Emotional Memory Task Research Articles

Distinct prefrontal cortex alterations in confirmed and suspected depression individuals with different perceived stress during an emotional autobiographical memory task: One fNIRS investigation

BackgroundPrevious research showed that perceived stress was strongly linked to depression, little is known about the underlying neurological mechanism of different depression subtypes with different perceived stress, and there is currently no classification of stress-based subtypes of depression. This study aimed at using fNIRS to uncover the neuromechanism of confirmed and suspected depression with different perceived stress, hence providing neurobiological evidence for the classification of stress-based depression subtypes. It is a significant target for effective depression treatment. MethodThe study included 551 young adults: 256 healthy control individuals, 62 confirmed depression patients, and 233 suspected depression participants. A 53-channel fNIRS imaging system was used to gather the average oxyhemoglobin level in the PFC during EAMT. ResultsCompared with HC, confirmed and suspected depression group show significant lower hemodynamic activation in right frontal lobe of frame under high loss of control. Confirmed depression with high sense of tension had higher activation than with high loss of control in right dlPFC, while for suspected depression, the activation with high sense of tension was lower than with high loss of control in left broca's area (BA) and front polar cortex (FPC). ConclusionAll perceived stresses were not equal in their impacts on different depression types. The confirmed and suspected depression were two different depression subtypes sharing distinct activation pattern under different perceived stress in PFC, which may be an important target for stress-linked psychopathology. Depression can be further classified precisely based on stress. fNIRS can provide neuroimaging evidence for classification of stress-based depression subtypes.

Different dorsolateral prefrontal activation during an emotionalautobiographical memory task between male and female depressed individuals: a fNIRS study.

Depression in male and female are commonly associated with different prevalence, severity, and, in some cases, distinct syndromes or subtypes. However, only a small amount of research has been conducted to completely understand the underlying neuroanatomical mechanisms. The goal of the current study was to provide neural markers for specific depression therapies by demonstrating the differences in aberrant prefrontal activity between male and female depressed subjects during an emotional autobiographical memory test. The study included 127 young adults who were randomly assigned to one of two groups: male depression (62 participants) or female depression (65 participants). The average oxyhemoglobin levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex throughout the emotional autobiographical memory task were assessed utilizing 53-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy imaging equipment. The oxy-Hb activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) had no significant interaction between groups and emotional valences. A significant main effect was found between male and female, with female depression groups showing lower oxy-Hb activity in lDLPFC and rDLPFC than male depression groups. Male and female depression patients showed distinct brain activation in the DLPFC during an emotional autobiographical memory test, suggesting potential specific neurological indicators for varied somatic symptoms in male and female depression patients. These distinctions should be taken into account while creating preventive measures.

Retirement through rose-colored glasses: greater positivity bias in retired relative to working older adults

Abstract Retirement has been associated with declines in memory beyond typical age-related memory decline. This may impact the ability to remember distinct events, as older adults (OA) are susceptible to interference in memory across experiences with overlapping features. Impaired hippocampal pattern separation, a computation that allows for the disambiguation of similar experiences as unique events, is thought to underlie age-related impairment in memory. Furthermore, positive experiences tend to be better remembered than neutral or negative experiences in aging. Socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that awareness of a limited remaining lifespan leads OA to prioritize emotionally fulfilling experiences, often leading to a bias towards positive information compared to negative or neutral information. However, the potential role of retirement in contributing to these age-related changes in memory has yet to be examined. Memory measures that tax hippocampal pattern separation may be more sensitive to memory impairment in retirement compared to standard memory measures. Retirement may exacerbate awareness of reduced remaining time, such that retired OA may experience a greater positivity bias in memory than their working peers. Here, we utilized an emotional memory task that taxes hippocampal pattern separation to examine memory in age-matched retired and working OA. We found that retired OA show selective impairments for memories with high interference and a greater positivity bias in memory compared to their working peers. These findings suggest that retirement may accelerate age-related memory changes, including greater susceptibility to interference as well as a bias toward remembering positive relative to neutral information.

Evaluating the Efficacy of a Digital Therapeutic (CT-152) as an Adjunct to Antidepressant Treatment in Adults With Major Depressive Disorder: Protocol for the MIRAI Remote Study.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common worldwide and can be highly disabling. People with MDD face many barriers to treatment and may not experience full symptom relief even when treated. Therefore, new treatment modalities are needed for MDD. Digital therapeutics (DTx) may provide people with MDD an additional treatment option. This study aimed to describe a phase 3 remote, multicenter, randomized, masked, sham-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a smartphone app-based DTx (CT-152) in adult participants diagnosed with MDD, used as an adjunct to antidepressant therapy (ADT). Participants aged 22-64 years with a current primary diagnosis of MDD and an inadequate response to ADT were included. Participants were randomized 1:1 to CT-152 or a sham DTx. CT-152 is a smartphone app-based DTx that delivers a cognitive-emotional and behavioral therapeutic intervention. The core components of CT-152 are the Emotional Faces Memory Task exercises, brief lessons to learn and apply key therapeutic skills, and SMS text messaging to reinforce lessons and encourage engagement with the app. The sham DTx is a digital working memory exercise with emotionally neutral stimuli designed to match CT-152 for time and attention. Participants took part in the trial for up to 13 weeks. The trial included a screening period of up to 3 weeks, a treatment period of 6 weeks, and an extension period of 4 weeks to assess the durability of the effect. Sites and participants had the option of an in-person or remote screening visit; the remaining trial visits were remote. Efficacy was evaluated using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. The durability of the effect was evaluated with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale. Adverse events were also assessed. Satisfaction, measured by the Participant and Healthcare Professional Satisfaction Scales, and health status, measured by the EQ-5D-5L, were summarized using descriptive statistics. This study was initiated in February 2021 and had a primary completion date in October 2022. This represents the methodological design for the first evaluation of CT-152 as an adjunct to ADT. This study protocol is methodologically robust and incorporates many aspects of conventional pivotal pharmaceutical phase 3 trial design, such as randomization and safety end points. Novel considerations included the use of a sham comparator, masking considerations for visible app content, and outcome measures relevant to DTx. The rigor of this methodology will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of CT-152. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04770285; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04770285. RR1-10.2196/56960.

Investigating sex differences and age of onset in emotion regulation, executive functioning, and cannabis use in adolescents and young adults

BackgroundYoung adults have historically high levels of cannabis use at a time which coincides with emotional and cognitive development. Age of regular onset of cannabis use and sex at birth are hypothesized to influence the relationship between cannabis use and cognition. Here we investigated past 6-month cannabis use in relation to emotional and executive functioning. We further considered age of onset and sex in subgroup analyses.MethodYoung adults (N = 225; ages 16–22) completed a substance use interview and cognitive battery, including the Emotional Word-Emotional Face Stroop and NIH toolbox executive functioning tasks. Linear regressions examined relationships between past 6-month cannabis use episodes and performance. Subgroup analyses investigated whether age of onset or sex impacted relationships.ResultsAfter correcting for multiple comparisons, greater past 6-month cannabis use episodes were related to poorer Emotional Stroop Congruent Accuracy (p = .0004, FDR-p = .002) and List Sorting Working Memory (p = .02, FDR-p = .10) performance. Younger age of regular use onset marginally related to lower Emotional Stroop Congruent Accuracy performance (p = .03, FDR-p = .13). There were no cannabis use by sex interactions on cognition.ConclusionsConsistent with prior findings, results suggest small reductions in cannabis-related performance in processing speed during emotional Stroop and working memory tasks. Age of onset was modestly related to Stroop performance, but not sex. Longitudinal studies which detail patterns of cannabis and other substance use are needed to better assess brain-behavior relationships and other factors (e.g., age of onset of regular use, sex) which could influence cannabis-related impairments in cognitive functioning.

Facial emotion recognition in individuals with mild cognitive impairment: An exploratory study.

Understanding facial emotions is fundamental to interact in social environments and modify behavior accordingly. Neurodegenerative processes can progressively transform affective responses and affect social competence. This exploratory study examined the neurocognitive correlates of face recognition, in individuals with two mild cognitive impairment (MCI) etiologies (prodromal to dementia - MCI, or consequent to Parkinson's disease - PD-MCI). Performance on the identification and memorization of neutral and emotional facial expressions was assessed in 31 individuals with MCI, 26 with PD-MCI, and 30 healthy controls (HC). Individuals with MCI exhibited selective impairment in recognizing faces expressing fear, along with difficulties in remembering both neutral and emotional faces. Conversely, individuals with PD-MCI showed no differences compared with the HC in either emotion recognition or memory. In MCI, no significant association emerged between the memory for facial expressions and cognitive difficulties. In PD-MCI, regression analyses showed significant associations with higher-level cognitive functions in the emotional memory task, suggesting the presence of compensatory mechanisms. In a subset of participants, voxel-based morphometry revealed that the performance on emotional tasks correlated with regional changes in gray matter volume. The performance in the matching of negative expressions was predicted by volumetric changes in brain areas engaged in face and emotional processing, in particular increased volume in thalamic nuclei and atrophy in the right parietal cortex. Future studies should leverage on neuroimaging data to determine whether differences in emotional recognition are mediated by pathology-specific atrophic patterns.

Noradrenergic gene variation shaping vulnerability and resilience by affecting mental health-related characteristics: A systematic review

Mental health problems are highly prevalent worldwide. Stress can precipitate both the onset and recurrence of mental health problems. While many individuals are exposed to similar stressors, there is a large heterogeneity in sensitivity to stress and the extent to which someone subsequently develops mental health issues. A key factor that contributes to an individual's capacity to cope with adversity, referred to as resilience, is genetic variation. Here, we systematically reviewed the effects of genetic variation in the genes encoding the norepinephrine (NE) transporter and receptors on resilience- and mental health-related features in a transdiagnostic approach (i.e., without restrictions regarding factors such as diagnosis or age). Our search yielded 49 studies for inclusion. The current evidence highlights that 1) genetic variations in the NE system (particularly in the ADRA2A and ADRA2B genes) exert influence on some cognitive processes, especially attention and emotional memory; 2) genetic variants in the alpha-2a receptor might play a role in some personality traits; 3) deletion in the ADRA2B and ADRA2C genes seems to be related with altered activity of the amygdala during emotional memory tasks; 4) the link between NE variants and response to methylphenidate are inconclusive. Altogether, these studies provide evidence for a genetic effect of the noradrenergic system in specific resilience- and mental health-related individual characteristics. However, the number of available studies specifically investigating noradrenergic genes were limited, emphasizing the need to perform more research on the noradrenergic system, while taking into account factors such as age, sex, environment, and the potential interactions with other genes.

Shame on Me? Love Me Tender! Inducing and Reducing Shame and Fear in Social Anxiety in an Analogous Sample.

Shame is considered an important factor in the development and maintenance of many psychological disorders, e.g., social anxiety disorder, and an interesting target point for therapeutic intervention. In the present experimental study, we used an online-adopted Autobiographical Emotional Memory Task (AEMT) to induce shame and tested different micro-interventions (self-compassion, cognitive reappraisal, and a control intervention) with respect to their potential to reduce shame intensity. One-hundred-and-fifteen healthy subjects participated in the study and completed a series of self-report questionnaires on self-compassion, shame, and social anxiety. The experimental shame induction was well accepted and successful (with significantly heightened feelings of shame); there were no study drop-outs. There was a significant time*condition interaction, which was due the self-compassion-based intervention resulting in a significantly larger reduction of shame than the control condition (counting fishes). In addition, the main effect of the factor experimental condition was further moderated (enhanced) by trait social anxiety and trait self-compassion. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of online-adopted AEMT for the experimental induction of shame. They suggest that especially self-compassion interventions can be beneficial in alleviating intense shame experiences, which is in accordance with self-compassion theory. Overall, the results are promising in the context of experimental shame research and its potential clinical impacts call for further replication.

0055 Effect of acute sleep restriction on sleep physiology and emotional imagery memory in schizophrenia

Abstract Introduction Cognitive dysfunction in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) represents a major determinant of poor functioning and may arise in part due to deficits in sleep quality that have been reported in in this population. In the current project, we investigate the effect of acute sleep restriction on a sleep-dependent emotional memory task. Methods Six individuals with medication-controlled SZ encoded consensus-rated emotionally valent and neutral pictures from the International Affective Picture System in the evening before 2 counterbalanced, polysomnographically-recorded nights containing either ad libitum sleep (~11pm to 7am) or sleep restriction (SR) to 4 hours between 3 and 7 am. Image recall occurred within 1 hour of wake time. We compared memory performance for negative emotional/neutral memory and PSG measures across the two sleep conditions with paired signed-rank tests. Results Mean age was 38 years and 50% were women. Acute sleep restriction resulted in reduced total sleep time (Adlib: median 372 min. (interquartile-range 53) vs SR: 209 (16) min., p=0.03), including reduction in duration of N1 (Ad lib: 44 min. (44) vs. SR: 29 min. (33), p=0.03), N2 (Ad lib: 158 min. (86) vs. SR: 60 min. (33), p=0.03) and REM sleep (Ad lib: 18 min. (5) vs. SR: 13 min. (13), p=0.03). We did not observe differences in N3 duration, sleep efficiency, and arousal index. Measures of breathing such as AHI4%, AHI3A, and SpO2 nadir were not significantly different between conditions. Compared to SR, the false alarm rate for emotional images was increased in ad lib sleep (n=6, p=0.03) with no difference in false alarm rate for neutral images (p=0.19). Correct rejection rate for emotional images was increased in SR compared to ad lib sleep (p=0.03) with no difference in neutral images (p=0.19). No other change was observed in accuracy of recall for emotional or neutral, miss rate for emotional or neutral and d-prime for emotional or neutral images. Conclusion In subjects with SZ, unrestricted sleep was associated with a greater false alarm rate for emotional, but not neutral scenes, suggesting a deficit in veridical memory or generalization of emotionally encoded information. Support (if any) R21MH126357, R01AG066870, R01AG056682, K24HL109156, AASMF Focus award/AARG-D

The influence of the BDNF Val66Met genotype on emotional recognition memory in post-traumatic stress disorder

Dysregulated consolidation of emotional memories is a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) influences synaptic plasticity and emotional memory consolidation. The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism has been associated with PTSD risk and memory deficits respectively, although findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to a failure to control for important confounds such as sex, ethnicity, and the timing/extent of previous trauma experiences. Furthermore, very little research has examined the impact of BDNF genotypes on emotional memory in PTSD populations. This study investigated the interaction effects of Val66Met and PTSD symptomatology in an emotional recognition memory task in 234 participants divided into healthy control (n = 85), trauma exposed (TE: n = 105) and PTSD (n = 44) groups. Key findings revealed impaired negative recognition memory in PTSD compared to control and TE groups and in participants with the Val/Met compared to the Val/Val genotype. There was a group × genotype interaction showing no Met effect in the TE group despite significant effects in PTSD and controls. Results suggest that people previously exposed to trauma who do not develop PTSD may be protected from the BDNF Met effect, however more research is needed to replicate findings and to explore the epigenetic and neural processes involved.

Hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of an emotional working memory task

Emotion and working memory are key components in daily life experiences. Previous research has already established a connection between these processes but the neural substrates of this relationship remain an open discussion. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the use of pictures with emotional valence on the performance of a working memory task as well as the neuronal response during the task. For this purpose, 32 participants performed a 2-back task with negative, positive, and neutral images selected from the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS). No significant difference was found in the performance or in the response time related to the valence of the images. Repeated-measures ANOVA with hemisphere and valence as factors revealed an increase of the activity in the right hemisphere for the amplitude of the ERP P3 component and for the time-locked theta power for all the images. The P3 component in the right hemisphere additionally showed greater mean amplitude for the negative images as compared to the neutral and positive ones. Together, these results suggest a predominant role of the right hemisphere for the processing of both working memory and emotional information, as well as a higher neuronal resource allocation to the processing of negative valence images which enabled a proper performance of the working memory task for the negative images.

Dorsolateral prefrontal activation in depressed young adults with and without suicidal ideation during an emotional autobiographical memory task: A fNIRS study

ObjectivePrevious studies have proved that there is a strong association between dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and mood symptoms. This study aimed at using functional near-infrared spectroscopy technology to invest brain activity in dlPFC of depressed individuals with and without suicidal ideation during emotional autobiographical memory test, and to understand their differences in brain cognitive mechanisms. It is helpful to improve our ability to predict and subsequently to prevent suicide. Methods85 young adults participated in the study by a simple random sampling method, with health control (34participants), depression with suicidal ideation (17participants), and depression without suicidal ideation (34participants). The average oxyhemoglobin in dlPFC of subjects during EAMT was collected by a 53-channel fNIRS imaging device. ResultsA marginal significant difference was found between three groups in left dlPFC and right dlPFC. Post hoc analysis revealed that: (1) under negative emotion, depression without suicidal ideation group had higher activation than healthy control group in left dlPFC. (2) under positive emotion, depression with suicidal ideation group had lower activation than healthy control in right dlPFC. ConclusionsResults indicated that the depressed individuals with suicidal ideation had some deficits in executive function in right dlPFC, while the depressed adults without suicidal ideation may have mechanism of resource compensatory recruitment in left dlPFC and the dlPFC abnormality involved in the pathophysiology, may localize within left hemisphere. The depressed individuals with and without suicidal ideation had the different mechanisms in dlPFC and fNIRS can be a neuroimaging biomarker characterizing or predicting suicidality in depressed individuals.

Changes in Medial Prefrontal Cortex Mediate Effects of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback on Positive Emotional Memory Biases

Previous research suggests that implicit automatic emotion regulation relies on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, most of the human studies supporting this hypothesis have been correlational in nature. In the current study, we examine how changes in mPFC-left amygdala functional connectivity relate to emotional memory biases. In a randomized clinical trial examining the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback on brain mechanisms of emotion regulation, we randomly assigned participants to increase or decrease heart rate oscillations while receiving biofeedback. After several weeks of daily biofeedback sessions, younger and older participants completed an emotional picture memory task involving encoding, recall, and recognition phases as an additional measure in this clinical trial. Participants assigned to increase HRV (Osc+) (n = 84) showed a relatively higher rate of false alarms for positive than negative images than participants assigned to decrease HRV (Osc−) (n = 81). Osc+ participants also recalled relatively more positive compared with negative items than Osc− participants, but this difference was not significant. However, a summary bias score reflecting positive emotional memory bias across recall and recognition was significantly higher in the Osc+ than Osc− condition. As previously reported, the Osc+ manipulation increased left amygdala-mPFC resting-state functional connectivity significantly more than the Osc− manipulation. This increased functional connectivity significantly mediated the effects of the Osc+ condition on emotional bias. These findings suggest that, by increasing mPFC coordination of emotion-related circuits, daily practice increasing heart rate oscillations can increase implicit emotion regulation.

Abnormal evidence accumulation underlies the positive memory deficit in depression.

Healthy adults show better memory for low-arousal positive versus negative stimuli, but depression compromises this positive memory advantage. Existing studies are limited by small samples or analyses that provide limited insight into underlying mechanisms. Our study addresses these concerns by using a multistaged analysis, including diffusion modeling, to identify precise psychological processes underlying the positive memory advantage and its disruption by depression in a large sample. A total of 1,358 participants completed the BDI-II (Beck et al., 1996) and an emotional memory task. At encoding, participants judged whether positive and negative words were positive or self-descriptive. After a free recall test, participants viewed an equal mix of studied and unstudied words and judged whether each was "old" or "new"; if judged "old," they indicated whether the study source was a valence or self-reference judgment. We replicate the positive memory advantage and its decrease in depression in recall, recognition, and source accuracy. The hierarchical drift diffusion model (HDDM; Wiecki et al., 2013) revealed that higher BDI-II scores are associated with more efficient evidence accumulation for negative words in the recognition and source memory tasks. By contrast, evidence accumulation for positive words is unaffected by BDI-II during the recognition task but becomes less efficient with increased BDI-II during the source memory task. In conclusion, in a well-controlled design with a large sample, we find that depression reduces the positive memory advantage. HDDM analyses suggest that this reflects differential effects of depression on the speed of evidence accumulation during the retrieval of positive versus negative memories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Increased top-down control of emotions during symptom provocation working memory tasks following a RCT of alpha-down neurofeedback in PTSD

BackgroundPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been found to be associated with emotion under-modulation from the prefrontal cortex and a breakdown of the top-down control of cognition and emotion. Novel adjunct therapies such as neurofeedback (NFB) have been shown to normalize aberrant neural circuits that underlie PTSD psychopathology at rest. However, little evidence exists for NFB-linked neural improvements under emotionally relevant cognitive load. The current study sought to address this gap by examining the effects of alpha-down NFB in the context of an emotional n-back task. MethodsWe conducted a 20-week double-blind randomized, sham-controlled trial of alpha-down NFB and collected neuroimaging data before and after the NFB protocol. Participants performed an emotional 1-back and 2-back working memory task, with interleaved trauma-neutral and trauma-relevant cues in the fMRI scanner. Data from 35 participants with a primary diagnosis of PTSD were analyzed in this study (n = 18 in the experimental group undergoing alpha-down NFB, n = 17 in the sham-control group). ResultsFirstly, within-group analyses showed clinically significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity scores at the post-intervention timepoint and 3-month follow-up for the experimental group, and not for the sham-control group. The neuroimaging analyses revealed that alpha-down NFB enhanced engagement of top-down cognitive and emotional control centers, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and improved integration of the anterior and posterior parts of the default mode network (DMN). Finally, our results also indicate that increased alpha-down NFB performance correlated with increased activity in brain regions involved in top-down control and bodily consciousness/embodied processing of self (TPJ and posterior insula). ConclusionThis is the first study to provide mechanistic insights into how NFB may normalize dysfunctional brain activity and connectivity in PTSD under cognitive load with simultaneous symptom provocation, adding to a growing body of evidence supporting the therapeutic neuromodulatory effects of NFB. This preliminary study highlights the benefits of alpha-down NFB training as an adjunctive therapy for PTSD and warrants further investigation into its therapeutic effects on cognitive and emotion control in those with PTSD.

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Activation in Emotional Autobiographical Task in Depressed and Anxious College Students: An fNIRS Study.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is strongly associated with mood symptoms. This study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology to explore the features of brain neural activity in the dlPFC of anxious and depressed college students, during an emotional autobiographical memory task, and to understand the differences in brain cognitive mechanisms caused by anxiety and depression. A simple random sampling method was used to test 440 college students at a university with a healthy control group (HC, 220 participants), a pure depression group (PD, 92 participants), and a pure anxiety group (PA, 128 participants). The average oxyhemoglobin in the dlPFC of the subjects during the emotional autobiographical memory task was collected by a 53-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy imaging device. The activation of the left dlPFC (ch13) in the pure depression group was significantly higher than in the pure anxiety group. The activation of the right dlPFC (ch48) was significantly higher under positive emotions than under negative emotions. The interaction between emotion valence and group was marginally significant, and the activation of the right dlPFC (ch41) in the pure depression group was significantly higher under positive emotion than in negative emotion. The activation of the pure depression group under positive emotions was significantly higher than that of the pure anxiety group. In comparison, the activation of the pure depression group under negative emotions was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group. The results of correlation analysis showed that the activation of the left dlPFC (ch13) was significantly negatively correlated with anxiety in positive emotions, but the activation of the right dlPFC (ch34, ch42) was significantly positively correlated with anxiety in positive and negative emotions. The right dlPFC was insensitive to positive emotions in college students with high-anxiety symptoms, whereas this region was insensitive to negative emotions in college students with high depressive symptoms, which might be one of the critical differences in the cognitive mechanisms of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, left and right dlPFC activation correlated differently with anxiety. The higher the anxiety level, the lower the activation on the left side, and the higher the activation on the right side. The results suggested that anxiety might reduce the function of the left dlPFC.

Investigation of Neurofunctional Changes Over the Course of Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for patients suffering from depression. Yet the exact neurobiological mechanisms underlying the efficacy of ECT and indicators of who might respond best to it remain to be elucidated. Identifying neural markers that can inform about an individual's response to ECT would enable more optimal treatment strategies and increase clinical efficacy. Twenty-one acutely depressed inpatients completed an emotional working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after receiving treatment with ECT. Neural activity was assessed in 5 key regions associated with the pathophysiology of depression: bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and pregenual, subgenual, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Associations between brain activation and clinical improvement, as reflected by Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores, were computed using linear regression models, t tests, and Pearson correlational analyses. Significant neurobiological prognostic markers or changes in neural activity from pre- to post ECT did not emerge. We could not confirm normalization effects and did not find significant neural markers related to treatment response. These results demonstrate that the search for reliable and clinically useful biomarkers for ECT treatment remains in its initial stages and still faces challenges.

Disentangling Aging and Mood Effects on Emotional Memory.

Older adults tend to be in a more positive mood than young adults, and tend to remember positive information more often than negative information, yet the link between their positive mood and their positive memory bias has not often been explored. In this study, we manipulated young and older adults’ moods prior to their completing an emotional memory task. For mood manipulation, young (n = 147) and older (n = 111) adults viewed a positive, negative, or neutral video lasting 3 min. To validate the mood induction, we collected self-reported ratings of valence and arousal (affective slider; Betella and Verschure, 2016) at baseline, after the video, and after the memory task. The memory task consisted of incidental encoding of 30 intermixed pictures (10 positive, 10 negative, 10 neutral valence), followed by free recall. The mood manipulation changed people’s self-reported valence, yet it did not influence self-reported arousal. The memory task revealed a consistent negativity bias in young adults. Older adults recalled negative and positive pictures equally well in all conditions. After viewing a negative video, they recalled positive pictures more often than neutral pictures, but did not show the same advantage for negative pictures over neutral pictures. This positive memory advantage was weaker in the positive mood condition. Therefore, mood manipulation influenced in part older adults’ emotional memory bias, showing some signs of mood incongruence which we discuss in terms of emotion regulation. This shows the importance of accounting for mood differences in studies on aging and memory. The robust age group differences support the view that the positivity effect in aging is the result of a negativity bias that fades with age.

Severity of childhood maltreatment predicts reaction times and heart rate variability during an emotional working memory task in borderline personality disorder

ABSTRACT Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a core symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and often interfere with cognitive functions, such as working memory (WM). Traumatic childhood experiences, including severe maltreatment, can contribute to emotion dysregulation, possibly mediated by changes in high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). However, it is not yet entirely understood if HF-HRV alterations underlie impaired WM during emotional distraction in BPD and if this is related to traumatic childhood experiences and to comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: Our aim was to investigate performance (reaction times, RTs) and HF-HRV during an emotional working memory task (EWMT) in relation to childhood maltreatment severity and comorbid PTSD in BPD. Method: Eighty-one women (n = 28 healthy controls (HC) and n = 53 BPD patients of which n = 18 had comorbid PTSD) performed an adapted Sternberg item recognition WM task with neutral and negative social cues (interpersonal scenes from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and neutral, fearful, and angry faces) as distractors. Dependent variables were RTs of correct trials and HF-HRV. Childhood maltreatment was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results: Compared to healthy participants, patients with BPD showed prolonged RTs across all distractor conditions with social cues, regardless of their emotional valence. Patients with BPD, especially those with PTSD, demonstrated reduced HF-HRV both at rest and during EWMT. Severity of childhood maltreatment predicted longer RTs and lower HF-HRV during the EWMT. Conclusions: Findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences accelerate difficulties in shifting attention away from social information and that these are more pronounced in individuals with BPD. Reduced HF-HRV (low parasympathetic-tonus) may be an important psychophysiological mechanism underlying impaired WM in the presence of distracting social cues in patients with BPD, especially in those with comorbid PTSD. HIGHLIGHTS This study provides evidence that childhood maltreatment experiences are associated with hypersensitivity to social information and reduced high-frequency heart rate variability during a working memory task in borderline personality disorder.

Worry Modifies the Relationship between Locus Coeruleus Activity and Emotional Mnemonic Discrimination.

Background: The locus coeruleus (LC) plays a critical role in modulating emotional memory performance via widespread connections to the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Interestingly, both the LC and MTL are affected during aging. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether worry during cognitive aging changes the relationship between memory performance and the neural activity patterns during an emotional memory task. Methods: Twenty-eight participants aged 60–83 years from the Maastricht Aging study conducted an emotional mnemonic discrimination task during a 7T fMRI-scan. We performed a robust multiple linear regression to examine the association between worry and mnemonic memory performance under different levels of arousal. Subsequently, we examined if worry modifies the relationship between neuronal activity and mnemonic memory performance. Results: We observed that under low arousal, only participants with low compared to high levels of worry benefitted from additional LC activity. Under high arousal, additional LC activity was associated with lower mnemonic memory performance. Conclusion: Our results suggest there might be an optimal involvement of the NA-system for optimal memory discrimination performance, as we observed that under low levels of worry and with lower levels of arousal, higher LC activity might be needed to achieve similar levels of optimal memory performance as achieved under higher arousal when LC activity remained lower.