD may contribute to inappropriate behavioral decision-making, which increases the risk for reckless, antisocial, and aggressive behaviors in affected youth.
{"title":"Altered Neural Responses to Punishment Learning in Conduct Disorder.","authors":"Erik M Elster, Ruth Pauli, Graeme Fairchild, Maria McDonald, Sarah Baumann, Justina Sidlauskaite, Stephane De Brito, Christine M Freitag, Kerstin Konrad, Veit Roessner, Inti A Brazil, Patricia L Lockwood, Gregor Kohls","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Conduct disorder (CD) is associated with deficits in the use of punishment for reinforcement learning (RL) and subsequent decision-making, contributing to reckless, antisocial, and aggressive behaviors. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether differences in behavioral learning rates derived from computational modeling, particularly for punishment, are reflected in aberrant neural responses in youths with CD compared to typically-developing controls (TDCs).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>75 youths with CD and 99 TDCs (9-18 years, 47% girls) performed a probabilistic RL task with punishment, reward, and neutral contingencies. Using fMRI data in conjunction with computational modeling indices (learning rate α), we investigated group differences for the three learning conditions in whole-brain and regions-of-interest (ROI) analyses, including the ventral striatum and insula.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Whole-brain analysis revealed typical neural responses for RL in both groups. However, linear regression models for the ROI analyses revealed that only the response pattern of the (anterior) insula during punishment learning was different in CD compared to TDCs.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Youths with CD have atypical neural responses to learning from punishment (but not from reward), specifically in the insula. This suggests a selective dysfunction of RL mechanisms in CD thereby contributing to 'punishment insensitivity/hyposensitivity' as a hallmark of the disorder. As the (anterior) insula is involved in avoidance behaviors related to negative affect or arousal, insula dysfunction in CD may contribute to inappropriate behavioral decision-making, which increases the risk for reckless, antisocial, and aggressive behaviors in affected youth.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142980870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.006
Renata Rozovsky, Michele Bertocci, Vaibhav Diwadkar, Richelle S Stiffler, Genna Bebko, Alexander S Skeba, Haris Aslam, Mary L Phillips
Background: Effective connectivity (EC) analysis provides valuable insights into the directionality of neural interactions, which are crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying cognitive and emotional regulation in depressive and anxiety disorders. In this study, we examined EC within key neural networks during working memory (WM) and emotional regulation (ER) tasks in young adults, both healthy individuals and those seeking help from mental health professionals for emotional distress.
Methods: Dynamic causal modeling was used to analyze EC in 2 independent samples (n = 97 and n = 94). Participants performed an emotional n-back task to assess EC across the central executive network (CEN), default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and face processing network. Group-level parametric empirical Bayes analyses were conducted to examine EC patterns, with subanalyses comparing individuals with and without depression and anxiety.
Results: Consistent patterns of positive (posterior probability > .95) DMN→CEN and DMN→SN EC were observed in both samples, predominantly in low and high WM conditions without ER. However, individuals without depressive or anxiety disorders exhibited a significantly greater number of preserved connections that were replicated across both samples.
Conclusions: This study highlights the different patterns of DMN→CEN EC in conditions with high and low WM loads with and without ER, suggesting that in higher WM loads with ER, the integration of the DMN with the CEN is reduced to facilitate successful cognitive task performance. The findings also suggest that DMN→CEN and DMN→SN EC are significantly reduced in depressive and anxiety disorders, highlighting this pattern of reduced EC as a potential neural marker of these disorders.
{"title":"Inter-network Effective Connectivity During An Emotional Working Memory Task in Two Independent Samples of Young Adults.","authors":"Renata Rozovsky, Michele Bertocci, Vaibhav Diwadkar, Richelle S Stiffler, Genna Bebko, Alexander S Skeba, Haris Aslam, Mary L Phillips","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2025.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Effective connectivity (EC) analysis provides valuable insights into the directionality of neural interactions, which are crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying cognitive and emotional regulation in depressive and anxiety disorders. In this study, we examined EC within key neural networks during working memory (WM) and emotional regulation (ER) tasks in young adults, both healthy individuals and those seeking help from mental health professionals for emotional distress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Dynamic causal modeling was used to analyze EC in 2 independent samples (n = 97 and n = 94). Participants performed an emotional n-back task to assess EC across the central executive network (CEN), default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and face processing network. Group-level parametric empirical Bayes analyses were conducted to examine EC patterns, with subanalyses comparing individuals with and without depression and anxiety.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Consistent patterns of positive (posterior probability > .95) DMN→CEN and DMN→SN EC were observed in both samples, predominantly in low and high WM conditions without ER. However, individuals without depressive or anxiety disorders exhibited a significantly greater number of preserved connections that were replicated across both samples.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights the different patterns of DMN→CEN EC in conditions with high and low WM loads with and without ER, suggesting that in higher WM loads with ER, the integration of the DMN with the CEN is reduced to facilitate successful cognitive task performance. The findings also suggest that DMN→CEN and DMN→SN EC are significantly reduced in depressive and anxiety disorders, highlighting this pattern of reduced EC as a potential neural marker of these disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142980884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016
Vaibhav Tripathi, Ishaan Batta, Andre Zamani, Daniel A Atad, Sneha K S Sheth, Jiahe Zhang, Tor D Wager, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Lucina Q Uddin, Ruchika S Prakash, Clemens C C Bauer
The default mode network (DMN) is intricately linked with processes such as self-referential thinking, episodic memory recall, goal-directed cognition, self-projection, and theory of mind. Over recent years, there has been a surge in examining its functional connectivity, particularly its relationship with frontoparietal networks (FPN) involved in top-down attention, executive function, and cognitive control. The fluidity in switching between these internal and external modes of processing-highlighted by anti-correlated functional connectivity-has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive health. Due to the ease of estimation of functional connectivity-based measures through resting state fMRI paradigms, there is now a wealth of large-scale datasets, paving the way for standardized connectivity benchmarks. This review delves into the promising role of DMN connectivity metrics as potential biomarkers of cognitive state across attention, internal mentation, mind wandering and meditation states, and investigating deviations in trait-level measures across aging and in clinical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, depression, ADHD, and others. Additionally, we tackle the issue of reliability of network estimation and functional connectivity and share recommendations for using functional connectivity measures as a biomarker of cognitive health.
{"title":"Default mode network functional connectivity as a transdiagnostic biomarker of cognitive function.","authors":"Vaibhav Tripathi, Ishaan Batta, Andre Zamani, Daniel A Atad, Sneha K S Sheth, Jiahe Zhang, Tor D Wager, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Lucina Q Uddin, Ruchika S Prakash, Clemens C C Bauer","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The default mode network (DMN) is intricately linked with processes such as self-referential thinking, episodic memory recall, goal-directed cognition, self-projection, and theory of mind. Over recent years, there has been a surge in examining its functional connectivity, particularly its relationship with frontoparietal networks (FPN) involved in top-down attention, executive function, and cognitive control. The fluidity in switching between these internal and external modes of processing-highlighted by anti-correlated functional connectivity-has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive health. Due to the ease of estimation of functional connectivity-based measures through resting state fMRI paradigms, there is now a wealth of large-scale datasets, paving the way for standardized connectivity benchmarks. This review delves into the promising role of DMN connectivity metrics as potential biomarkers of cognitive state across attention, internal mentation, mind wandering and meditation states, and investigating deviations in trait-level measures across aging and in clinical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, depression, ADHD, and others. Additionally, we tackle the issue of reliability of network estimation and functional connectivity and share recommendations for using functional connectivity measures as a biomarker of cognitive health.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142973836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.015
Guosong Shang, Tao Zhou, Xinyuan Yan, Kunyu He, Bin Liu, Zhebin Feng, Junpeng Xu, Xinguang Yu, Yanyang Zhang
Background: Chronic cortisol overexposure plays a significant role in the development of neuropathological changes associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The hippocampus, the primary target of cortisol, may exhibit characteristic regional responses due to its internal heterogeneity. This study explores structural and functional alterations of hippocampal subfields in Cushing's disease (CD), an endogenous model of chronic cortisol overexposure.
Methods: Utilizing structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 169 participants (86 CD patients and 83 healthy controls) recruited from a single center, we investigated specific structural changes in hippocampal subfields and explored the functional connectivity alterations driven by these structural abnormalities. We also analyzed potential associative mechanisms between these changes and biological attributes, neuropsychiatric representations, cognitive function, and gene expression profiles.
Results: Compared to healthy controls, CD patients exhibited significant bilateral volume reductions in multiple hippocampal subfields. Notably, volumetric decreases in the left hippocampal body and tail subfields were significantly correlated with cortisol levels, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, and quality of life measures. Disrupted connectivity between the structurally abnormal hippocampal subfields and ventromedial prefrontal cortex may impair reward-based decision making and emotional regulation, with this dysconnectivity linked to structural changes in right hippocampal subfields. Additionally, another region exhibiting dysconnectivity was located in the left pallidum and putamen. Gene expression patterns associated with synaptic components may underlie these macrostructural alterations.
Conclusions: Our findings elucidate the subfield-specific effects of chronic cortisol overexposure on the hippocampus, enhancing understanding of shared neuropathological traits linked to cortisol dysregulation in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
{"title":"Multi-scale Analysis Reveals Hippocampal Subfield Vulnerabilities to Chronic Cortisol Overexposure: Evidence from Cushing's Disease.","authors":"Guosong Shang, Tao Zhou, Xinyuan Yan, Kunyu He, Bin Liu, Zhebin Feng, Junpeng Xu, Xinguang Yu, Yanyang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chronic cortisol overexposure plays a significant role in the development of neuropathological changes associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. The hippocampus, the primary target of cortisol, may exhibit characteristic regional responses due to its internal heterogeneity. This study explores structural and functional alterations of hippocampal subfields in Cushing's disease (CD), an endogenous model of chronic cortisol overexposure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Utilizing structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 169 participants (86 CD patients and 83 healthy controls) recruited from a single center, we investigated specific structural changes in hippocampal subfields and explored the functional connectivity alterations driven by these structural abnormalities. We also analyzed potential associative mechanisms between these changes and biological attributes, neuropsychiatric representations, cognitive function, and gene expression profiles.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to healthy controls, CD patients exhibited significant bilateral volume reductions in multiple hippocampal subfields. Notably, volumetric decreases in the left hippocampal body and tail subfields were significantly correlated with cortisol levels, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, and quality of life measures. Disrupted connectivity between the structurally abnormal hippocampal subfields and ventromedial prefrontal cortex may impair reward-based decision making and emotional regulation, with this dysconnectivity linked to structural changes in right hippocampal subfields. Additionally, another region exhibiting dysconnectivity was located in the left pallidum and putamen. Gene expression patterns associated with synaptic components may underlie these macrostructural alterations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings elucidate the subfield-specific effects of chronic cortisol overexposure on the hippocampus, enhancing understanding of shared neuropathological traits linked to cortisol dysregulation in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: The detection of abnormal brain activity plays an important role in the early diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent studies have shown that the decomposition of the electroencephalography (EEG) spectrum into periodic and aperiodic components is useful for identifying the drivers of electrophysiologic abnormalities and avoiding individual differences.
Methods: This study aimed to elucidate the pathologic changes in individualized periodic and aperiodic activities and their relationships with the symptoms of MDD. EEG data in the eyes-closed resting state were continuously recorded from 97 first-episode and drug-naïve patients with MDD and 90 healthy control (HC) participants. Both periodic oscillations and aperiodic components were obtained via the "fitting oscillations and one-over f" (FOOOF) algorithm and then used to compute individualized spectral features.
Results: MDD patients presented higher canonical alpha and beta band power but lower aperiodic-adjusted alpha and beta power. Furthermore, we found that alpha power was strongly correlated with the age of patients but not with disease symptoms. The aperiodic intercept was lower in the parietal‒occipital region and was positively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score after accounting for age and sex. In the asymmetry analysis, alpha activity appeared asymmetrical only in the HC group, whereas aperiodic activity was symmetrical in both groups.
Conclusions: The findings of this study provide insights into the role of abnormal neural spiking activity and impaired neuroplasticity in MDD progression and suggest that the aperiodic intercept in resting-state EEG may be a potential biomarker of MDD.
{"title":"Individualized Spectral Features in First-episode and Drug-naïve Major Depressive Disorder: Insights from Periodic and Aperiodic EEG Analysis.","authors":"Jiaxin Li, Dongsheng Xiong, Chenyang Gao, Yuanyuan Huang, Zhaobo Li, Jing Zhou, Yuping Ning, Fengchun Wu, Kai Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The detection of abnormal brain activity plays an important role in the early diagnosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent studies have shown that the decomposition of the electroencephalography (EEG) spectrum into periodic and aperiodic components is useful for identifying the drivers of electrophysiologic abnormalities and avoiding individual differences.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study aimed to elucidate the pathologic changes in individualized periodic and aperiodic activities and their relationships with the symptoms of MDD. EEG data in the eyes-closed resting state were continuously recorded from 97 first-episode and drug-naïve patients with MDD and 90 healthy control (HC) participants. Both periodic oscillations and aperiodic components were obtained via the \"fitting oscillations and one-over f\" (FOOOF) algorithm and then used to compute individualized spectral features.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MDD patients presented higher canonical alpha and beta band power but lower aperiodic-adjusted alpha and beta power. Furthermore, we found that alpha power was strongly correlated with the age of patients but not with disease symptoms. The aperiodic intercept was lower in the parietal‒occipital region and was positively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score after accounting for age and sex. In the asymmetry analysis, alpha activity appeared asymmetrical only in the HC group, whereas aperiodic activity was symmetrical in both groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings of this study provide insights into the role of abnormal neural spiking activity and impaired neuroplasticity in MDD progression and suggest that the aperiodic intercept in resting-state EEG may be a potential biomarker of MDD.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142960150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.011
Aziz Elbasheir, Rachel Bond, Nathaniel G Harnett, Alfonsina Guelfo, Maya C Karkare, Travis M Fulton, Timothy D Ely, Timothy J McDermott, Ruth A Lanius, Vishwadeep Ahluwalia, Bekh Bradley, Greg J Siegle, Negar Fani
Background: Racial discrimination (RD) disrupts regulatory systems in minoritized individuals, particularly those that govern attention, including attention to visceral signals (interoception). RD frequency is linked to physiological "shut down" responses, characterized clinically by dissociation. We examined associations between RD frequency and functional connectivity of attention and interoceptive networks in sample of trauma-exposed Black women, investigating how connectivity alterations associate with dissociation severity.
Methods: Seventy-two Black women completed MRI scanning and dissociation measures as part of two trauma studies. RD was examined in relation to seed-to-voxel (seeds: bilateral amygdala and insula) functional connectivity in attentional control and interoceptive brain networks during performance of an affective Stroop task; we examined connectivity during viewing of threat-relevant vs neutral distractor images. Connectivity values were extracted from significant clusters and examined in association with dissociative symptoms. We also examined connectivity in association with PTSD symptoms for comparison analyses.
Results: During attention to threat-relevant affective Stroop trials, greater RD frequency was associated with lesser insula connectivity to several medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) clusters (FDR-corrected ps <.05). Insula-mPFC connectivity significantly and negatively associated with derealization symptoms (r = -.31, p = .009), but not PTSD (r = -.16, p = .182).
Discussion: RD frequency linked to lesser functional connectivity between the insula and mPFC, two interoceptive network nodes, during attention to threat, and diminished connectivity was linked to more severe dissociation. RD may interrupt interoceptive network functioning, and these network alterations may, in turn, influence mind-body disconnection, or physiological "shut down" response in Black individuals.
{"title":"Racial Discrimination-related Interoceptive Network Disruptions: A Pathway to Disconnection.","authors":"Aziz Elbasheir, Rachel Bond, Nathaniel G Harnett, Alfonsina Guelfo, Maya C Karkare, Travis M Fulton, Timothy D Ely, Timothy J McDermott, Ruth A Lanius, Vishwadeep Ahluwalia, Bekh Bradley, Greg J Siegle, Negar Fani","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Racial discrimination (RD) disrupts regulatory systems in minoritized individuals, particularly those that govern attention, including attention to visceral signals (interoception). RD frequency is linked to physiological \"shut down\" responses, characterized clinically by dissociation. We examined associations between RD frequency and functional connectivity of attention and interoceptive networks in sample of trauma-exposed Black women, investigating how connectivity alterations associate with dissociation severity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Seventy-two Black women completed MRI scanning and dissociation measures as part of two trauma studies. RD was examined in relation to seed-to-voxel (seeds: bilateral amygdala and insula) functional connectivity in attentional control and interoceptive brain networks during performance of an affective Stroop task; we examined connectivity during viewing of threat-relevant vs neutral distractor images. Connectivity values were extracted from significant clusters and examined in association with dissociative symptoms. We also examined connectivity in association with PTSD symptoms for comparison analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During attention to threat-relevant affective Stroop trials, greater RD frequency was associated with lesser insula connectivity to several medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) clusters (FDR-corrected ps <.05). Insula-mPFC connectivity significantly and negatively associated with derealization symptoms (r = -.31, p = .009), but not PTSD (r = -.16, p = .182).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>RD frequency linked to lesser functional connectivity between the insula and mPFC, two interoceptive network nodes, during attention to threat, and diminished connectivity was linked to more severe dissociation. RD may interrupt interoceptive network functioning, and these network alterations may, in turn, influence mind-body disconnection, or physiological \"shut down\" response in Black individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142904315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.010
Michal M Graczyk, Rudolf N Cardinal, Tsen Vei Lim, Salvatore Nigro, Elijah Mak, Karen D Ersche
Background: A preference for sooner-smaller over later-larger rewards, known as delay discounting, is a candidate transdiagnostic marker of waiting impulsivity and a research domain criterion. While abnormal discounting rates have been associated with many psychiatric diagnoses and abnormal brain structure, the underlying neuropsychological processes remain largely unknown. Here, we deconstruct delay discounting into choice and rate processes by testing different computational models and investigate their associations with white matter tracts.
Methods: Patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD, n=107) and healthy participants (n=81) completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire. We computed their discounting rate using the well-known Kirby method, plus logistic regression, single-subject and full hierarchical Bayesian models. In Bayesian models, we additionally included a choice sharpness parameter. Seventy CUD patients and 69 healthy participants also underwent diffusion tensor imaging tractography to quantify streamlines connecting the executive control and valuation brain networks.
Results: CUD patients showed significantly higher discounting rates, and lower choice sharpness, suggesting greater indifference in their choices. Importantly, the full Bayesian model had the greatest reliability for parameter recovery compared with Kirby and logistic regression methods. Using Bayesian estimates, we found that white matter streamlines connecting executive control network with the nucleus accumbens predicted discounting rate in healthy participants, but not in CUD patients.
Conclusions: We demonstrate that measuring delay discounting and choice sharpness directly with a novel computational model explains impulsive choices in CUD patients better than standard hyperbolic discounting. Our findings highlight a distinct neuropsychological phenotype of impulsive discounting, which may be generalizable to other patient groups.
{"title":"Deconstructing delay discounting in human cocaine addiction using computational modelling and neuroimaging.","authors":"Michal M Graczyk, Rudolf N Cardinal, Tsen Vei Lim, Salvatore Nigro, Elijah Mak, Karen D Ersche","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>A preference for sooner-smaller over later-larger rewards, known as delay discounting, is a candidate transdiagnostic marker of waiting impulsivity and a research domain criterion. While abnormal discounting rates have been associated with many psychiatric diagnoses and abnormal brain structure, the underlying neuropsychological processes remain largely unknown. Here, we deconstruct delay discounting into choice and rate processes by testing different computational models and investigate their associations with white matter tracts.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD, n=107) and healthy participants (n=81) completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire. We computed their discounting rate using the well-known Kirby method, plus logistic regression, single-subject and full hierarchical Bayesian models. In Bayesian models, we additionally included a choice sharpness parameter. Seventy CUD patients and 69 healthy participants also underwent diffusion tensor imaging tractography to quantify streamlines connecting the executive control and valuation brain networks.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>CUD patients showed significantly higher discounting rates, and lower choice sharpness, suggesting greater indifference in their choices. Importantly, the full Bayesian model had the greatest reliability for parameter recovery compared with Kirby and logistic regression methods. Using Bayesian estimates, we found that white matter streamlines connecting executive control network with the nucleus accumbens predicted discounting rate in healthy participants, but not in CUD patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We demonstrate that measuring delay discounting and choice sharpness directly with a novel computational model explains impulsive choices in CUD patients better than standard hyperbolic discounting. Our findings highlight a distinct neuropsychological phenotype of impulsive discounting, which may be generalizable to other patient groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-24DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.008
Gyujoon Hwang, Nutta-On P Blair, B Douglas Ward, Timothy L McAuliffe, Stacy A Claesges, Abigail R Webber, Keri R Hainsworth, Yang Wang, Charles F Reynolds, Elliot A Stein, Joseph S Goveas
Background: Prolonged Grief Disorder is a multidimensional condition with adverse health consequences. We hypothesized that enhanced negative emotional bias characterizes this disorder and underlies its key clinical symptoms.
Methods: In a cross-sectional design, chronically grieving older adults (61.5±8.9 years old) experiencing probable Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD; n=33) were compared with demographic- and time since loss-equated integrated (adaptive) grief participants (n=38). To probe generalized negative affective reactivity, participants performed an emotional face-matching task during fMRI scanning, and demographic and clinical assessments. Contrast maps (fearful + angry faces (-) shapes) were generated to determine group differences in brain activity within hypothesized affective and regulatory processing regions (amygdala, anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and in exploratory whole-brain regression analyses.
Results: The PGD group showed higher right amygdala activation to negative emotional stimuli, compared to the integrated grief group (pcorr<0.05), which positively correlated with intrusive thoughts. Generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed lower task-dependent functional connectivity between the right amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus in PGD (pcorr<0.05), which negatively correlated with avoidance of loss reminders. Resting-state functional connectivity between the identified right amygdala and thalamus was higher in PGD (pcorr<0.05), which negatively correlated with loneliness.
Conclusions: Dysregulated amygdala-centric neural activity and functional connectivity during processing of negative affective stimuli and at rest appear to differentiate prolonged from integrated grief in older adults. Future investigations using interventions to target amygdala-centric neural circuit abnormalities may provide new insights into the role of enhanced negative bias and related mechanisms underlying PGD and support treatment efficacy.
{"title":"Amygdala-centered emotional processing in Prolonged Grief Disorder: Relationship with clinical symptomatology.","authors":"Gyujoon Hwang, Nutta-On P Blair, B Douglas Ward, Timothy L McAuliffe, Stacy A Claesges, Abigail R Webber, Keri R Hainsworth, Yang Wang, Charles F Reynolds, Elliot A Stein, Joseph S Goveas","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prolonged Grief Disorder is a multidimensional condition with adverse health consequences. We hypothesized that enhanced negative emotional bias characterizes this disorder and underlies its key clinical symptoms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In a cross-sectional design, chronically grieving older adults (61.5±8.9 years old) experiencing probable Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD; n=33) were compared with demographic- and time since loss-equated integrated (adaptive) grief participants (n=38). To probe generalized negative affective reactivity, participants performed an emotional face-matching task during fMRI scanning, and demographic and clinical assessments. Contrast maps (fearful + angry faces (-) shapes) were generated to determine group differences in brain activity within hypothesized affective and regulatory processing regions (amygdala, anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and in exploratory whole-brain regression analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PGD group showed higher right amygdala activation to negative emotional stimuli, compared to the integrated grief group (p<sub>corr</sub><0.05), which positively correlated with intrusive thoughts. Generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed lower task-dependent functional connectivity between the right amygdala and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus in PGD (p<sub>corr</sub><0.05), which negatively correlated with avoidance of loss reminders. Resting-state functional connectivity between the identified right amygdala and thalamus was higher in PGD (p<sub>corr</sub><0.05), which negatively correlated with loneliness.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Dysregulated amygdala-centric neural activity and functional connectivity during processing of negative affective stimuli and at rest appear to differentiate prolonged from integrated grief in older adults. Future investigations using interventions to target amygdala-centric neural circuit abnormalities may provide new insights into the role of enhanced negative bias and related mechanisms underlying PGD and support treatment efficacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.006
Santiago Castiello, Rosa Rossi-Goldthorpe, Siyan Fan, Joshua Kenney, James A Waltz, Molly Erickson, Sonia Bansal, James M Gold, Philip R Corlett
Background: Phenomenological psychopathologists have recently highlighted how people with delusions experience multiple realities (delusional and non-delusional) and have suggested this double bookkeeping cannot be explained via predictive processing. Here, we present data from Kamin blocking and extinction learning that show how predictive processing might, in principle, explain a pervasive sense of dual reality.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved three participant groups: patients with schizophrenia (SZ; n=42), healthy participants with elevated esoteric beliefs (EEB; clairaudient psychics; n=31), and heathy controls (with neither illness nor significant delusional ideation, n=62). We examined belief formation using a Kamin blocking causal learning task with extinction, and delusions with the 40-item Peters Delusion Inventory, specifically the unreality item: "Do things around you ever feel unreal, as though it was all part of an experiment?" as a proxy for unreality experiences and beliefs. A clinician also assessed symptoms with a structured clinical interview.
Results: Some people with schizophrenia did not report a sense of unreality, and some people with EEB (but no psychotic illness) reported unreality experiences. No HC endorsed them (despite endorsing other delusion-like beliefs). Unreality experiences in clinical delusions and non-clinical delusion-like beliefs were associated with different types of aberrant prediction error processing.
Conclusions: These data suggest how predictive processing might explain the sense of unreality. They indicate that different prediction error dysfunctions are associated with delusions with different contents. In this case we have used predictive processing to address a salient issue raised by phenomenological colleagues, namely the impact of psychosis on experiences of and beliefs about reality.
{"title":"Delusional Unreality and Predictive Processing.","authors":"Santiago Castiello, Rosa Rossi-Goldthorpe, Siyan Fan, Joshua Kenney, James A Waltz, Molly Erickson, Sonia Bansal, James M Gold, Philip R Corlett","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Phenomenological psychopathologists have recently highlighted how people with delusions experience multiple realities (delusional and non-delusional) and have suggested this double bookkeeping cannot be explained via predictive processing. Here, we present data from Kamin blocking and extinction learning that show how predictive processing might, in principle, explain a pervasive sense of dual reality.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study involved three participant groups: patients with schizophrenia (SZ; n=42), healthy participants with elevated esoteric beliefs (EEB; clairaudient psychics; n=31), and heathy controls (with neither illness nor significant delusional ideation, n=62). We examined belief formation using a Kamin blocking causal learning task with extinction, and delusions with the 40-item Peters Delusion Inventory, specifically the unreality item: \"Do things around you ever feel unreal, as though it was all part of an experiment?\" as a proxy for unreality experiences and beliefs. A clinician also assessed symptoms with a structured clinical interview.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Some people with schizophrenia did not report a sense of unreality, and some people with EEB (but no psychotic illness) reported unreality experiences. No HC endorsed them (despite endorsing other delusion-like beliefs). Unreality experiences in clinical delusions and non-clinical delusion-like beliefs were associated with different types of aberrant prediction error processing.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These data suggest how predictive processing might explain the sense of unreality. They indicate that different prediction error dysfunctions are associated with delusions with different contents. In this case we have used predictive processing to address a salient issue raised by phenomenological colleagues, namely the impact of psychosis on experiences of and beliefs about reality.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142878938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.005
Brian Lord, John Jb Allen, Shinzen Young, Jay Sanguinetti
Mindfulness has gained widespread recognition for its benefits to mental health, cognitive performance, and wellbeing. However, the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, encompassing elements like attentional focus, emotional regulation, and present-moment awareness, complicates its definition and measurement. A key component that may underlie its broad benefits is equanimity - the ability to maintain an open and non-reactive attitude toward all sensory experiences. Empirical research suggests that mindfulness works through a combination of top-down attentional control and bottom-up sensory and emotional processes, and that equanimity's role in regulating those bottom-up processes drives the psychological and physiological benefits, making it a promising target for both theoretical and practical exploration. Given these findings, the development of interventions that specifically augment equanimity could improve the impact of mindfulness practices. Research into non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) suggests that it is a potential tool for altering neural circuits involved in mindfulness. However, most NIBS studies to date have focused on improving cognitive control systems, leaving equanimity relatively unexplored. Preliminary findings from focused ultrasound interventions targeting the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) suggest that NIBS can directly facilitate equanimity by inhibiting self-referential processing in the default mode network (DMN) to promote a more present-centered state of awareness. Future research should prioritize the integration of NIBS with well-defined mindfulness training protocols, focusing on equanimity as a core target. This approach could provide a novel framework for advancing both contemplative neuroscience and clinical applications, offering new insights into the mechanisms of mindfulness and refining NIBS methodologies to support individualized, precision wellness interventions.
{"title":"Enhancing Equanimity with Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation: A Novel Framework for Mindfulness Interventions.","authors":"Brian Lord, John Jb Allen, Shinzen Young, Jay Sanguinetti","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mindfulness has gained widespread recognition for its benefits to mental health, cognitive performance, and wellbeing. However, the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, encompassing elements like attentional focus, emotional regulation, and present-moment awareness, complicates its definition and measurement. A key component that may underlie its broad benefits is equanimity - the ability to maintain an open and non-reactive attitude toward all sensory experiences. Empirical research suggests that mindfulness works through a combination of top-down attentional control and bottom-up sensory and emotional processes, and that equanimity's role in regulating those bottom-up processes drives the psychological and physiological benefits, making it a promising target for both theoretical and practical exploration. Given these findings, the development of interventions that specifically augment equanimity could improve the impact of mindfulness practices. Research into non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) suggests that it is a potential tool for altering neural circuits involved in mindfulness. However, most NIBS studies to date have focused on improving cognitive control systems, leaving equanimity relatively unexplored. Preliminary findings from focused ultrasound interventions targeting the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) suggest that NIBS can directly facilitate equanimity by inhibiting self-referential processing in the default mode network (DMN) to promote a more present-centered state of awareness. Future research should prioritize the integration of NIBS with well-defined mindfulness training protocols, focusing on equanimity as a core target. This approach could provide a novel framework for advancing both contemplative neuroscience and clinical applications, offering new insights into the mechanisms of mindfulness and refining NIBS methodologies to support individualized, precision wellness interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142873766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}