Parental verbal abuse and the mediating role of self-criticism in adult internalizing disorders

Background: Researchers (e.g., [Gibb, B.E., 2002. Childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles. A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22 (2), 223–246]; [Rose, D.T., Abramson, L.Y., 1992. Developmental predictors of depressive cognitive styles: developmental perspectives on depression. In Cicchetti, D., Toth, S.L. (Eds.), Developmental Perspectives on Depression. Rochester symposium on developmental psychopathology, vol. 4, pp. 323–349]) have proposed that when childhood abuse is verbal (rather than sexual or physical), the child is more likely to develop a negative self-schema because the negative self-cognitions are directly supplied to the child by the abuser (e.g., "you are stupid"). Methods: In a test of this theory in adult participants, and drawing on the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) (N=5877), we investigate the mediating role of current levels of self-criticism on the relationship between retrospective reports of parental verbal abuse, as well as sexual and physical abuse, and adult internalizing symptoms. Results: We found self-criticism, but not dependency traits, to fully mediate the relationship between childhood verbal abuse perpetrated by parents and internalizing (depression, anxiety) symptoms. On the other hand, self-criticism was only a partial mediator of the relationship between the other types of abuse and internalizing symptoms. Limitations: The NCS data is cross-sectional, which limits any firm conclusions regarding causality. While these results are suggestive that self-criticism is a mediator of the relationship between abuse and internalizing symptoms, longitudinal data are necessary to help rule out alternative explanations. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that childhood abuse experiences, and in particular verbal abuse, may confer risk for internalizing disorders in part because verbal abuse influences the development of a self-critical style

The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions.

This review of the neuroscience of anger is part of The Human Affectome Project, where we attempt to map anger and its components (i.e., physiological, cognitive, experiential) to the neuroscience literature (i.e., genetic markers, functional imaging of human brain networks) and to linguistic expressions used to describe anger feelings. Given the ubiquity of anger in both its normative and chronic states, specific language is used in humans to express states of anger. Following a review of the neuroscience literature, we explore the language that is used to convey angry feelings, as well as metaphors reflecting inner states of anger experience. We then discuss whether these linguistic expressions can be mapped on to the neural circuits during anger experience and to distinct components of anger. We also identify relationships between anger components, brain networks, and other affective research relevant to motivational states of dominance and basic needs for safety

One hundred years of EEG for brain and behaviour research

On the centenary of the first human EEG recording, more than 500 experts reflect on the impact that this discovery has had on our understanding of the brain and behaviour. We document their priorities and call for collective action focusing on validity, democratization and responsibility to realize the potential of EEG in science and society over the next 100 years

Interactions cognition-émotion et personnalité psychopathique : des trajectoires distinctes vers les comportements antisociaux et violents

Les chercheurs ont depuis longtemps reconnu l’hétérogénéité des individus présentant des comportements antisociaux et violents. Or, l’étude de la personnalité psychopathique (ou psychopathie), par l’examen de ses différentes facettes, peut aider à mieux comprendre cette hétérogénéité. Plus particulièrement, la distinction entre les corrélats des traits interpersonnels et affectifs (Facteur 1) et ceux des traits impulsifs et antisociaux (Facteur 2) de la psychopathie suggère l’existence d’au moins deux trajectoires pouvant mener aux comportements antisociaux. Basée sur diverses études en neurosciences cognitives et affectives, nous proposons une revue ciblée, non exhaustive, des travaux identifiant les mécanismes biopsychologiques impliqués dans ces deux trajectoires, avec une attention particulière accordée aux études utilisant la méthode des potentiels évoqués (PE). Plus spécifiquement, nous présentons une série d’études portant sur les processus cognitifs et affectifs permettant de distinguer, parmi un groupe de délinquants, ceux ayant des traits psychopathiques élevés, en mettant en évidence les altérations des interactions entre émotion et cognition associées à chaque facteur de la psychopathie. L’ensemble de ces résultats mène aux conclusions suivantes. Le Facteur 1, associé à une réponse émotionnelle diminuée exacerbée par des anomalies attentionnelles, correspond à un profil de délinquance caractérisé par des conduites délibérées et une insensibilité émotionnelle. À l’opposé, le Facteur 2 comporte des dérégulations émotionnelles et comportementales, de même que des troubles de contrôle cognitif, particulièrement en contexte émotionnel. Les implications de l’identification de ces processus étiologiques seront ensuite présentées dans la perspective d’une meilleure compréhension des comportements violents et antisociaux.Researchers have long acknowledged heterogeneity among persons who exhibit antisocial and violent behaviours. The study of psychopathic personality or psychopathy can help elucidate this heterogeneity through examination of the different facets that constitute this disorder. In particular, the distinct correlates of the interpersonal-affective traits (Factor 1) and the impulsive-antisocial traits (Factor 2) of psychopathy suggest at least two possible pathways to antisocial behaviours. Building on basic studies in cognitive and affective neuroscience, we provide a focused, non-comprehensive review of work identifying the biopsychological mechanisms involved in these two pathways, with special attention to studies using event-related potential (ERP) methods. In specific, a series of studies are discussed which examined affective and cognitive processes that may distinguish offenders high on psychopathic traits from other offenders, with emphasis on alterations in emotion-cognition interactions related to each factor of psychopathy. The set of findings reviewed highlight a central conclusion: Factor 1 represents a pathway involving reduced emotional responding, exacerbated by attentional abnormalities, that make for a more deliberate and emotionally insensitive offender profile. In contrast, Factor 2 characterizes a pathway marked by emotional and behavioural dysregulation and cognitive control dysfunctions, particularly in emotional contexts. Implications for identifying etiological processes and the further understanding of antisocial and violent behaviours are discussed

Fear, Anxiety, and the Error-Related Negativity: A Registered Report of a Multi-Site Replication Study

The error-related negativity (ERN), a scalp-recorded neural index of error monitoring, was directly linked to anxiety in a highly influential paper by Hajcak et al. (2003), which found that individuals high in worry symptoms of anxiety show greater ERN amplitude than those low in worry. This research sparked a flurry of further investigations, with subsequent work proposing the ERN to be a putative neural marker for anxiety. However, almost two decades later, the robustness of the relationship between the ERN amplitude and anxiety has been called into question. As part of the #EEGManyLabs international collaborative (Pavlov et al., 2021), the proposed replication involves the collection of data from three highly-powered samples (n = 234 each) across nine collaborating sites in Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and the United States. Participants for the replication will be selected from a larger pool and assigned to the following three groups based on their scores on worry and phobia symptom scales: 1) high worry group, 2) high phobia/low worry group, and 3) low worry/phobia (control) group, with 70-80 participants in each group. All three groups of participants will complete a modified color-word Stroop task, consistent with procedures of Hajcak et al. (2003), while EEG recordings are made. As per Hajcak et al. (2003), we expect a significant main effect of group, with a larger overall ERN in the worry group than in the phobia and control groups, suggesting that enhanced sensitivity to errors is specific to worry vs. phobia. In addition to individual analyses conducted within each replicating lab, we will pool data across study sites and fit a two-stage individual participant data meta-analysis. Replication of this study will help in further characterizing the ERN signal and its link to clinical phenomena

Measuring State Empathy with a Film Clip Task

Although the concept of empathy has been explored in various studies (e.g., Ellis, 1982; Jones et al., 2010), most studies have focused on trait empathy and have not assessed in the moment empathic responses (i.e., state empathy). Further, most studies tend to use empathy-eliciting stimuli that are not dynamic enough to capture the unfolding experience of empathy (e.g., film clips). The current project sought to address the gaps in the literature by exploring the efficacy of a state-level affective empathy task involving exposure to distressing film clips, as well as the roles of various measures of individual differences (e.g., trait empathy, five factor model traits, psychopathic personality traits). The initial study involved a large, primarily female (80%) undergraduate student sample (N = 533) completing an online film clip task involving exposure to a set of film clips selected to elicit empathy (showing persons in distress), as well as negative affect non-empathy (i.e., negative control) and neutral clips. They reported on their state affect at baseline and following each film clip. A subset of this sample, collected before the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, was used in a master's thesis study. The full sample that includes participants collected from March to July 2020 were used in a paper submitted for publication. A subsequent study collected a smaller sample who viewed the empathy-eliciting and neutral clips and reported on their psychopathic traits. Across these data, results showed support for the efficacy of the empathy clips for uniquely eliciting empathy, and self-reported affective reactions to the clips were related to trait empathy, especially cognitive empathy, and to the meanness (antagonistic) facet of psychopathic traits. This research suggests that dynamic film clips can be used to elicit empathy and expands upon the limited literature on the association between trait empathy and antagonism and self-reported compassionate responses to depictions of persons in distress. The findings also lend methodological insight that may be used to improve future empathy elicitation studies

Approach-Avoidance Action Patterns as Indicators of Empathic ‘Care Drive’ Strength

This two-experiment study involves the use and validation of a paradigm to assess approach behavior in response to stimuli (e.g., persons in distress) hypothesized to be associated with activation of empathy, conceptualized as a “care drive” with associated behavioral predispositions. Specifically, Experiment 1 of the study tests whether adult fearful facial expressions (representing persons in distress) elicit approach behavior across individuals recruited from undergraduate classes. Experiment 2 attempts to replicate and extend the results of Experiment 1 to examine whether this tendency toward approach to fearful faces is associated with the strength of approach motivation for infant faces (in a separate task) and individual differences in psychopathic traits