Dopaminergic and noradrenergic modulation of stress-induced alterations in brain activation associated with goal-directed behaviour

Background: Acute stress is thought to reduce goal-directed behaviour, an effect purportedly associated with stress-induced release of catecholamines. In contrast, experimentally increased systemic catecholamine levels have been shown to increase goal-directed behaviour. Whether experimentally increased catecholamine function can modulate stress-induced reductions in goal-directed behaviour and its neural substrates, is currently unknown. Aim: To assess whether and how experimentally induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline contribute to the acute stress effects on goal-directed behaviour and associated brain activation. Methods: One hundred participants underwent a stress induction protocol (Maastricht acute stress test; MAST) or a control procedure and received methylphenidate (MPH) (40 mg, oral) or placebo according to a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. In a well-established instrumental learning paradigm, participants learnt stimulus–response–outcome associations, after which rewards were selectively devalued. Participants’ brain activation and associated goal-directed behaviour were assessed in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner at peak cortisol/MPH concentrations. Results: The MAST and MPH increased physiological measures of stress (salivary cortisol and blood pressure), but only MAST increased subjective measures of stress. MPH modulated stress effects on activation of brain areas associated with goal-directed behaviour, including insula, putamen, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, frontal pole and orbitofrontal cortex. However, MPH did not modulate the tendency of stress to induce a reduction in goal-directed behaviour. Conclusion: Our neuroimaging data suggest that MPH-induced increases in dopamine and noradrenaline reverse stress-induced changes in key brain regions associated with goal-directed behaviour, while behavioural effects were absent. These effects may be relevant for preventing stress-induced maladaptive behaviour like in addiction or binge eating disorder.

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Dopaminergic modulation of stress-induced alterations in goal-directed behaviour and associated brain activation

10.31234/osf.io/3qkdr ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peter van Ruitenbeek ◽

Conny W.E.M. Quaedflieg ◽

Bart Hartogsveld ◽

Tom Smeets

Keyword(s):

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Instrumental Learning ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Control Procedure ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Stress Effects ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

Induced Changes

Being exposed to acute stress may cause people to behave more habitual, which purportedly is associated stress-induced increased dopamine release. In contrast, experimental rises in systemic dopamine levels have been shown to increase goal-directed behaviour and, thus, decrease habitual control. Whether experimentally increased dopamine functioning can modulate stress-induced reductions in goal-directed behaviour and its neural substrates, is currently unknown. To assess whether increased dopamine functioning reduces stress effects on goal-directed behaviour, 100 participants were recruited who were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2x2 between participants design. Participants underwent a stress induction protocol (Maastricht Acute Stress Test; MAST) or a control procedure and received methylphenidate (40 mg, oral) or placebo. In a well-established instrumental learning paradigm, participants were trained to learn stimulus-response-outcome associations, after which rewards were selectively devalued and participants’ goal-directed behaviour was assessed at peak cortisol/methylphenidate concentrations in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner to assess brain activation. The MAST effectively increased physiological measures of stress (salivary cortisol, blood pressure) and subjective stress. Methylphenidate also increased cortisol levels over time. While stress selectively reduced goal-directed behaviour, this effect was not modulated by methylphenidate. However, methylphenidate modulated stress effects on activation in paracingulate, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate associated with expected value representation in goal-directed behaviour. Our neuroimaging data suggest increased dopamine levels reverse stress-induced changes in brain activation associated with goal-directed behaviour. These effects may be relevant for preventing stress-induced relapse in addictive behaviour.

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Balancing Between Goal-Directed and Habitual Responding Following Acute Stress

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000485 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 67 (2) ◽

pp. 99-111

Author(s):

Bart Hartogsveld ◽

Peter van Ruitenbeek ◽

Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg ◽

Tom Smeets

Keyword(s):

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Instrumental Learning ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Neutral Stimulus ◽

Reward Contingency ◽

Stimulus Response ◽

Habitual Responding ◽

Pressure Stress ◽

Outcome Devaluation

Abstract. Instrumental learning is regulated by two memory systems: a relatively rigid but efficient habit system and a flexible but resource-demanding goal-directed system. Previous work has demonstrated that exposure to acute stress may shift the balance between these systems toward the habitual system. In the current study, we used a 2-day outcome devaluation paradigm with a 75% reward contingency rate and altered food reward categories to replicate and extend our previous findings. Participants learned neutral stimulus–response–reward associations on the first day. On the second day, rewards were devalued by eating to satiety. Subsequently, acute stress was induced in half of the participants using the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, while the other half engaged in a nonstressful control task. Finally, relative goal-directed versus habitual behavior was evaluated in a slips-of-action phase, where more slips-of-action indicate a shift toward the habitual system. Results showed that participants successfully acquired the stimulus–response–reward associations, that devaluation was effective, and that stressed participants displayed significant increases in cortisol and blood pressure. Stress led participants to commit more slips-of-action compared with nonstressed controls. The current study extends previous work, showing that the employed paradigm and outcome devaluation procedure are boundary conditions to the stress-induced shift in instrumental responding.

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Dichotic listening performance and interhemispheric integration after stress exposure

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-77708-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gesa Berretz ◽

Julian Packheiser ◽

Oliver T. Wolf ◽

Sebastian Ocklenburg

Keyword(s):

Social Stress ◽

Dichotic Listening ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Past Research ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Future Research ◽

Control Procedure ◽

Hemispheric Asymmetries

AbstractFunctional hemispheric asymmetries (FHAs) have been thought to be relatively stable over time. However, past research has shown that FHAs are more plastic than initially thought. Endocrinological processes have been demonstrated to alter FHAs. As the product of the stress-activated hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis, cortisol influences information processing at every level from stimulus perception to decision making and action. To investigate the influence of acute stress on FHAs, 60 participants performed a Banich–Belger task, as well as a verbal and an emotional dichotic listening task in two sessions. One session included a stress induction via the Trier Social Stress Test, the other session included a control procedure. We calculated across-field advantages (AFAs) in the Banich–Belger task and lateralization quotients for reaction times and responses per side in both dichotic listening tasks. There were no significant differences between the stress and control session in the dichotic listening tasks. In contrast, there was evidence for an influence of cortisol and sympathetic activation indicated by salivary alpha amylase changes on AFAs in the Banich–Belger task. This indicates that acute stress and the related increase in cortisol do not influence dichotic listening performance. However, stress does seem to affect interhemispheric integration of information. Future research using EEG, fMRI and pharmacological interventions is needed to further characterize the relation of hemispheric asymmetries and acute stress.

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A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study on the Cortical Haemodynamic Responses During the Maastricht Acute Stress Test

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-49826-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

N. K. Schaal ◽

P. Hepp ◽

A. Schweda ◽

O. T. Wolf ◽

C. Krampe

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Neural Activity ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract In order to better understand stress responses, neuroimaging studies have investigated the underlying neural correlates of stress. Amongst other brain regions, they highlight the involvement of the prefrontal cortex. The aim of the present study was to explore haemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex during the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) using mobile functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), examining the stress response in an ecological environment. The MAST includes a challenging mental arithmic task and a physically stressful ice-water task. In a between-subject design, participants either performed the MAST or a non-stress control condition. FNIRS data were recorded throughout the test. Additionally, subjective stress ratings, heart rate and salivary cortisol were evaluated, confirming a successful stress induction. The fNIRS data indicated significantly increased neural activity of brain regions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in response to the MAST, compared to the control condition. Furthermore, the mental arithmetic task indicated an increase in neural activity in brain regions of the dlPFC and OFC; whereas the physically stressful hand immersion task indicated a lateral decrease of neural activity in the left dlPFC. The study highlights the potential use of mobile fNIRS in clinical and applied (stress) research.

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An intervention study on the effectiveness of an anti-stress-app on psychophysiological acute and chronic stress (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.11647 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Franziska Lautenbach

Keyword(s):

Chronic Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Subjective Perception ◽

Face To Face ◽

Acute And Chronic Stress

BACKGROUND Dealing with stress is of central importance. Lately, smartphone applications (apps) are deployed in stress interventions as they offer maximal flexibility for users. First results of experimental studies show that anti-stress apps effect subjective perception of stress positively (Ly et al., 2014). However, current literature lacks studies on physiological stress reactions (e.g., cortisol), although they are of special interest to health issues. OBJECTIVE Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an anti-stress app in chronic and acute stress reduction on a physiological (cortisol) and psychological level (subjective perception of stress) in comparison to a face-to-face and a control group in a pre-post design, for the first time. METHODS Sixty-two participants took part in the pretesting procedure (drop-out of 53 %). Based on age, gender, physical activity and subjectively perceived acute stress due to the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G; von Dawans et al., 2011) as well as based on subjectively chronic stress assessed during the pretest, participants were parallelized in three groups (anti-stress-app: n = 10, face-to-face: n = 11, control group: n = 9). RESULTS After six weeks of the cognitive-based resource-oriented intervention, participants were exposed to the TSST-G for post testing. Results did not show a change of cortisol secretion or cognitive appraisal of the acute stressor. Further, no changes were detected in the chronic physiological stress reaction. CONCLUSIONS Possible causes are discussed extensively. CLINICALTRIAL no

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Fear-induced brain activations distinguish anxious and trauma-exposed brains

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-020-01193-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Zhenfu Wen ◽

Marie-France Marin ◽

Jennifer Urbano Blackford ◽

Zhe Sage Chen ◽

Mohammed R. Milad

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Fear Conditioning ◽

Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽

Data Analytics ◽

Conditioned Fear ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Brain Network ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

Task Irrelevant ◽

Translational Models

AbstractTranslational models of fear conditioning and extinction have elucidated a core neural network involved in the learning, consolidation, and expression of conditioned fear and its extinction. Anxious or trauma-exposed brains are characterized by dysregulated neural activations within regions of this fear network. In this study, we examined how the functional MRI activations of 10 brain regions commonly activated during fear conditioning and extinction might distinguish anxious or trauma-exposed brains from controls. To achieve this, activations during four phases of a fear conditioning and extinction paradigm in 304 participants with or without a psychiatric diagnosis were studied. By training convolutional neural networks (CNNs) using task-specific brain activations, we reliably distinguished the anxious and trauma-exposed brains from controls. The performance of models decreased significantly when we trained our CNN using activations from task-irrelevant brain regions or from a brain network that is irrelevant to fear. Our results suggest that neuroimaging data analytics of task-induced brain activations within the fear network might provide novel prospects for development of brain-based psychiatric diagnosis.

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Salivary Proteome Changes in Response to Acute Psychological Stress Due to an Oral Exam Simulation in University Students: Effect of an Olfactory Stimulus

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22094295 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (9) ◽

pp. 4295

Author(s):

Lorenzo Zallocco ◽

Laura Giusti ◽

Maurizio Ronci ◽

Andrea Mussini ◽

Marco Trerotola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Psychological Stress ◽

Social Stress ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Olfactory Stimulus ◽

Oral Exam ◽

Relaxation Phase ◽

Pleasant Odor ◽

Proteome Changes

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a crucial role both in acute and chronic psychological stress eliciting changes in many local and systemic physiological and biochemical processes. Salivary secretion is also regulated by ANS. In this study, we explored salivary proteome changes produced in thirty-eight University students by a test stress, which simulated an oral exam. Students underwent a relaxation phase followed by the stress test during which an electrocardiogram was recorded. To evaluate the effect of an olfactory stimulus, half of the students were exposed to a pleasant odor diffused in the room throughout the whole session. Saliva samples were collected after the relaxation phase (T0) and the stress test (T1). State anxiety was also evaluated at T0 and T1. Salivary proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and patterns at different times were compared. Spots differentially expressed were trypsin digested and identified by mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis was used to validate proteomic results. Anxiety scores and heart rate changes indicated that the fake exam induced anxiety. Significant changes of α-amylase, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR), and immunoglobulin α chain (IGHA) secretion were observed after the stress test was performed in the two conditions. Moreover, the presence of pleasant odor reduced the acute social stress affecting salivary proteome changes. Therefore, saliva proteomic analysis was a useful approach to evaluate the rapid responses associated to an acute stress test also highlighting known biomarkers.

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Cortical structural differences in major depressive disorder correlate with cell type-specific transcriptional signatures

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-21943-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jiao Li ◽

Jakob Seidlitz ◽

John Suckling ◽

Feiyang Fan ◽

Gong-Jun Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Cell Type ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Structural Differences ◽

Neuroimaging Data ◽

Cell Type Specific

AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) has been shown to be associated with structural abnormalities in a variety of spatially diverse brain regions. However, the correlation between brain structural changes in MDD and gene expression is unclear. Here, we examine the link between brain-wide gene expression and morphometric changes in individuals with MDD, using neuroimaging data from two independent cohorts and a publicly available transcriptomic dataset. Morphometric similarity network (MSN) analysis shows replicable cortical structural differences in individuals with MDD compared to control subjects. Using human brain gene expression data, we observe that the expression of MDD-associated genes spatially correlates with MSN differences. Analysis of cell type-specific signature genes suggests that microglia and neuronal specific transcriptional changes account for most of the observed correlation with MDD-specific MSN differences. Collectively, our findings link molecular and structural changes relevant for MDD.

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A Connectome-Wide Functional Signature of Trait Anger

Clinical Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/21677026211030240 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 216770262110302

Author(s):

M. Justin Kim ◽

Maxwell L. Elliott ◽

Annchen R. Knodt ◽

Ahmad R. Hariri

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Visual Information ◽

Past Research ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Small Sample ◽

Trait Anger ◽

Frontal Pole ◽

Brain Correlates ◽

Small Sample Sizes ◽

The Right

Past research on the brain correlates of trait anger has been limited by small sample sizes, a focus on relatively few regions of interest, and poor test–retest reliability of functional brain measures. To address these limitations, we conducted a data-driven analysis of variability in connectome-wide functional connectivity in a sample of 1,048 young adult volunteers. Multidimensional matrix regression analysis showed that self-reported trait anger maps onto variability in the whole-brain functional connectivity patterns of three brain regions that serve action-related functions: bilateral supplementary motor areas and the right lateral frontal pole. We then demonstrate that trait anger modulates the functional connectivity of these regions with canonical brain networks supporting somatomotor, affective, self-referential, and visual information processes. Our findings offer novel neuroimaging evidence for interpreting trait anger as a greater propensity to provoked action, which supports ongoing efforts to understand its utility as a potential transdiagnostic marker for disordered states characterized by aggressive behavior.

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Comparison of Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex of Native Speakers of Mandarin by Ability of Japanese as a Second Language Using a Novel Speaking Task

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9040412 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 412

Author(s):

Li Cong ◽

Hideki Miyaguchi ◽

Chinami Ishizuki

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Cognitive Load ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Strong Inhibition ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

High Level

Evidence shows that second language (L2) learning affects cognitive function. Here in this work, we compared brain activation in native speakers of Mandarin (L1) who speak Japanese (L2) between and within two groups (high and low L2 ability) to determine the effect of L2 ability in L1 and L2 speaking tasks, and to map brain regions involved in both tasks. The brain activation during task performance was determined using prefrontal cortex blood flow as a proxy, measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). People with low L2 ability showed much more brain activation when speaking L2 than when speaking L1. People with high L2 ability showed high-level brain activation when speaking either L2 or L1. Almost the same high-level brain activation was observed in both ability groups when speaking L2. The high level of activation in people with high L2 ability when speaking either L2 or L1 suggested strong inhibition of the non-spoken language. A wider area of brain activation in people with low compared with high L2 ability when speaking L2 is considered to be attributed to the cognitive load involved in code-switching L1 to L2 with strong inhibition of L1 and the cognitive load involved in using L2.

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