Browsing by Subject "Anterior cingulate cortex"

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    Altered intrinsic functional connectivity of the cingulate cortex in children with severe temper outbursts
    (Cambridge University Press, 2018-05) Roy, Amy Krain; Bennett, Randi; Posner, Jonathan; Hulvershorn, Leslie; Castellanos, F. Xavier; Klein, Rachel G.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Severe temper outbursts (STO) in children are associated with impaired school and family functioning and may contribute to negative outcomes. These outbursts can be conceptualized as excessive frustration responses reflecting reduced emotion regulation capacity. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated in negative affect as well as emotional control, and exhibits disrupted function in children with elevated irritability and outbursts. This study examined the intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of a region of the ACC, the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), in 5- to 9-year-old children with STO (n = 20), comparing them to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without outbursts (ADHD; n = 18). Additional analyses compared results to a sample of healthy children (HC; n = 18) and examined specific associations with behavioral and emotional dysregulation. Compared to the ADHD group, STO children exhibited reduced iFC between the aMCC and surrounding regions of the ACC, and increased iFC between the aMCC and precuneus. These differences were also seen between the STO and HC groups; ADHD and HC groups did not differ. Specificity analyses found associations between aMCC-ACC connectivity and hyperactivity, and between aMCC-precuneus iFC and emotion dysregulation. Disruption in aMCC networks may underlie the behavioral and emotional dysregulation characteristic of children with STO.
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    Anterior Cingulate Cortex Metabolites and White Matter Microstructure: A Multimodal Study of Emergent Alcohol Use Disorder
    (Springer, 2021) Grecco, Gregory G.; Chumin, Evgeny J.; Dzemidzic, Mario; Cheng, Hu; Finn, Peter; Newman, Sharlene; Dydak, Ulrike; Yoder, Karmen K.; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    Multimodal imaging is increasingly used to address neuropathology associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Few studies have investigated relationships between metabolite concentrations and white matter (WM) integrity; currently, there are no such data in AUD. In this preliminary study, we used complementary neuroimaging techniques, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), to study AUD neurophysiology. We tested for relationships between metabolites in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and adjacent WM microstructure in young adult AUD and control (CON) subjects. Sixteen AUD and fourteen CON underwent whole-brain DWI and MRS of the dACC. Outcomes were dACC metabolites, and diffusion tensor metrics of dACC-adjacent WM. Multiple linear regression terms included WM region, group, and region × group for prediction of dACC metabolites. dACC myo-inositol was positively correlated with axial diffusivity in the left anterior corona radiata (p < 0.0001) in CON but not AUD (group effect: p < 0.001; region × group: p < 0.001; Bonferroni-corrected). In the bilateral anterior corona radiata and right genu of the corpus callosum, glutamate was negatively related to mean diffusivity in AUD, but not CON subjects (all model terms: p < 0.05, uncorrected). In AUD subjects, dACC glutamate was negatively correlated with AUD symptom severity. This is likely the first integrative study of cortical metabolites and WM integrity in young individuals with AUD. Differential relationships between dACC metabolites and adjacent WM tract integrity in AUD could represent early consequences of hazardous drinking, and/or novel biomarkers of early-stage AUD. Additional studies are required to replicate these findings, and to determine the behavioral relevance of these results.
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    Anxiolytic effect of GABAergic neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex in a rat model of chronic inflammatory pain
    (BMC, 2021-09-10) Shao, Fang‑bing; Fang, Jun‑fan; Wang, Si‑si; Qiu, Meng‑ting; Xi, Dan‑ning; Jin, Xiao‑ming; Liu, Jing‑gen; Shao, Xiao‑mei; Shen, Zui; Liang, Yi; Fang, Jian‑qiao; Du, Jun‑ying; Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine
    Chronic pain easily leads to concomitant mood disorders, and the excitability of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) pyramidal neurons (PNs) is involved in chronic pain-related anxiety. However, the mechanism by which PNs regulate pain-related anxiety is still unknown. The GABAergic system plays an important role in modulating neuronal activity. In this paper, we aimed to study how the GABAergic system participates in regulating the excitability of ACC PNs, consequently affecting chronic inflammatory pain-related anxiety. A rat model of CFA-induced chronic inflammatory pain displayed anxiety-like behaviors, increased the excitability of ACC PNs, and reduced inhibitory presynaptic transmission; however, the number of GAD65/67 was not altered. Interestingly, intra-ACC injection of the GABAAR agonist muscimol relieved anxiety-like behaviors but had no effect on chronic inflammatory pain. Intra-ACC injection of the GABAAR antagonist picrotoxin induced anxiety-like behaviors but had no effect on pain in normal rats. Notably, chemogenetic activation of GABAergic neurons in the ACC alleviated chronic inflammatory pain and pain-induced anxiety-like behaviors, enhanced inhibitory presynaptic transmission, and reduced the excitability of ACC PNs. Chemogenetic inhibition of GABAergic neurons in the ACC led to pain-induced anxiety-like behaviors, reduced inhibitory presynaptic transmission, and enhanced the excitability of ACC PNs but had no effect on pain in normal rats. We demonstrate that the GABAergic system mediates a reduction in inhibitory presynaptic transmission in the ACC, which leads to enhanced excitability of pyramidal neurons in the ACC and is associated with chronic inflammatory pain-related anxiety.
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    Electroacupuncture Alleviates Anxiety-like Behavior in Pain Aversion Rats by Attenuating the Expression of Neuropeptide Y in Anterior Cingulate Cortex
    (Elsevier, 2022) Shao, Fangbing; Du, Junying; Wang, Sisi; Cerne, Rok; Fang, Junfan; Shao, Xiaomei; Jin, Xiaoming; Fang, Jianqiao; Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, School of Medicine
    Background: Pain is considered as a multidimensional conscious experience that includes a sensory component and a negative affective-motivational component. Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely used to treat pain and pain-induced negative emotions, however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the effect of EA. Objective: This study investigated the effect of EA on alleviating the anxiety-like behaviors in pain aversion rats and its anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) regulation mechanism. Methods: After a Freund's complete adjuvant (CFA)-conditioned place aversion (C-CPA) model was established in rats, EA treatment (2/100 Hz, 30 min, once/day, 4 days totally) was applied at bilateral Zusanli (ST36) and Kunlun (BL60) acupoints. Von Frey filaments were used to measure changes of pain withdrawal threshold (PWT) at indicated time points. Elevated zero maze (EZM) was used to investigate the changes of pain-related anxiety and CPA was used to investigate the changes of pain aversion. The protein expression levels of GAD67, PV, and NPY in ACC were detected by Western blotting. Results: Compared with the control group, the staying time in the "CFA-paired compartment" was significantly reduced, and the PWT was decreased in model group. In the EZM assessment, the distance and the time in open arm, as well as the number of open arm entries of model group were significantly lower than those in the control group. In the CPA assessment, the time spent in the "CFA-paired compartment" was significantly decreased in model group compared with control group, and EA reversed the changes in pain sensation and in pain-related emotions. Western blotting showed that the NPY level, but not the levels of GAD67 and PV, was significantly increased in the ACC of the model group compared to that of the control group. The increased expression of NPY in the ACC was significantly downregulated by EA, while sham EA produced no such effect. Conclusion: EA can effectively relieve the pain and pain-related emotions, and its mechanism may be achieved by down-regulating the expression of NPY in the ACC.
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    Variation in Rostral Anterior Cingulate Functional Connectivity with Amygdala and Caudate during First-Manic Episode Distinguish Bipolar Young Adults who do not Remit Following Treatment
    (Wiley, 2021) Lippard, Elizabeth T. C.; Weber, Wade; Welge, Jeffrey; Adler, Caleb M.; Fleck, David E.; Almeida, Jorge; DelBello, Melissa P.; Strakowski, Stephen M.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Objectives: Altered activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices, as well as subcortical and amygdala projection sites, was previously reported during a first manic episode in youth with bipolar disorder and observed to be associated with treatment response. To extend these findings, we investigated functional connectivity among these regions in first-episode manic participants who remitted after 8 weeks of treatment compared to those who did not. Methods: Forty-two participants with bipolar disorder (60% female) during their first manic episode were recruited and received 8 weeks of treatment. Twenty-one remitted following treatment. Participants completed fMRI scans, at baseline and following 8 weeks of treatment, while performing a continuous performance task with emotional and neutral distractors. A healthy comparison group (n = 41) received fMRI evaluations at the same intervals. Differences in functional connectivity of the amygdala and caudate with the rostral anterior cingulate and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices at baseline (and changes in functional connectivity following treatment) were modeled between groups. Results: At baseline, non-remitters showed an increase in positive connectivity between right anterior cingulate and caudate and a loss of negative connectivity between right anterior cingulate and amygdala, compared to healthy participants. Individuals who remitted following treatment showed an increase in negative connectivity between amygdala and left anterior cingulate 8 weeks following treatment. Conclusions: Results provide evidence of alterations in anterior cingulate amygdala and caudate functional connectivity in bipolar disorder non-remitters during a first manic episode and changes in anterior cingulate functional connectivity associated with remission suggesting targets to predict treatment response.