assessment-age-related-changes-cognitive-functions-using-emocogmeter

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach

The main goal of this study was to assess the usability of a tablet-computer-based application (EmoCogMeter) in investigating the effects of age on ...

Freie Universität Berlin

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been shown to modulate a variety of human social behaviors. However, little is known about its impact on emotional memory processing. Previous research demonstrated both memory-enhancing and memory-impairing oxytocinergic effects.

Effects of intranasal oxytocin prior to encoding and retrieval on recognition memory.

Patients with depression show an enhanced preoccupation with negative expectations and are often unable to look forward to positive events. Here we studied anticipatory emotional processes in unmedicated depressed patients using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Consistent with a negative processing bias, we hypothesized enhanced responses to negative and attenuated responses to positive expectancy cues in brain areas associated with emotional expectancy. Participants comprised 19 drug-free depressed patients and 19 matched healthy control subjects who viewed affective photographs. Pictures were preceded by an expectancy cue which signaled the emotional valence of the upcoming picture in half of the trials. Depressed patients showed attenuated blood-oxygen-level-dependent responses in the left lateral prefrontal cortex (inferior frontal gyrus, Brodmann area 44) during positive expectancy and-contrary to our hypothesis-in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (middle frontal gyrus, Brodmann area 47) during negative expectancy. This attenuation was specific for the anticipation (as opposed to the perception) of emotional pictures and correlated with a clinical measure of depressive symptoms. The observed attenuation suggests emotion-context insensitivity rather than a negative processing bias during anticipatory emotional processes in depression. This hyporeactivity may contribute to clinical features like anergia, apathy, and loss of motivation in the context of both positive and negative incentives.

Context insensitivity during positive and negative emotional expectancy in depression assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

A growing body of findings illustrates the importance of state-dependency in studies using brain stimulation.

State-dependent effects of prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on emotional working memory.

The ability to cognitively control emotions is critical for mental health. Previous studies have identified the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as a core region in cognitive reappraisal. However, there is only scarce evidence whether directly modulating dlPFC activity results in improved capacities for cognitive reappraisal.

Transcranial direct current stimulation enhances cognitive control during emotion regulation.

Targeting memory processes by noninvasive interventions is a potential gateway to modulate fear memories as shown by animal and human studies in recent years. Modulation of fear memories by noninvasive brain stimulation techniques might be an attractive approach, which, however, has not been examined so far. We investigated the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left supraorbital region on fear memories in humans. Seventy-four young, healthy individuals were assigned randomly to two groups, which underwent fear conditioning with mild electric stimuli paired with a visual stimulus. Twenty-four hours later, both groups were shown a reminder of the conditioned fearful stimulus. Shortly thereafter, they received either tDCS (right prefrontal - anodal, left supraorbital - cathodal) for 20 min at 1 mA current intensity or sham stimulation. A day later, fear responses of both groups were compared by monitoring skin conductance. On day 3, during fear response assessment, the tDCS group had a significantly (P<0.05) higher mean skin conductance in comparison with the sham group. These results suggest that tDCS (right prefrontal - anodal, left supraorbital - cathodal) enhanced fear memories, possibly by influencing the prefrontal cortex-amygdala circuit underlying the memory for fear.

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex: a means to modulate fear memories.

Early life stress (ELS) is associated with altered stress responsivity, structural and functional brain changes and an increased risk for the development of psychopathological conditions in later life. Due to its behavioral and physiological effects, the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) is a useful tool to investigate stress responsivity, even though the neurobiological underpinnings of its effects are still unknown. Here we investigate the effects of OXT on cortisol stress response and neural activity during psychosocial stress. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in healthy subjects with and without a history of ELS, we found attenuated hormonal reactivity and significantly reduced limbic deactivation after OXT administration in subjects without a history of ELS. Subjects who experienced ELS showed both blunted stress reactivity and limbic deactivation during stress. Furthermore, in these subjects OXT had opposite effects with increased hormonal reactivity and increased limbic deactivation. Our results might implicate that reduced limbic deactivation and HPA-axis responsivity during psychosocial stress are markers for biological resilience after ELS. Effects of OXT in subjects with a history of maltreatment could therefore be considered detrimental and suggest careful consideration of OXT administration in such individuals.

Article	Year
Effects of intranasal oxytocin prior to encoding and retrieval on recognition memory. Psychopharmacology\| PubMed ID: 23334103	2013
Context insensitivity during positive and negative emotional expectancy in depression assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Psychiatry research\| PubMed ID: 23473989	2013
State-dependent effects of prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on emotional working memory. Brain stimulation\| PubMed ID: 23928102	2013
Transcranial direct current stimulation enhances cognitive control during emotion regulation. Brain stimulation\| PubMed ID: 24095257	2014
Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex: a means to modulate fear memories. Neuroreport\| PubMed ID: 24384505	2013
Early life stress modulates oxytocin effects on limbic system during acute psychosocial stress. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 24478326	2014

Melanie Feeser

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