Changes In Emotional Processing Research Articles

Age-related changes of interoceptive brain networks: Implications for interoception and alexithymia.

Aging is known to be associated with a decline in interoceptive abilities and changes in emotional processing, including alexithymia. As the brain areas supporting interoceptive awareness participate in the perception of emotion, we suggested that interoceptive decline and alexithymia in older adults may share common neural ground. To test this hypothesis, we administered functional magnetic resonance imaging-based heartbeat detection task to 62 adults of diverse ages (range 18-73) and evaluated a larger sample of older and younger adults using questionnaires characterizing interoceptive sensibility, alexithymia, and depressive attitudes. We found that increasing age was linked to decreased activation during the interoceptive task, including the right insular-opercular and supplementary motor areas (SMAs). Age also affected task-based functional connectivity, with two major effects being a decrease in the connectivity of the SMA-insular network and an increase in the connectivity of the prefrontal-lateral occipital network. Path analysis performed for interoceptive accuracy as the endogenous variable revealed that the impact of age was mediated by the functional activation of the insular cortex and SMA and by the connectivity between these areas. Another path analysis using alexithymia as the endogenous variable while controlling for depressive attitudes showed that the effect of age was mediated by interoceptive decline. The study supports the role of central mechanisms in age-related interoceptive decline and shows its implications for alexithymia. Since alexithymia represents a risk factor for mental and cardiovascular diseases, the study findings may open an important direction toward maintaining older adults' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The effect of age on emotion processing in individuals with mood disorders and in healthy individuals.

Emotion processing is an essential part of interpersonal relationships and social interactions. Changes in emotion processing have been found in both mood disorders and in aging, however, the interaction between such factors has yet to be examined in detail. This is of interest due to the contrary nature of the changes observed in existing research - a negativity bias in mood disorders versus a positivity effect with aging. It is also unclear how changes in non-emotional cognitive function with aging and in mood disorders, interact with these biases. In individuals with mood disorders and in healthy control participants, we examined emotional processing and its relationship to age in detail. Data sets from two studies examining facial expression recognition were pooled. In one study, 98 currently depressed individuals (either unipolar or bipolar) were compared with 61 healthy control participants, and in the other, 100 people with bipolar disorder (in various mood states) were tested on the same facial expression recognition task. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine the effects of age and mood disorder diagnosis alongside interactions between individual emotion, age, and mood disorder diagnosis. A positivity effect was associated with increasing age which was evident irrespective of the presence of mood disorder or current mood episode. Results suggest a positivity effect occurring at a relatively early age but with no evidence of a bias toward negative emotions in mood disorder or specifically, in depressed episodes. The positivity effect in emotional processing in aging appears to occur even within people with mood disorders. Further research is needed to understand how this fits with negative biases seen in previous studies in mood disorders.

Bodily maps of emotions and pain: tactile and hedonic sensitivity in healthy controls and patients experiencing chronic pain.

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience. Both pain and emotions are warning signals against outside harm. Interoception, bodily sensations of emotions can be assessed with the emBODY tool where participants colour the body parts where they feel different emotions. Bodily maps of emotions (BMoE) have been shown to be similar between healthy individuals independent of age, sex, cultural background, and language. We used this tool to analyze how these body maps may differ between healthy controls and patients with persistent pain. We recruited 118 patients with chronic pain. An algorithm-selected matched controls from 2348 individuals who were recruited through social media, message boards, and student mailing lists. After providing background information, the participants completed the bodily topography colouring tasks with the emBODY tool using tablets (patients) and online using their own devices (controls), for pain, sensitivity for tactile, nociceptive and hedonic stimuli, and for the 6 basic emotions and a neutral state. Patients with pain coloured significantly larger areas for pain and more negative emotions. On the whole, their BMoEs were dampened compared with healthy controls. They also coloured more areas for nociceptive but not for tactile or hedonic sensitivity. Patients and controls marked different body areas as sensitive to nociceptive and tactile stimulation, but there was no difference in sensitivity to hedonic touch. Our findings suggest that emotional processing changes when pain persists, and this can be assessed with these colouring tasks. BMoEs may offer a new approach to assessing pain.

Parkinson’s Detection: Emotional Intelligence Perspective

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological ailment affecting millions of individuals throughout the world. Early detection and accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are crucial for effective treatment and management of the disease. In recent years, there has been growing interest in using Emotional Intelligence-based approaches to detect PD, as changes in emotional processing are a common symptom of the disease. Emotion recognition using various techniques of emotional intelligence can aid in early detection, management, and monitoring of the disease. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the research on PD detection. Also, the taxonomy approaches to PD detection using different biomarkers and Emotional Intelligence (EI) are discussed. In this paper, it also reviews recent studies on the use of Emotional intelligence techniques for PD detection and proposes future directions for research in this area. Overall, the review suggests that using Emotional Intelligence approaches has a high potential for enhancing the accuracy and reliability of PD detection and monitoring, and can have significant implications for improving the quality of life of PD patients.

The need to change: Is there a critical role of midlife adaptation in mental health later in life?

Although late-life depression (LLD) is a serious health problem and more common than dementia in people over 60, it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. The cognitive-emotional etiology of LLD is particularly poorly understood. This is in contrast to the now extensive literature from psychology and cognitive neuroscience on the characteristics of emotionally healthy aging. This research consistently shows a change in emotional processing in older adults that is modulated by prefrontal regulation. Lifespan theories explain this change in terms of neurocognitive adaptation to limited opportunities and resources that typically occur in the second half of life. Epidemiological data on an increase in well-being after a low point around age 50 suggest that the majority of people seem quite capable of making this adaptation, even though empirical evidence for a causal modulation of this so called 'paradox of aging' and for the role of the midlife dip is still lacking. Intriguingly, LLD is associated with deficits in emotional, cognitive, and prefrontal functions similar to those shown to be crucial for healthy adaptation. Suspected causes of these deficits, such as white matter lesions or affective instability, become apparent as early as midlife when internal and external changes as well as daily challenges set in. Based on these findings, we propose that some individuals who develop depression at older ages may not have been able to successfully implement self-regulatory adaptation at midlife. Here, we review the current evidence and theories on successful aging, the neurobiology of LLD, and well-being across the lifespan. Drawing on recent advances in lifespan theories, emotion regulation research, and cognitive neuroscience, we propose a model of successful versus unsuccessful adaptation that emphasizes the increasing need for implicit habitual control and resource-based regulatory choice during midlife.

Facial Emotion Processing Changes in Functional Seizures after Neurobehavioral Therapy (P12-8.008)

<h3>Objective:</h3> To prospectively investigate effects of neurobehavioral therapy (NBT) on fMRI emotion processing in adults with psychogenic non-epileptic (functional) seizures (FS). <h3>Background:</h3> NBT reduces FS frequency and affects emotion processing in people with FS. We hypothesized that changes in FS frequency, mood symptoms and overall functioning with NBT would be associated with changes in emotion processing. <h3>Design/Methods:</h3> Adults with FS after traumatic brain injury (TBI+FS; n=47) underwent a 12-sessions of NBT. TBI+FS and TBI-only controls (n=57) completed two fMRIs and assessments of depression (BDI-II), anxiety (BAI), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) about 12 weeks apart (V1; V2). Subjects performed the emotion faces task (EFT) during fMRI where they viewed happy, sad, fearful and neutral faces. Linear mixed effects assessed group-by-time interactions on emotion response (corrected p&lt;0.05), fMRI signal was extracted, and correlations performed (Bonferroni-corrected p&lt;0.0125). <h3>Results:</h3> 53% of TBI+FS were seizure-free following NBT. There were significant group-by-time interactions (V1-to-V2 increases in TBI+FS and decreases in TBI-only) for fMRI response within right middle frontal gyrus (RMFG) to happy, sad, and fearful faces, and right inferior frontal gyrus (RIFG) to fearful faces. In combined sample, there were negative correlations between V2-V1 BDI-II changes and RMFG response changes to happy (rho=−0.30, p=0.003) and sad faces (rho=−0.27, p=0.008), and positive correlations between V2-V1 GAF changes and RMFG response changes to happy (rho=0.34, p&lt;0.001) and sad faces (rho=0.31, p=0.001), and RIFG response changes to fearful faces (rho=0.26, p=0.008). There were non-significant trends in TBI+FS for relationship between percent FS reduction and RMFG response changes to happy (rho=−0.24, p=0.106) and sad faces (rho=−0.24, p=0.109). <h3>Conclusions:</h3> We observed strong relationships in the combined group between behavioral changes and fMRI changes. The observed seizure reduction was not correlated with imaging changes suggesting that factors other than seizure reduction may be driving post-NBT changes in facial emotion processing. <b>Disclosure:</b> Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for UCB Pharma. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for SK Life Sciences. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for LivaNova Inc. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for Serina Therapeutics. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for GW Biosciences. An immediate family member of Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for GW Biosciences. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Elsevier. Dr. Szaflarski has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as an Expert Witness for Law Firm. Dr. Szaflarski has stock in AdCel Biopharma, LLC. Dr. Szaflarski has stock in iFovea. An immediate family member of Dr. Allendorfer has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of Northport Health Services, LLC. Dr. Allendorfer has received personal compensation in the range of $100,000-$499,999 for serving as a Consultant for Liva Nova, Inc. The institution of Dr. Allendorfer has received research support from National Institutes of Health. Dr. Allendorfer has a non-compensated relationship as a Grants Reviewer with American Epilepsy Society that is relevant to AAN interests or activities. Dr. Goodman has nothing to disclose. Rodolphe Nenert, 4770 has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gaston has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for GW Biosciences. Dr. Perry Grayson has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Jazz Pharmaceuticals . The institution of Dr. Perry Grayson has received research support from Department of Defense . The institution of Dr. Philip has received research support from NIH, DoD, VA. Stephen Correia has received research support from Alzheimer’s Association/National Institute on Aging. Stephen Correia has received research support from NIMH. Dr. LaFrance has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Expert Witness for medico-legal work.. The institution of Dr. LaFrance has received research support from Department of Defense. Dr. LaFrance has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Dr. LaFrance has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care.

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Emotional Processing in Adolescence: Separating Between-Person Stability and Within-Person Change

Previous research on the relation between Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) and Emotional Processing (EP) during adolescence is limited. The present study aimed to clarify how IU and EP evolve over time, to what extent they are related, and whether changes in one precede or follow changes in the other. A total of 457 Italian adolescents (53.1% girls) aged 11 to 18 years (M = 14.1 ± 2.27) completed the IU and EP scales on three separate occasions three months apart (T1, T2, and T3). Data were modeled using a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) that separates individual differences between individuals from intraindividual changes. Descriptive analyses showed that IU was relatively stable between T1 and T2 and decreased slightly between T2 and T3. Consistent with the view that emotion regulation improves as adolescents develop, EP difficulties were found to decrease between T1 and T2 and between T2 and T3. The RI-CLPM revealed a strong between-person effect, showing that individual differences in IU and EP remained consistent throughout the study. In addition, significant within-person change was found, with adolescents who increased their IU at T1 and T2 also increasing their EP difficulties at T2 and T3, respectively. The opposite effect had a smaller effect size. In sum, our study showed that IU and EP are intertwined in adolescents and that changes in IU precede corresponding changes in EP. These results suggest a priority of change between IU and EP and confirm the relationship between IU and emotion regulation problems in adolescence.

Neuropsychological Effects of Antidepressants: Translational Studies.

Pharmacological treatments that improve mood were first identified serendipitously, but more than half a century later, how these drugs induce their antidepressant effects remains largely unknown. With the help of animal models, a detailed understanding of their pharmacological targets and acute and chronic effects on brain chemistry and neuronal function has been achieved, but it remains to be elucidated how these effects translate to clinical efficacy. Whilst the field has been dominated by the monoamine and neurotrophic hypotheses, the idea that the maladaptive cognitive process plays a critical role in the development and perpetuation of mood disorders has been discussed since the 1950s. Recently, studies using objective methods to quantify changes in emotional processing found acute effects with conventional antidepressants in both healthy volunteers and patients. These positive effects on emotional processing and cognition occur without a change in the subjective ratings of mood. Building from these studies, behavioural methods for animals that quantify similar cognitive affective processes have been developed. Integrating these behavioural approaches with pharmacology and targeted brain manipulations, a picture is beginning to emerge of the underlying mechanisms that may link the pharmacology of antidepressants, these neuropsychological constructs and clinical efficacy. In this chapter, we discuss findings from animal studies, experimental medicine and patients investigating the neuropsychological effects of antidepressant drugs. We discuss the possible neural circuits that contribute to these effects and discuss whether a neuropsychological model of antidepressant effects could explain the temporal differences in clinical benefits observed with conventional delayed-onset antidepressants versus rapid-acting antidepressants.

Investigating basic emotion knowledge of people with Williams syndrome

BackgroundEmotional recognition is a key aspect of mentalizing other people’s minds. People with Williams syndrome (WS) are reported to be hypersocial and empathetic; however, few studies have investigated their emotion processing ability. AimsThis study aimed to examine emotion knowledge in people with WS and to further understand their emotion-related mentalizing ability. Methods and ProceduresSix basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise) were tested by narrating scenarios targeting specific emotions. Participants with WS (n = 16, 8F/8 M, CA = 8.46, MA = 5.27) listened to each scenario and pointed to an emoticon displayed on a card. Correct percentages of each target emotion and replacement by other emotions were analyzed. Comparison groups comprised mental age-matched controls (n = 16, 8F/8 M, CA = 5.26) and chronological age-matched controls (n = 16, 8 F/8 M, CA = 8.31), sixth graders (n = 20, 10F/10M, CA = 12.04), and college students (n = 20, 10F/10M, CA = 20.03). All were Chinese-speaking participants with right handedness. Outcomes and ResultsPeople with WS were delayed compared to the mental age-matched group but differed from the chronological age-matched group in emotion processing. The 6th graders showed different patterns from college students, suggesting that development of emotion processing takes time. Conclusions and ImplicationsThese findings suggest (1) a gap in the maturation of emotion knowledge between people with WS and typically developing controls, (2) a nonequivalent chronological emotion-related mentalizing ability in people with WS, and (3) developmental changes in emotion processing from childhood to adulthood.

Do common antibiotic treatments influence emotional processing?

Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide, yet research in recent years has revealed the detrimental effect they can have on the human microbiome, with implications for health. The community of microorganisms inhabiting the gut has been shown to regulate physiological and neural processes. Since studies in both humans and animal models have revealed that the gut microbiome can affect the brain, influencing emotion and cognition, here we investigate whether antibiotic treatment is associated with changes in emotional processing and mood with a between-subject design in 105 young healthy adult volunteers, using both psychological tests and questionnaires. As both the immune system and vagal signalling can mediate the microbiome–gut–brain axis, we also assess whether there is any evidence of such changes in participant physiology. We find that individuals who have taken antibiotics in the past three months show a stronger emotional bias towards sadness and at a physiological level they have a higher heart rate (though this does not mediate the relationship with negative bias). While we cannot rule out a possible role of prior infection, our findings are in any case highly relevant in light of research revealing that antibiotics are linked to increased susceptibility to depression and anxiety. Our results also have implications for listing antibiotic use as an exclusion criterion in studies on emotional processing and psychophysiology.

Towards Defining the Neuroanatomical Basis of Late-Onset Psychiatric Symptoms.

Psychiatric symptoms, including changes in emotional processing, are a common feature of many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy Bodies, frontotemporal dementia, and Huntington's disease. However, the neuroanatomical basis of emotional symptoms is not well defined; this stands in contrast to the relatively well-understood neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive and motor symptoms in neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, psychiatric diagnostic categories, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), may have limited applicability in patients with late-onset psychiatric symptoms in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. In this clinical review, we suggest that early-onset and late-onset psychiatric symptoms have distinct etiologies, and that late-onset changes in emotional processing are likely underpinned by neurodegenerative disease. Furthermore, we suggest that an improved understanding of the neuroanatomical correlates of emotional changes in neurodegenerative disease may facilitate diagnosis and future treatment development. Finally, we propose a novel clinical approach, in a preliminary attempt to incorporate late-onset emotional symptoms alongside cognitive and motor symptoms into a clinical "algorithm," with a focus on the neuroanatomy implicated when particular combinations of emotional, cognitive, and motor features are present. We anticipate that this clinical approach will assist with the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders, and our proposed schema represents a move towards integrating neurologic and psychiatric classification systems.

Changes in emotion processing in early Parkinson's disease reflect disease progression.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which can substantially affect nonmotor functions related to emotional processing. We aimed to examine the underlying differences in emotional processing in PD by comparing how early-stage PD patients recognize, rate, and react to facial, bodily, and vocal emotional stimuli to that of healthy controls (HC). We compared emotion recognition, emotional rating bias, and emotional response range between a PD patient group (n = 33) and a HC group (n = 29). Pearson's correlations were conducted to evaluate the relationship between emotion processing measures and clinical outcome measures in each group. PD patients showed an enhanced emotion processing as compared to HC. They were overall more accurate than HC's at identifying correct emotions and furthermore showed an increase in emotional ratings and reactions to both positive and negative stimuli that scaled with increased symptom severity, thereby yielding significant correlations between clinical outcomes and emotional range in the PD patient group. Our results suggest that alterations in emotional processing reflect disease progression in early PD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in emotion processing and social cognition with auditory versus visual neuroscience-informed cognitive training in individuals with schizophrenia

BackgroundNeuroscience-informed cognitive training has been used to remediate cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, but their effect on emotion processing and social cognition deficits, which may involve auditory and visual impairments, remain relatively unknown. In this study, we compared the efficacy of auditory versus visual neuroscience-informed cognitive training on emotion processing and social cognition in individuals with schizophrenia. MethodsIn this randomised, double-blind clinical trial, 79 participants with chronic schizophrenia performed 40-hours auditory or visual dynamically equivalent computerised cognitive training. We assessed emotion processing and social cognition using Emotion Recognition, Affective Go-NoGo, Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional-Intelligence, Theory of mind, and Hinting tests before and after 20 h and 40 h of training. ResultsAfter training, participants from both groups decreased their reaction time for facial emotion recognition (p = 3 × 10−6, d = 0.9). This was more remarkable for the auditory group when analysing individual emotions. Both groups also reduced omissions in the affective go-no go (p = 0.01, d = 0.6), which was also attributed, post hoc, to the auditory group. Trends for improvement were observed in theory of mind (p = 0.06, d = 0.6) for both groups. Improvement in emotion processing was associated with improvement in reasoning and problem solving and global cognition and improvement in theory of mind was associated with improvement in attention and global cognition. ConclusionsBoth the auditory and the visual neuroscience-informed cognitive training were efficacious at improving emotion processing and social cognition in individuals with schizophrenia, although improvement was more remarkable for the auditory training group. These improvements were related to cognitive – but not symptom – improvement.

Cognitive, creative, functional, and clinical symptom improvements in schizophrenia after an integrative cognitive remediation program: a randomized controlled trial

This study analyzed the effectiveness of an integrative cognitive remediation program (REHACOP) in improving neurocognition, social cognition, creativity, functional outcome, and clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. In addition, possible mediators predicting improvement in functional outcomes were explored. The program combined cognitive remediation with social cognitive training and social and functional skill training over 20 weeks. The sample included 94 patients, 47 in the REHACOP group and 47 in the active control group (occupational activities). Significant differences were found between the two groups in change scores of processing speed, working memory, verbal memory (VM), inhibition, theory of mind, emotion processing (EP), figural creative strengths, functional competence, disorganization, excitement, and primary negative symptoms. A mediational analysis revealed that changes in VM, inhibition, and EP partially explained the effect of cognitive remediation on functional competence improvement. This study provides initial evidence of the effect of integrative cognitive remediation on primary negative symptoms and creativity.

Emotional Processing and Experience in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic and Critical Review.

Even though increasing literature describes changes in emotional processing in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), efforts to summarize relevant findings are lacking in the field. A systematic literature review was performed to provide a critical and up-to-date account of emotional abilities in ALS. References were identified by searches of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus (1980–2021, English literature), with the following key terms: (“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” or “Primary Lateral Sclerosis” or “Motor Neuron”) and “Emotion*” and (“Processing” or “Attribution” or “Elaboration” or “Perception” or “Recognition”). Studies concerning only caregivers, pseudobulbar affect, and social cognition were excluded. Forty-one articles were included, all concerning ALS, and seven topics were identified: Emotion recognition, Emotional responsiveness, Emotional reactivity, Faces approachability rating, Valence rating, Memory for emotional materials and Alexithymia. The majority of these aspects have only been sparsely addressed. The evidence confirms altered emotional processing in ALS. The most consistent findings regard the recognition of facial expressions for negative emotions, but also alterations in the subjective responsiveness to emotional stimuli (arousal, valence and approachability), in psychophysiological and cerebral reactivity and in emotional memory, together with alexithymia traits, were reported. According to this evidence, emotional abilities should be included in the clinical assessment and therapeutic interventions.

Emotional Processing and Its Association to Somatic Symptom Change in Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy for Somatic Symptom Disorder: A Preliminary Mediation Investigation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate emotional processing as a potential mediator in therapist-guided, internet-based Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (I-EAET) for somatic symptom disorder, using data from a previously published pilot study.Methods: Participants (N = 52) engaged in a 9-week I-EAET treatment. Before treatment and each week during treatment (i.e., 10 weekly measurements), emotional processing was assessed with the Emotional Processing Scale-25 (EPS-25), which contains five subscales, and somatic symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15).Results: Mediation analyses using linear mixed models showed that two EPS-25 subscales—Signs of Unprocessed Emotions and Impoverished Emotional Experience—were uniquely associated with somatic symptom reduction. The proportion of the mediated effect was 0.49, indicating that about half of the total association of the PHQ-15 with symptoms was accounted for by the two EPS-25 subscales.Conclusion: This preliminary mediation analysis suggests that improved emotional processing is associated with change in somatic symptoms in I-EAET. However, randomized controlled and comparison trials are needed to establish that I-EAET creates the change in emotional processing and that such changes are specific to I-EAET.

Estradiol administration modulates neural emotion regulation

Variations of sex hormones during the menstrual cycle can lead to changes in emotion processing. The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions is associated with better social abilities and mental health. While women show better performance in fear extinction learning under high estradiol (E2) compared to women under low E2 levels, little is known about the effect of E2 on emotion regulation. We explored whether E2 modulates emotion regulation in a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm and administered E2 valerate to 32 young naturally cycling women during their early follicular phase in a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject design. This standardized experimental control allowed us to explore the specific effect of E2 on emotion regulation while controlling for other hormones varying throughout the menstrual cycle. Behaviorally, no difference between conditions appeared. However, on the neural level, E2 administration was associated with lower activation in the right lingual- and left calcarine gyrus, right orbitofrontal cortex and left hippocampus relative to placebo. With respect to the main effect of down-regulation higher activation of the right superior frontal gyrus and left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex was seen; which is in accordance to previous literature. An interaction between drug condition and emotion regulation appeared for the left inferior frontal gyrus extending into the middle frontal gyrus indicating lower activation during down-regulation in the E2 condition than the placebo condition. On the behavioral level, women reported less negative affect in the E2 condition. The results fit well to a previously described psychoneuroendocrinological model in which E2 plays an important modulatory role on emotional processes and risk factors of mental health in women.

The phenomenon of aggression in individuals with schizophrenia

Objective: to compare and identify differences in the psychopathological symptoms and domains of social cognition in groups of individuals suffering from schizophrenia with a high level of aggression with or without alcohol consumption.Materials and methods. In the period from 2014 to 2020, we performed a comparative, cross-section, one-stage, observational study with the formation of a sample by the method of directed selection at Gomel Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital. The following assessment methods were used: 1. Screening for alcohol use — ASSIST scale (Humeniuk R. et al. 2008), 2. Determination of the level of aggression — OAS scale (Yudofsky SC 1986), 3. Degree of severity of psychopathological symptoms — PANSS scale (S. Kay, L.Opler 1986), 4. Hostile attributive style of the AIHQ scale (Combs D. R. et al., 2007). 5. The research of emotional processing was performed using a computerized neuropsychological battery (PennCNP) to study the neuropsychological functioning of the Laboratory of Brain Problems of the University of Pennsylvania.Results and discussion: The group with a preclinical level of alcohol consumption revealed changes in emotional processing (″reduced facial memory″), a bias in the attributive style towards hostility, and changes in the psychopathological symptoms, such as an increase in ″emotional lability″ and ″decreased judgment and awareness of the disease″. In the group without alcohol consumption, an increase in ″false positive recognition of neutral emotions″ and an increase in the degree of manifestation of the symptom of ″delusion″ were revealed.Conclusion: Alcohol and aggression are in conjunction with the psychopathological symptom ″emotional lability″ (PANSS scale) and the domain of social cognition ″attributive style″ (″anger index″). In the group without alcohol consumption, aggression is related to the ″delusion″ symptom.

Emotional bias training as a treatment for anxiety and depression: evidence from experimental medicine studies in healthy and medicated samples.

Anxiety and depression are leading causes of disability worldwide, yet individuals are often unable to access appropriate treatment. There is a need to develop effective interventions that can be delivered remotely. Previous research has suggested that emotional processing biases are a potential target for intervention, and these may be altered through brief training programs. We report two experimental medicine studies of emotional bias training in two samples: individuals from the general population (n = 522) and individuals currently taking antidepressants to treat anxiety or depression (n = 212). Participants, recruited online, completed four sessions of EBT from their own home. Mental health and cognitive functioning outcomes were assessed at baseline, immediately post-training, and at 2-week follow-up. In both studies, our intervention successfully trained participants to perceive ambiguous social information more positively. This persisted at a 2-week follow-up. There was no clear evidence that this change in emotional processing transferred to improvements in symptoms in the primary analyses. However, in both studies, there was weak evidence for improved quality of life following EBT amongst individuals with more depressive symptoms at baseline. No clear evidence of transfer effects was observed for self-reported daily stress, anhedonia or depressive symptoms. Exploratory analyses suggested that younger participants reported greater treatment gains. These studies demonstrate the effectiveness of delivering a multi-session online training program to promote lasting cognitive changes. Given the inconsistent evidence for transfer effects, EBT requires further development before it can be considered as a treatment for anxiety and depression.

Emotional processing changes of qigong on college students: A pilot ERP study of a randomized controlled trial

To investigate the influence of qigong on late positive potential, which was elicited by affective pictures. College students who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled and randomly allocated to the qigong group, which received a four-week training (n = 41) or the control group (n = 41). All participants were assessed before and after the training for event-related potential, which was elicited by negative, neutral, and positive pictures. Electrodes at the centerline position of the frontal area (FCz), parietal area (Pz), and occipital area (Oz) were analyzed. Negative, neutral, and positive pictures demonstrated statistically significant differences on FCz ( P < .001), Pz ( P < .001), and Oz ( P < .001). The interaction between the group factor and time factor was statistically significant on Pz ( P = .028). The pairwise comparison of Pz on the time factor and group factor showed that the amplitudes of the qigong group after training were smaller than before ( P < .001), and the amplitudes of the control group were not statistically significant ( P = .355). Our results supported the conclusion that qigong practices could affect the emotional regulation of college students. Qigong exercise weakens the emotional regulation of late positive potential, which is sensitive to top-down affective modulation. The findings imply that the regulating effect of qigong on emotions may be part of the reason why it is effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.