The role of startle fluctuation and non-response startle reflex in tracking amygdala dynamics

M, Liu; Rc, Amey; Magerman, Adam B.; Scott, Mark; Ce, Forbes

doi:10.1101/2020.01.12.903526

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Critchley & Nagai, 2013) and the eye blink startle response is a reflex circuit that can be modulated by limbic input, such as amygdala activity, as well as sympathetic activation (e.g. Koch & Schnitzler, 1997; Liu, Amey, Magerman, Scott, & Forbes, 2020; Szabadi, 2012). HR, on the other hand, is regulated by both the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure

Mäder

Oliver²,

Daffre³

et al. 2021

Psychol. Med.

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Background Nightmares are a hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This strong association may reflect a shared pathophysiology in the form of altered autonomic activity and increased reactivity. Using an acoustic startle paradigm, we investigated the interrelationships of psychophysiological measures during wakefulness and PTSD diagnosis, posttraumatic nightmares, and nontraumatic nightmares. Methods A community sample of 122 trauma survivors were presented with a series of brief loud tones, while heart rate (HRR), skin conductance (SCR), and orbicularis oculi electromyogram (EMGR) responses were measured. Prior to the tone presentations, resting heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed. Nightmares were measured using nightmare logs. Three dichotomous groupings of participants were compared: (1) current PTSD diagnosis (n = 59), no PTSD diagnosis (n = 63), (2) those with (n = 26) or without (n = 96) frequent posttraumatic nightmares, and (3) those with (n = 22) or without (n = 100) frequent nontraumatic nightmares. Results PTSD diagnosis was associated with posttraumatic but not with nontraumatic nightmares. Both PTSD and posttraumatic nightmares were associated with a larger mean HRR to loud tones, whereas nontraumatic nightmare frequency was associated with a larger SCR. EMGR and resting HRV were not associated with PTSD diagnosis or nightmares. Conclusions Our findings suggest a shared pathophysiology between PTSD and posttraumatic nightmares in the form of increased HR reactivity to startling tones, which might reflect reduced parasympathetic tone. This shared pathophysiology could explain why PTSD is more strongly related to posttraumatic than nontraumatic nightmares, which could have important clinical implications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure

Mäder

Oliver²,

Daffre³

et al. 2021

Psychol. Med.

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Context matters: Situational stress impedes functional reorganization of intrinsic brain connectivity during problem solving

Liu

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Amey

et al. 2020

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Extensive research has established the relationship between individual differences in brain activity in a resting state and individual differences in behavior. Conversely, when individuals are engaged in various tasks, certain task-evoked reorganization occurs in brain functional connectivity, which consequently can influence individuals' performance as well. Here, we show that resting state and task-dependent state brain patterns interact as a function of contexts engendering stress. Findings revealed that when the resting state connectome was examined during performance, the relationship between connectome strength and performance only remained for participants under stress (who also performed worse than all other groups on the math task), suggesting stress preserved brain patterns indicative of underperformance whereas non-stressed individuals spontaneously transitioned out of brain patterns indicative of underperformance. These findings were subsequentially replicated in an independent sample set. Implications are discussed for network dynamics as a function of context.

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How the brain negotiates divergent executive processing demands: Evidence of network reorganization during fleeting brain states

Liu

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Amey

et al. 2020

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During performance in everyday contexts, multiple networks draw from shared executive resources to maintain attention, regulate arousal, and problem solve. At times, requirements for attention and self-regulation appear to be in competition for a "limited pool" of resources. How does the brain attempt to resolve conflicts arising from multiple processing demands? In the present study, participants were exposed to either a stress or control prime, after which electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded as they solved math problems. Phase-locking was examined within four networks implicated in math-solving and evaluative stress: frontopareital (FP), default mode (DM), emotion generation (EG), and emotion regulation (ER) networks. Findings revealed differing strategies, depending on the presence of stress: states dominated by frontopareital and emotion regulation network dynamics supported optimum performance generally, while during stress, states dominated by emotion regulation and default mode networks are more important for performance. Implications for networks' cooperative dynamics and DMN's role in coping are considered.

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The role of startle fluctuation and non-response startle reflex in tracking amygdala dynamics

Cited by 4 publications

References 80 publications

Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure

Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure

Context matters: Situational stress impedes functional reorganization of intrinsic brain connectivity during problem solving

How the brain negotiates divergent executive processing demands: Evidence of network reorganization during fleeting brain states

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