Parsing the neural correlates of anxious apprehension and anxious arousal in the grey-matter of healthy youth

Abstract Background Sex-related differences in psychopathology are known phenomena, with externalizing and internalizing symptoms typically more common in boys and girls, respectively. However, the neural correlates of these sex-by-psychopathology interactions are underinvestigated, particularly in adolescence. Methods Participants were 14 years of age and part of the IMAGEN study, a large (N = 1526) community-based sample. To test for sex-by-psychopathology interactions in structural grey matter volume (GMV), we used whole-brain, voxel-wise neuroimaging analyses based on robust non-parametric methods. Psychopathological symptom data were derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results We found a sex-by-hyperactivity/inattention interaction in four brain clusters: right temporoparietal-opercular region (p < 0.01, Cohen's d = −0.24), bilateral anterior and mid-cingulum (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.18), right cerebellum and fusiform (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.20) and left frontal superior and middle gyri (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = −0.26). Higher symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention were associated with lower GMV in all four brain clusters in boys, and with higher GMV in the temporoparietal-opercular and cerebellar-fusiform clusters in girls. Conclusions Using a large, sex-balanced and community-based sample, our study lends support to the idea that externalizing symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention may be associated with different neural structures in male and female adolescents. The brain regions we report have been associated with a myriad of important cognitive functions, in particular, attention, cognitive and motor control, and timing, that are potentially relevant to understand the behavioural manifestations of hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. This study highlights the importance of considering sex in our efforts to uncover mechanisms underlying psychopathology during adolescence.

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The neurodevelopmental trajectory of Borderline Personality Disorder: a review

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27414v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Siobhan R Edinboro ◽

Tobias Nolte ◽

Iris Vilares

Keyword(s):

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Brain Function ◽

Emotion Dysregulation ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Adult Onset ◽

Neurodevelopmental Model

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complex psychological condition characterised by affective instability, cognitive impairment, problematic behaviours and social dysfunction. Due to the variability in symptomatic profiles, efforts have recently been directed towards comprehending the disorder from a neurological standpoint within the aforementioned domains. Although adolescent-onset BPD is now reliably diagnosed as the adult-onset variant, a limited number of studies address the neural correlates of first presentation BPD. Moreover, research investigating the outcomes of therapeutic interventions on brain function and morphology is scarce. Preliminary findings consistently cite the involvement of grey matter deficiencies of the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala in the neuropathology of BPD. Additionally, frontolimbic white matter deficits are thought to be implicated. Functionally, over-activity in limbic regions such as the cingulate cortices and amygdala are believed to partially account for emotion dysregulation, though the neural correlates of cognitive, social and behavioural impairments are relatively poorly understood. The present review will endeavour to evaluate the existing neurobiological evidence for BPD in adolescence as well as adulthood. Finally, a rudimentary neurodevelopmental model of BPD will be proposed.

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Neural correlates of orbital telorism

10.1101/2021.01.07.425611 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mikolaj A Pawlak ◽

Maria J Knol ◽

Meike W Vernoiij ◽

Mohammad Arfan Ikram ◽

Hieab Adams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Developmental Disorders ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Population Based ◽

P Value ◽

Magnetic Reso ◽

The Brain ◽

Made In

Orbital telorism, the interocular distance, is a clinically informative and in extremes is considered a mi-nor physical anomaly. While its extremes, hypo- and hypertelorism, have been linked to disorders often related to cognitive ability, little is known about the neural correlates of normal variation of telorism within the general population. We derived measures of orbital telorism from cranial magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI) by calculating the distance between the eyeball center of gravity in two population-based datasets (N=5,653, N=29,824, Mean age 64.66, 63.75 years). This measure was found to be related grey matter tissue density within numerous regions of the brain, including, but surprisingly not limited to, the frontal regions, in both positive and negative directions. Additionally, telorism was related to several cognitive functions, such as Perdue Pegboard test (Beta, P-value, (CI95%) -0.02, 1.63x10-7(-0.03;-0.01)) and fluid intelligence (0.02, 4.75x10-06 (0.01:0.02)), with some relationships driven by individuals with a smaller orbital telorism. This is reflective of the higher prevalence of hypo-telorism in developmental disorders, specifically those that are lower functioning. This study suggests, despite previous links only made in clinical extremes, that orbital telorism holds some relation to structural brain development and cognitive function in the general population. This relationship is likely driven by shared developmental periods.

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Contrasting patterns of brain activity in anxious apprehension and anxious arousal

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/1469-8986.3650628 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 628-637 ◽

Cited By ~ 146

Author(s):

Jack B. Nitschke ◽

Wendy Heller ◽

Patrick A. Palmieri ◽

Gregory A. Miller

Keyword(s):

Brain Activity ◽

Anxious Arousal ◽

Anxious Apprehension

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Frequency and neural correlates related to psychosis in motor neurone disease

10.1101/2021.03.31.21253701 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alicia Wilcox ◽

James Rowe ◽

P Simon Jones ◽

Rhys Clwyd Roberts

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Motor Neurone ◽

Motor Neurone Disease ◽

Tier 2 ◽

Tier 1 ◽

Tiered System ◽

Tier 3

Psychosis is a challenging feature of the syndromes motor neurone disease (MND), frontotemporal dementia and their overlap. Clinically evident psychosis affects 5-10% of patients, and more in those with C9orf72 expansions. However, subthreshold psychosis features may be overlooked in the context of overriding concern for physical impairment. This prospective study aimed to establish the prevalence and severity of psychosis features in a population-representative sample of MND, and to identify the neural correlates of psychosis by structural magnetic resonance imaging. A three-tiered system was applied to recruit people with MND, with cognitive and psychosis screening (Tier 1: N=111 with the Edinburgh ALS Cognitive and Behavioural Screen), in-depth neuropsychiatric assessment (Tier 2: N=60) and imaging (Tier 3: N=30). Age, education and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited to Tier 2 (N=30) and Tier 3 (N=20). Overt psychosis was identified in 10% of the Tier 1 cohort, whilst 46% showed milder and diverse neuropsychiatric change. Grey matter correlates of psychosis included atrophy of the cingulate cortex and the hippocampus. White matter correlates included compromised integrity along frontotemporal and temporal-parietal association pathways, especially those connecting the anterior temporal lobe. These grey and white matter changes in MND represent vulnerability to psychosis and are qualitatively similar to volumetric and white matter abnormalities observed in other primary psychotic disorders. Neuropsychiatric features are common, even though overt psychosis is identified in a minority of people with motor neurone disease.

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Resting-state functional connectivity differentiates anxious apprehension and anxious arousal

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/psyp.12696 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 53 (10) ◽

pp. 1451-1459 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Erin N. Burdwood ◽

Zachary P. Infantolino ◽

Laura D. Crocker ◽

Jeffrey M. Spielberg ◽

Marie T. Banich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Resting State ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Anxious Arousal ◽

Anxious Apprehension

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The neurodevelopmental trajectory of Borderline Personality Disorder: a review

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27414 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Siobhan R Edinboro ◽

Tobias Nolte ◽

Iris Vilares

Keyword(s):

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Brain Function ◽

Emotion Dysregulation ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Adult Onset ◽

Neurodevelopmental Model

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complex psychological condition characterised by affective instability, cognitive impairment, problematic behaviours and social dysfunction. Due to the variability in symptomatic profiles, efforts have recently been directed towards comprehending the disorder from a neurological standpoint within the aforementioned domains. Although adolescent-onset BPD is now reliably diagnosed as the adult-onset variant, a limited number of studies address the neural correlates of first presentation BPD. Moreover, research investigating the outcomes of therapeutic interventions on brain function and morphology is scarce. Preliminary findings consistently cite the involvement of grey matter deficiencies of the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala in the neuropathology of BPD. Additionally, frontolimbic white matter deficits are thought to be implicated. Functionally, over-activity in limbic regions such as the cingulate cortices and amygdala are believed to partially account for emotion dysregulation, though the neural correlates of cognitive, social and behavioural impairments are relatively poorly understood. The present review will endeavour to evaluate the existing neurobiological evidence for BPD in adolescence as well as adulthood. Finally, a rudimentary neurodevelopmental model of BPD will be proposed.

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Prefrontal white matter – the tissue of lies?

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.187.4.326 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 187 (4) ◽

pp. 326-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sean A. Spence

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Los Angeles ◽

Grey Matter ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Temporary Employment ◽

White Matter Volume ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Neuroimaging Study ◽

Normal Controls

Yang et al (2005, this issue) report what is probably the first structural neuroimaging study of lying. Adults were recruited from temporary employment agencies in Los Angeles. This will have been a complex and demanding study to perform; it has already yielded significant insights into the neural correlates of antisocial personalities drawn from that environment, indicating reduced prefrontal grey matter and diminished autonomic responsiveness (Raine et al, 2000). The current findings derive from a re-analysis of these data, themselves obtained from reliable blinded measurement of prefrontal white matter by magnetic resonance imaging. The groups were imperfectly matched on some variables (e.g. age), nevertheless, this did not detract significantly from the authors' findings: namely, greater prefrontal white matter volume among those identified as ‘liars' (relative to ‘antisocial’ and ‘normal’ controls).

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