scholarly journals Distributed and multifaceted effects of threat and safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Morrow ◽  
Dinavahi V P S Murty ◽  
Jongwan Kim ◽  
Songtao Song ◽  
Kesong Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Study ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Aversive Events ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Anticipatory Processing ◽  
Small Set ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Sustained anticipation of unpredictable aversive events generates anticipatory processing that is central to anxiety. In the present functional Magnetic Resonance Study (fMRI) study, we examined how sustained threat is processed in the human brain. We used a relatively large sample (N = 109) and employed a Bayesian multilevel analysis approach to contrast threat and safe periods. Our analyses demonstrated that the effect of sustained threat is heterogeneous and distributed across the brain. Thus, the impact of threat is widespread, and not restricted to a small set of putatively emotion-related regions, such as the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Both transient and sustained, and increased and decreased responses during threat were observed. Our study reveals that transitioning between threat and safe states, and vice versa, leads to a widespread switch in brain responding that involves most of the brain.

Transsexualism

2011 ◽  
pp. 1463-1468
Author(s):  
Louis J. G. Gooren
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
External Genitalia ◽  
The Other ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Psychological Phenomenon ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Male To Female ◽  
The Brain

Transsexualism is the condition in which a person with apparently normal somatic sexual differentiation is convinced that he/she is actually a member of the opposite sex. It is associated with an irresistible urge to be hormonally and surgically adapted to that sex. Traditionally transsexualism has been conceptualized as a purely psychological phenomenon, but research on the brains of male-to-female transsexuals has found that the sexual differentiation of the brain—the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTC) and the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus—had followed a female pattern (1). This finding may lead to a concept of transsexualism as a form of intersex, where the sexual differentiation of the brain (which in mammals also undergoes sexual differentiation) is not consistent with the other variables of sex, such as chromosomal pattern, nature of the gonad and nature of internal/external genitalia. Thus it can be argued that transsexualism is a sexual differentiation disorder.

scholarly journals Timing of Impulses From the Central Amygdala and Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis to the Brain Stem

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (6) ◽  
pp. 3429-3436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Z. Nagy ◽  
Denis Paré
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stem ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Central Amygdala ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Antidromic Responses ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Antidromic Response ◽  
Shed Light

The amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are thought to subserve distinct functions, with the former mediating rapid fear responses to discrete sensory cues and the latter longer “anxiety-like” states in response to diffuse environmental contingencies. However, these structures are reciprocally connected and their projection sites overlap extensively. To shed light on the significance of BNST–amygdala connections, we compared the antidromic response latencies of BNST and central amygdala (CE) neurons to brain stem stimulation. Whereas the frequency distribution of latencies was unimodal in BNST neurons (∼10-ms mode), that of CE neurons was bimodal (∼10- and ∼30-ms modes). However, after stria terminalis (ST) lesions, only short-latency antidromic responses were observed, suggesting that CE axons with long conduction times course through the ST. Compared with the direct route, the ST greatly lengthens the path of CE axons to the brain stem, an apparently disadvantageous arrangement. Because BNST and CE share major excitatory basolateral amygdala (BL) inputs, lengthening the path of CE axons might allow synchronization of BNST and CE impulses to brain stem when activated by BL. To test this, we applied electrical BL stimuli and compared orthodromic response latencies in CE and BNST neurons. The latency difference between CE and BNST neurons to BL stimuli approximated that seen between the antidromic responses of BNST cells and CE neurons with long conduction times. These results point to a hitherto unsuspected level of temporal coordination between the inputs and outputs of CE and BNST neurons, supporting the idea of shared functions.

scholarly journals Trust in information, political identity and the brain: an interdisciplinary fMRI study

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1822) ◽  
pp. 20200140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Moore ◽  
Sujin Hong ◽  
Laura Cram
Keyword(s):  
Political Identity ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Motivated Cognition ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Misinformation has triggered government inquiries and threatens the perceived legitimacy of campaign processes and electoral outcomes. A new identity polarization has arisen between Remain and Leave sympathizers in the UK Brexit debate, with associated accusations of misinformation use. Competing psychological accounts of how people come to accept and defend misinformation pit self-reinforcing motivated cognition against lack of systematic reasoning as possible explanations. We harness insights from political science, cognitive neuroscience and psychology to examine the impact of trust and identity on information processing regarding Brexit in a group of Remain identifiers. Behaviourally, participants' affective responses to Brexit-related information are affected by whether the emotional valence of the message is compatible with their beliefs on Brexit (positive/negative) but not by their trust in the source of information. However, belief in the information is significantly affected by both (dis)trust in information source and by belief compatibility with the valence of the information. Neuroimaging results confirm this pattern, identifying areas involved in judgements of the self, others and automatic processing of affectively threatening stimuli, ultimately supporting motivated cognition accounts of misinformation endorsement. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

scholarly journals Corticotropin-releasing hormone signals adversity in both the placenta and the brain: regulation by glucocorticoids and allostatic overload

1999 ◽  
Vol 161 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Schulkin
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Preterm Labor ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Corticotropin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Releasing Hormone ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Hormone Signals

Glucocorticoids regulate corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) gene expression in the placenta and the brain. In both the placenta and two extrahypothalamic sites in the brain (the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis), glucocorticoids elevate CRH gene expression. One functional role of the elevation of CRH by glucocorticoids may be to signal adversity. When CRH is over-expressed in the placenta, it may indicate that the pregnancy is in danger, and preterm labor may result. When CRH is over-expressed in the brains of animals, they may become more fearful. Both situations possibly reflect allostatic mechanisms and vulnerability to allostatic overload, a condition in which biological tissue may be compromised.

Vasopressin and fever: evidence supporting the existence of an endogenous antipyretic system in the brain

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1333-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Naylor ◽  
K. E. Cooper ◽  
W. L. Veale
Keyword(s):  
Paraventricular Nucleus ◽  
Septal Area ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Antipyretic Effect ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Cell Groups ◽  
Bacterial Pyrogen ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Vasopressinergic Neurons ◽  
Reducing Properties

Vasopressin administered into the ventral septum exerts a dose-related antipyresis. This site of action is similar in a number of species. The fever-reducing properties of vasopressin are both site and neuropeptide specific. Evidence supporting a role for endogenous vasopressin in fever suppression is the demonstration that the release of the peptide from the ventral septal area is altered during fever: the amount released correlates negatively with febrile changes in body temperature. In addition, changes in the concentration of vasopressin in the septum and amygdala have been demonstrated immunocytochemically during fever: an activation of vasopressinergic neurons occurs which is similar to that observed in pregnant animals at term when fever is absent. Specific antibodies directed against vasopressin or specific vasopressin antagonist analogues (e.g., d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP) enhanced the febrile response to a pyrogen challenge when injected into the ventral septum. The same antagonist also can antagonize the antipyretic effect of exogenously administered vasopressin. The use of relatively specific antagonists and agonists of vasopressin, directed against the V1 and V2 subtypes of the peripheral vasopressin receptor, suggests that the central receptor responsible for the antipyretic effect of vasopressin may resemble the V1 subtype. Recent experiments using electrophysiological techniques have demonstrated the existence of thermoresponsive units in the ventral septal area whose activity may be altered by vasopressin which is possibly derived from the paraventricular nucleus and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Electrical stimulation of one of these cell groups in the paraventricular nucleus can reduce the fever evoked by systemic administration of bacterial pyrogen in the rabbit. Collectively, these data strongly support the hypothesis that a system of endogenous antipyresis involving vasopressin exists in the brain. There also may exist another antipyretic system in the brain involving α-melanotropin. This peptide is antipyretic when injected into the dorsal septum and concentrations of α-melanotropin are altered in this area of the brain during fever. Further, passive immunoneutralization using antiserum specific to α-melanotropin results in prolonged fever. A possible connection between the two systems has not yet been investigated. However, in future studies the mechanisms and significance of such a system will be investigated further.

scholarly journals Controllability over stressor decreases responses in key threat-related brain areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag Limbachia ◽  
Kelly Morrow ◽  
Anastasiia Khibovska ◽  
Christian Meyer ◽  
Srikanth Padmala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Insula ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Posterior Insula ◽  
Brain And Behavior ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractControllability over stressors has major impacts on brain and behavior. In humans, however, the effect of controllability on responses to stressors is poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated how controllability altered responses to a shock-plus-sound stressor with a between-group yoked design, where participants in controllable and uncontrollable groups experienced matched stressor exposure. Employing Bayesian multilevel analysis at the level of regions of interest and voxels in the insula, and standard voxelwise analysis, we found that controllability decreased stressor-related responses across threat-related regions, notably in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior insula. Posterior cingulate cortex, posterior insula, and possibly medial frontal gyrus showed increased responses during control over stressor. Our findings support the idea that the aversiveness of stressors is reduced when controllable, leading to decreased responses across key regions involved in anxiety-related processing, even at the level of the extended amygdala.

Negation and the Brain

2020 ◽  
pp. 693-712
Author(s):  
Yosef Grodzinsky ◽  
Virginia Jaichenco ◽  
Isabelle Deschamps ◽  
María Elina Sánchez ◽  
Martín Fuchs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Problem ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Processing Cost ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Downward Entailing ◽  
Measuring Reaction Time ◽  
The Brain

This chapter reports an investigation into possible brain bases for negation. It begins with a review of negation experiments that used behavioral studies (measuring Reaction Time—RT), and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiments that sought to identify local activations that correlate with the presence of negation. The chapter dwells on a major methodological problem that permeates the experimental study of negation processing, and proposes a solution: instead of overt negation, we study expressions that contain a covert negation—expressions that are Downward Entailing (DE) as evinced by their ability to reverse inferences and license NPIs in their scope. DE operators are thus taken to contain a hidden, or covert, negation, and contrast with the Upward Entailing counterparts (few vs. many; less vs. more). The chapter reviews behavioral experiments in healthy adults that indicate that DE has a processing cost, and an fMRI study that finds a single brain location for this computation. These results serve as a basis for an experiment on individuals with Broca’s aphasia. Tests with DE and UE quantifiers with these patients resulted in a mixed picture, which is discussed and its implications are derived.

Hand–Arm-Vibration Syndrome (HAVS): Is There a Central Nervous Component? an fMRI Study

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 514-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. LUNDBORG ◽  
B. ROSÉN ◽  
L. KNUTSSON ◽  
S. HOLTÅS ◽  
F. STÅHLBERG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tactile Stimulation ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Vibration Syndrome ◽  
Ipsilateral Hemisphere ◽  
Neuromuscular Dysfunction ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Brain

Hand-held vibrating tools may result in neuromuscular dysfunction and vasospastic problems of the hand. Sensory and motor dysfunction can be explained by injury to peripheral structures, but could also be due to changes in cortical somatotopic mapping of the hand in the brain. The purpose of the present study was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess the somatotopic cortical representation of the hands of workers subjected to occupational vibration. The study included six men with severe vibration exposures who were suffering from hand–arm-vibration syndrome (HAVS) and six controls. The analysis focused on the pattern and degree of activation of contra- and ipsilateral hemispheres of the brain with tactile stimulation and motor activation of the hand. These stimulations resulted in well-defined activation of the contralateral, and to a lesser extent the ipsilateral hemisphere. Statistical analysis of this limited patient material did not indicate any significant somatotopic cortical changes following long-term exposure to vibrating hand-held tools, although there was a tendency to a shift of activation towards the more cranial parts of the cortex in the patient group.

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