Personality and Augmenting/Reducing (A/R) in auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) during emotional visual stimulation

An auditory augmenting/reducing ERP paradigm recorded for 5 intensity tones with emotional visual stimulation was used, for the first time, to test predictions derived from the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) of personality with respect to two major factors: behavioral inhibition system (BIS), fight/flight/freeze system (FFFS). Higher BIS and FFFS scores were negatively correlated with N1/P2 slopes at central sites (C3, Cz, C4). Conditional process analysis revealed that the BIS was a mediator of the association between the N1/P2 slope and the FFFS scores. An analysis of covariance showed that lower BIS scorers exhibited larger N1/P2 amplitudes across all tone intensities while watching negative, positive and neutral pictures. Additionally, lower FFFS scorers compared to higher FFFS scorers disclosed larger N1/P2 amplitudes to the highest tone intensities and these differences were even more pronounced while watching positive emotional pictures. Findings were explained assuming the operation of two different, but related processes: transmarginal inhibition for the BIS; the attention/emotional gating mechanism regulating cortical sensory input for the FFFS trait. These findings appear consistent with predictions derived from the rRST, which traced fear and anxiety to separate but interacting neurobehavioural systems

tRNA structural and functional changes induced by oxidative stress

Oxidatively damaged biomolecules impair cellular functions and contribute to the pathology of a variety of diseases. RNA is also attacked by reactive oxygen species, and oxidized RNA is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to neurodegenerative complications in humans. Recently, evidence has accumulated supporting the notion that tRNA is involved in cellular responses to various stress conditions. This review focuses on the intriguing consequences of oxidative modification of tRNA at the structural and functional level

Resolving the neural circuits of anxiety

Although anxiety disorders represent a major societal problem demanding new therapeutic targets, these efforts have languished in the absence of a mechanistic understanding of this subjective emotional state. While it is impossible to know with certainty the subjective experience of a rodent, rodent models hold promise in dissecting well-conserved limbic circuits. The application of modern approaches in neuroscience has already begun to unmask the neural circuit intricacies underlying anxiety by allowing direct examination of hypotheses drawn from existing psychological concepts. This information points toward an updated conceptual model for what neural circuit perturbations could give rise to pathological anxiety and thereby provides a roadmap for future therapeutic development.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U.S.) (NIH Director’s New Innovator Award DP2-DK-102256-01)National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (NIH) R01-MH102441-01)JPB Foundatio

Young Offenders’ Emotion Recognition Dysfunction Across Emotion Intensities: Explaining Variation Using Psychopathic Traits, Conduct Disorder and Offense Severity

Antisocial individuals have problems recognizing negative emotions (e.g. Marsh & Blair in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 32:454–465, 2009); however, due to issues with sampling and different methods used, previous findings have been varied. Sixty-three male young offenders and 37 age-, IQ- and socio-economic status-matched male controls completed a facial emotion recognition task, which measures recognition of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise and neutral expressions across 4 emotional intensities. Conduct disorder (YSR), and psychopathic and callous/unemotional traits (YPI) were measured, and offenders’ offense data were taken from the Youth Offending Service’s case files. Relative to controls, offenders were significantly worse at identifying sadness, low intensity disgust and high intensity fear. A significant interaction for anger was also observed, with offenders showing reduced low- but increased high-intensity anger recognition in comparison with controls. Within the young offenders levels of conduct disorder and psychopathic traits explained variation in sadness and disgust recognition, whereas offense severity explained variation in anger recognition. These results suggest that antisocial youths show specific problems in recognizing negative emotions and support the use of targeted emotion recognition interventions for problematic behavior

Angiopoietin-like 4 directs uptake of dietary fat away from adipose during fasting

Objective: Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is a fasting-induced inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and a regulator of plasma triglyceride metabolism. Here, we examined the kinetics of Angptl4 induction and tested the hypothesis that ANGPTL4 functions physiologically to reduce triglyceride delivery to adipose tissue during nutrient deprivation. Methods: Gene expression, LPL activity, and triglyceride uptake were examined in fasted and fed wild-type and Angptl4−/− mice. Results: Angptl4 was strongly induced early in fasting, and this induction was suppressed in mice with access to food during the light cycle. Fasted Angptl4−/− mice manifested increased LPL activity and triglyceride uptake in adipose tissue compared to wild-type mice. Conclusions: Angptl4 is induced early in fasting to divert uptake of fatty acids and triglycerides away from adipose tissues