Damage to Association Fiber Tracts Impairs Recognition of the Facial Expression of Emotion

An array of cortical and subcortical structures have been implicated in the recognition of emotion from facial expressions. It remains unknown how these regions communicate as parts of a system to achieve recognition, but white matter tracts are likely critical to this process. We hypothesized that (1) damage to white matter tracts would be associated with recognition impairment and (2) the degree of disconnection of association fiber tracts [inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and/or inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF)] connecting the visual cortex with emotion-related regions would negatively correlate with recognition performance. One hundred three patients with focal, stable brain lesions mapped onto a reference brain were tested on their recognition of six basic emotional facial expressions. Association fiber tracts from a probabilistic atlas were coregistered to the reference brain. Parameters estimating disconnection were entered in a general linear model to predict emotion recognition impairments, accounting for lesion size and cortical damage. Damage associated with the right IFOF significantly predicted an overall facial emotion recognition impairment and specific impairments for sadness, anger, and fear. One subject had a pure white matter lesion in the location of the right IFOF and ILF. He presented specific, unequivocal emotion recognition impairments. Additional analysis suggested that impairment in fear recognition can result from damage to the IFOF and not the amygdala. Our findings demonstrate the key role of white matter association tracts in the recognition of the facial expression of emotion and identify specific tracts that may be most critical

The Relationship Between Self-Focus and Anxiety

Researchers have linked self-focus with multiple psychological disorders and forms of maladaptive cognition, such as anxiety and depression. Throughout their lifetime, around 33% of U.S. adults suffer from an anxiety disorder, making it the most prevalent mental illness in the country. Anxiety symptoms often co-occur with depressive symptoms, therefore depression and anxiety are often consolidated together in research scenarios. Past studies have shown a positive correlation between negative self-focus and depressive symptoms. However, with anxiety prevalence on the rise, it is worthy of attention independent from depression. This study will look at the relationship between anxiety and negative self-focus. Previous research has shown that anxiety is correlated with higher reports of self-focus, and more severe levels of anxiety are related to negative self-focus specifically. The present study examines self-focused responses on a language task in relation to anxiety. Additionally, this study will consider whether depression mediates the relationship between anxiety and negative self-focus, which has yet to be analyzed in the literature. The Sentence Completion Task (SCT) is an open-ended language task that typically provides participants with beginnings of sentences, known as stems , and participants then complete the sentences in ways that are meaningful to them. Responses to the SCT are coded for focus (e.g.. self, other, both, or neither) and valence (positive, negative, or neutral). A sample of 188 college students were recruited to complete the SCT and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). This study predicted that (1) a positive correlation exists between anxiety symptoms and amount of self-focus, (2) negative self-focus is related to higher anxiety levels, and (3) there will be a strong correlation between anxiety and negative self-focus once depression is controlled for. Interestingly, our results showed that anxiety did not correlate with self-focus (r(155)=.121, p=.130) or negative self-focus (r(155)=.071, p=.375), which does not support findings from previous studies. Since the results from our first two hypotheses were not significant, we did not test the correlation between anxiety and negative self-focus while controlling for depression. This study discusses possible reasons behind the non-significant findings, and suggests that future research could evaluate if anxiety has a strong relationship with external-focused attention

The Dimensional Relationship Between Age of First Traumatic Exposure and Perceptions of Control: A Pilot Study

An earlier age of onset of trauma (before 16 years old) has been associated with greater psychological impairments, such as increased risk of psychopathology and greater psychological distress in adulthood (Kaplow & Widom, 2007; Mueller et al., 2010; Teicher et al., 2009). Furthermore, trauma exposure has been linked to deficits in control (Fraizer, 2003; Ataria, 2015). However, the association between age of first trauma and perception of control are unclear. The present study aimed to define the relationship between age of first trauma and perception of control, or self-agency. Self-agency is defined as the sense of control of one’s actions and/or thoughts (Gallagher, 2000). Participants (n = 14, Mage = 24.00 ± 9.54; Male = 2) first completed online questionnaires which examined exposure to traumatic and stressful events (e.g. jail time, neglect, and natural disasters) and measures relating to psychopathologies (i.e. depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)). Participants then completed a computer based Self-agency Judgement Task, where they were asked to rate their perceived control after moving a box on the computer in various noise conditions (0%, 30%, 75%, 90%, 100%). Preliminary results show that there were statistically significant differences between age of trauma and agency ratings, such that earlier age of trauma predicted lower ratings of average control within all five conditions, t(12) = -2.30, p = .040. Interestingly, earlier age of trauma did not predict depression (t(12) = -1.06, p = .311), anxiety (t(12) = -1.06, p = .312), or PTSD psychopathology scores (t(12) = -0.02, p = .981). As data collection is ongoing, we will continue to examine the relationship between age of first trauma and perceptions of control, and its relationship to psychological disorders

The Influence of Anhedonic Symptom Severity on dmPFC Connectivity in PTSD

This study examined resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex ( dmPFC ) as a function of anhedonia in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results showed that anhedonia positively correlated with hyperconnectivity between the dmPFC and the left retrosplenial cortex. These findings support that anhedonia is associated with increased rsFC within the default mode network (DMN) for PTSD

Altered Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Cortical Networks in Psychopathy

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by callous antisocial behavior and criminal recidivism. Here we examine whether psychopathy is associated with alterations in functional connectivity in three large-scale cortical networks. Using fMRI in 142 adult male prison inmates, we computed resting-state functional connectivity using seeds from the default mode network, frontoparietal network, and cingulo-opercular network. To determine the specificity of our findings to these cortical networks, we also calculated functional connectivity using seeds from two comparison primary sensory networks: visual and auditory networks. Regression analyses related network connectivity to overall psychopathy scores and to subscores for the “factors” and “facets” of psychopathy: Factor 1, interpersonal/affective traits; Factor 2, lifestyle/antisocial traits; Facet 1, interpersonal; Facet 2, affective; Facet 3, lifestyle; Facet 4, antisocial. Overall psychopathy severity was associated with reduced functional connectivity between lateral parietal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. The two factor scores exhibited contrasting relationships with functional connectivity: Factor 1 scores were associated with reduced functional connectivity in the three cortical networks, whereas Factor 2 scores were associated with heightened connectivity in the same networks. This dissociation was evident particularly in the functional connectivity between anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. The facet scores also demonstrated distinct patterns of connectivity. We found no associations between psychopathy scores and functional connectivity within visual or auditory networks. These findings provide novel evidence on the neural correlates of psychopathy and suggest that connectivity between cortical association hubs, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, may be a neurobiological marker of the disorder

Self-concept.

<p>A. Positivity bias. Proportion of positive (red) and negative (blue) personality traits endorsed as a function of self-relevance ratings (from 1 = “not at all like me” to 4 = “very much like me”). The solid lines represent R's ratings and the dashed lines represent ratings from the comparison participants. Error bars represent one standard deviation. R's self-relevance rating curves are entirely within the normal range compared to other men of his age. B. Big Five Inventory ratings. R baseline: R's personality ratings of himself at initial assessment. R 1 year: R's personality ratings of himself one year later. Healthy male comparisons: average ratings for 796 healthy males in their 50's (error bars represent one standard deviation from the mean) <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0038413#pone.0038413-Srivastava1" target="_blank">[93]</a>. Blue triangles: ratings of R by his mother. Green X's: ratings of R by his sister. *Note, we acknowledge we are connecting discrete data (not continuous data) with lines in this graph.</p

Structural imaging.

<p>Series of axial slices organized in a ventral-to-dorsal direction (ventral-most = top left; dorsal-most = bottom right). Slices are grouped in series of three, corresponding respectively to T2-weighted, T1-weighted and FLAIR imaging sequences of the same slice in the brain. The ventral-most set is in the top-left; next is the top-right; next is the second row-left, next is the second row-right, etc. Slices are sampled every 4 mm. Slices are in neurological convention (left side of image = left hemisphere; right side of image = right hemisphere). Dashed white arrows point to areas of abnormality detected on the FLAIR scan within the region of the left anterior insula. Continuous white arrows point to the mPFC/ACC region, highlighting the extensive bilateral destruction of these regions.</p