scholarly journals Neurobiobehavioral responses to virtual social rejection in females—exploring the influence of oxytocin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Radke ◽  
Kathrin Jankowiak ◽  
Sanne Tops ◽  
Ted Abel ◽  
Ute Habel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Women ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Social Rejection ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Strong Resemblance ◽  
Physiological Reactions ◽  
Willingness To Cooperate

Abstract In recent years, especially adolescents and young adults interact frequently via social media and digital communication. Mimicking an online communication platform where participants could initiate short conversations with two computerized interlocutors, the Verbal Interaction Social Threat Task (VISTTA) was used to induce feelings of social rejection. Motivational and physiological reactions were investigated in 43 healthy young women undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), of which 22 received 24 international units (IU) intranasal oxytocin and 21 received placebo. Replicating previous findings, social rejection entailed a lower willingness to cooperate with the two peers. Increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula/inferior frontal gyrus was observed when receiving negative feedback from others, and in the precuneus when subsequently rating one’s willingness to cooperate with them in the future. Oxytocin did not seem to alter responses to social rejection. The current findings provide validation of the VISTTA for examining consequences of rejection in a virtual social interaction that bears a strong resemblance to online communication platforms.

scholarly journals The role of the mesolimbic dopamine system in the formation of blood-oxygen-level dependent responses in the medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex during high-frequency stimulation of the rat perforant pathway

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 2177-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Helbing ◽  
Marta Brocka ◽  
Thomas Scherf ◽  
Michael T Lippert ◽  
Frank Angenstein
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Blood Oxygen ◽  
Oxygen Level ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level

Several human functional magnetic resonance imaging studies point to an activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system during reward, addiction and learning. We previously found activation of the mesolimbic system in response to continuous but not to discontinuous perforant pathway stimulation in an experimental model that we now used to investigate the role of dopamine release for the formation of functional magnetic resonance imaging responses. The two stimulation protocols elicited blood-oxygen-level dependent responses in the medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens. Inhibition of dopamine D1/5 receptors abolished the formation of functional magnetic resonance imaging responses in the medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex during continuous but not during discontinuous pulse stimulations, i.e. only when the mesolimbic system was activated. Direct electrical or optogenetic stimulation of the ventral tegmental area caused strong dopamine release but only electrical stimulation triggered significant blood-oxygen level-dependent responses in the medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens. These functional magnetic resonance imaging responses were not affected by the D1/5 receptor antagonist SCH23390 but reduced by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist MK801. Therefore, glutamatergic ventral tegmental area neurons are already sufficient to trigger blood-oxygen-level dependent responses in the medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens. Although dopamine release alone does not affect blood-oxygen-level dependent responses it can act as a switch, permitting the formation of blood-oxygen-level dependent responses.

Investigating the Neural Correlates of the Affect Heuristic Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Kenny Skagerlund ◽  
Mikael Skagenholt ◽  
Paul J. Hamilton ◽  
Paul Slovic ◽  
Daniel Västfjäll
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Affect Heuristic ◽  
Medial Frontal Gyrus

Abstract This study investigated the neural correlates of the so-called “affect heuristic,” which refers to the phenomenon whereby individuals tend to rely on affective states rather than rational deliberation of utility and probabilities during judgments of risk and utility of a given event or scenario. The study sought to explore whether there are shared regional activations during both judgments of relative risk and relative benefit of various scenarios, thus being a potential candidate of the affect heuristic. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we developed a novel risk perception task, based on a preexisting behavioral task assessing the affect heuristic. A whole-brain voxel-wise analysis of a sample of participants (n = 42) during the risk and benefit conditions revealed overlapping clusters in the left insula, left inferior frontal gyrus, and left medial frontal gyrus across conditions. Extraction of parameter estimates of these clusters revealed that activity of these regions during both tasks was inversely correlated with a behavioral measure assessing the inclination to use the affect heuristic. More activity in these areas during risk judgments reflect individuals' ability to disregard momentary affective impulses. The insula may be involved in integrating viscero-somatosensory information and forming a representation of the current emotional state of the body, whereas activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus and medial frontal gyrus indicates that executive processes may be involved in inhibiting the impulse of making judgments in favor of deliberate risk evaluations.

Examination of processing speed deficits in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
HELEN M. GENOVA ◽  
FRANK G. HILLARY ◽  
GLENN WYLIE ◽  
BART RYPMA ◽  
JOHN DELUCA
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Group Processing

AbstractAlthough it is known that processing speed deficits are one of the primary cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS), the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for impaired processing speed remain undetermined. Using BOLD functional magnetic resonance imaging, the current study compared the brain activity of 16 individuals with MS to 17 healthy controls (HCs) during performance of a processing speed task, a modified version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Task. Although there were no differences in performance accuracy, the MS group was significantly slower than HCs. Although both groups showed similar activation involving the precentral gyrus and occipital cortex, the MS showed significantly less cerebral activity than HCs in bilateral frontal and parietal regions, similar to what has been reported in aging samples during speeded tasks. In the HC group, processing speed was mediated by frontal and parietal regions, as well as the cerebellum and thalamus. In the MS group, processing speed was mediated by insula, thalamus and anterior cingulate. It therefore appears that neural networks involved in processing speed differ between MS and HCs, and our findings are similar to what has been reported in aging, where damage to both white and gray matter is linked to processing speed impairments (JINS, 2009, 15, 383–393).

scholarly journals Effect of Subanesthetic Ketamine on Intrinsic Functional Brain Connectivity

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 868-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke Niesters ◽  
Najmeh Khalili-Mahani ◽  
Christian Martini ◽  
Leon Aarts ◽  
Joop van Gerven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

Background The influence of psychoactive drugs on the central nervous system has been investigated with positron emission tomography and task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. However, it is not known how these drugs affect the intrinsic large-scale interactions of the brain (resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity). In this study, the effect of low-dose S(+)-ketamine on intrinsic brain connectivity was investigated. Methods Twelve healthy, male volunteers received a 2-h intravenous S(+)-ketamine infusion (first hour 20 mg/70 kg, second hour 40 mg/70 kg). Before, during, and after S(+)-ketamine administration, resting-state brain connectivity was measured. In addition, heat pain tests were performed between imaging sessions to determine ketamine-induced analgesia. A mixed-effects general linear model was used to determine drug and pain effects on resting-state brain connectivity. Results Ketamine increased the connectivity most importantly in the cerebellum and visual cortex in relation to the medial visual network. A decrease in connectivity was observed in the auditory and somatosensory network in relation to regions responsible for pain sensing and the affective processing of pain, which included the amygdala, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex. Connectivity variations related to fluctuations in pain scores were observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and the brainstem, regions involved in descending inhibition of pain. Conclusions Changes in connectivity were observed in the areas that explain ketamine's pharmacodynamic profile with respect to analgesia and psychedelic and other side effects. In addition, pain and ketamine changed brain connectivity in areas involved in endogenous pain modulation.

scholarly journals How Do We Empathize with Someone Who Is Not Like Us? A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Lamm ◽  
Andrew N. Meltzoff ◽  
Jean Decety
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Affective Processing ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Affective Stimuli

Previous research on the neural underpinnings of empathy has been limited to affective situations experienced in a similar way by an observer and a target individual. In daily life we also interact with people whose responses to affective stimuli can be very different from our own. How do we understand the affective states of these individuals? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess how participants empathize with the feelings of patients who reacted with no pain to surgical procedures but with pain to a soft touch. Empathy for pain of these patients activated the same areas (insula, medial/anterior cingulate cortex) as empathy for persons who responded to painful stimuli in the same way as the observer. Empathy in a situation that was aversive only for the observer but neutral for the patient recruited areas involved in self–other distinction (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) and cognitive control (right inferior frontal cortex). In addition, effective connectivity between the latter and areas implicated in affective processing was enhanced. This suggests that inferring the affective state of someone who is not like us can rely upon the same neural structures as empathy for someone who is similar to us. When strong emotional response tendencies exist though, these tendencies have to be overcome by executive functions. Our results demonstrate that the fronto-cortical attention network is crucially involved in this process, corroborating that empathy is a flexible phenomenon which involves both automatic and controlled cognitive mechanisms. Our findings have important implications for the understanding and promotion of empathy, demonstrating that regulation of one's egocentric perspective is crucial for understanding others.

Neuroanatomical Evidence for Distinct Cognitive and Affective Components of Self

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1586-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Moran ◽  
C. N. Macrae ◽  
T. F. Heatherton ◽  
C. L. Wyland ◽  
W. M. Kelley
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Personal Relevance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
Affective Components

This study examines whether the cognitive and affective components of self-reflection can be dissociated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Using a simple paradigm in which subjects judged the personal relevance of personality characteristics that were either favorable (e.g., “honest”) or unfavorable (e.g., “lazy”, we found that distinct neural circuits in adjacent regions of the prefrontal cortex subserve cognitive and emotional aspects of self-reflection. The medial prefrontal cortex responded only to material that was self-descriptive, and this did not differ as a function of the valence of the trait. When material was judged to be self-relevant, the valence of the material was resolved in an adjacent region of ventral anterior cingulate. The nature of self is one of the most enduring questions in science, and researchers are now beginning to be able to decompose the neural operations that give rise to a unitary sense of self.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study on the Predictive Value of Different Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Parameters in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Min Wang ◽  
Nak-Young Kim ◽  
Dong Woo Kang ◽  
Yoo Hyun Um ◽  
Hae-Ran Na ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Roc Curve ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

Objective: Diverse resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies showed that rs-fMRI might be able to reflect the earliest detrimental effect of cerebral beta-amyloid (Aβ) pathology. However, no previous studies specifically compared the predictive value of different rs-fMRI parameters in preclinical AD.Methods: A total of 106 cognitively normal adults (Aβ+ group = 66 and Aβ− group = 40) were included. Three different rs-fMRI parameter maps including functional connectivity (FC), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were utilized to compare classification performance of the three rs-fMRI parameters.Results: FC maps showed the best classifying performance in ROC curve analysis (AUC, 0.915, p < 0.001). Good but weaker performance was achieved by using ReHo maps (AUC, 0.836, p < 0.001) and fALFF maps (AUC, 0.804, p < 0.001). The brain regions showing the greatest discriminative power included the left angular gyrus for FC, left anterior cingulate for ReHo, and left middle frontal gyrus for fALFF. However, among the three measurements, ROI-based FC was the only measure showing group difference in voxel-wise analysis.Conclusion: Our results strengthen the idea that rs-fMRI might be sensitive to earlier changes in spontaneous brain activity and FC in response to cerebral Aβ retention. However, further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm their utility in predicting the risk of AD.

scholarly journals Alterations in Functional Connectivity Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Relationship With Heart Rate Variability in Subjects After Performing Orgasmic Meditation: An Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Newberg ◽  
Nancy A. Wintering ◽  
Chloe Hriso ◽  
Faezeh Vedaei ◽  
Marie Stoner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Neutral Condition ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Meditation Practice ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

Background: We measured changes in resting brain functional connectivity, with blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), associated with a creative meditation practice that is augmented by clitoral stimulation and is designed to not only achieve a spiritual experience but to help individuals manage their most intimate personal relationships. Briefly, the meditative state is attained by both the male and female participants while the male stimulates the woman’s clitoris. The goal of this practice, called orgasmic meditation (OM), according to the practitioners is not sexual, but to use the focus on clitoral stimulation to facilitate a meditative state of connectedness and calm alertness between the two participants.Methods: fMRI was acquired on 20 pairs of subjects shortly following one of two states that were randomized in their order – during the OM practice or during a neutral condition. The practice is performed while the female is lying down on pillows with the clitoris exposed. During the practice, the male performs digital stimulation of the clitoris for 15 min. Resting BOLD image acquisition was performed at completion of the practice to assess changes in functional connectivity associated with the performance of the practice.Results: The results demonstrated significant changes (p < 0.05) in functional connectivity associated with the OM compared to the neutral condition. For the entire group there was altered connectivity following the OM practice involving the left superior temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, anterior cingulate, and insula. In female subjects, there was altered connectivity involving the cerebellum, thalamus, inferior frontal lobe posterior parietal lobe, angular gyrus, amygdala and middle temporal gyrus, and prefrontal cortex. In males, functional connectivity changes involved the supramarginal gyrus, cerebellum, and orbitofrontal gyrus, cerebellum, parahippocampus, inferior temporal gyrus, and anterior cingulate.Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest a complex pattern of functional connectivity changes occurring in both members of the couple pair that result from this unique meditation practice. The changes represent a hybrid of functional connectivity findings with some similarities to meditation based practices and some with sexual stimulation and orgasm. This study has broader implications for understanding the dynamic relationship between sexuality and spirituality.

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