Anxiety Flashcards
Which of Gray’s systems is thought to be involved in anxiety?
BIS - Behavioural Inhibition System
Which of Gray’s systems is thought to be involved in anxiety?
BIS - Behavioural Inhibition System
Which two brain areas are thought to be invovled in anxiety?
Hippocampus and amygdala
Who made up the pretty key questionnaire to this topic and what is it called?
Torrubia et al (2001) – sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward questionnaire
What does the questionnarie capture ?
social anxiety, worrying, shyness, neophobia. Approach/avoid conflict. Quite cognitive and behavioural
What does the SPSRQ not capture?
Somatic aspects of anxiety (heart racing, numbeness etc - as mentioned in the Beck ANxiety Inventory)
Do BIS scores predict clinical type diagnosis?
Maack et al, 2012 – various emotional related questionnaires (e.g. BIS Score) strongly predicted the diagnosis of GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorders)
What are three experiments in eivdence for role of hippopcampus and amygdala in BIS?
Barros-Loscartales et al, 2006
Cherbuin et al, 2008
Rusch et al, 2001
What did Barros-Loscartales et al, 2006 do>
BIS activity = associated with increased amygdala and hipocampal gray matter volume. Volume in both the HIP formation and amygdala (diff sides) positively correlated with sensitivity to punishment scale
What did Cherbuin et al, 2008 find?
Hippocampus volume = postiivvely associated with BIS
What did Rusch et al, 2001 show?
Postiive correlation bewteen hippocampal volume and anxiety . Used state/trait anxeity questionnarie
Why is the relationship between anxiety and brain complicated?
Depression = reliably associated with a small hippocampus (depression and anxiety = frequently co-morbid_
Many influences on hippocampal volume need to be tightly controlled - stress despresion, sex, age
Neurogenesis (new cells being born) = occurs in hippocampus, unlike most other brain areas
Different components of anxiety
What effect does oxytocin have on anxixety?
Oxytocin reduces anxxiety
What did andari et al, 2012 find out?
Inverse correlation between levels of oxytocin in plasma and right hippocampal and right amygdala volume
According to andari et al what does low oxytocin mean in regard to hip and amygdala volume?
Low oxytocin = larger hippcoampal and amydala volume
Who did an experiment involving monetary incentive delay task and what did it involve?
Hahn et al, 2010 - have to respond to stimulus in a certain time. tone before hand signals what failure will mean - no loss, small loss or large loss.
What did Hahn et al 2010 find?
Both small and large loss conditions elicited HIP and amygdala activation during hte delay period compared to the no loss condition
What did Hahn et al conclude?
The more a person is sensitivie to punishment the graeter the linking between the ‘HIP and amygdala activity during the condition when a cue signals loss of money.
Suggests that hippocampus and amygdala co-modulation determines stregnth of behaviour inhibition
Who did an experiment into monkeys and AT?
Oler et al 2010
What did Oler et al, 2010 find?
AT in monkeys is positively correltaed with both hippocampal and amydala activity
The heritablity of htis temperament = predicted by hipocampal not amydala activity
HIpppocampal sub-region predicitn AT = anterior hippocampus
How do kids with at normally act?
Abnoramlly shy in front of strangers, inhbit their locomotion and vocalisation. Worry excessively
What did Kalin do >?
Threat situation with monkeys to model AT. Human in profile (no eye contact) 2.5 m from cage, then observe. Monkeys typically inhbiti locomotion and inhibit cooing
What did the experiment with 238 monkeys involved
Kinship of all monkeys was known. Freezeing and cooing= measures of BI. Cortisol level = taken
Clear positive correlation between AT behaviour and dorsal amydala and anterior HIP
heritability = 0.36. AT behaviour = heritable
Heritabliity = mediated in HIP, not amygdala
REgion of overlap in HIP beteween heritablity of glucose metablolsim area and area that most predicted AT. Heritablity - 0.52
What is the distinction between HIppocampus re anxiety
Anterior and posterior. Anterior = role in anxiety. Posterior = role in spatial cog and episodic memory.
Region of overlap in HIP = anterior HIP (Correstponds to redent ventral hippocampus)
