The impact of self-distancing on emotion explosiveness and accumulation: An fMRI study.

Emotions unfold over time with episodes differing in explosiveness (i.e., profiles having a steep vs.

The neural basis of emotions varies over time: different regions go with onset- and offset-bound processes underlying emotion intensity.

According to theories of emotion dynamics, emotions unfold across two phases in which different types of processes come to the fore: emotion onset and emotion offset. Differences in onset-bound processes are reflected by the degree of explosiveness or steepness of the response at onset, and differences in offset-bound processes by the degree of accumulation or intensification of the subsequent response. Whether onset- and offset-bound processes have distinctive neural correlates and, hence, whether the neural basis of emotions varies over time, still remains unknown.

Default mode and task-positive networks connectivity during the N-Back task in remitted depressed patients with or without emotional residual symptoms.

Clinical remission of depression may be associated with emotional residual symptoms. We studied the association of emotional blunting, rumination with neural networks dynamics in remitted depressed patients and cognitive performance during an N-Back task. Twenty-six outpatients in remission of depression (Hamilton Depressive rating scale score <7) performed an N-Back task during fMRI assessment.

Antidepressant short-term and long-term brain effects during self-referential processing in major depression.

Acute depression is associated with impaired self-referential processing. Antidepressant effects on the neural bases of self-referential processing in depression are unknown. This study aimed to assess short- and long-term effects of agomelatine on these neural bases in depressed patients and the association between pre-treatment brain activation and remission of depression 6 months later.

Structural abnormalities in schizophrenia: further evidence on the key role of the anterior cingulate cortex.

Objective: The present study examined whole-brain structural abnormalities in schizophrenia, with a special focus on the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC, PCC) as this is an understudied issue in schizophrenia.

Method: Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) were performed to detect volumetric differences between 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls matched for age, sex, educational level and parents' educational level. We examined within-group GM and WM correlations and completed the analysis with measurements of sulci in medial cortical areas.

The dark side of self-focus: brain activity during self-focus in low and high brooders.

There are two distinct modes of self-focus: analytical self-focus is abstract, general and evaluative whereas experiential self-focus is concrete, specific and non-evaluative. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated the neural bases of these two modes of self-focus in relation with brooding, the maladaptive form of rumination. Forty-one French-speaking right-handed healthy young adults (10 men, mean age ± s.

The eye of the self: precuneus volume and visual perspective during autobiographical memory retrieval.

Visual perspective (i.e. first-person versus third-person perspective) during autobiographical memory (AM) retrieval plays a role in both emotional regulation and self-related processes.

Reciprocal imitation: toward a neural basis of social interaction.

Social interaction is a coregulated coupling activity that involves at least 2 autonomous agents. Numerous methodological and technical challenges impede the production of natural social interaction within an Magnetic Resonance Imaging environment under controlled conditions. To overcome the obstacle, we chose a simple format of social interaction, namely "interactive imitation" through a double-video system.

Different brain structures related to self- and external-agency attribution: a brief review and meta-analysis.

Several neuroimaging studies have consistently shown activations of areas surrounding the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) during tasks exploring the sense of agency. Beyond TPJ, activations in different structures, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dLPFC), the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), the insula and the precuneus have been reported. Moreover, a possible dissociation between self- and external-agency attribution has been suggested.

Medial prefrontal cortex and the self in major depression.

Self-focus (i.e. the process by which one engages oneself in self-referential processing) is a core issue in the psychopathology of major depression.

Correlated structural and functional brain abnormalities in the default mode network in schizophrenia patients.

Background: There is increasing evidence of default mode network (DMN) dysfunction in schizophrenia. It has also been suggested that brain structural changes are maximal in a medial frontal area which overlaps with the anterior midline node of this network.

Methods: Brain deactivations were examined in 14 schizophrenic patients and 14 controls during performance of two tasks requiring identification or labelling of facial emotions.

Brain effects of antidepressants in major depression: a meta-analysis of emotional processing studies.

Background: A consistent brain activity pattern has been identified in major depression across many resting positron emission tomography (PET) studies. This dysfunctional pattern seems to be normalized by antidepressant treatment. The aim of this meta-analysis was to identify more clearly the pattern associated with clinical improvement of depression following an antidepressant drug treatment, in emotional activation studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Dopaminergic modulation of the default mode network in Parkinson's disease.

Default mode network (DMN) is characterized by a deactivation of several cortical areas (including medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex) during goal-directed experimental tasks. Few findings are reported on DMN and the involvement of dopaminergic medication on this network in Parkinson's disease (PD). To evaluate the effect of levodopa on DMN deactivation, we conducted a randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled experiment consisting of two fMRI assessments in fourteen non-demented, non-depressed PD patients compared to thirteen healthy volunteers.

Differential patterns of initial and sustained responses in amygdala and cortical regions to emotional stimuli in schizophrenia patients and healthy participants.

Background: We sought to investigate the altered brain responses to emotional stimuli in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: We analyzed data from 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls who performed an emotional face matching task. We evaluated brain activity and connectivity in the amygdala and cortical regions during the initial (first 21 seconds of each stimulation block) and sustained (last 21 seconds) stages of an emotional processing task, and we determined changes in amygdala activity across the emotional processing task.

Self-referential processing and the prefrontal cortex over the course of depression: a pilot study.

Background: Depressed patients exhibit cognitive biases, including maladaptive self-focus. In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) activation during self-referential versus semantic processing was unique to patients, as was the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation. The aim of this pilot study was to examine whether this pattern was stable over the course of depression.

Dopaminergic modulation of amygdala activity during emotion recognition in patients with Parkinson disease.

Variable findings have been reported for emotional processing in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). These contradictions could be due to differences in the progression of dopamine (DA) depletion. Levodopa treatment could have either beneficial or detrimental effects on brain functions modulated by DA according to disease progression.

[The salt content of food: a public health problem].

Salt abuse in nutrition may exert harmful effects on health, increasing arterial hypertension and its cardiovascular consequences. It is a risk factor, particularly for older subjects and those having chronic diseases such as arterial hypertension, some renal diseases, and obesity. In subjects more particularly vulnerable, the maintenance of sodium balance, which is mainly aldosterone dependent, is perturbed.

[Self-medication and safety].

Most drugs used for self-medication act on pain, diarrhea, constipation, gastric acid hypersecretion, or allergic diseases. They are generally well-tolerated, provided the recommended dose regimen is respected. Most adverse effects result from misuse (wrong indication, overdose, interactions, etc.

Effect of risperidone versus haloperidol on emotional responding in schizophrenic patients.

Rationale: Studies on emotional processing report that schizophrenic patients present a specific pattern of emotional responding that usually includes deficits in emotional expressiveness, increased feelings of unpleasant emotion but decreased feelings of pleasant emotion, and increased physiological reactivity. However, studies have rarely controlled the nature of antipsychotic medication. Yet, the influence of these drugs on emotional response is uncertain and could vary depending on their pharmacological profile.

Neural bases of different cognitive strategies for facial affect processing in schizophrenia.

Objective: To examine the neural basis and dynamics of facial affect processing in schizophrenic patients as compared to healthy controls.

Method: Fourteen schizophrenic patients and fourteen matched controls performed a facial affect identification task during fMRI acquisition. The emotional task included an intuitive emotional condition (matching emotional faces) and a more cognitively demanding condition (labeling emotional faces).

Amygdala activation modulated by levodopa during emotional recognition processing in healthy volunteers: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

A critical role of dopaminergic systems in emotional processing has been revealed by several animal and clinical studies in Parkinson disease and schizophrenia. We conducted a study with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 13 healthy volunteers to test the dopaminergic modulation on amygdala response to emotional processing and to evaluate if it was the result of a direct action on amygdalar nuclei or indirect modulation via medial prefrontal cortex projecting on amygdala.A placebo-controlled crossover experimental design was used.

Brain T1 intensity changes after levodopa administration in healthy subjects: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Aim: To test T1 intensity variations induced by levodopa administration in the regional fixation area in the human brain.

Method: Using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique [T1-weighted sequence MPRAGE; TE/TR/TI = 5/25/800 ms; impulsion angle = 15 degrees; field of view = 256 x 230 x 180 mm3; acquisition matrix = 256 x 192 x 104; reconstruction matrix = 256 x 256 x 128), we tested changes in the T1 MRI signal intensity resulting in changes in the grey matter automatic classification after administration of a single dose of 100 mg of levodopa by a voxel-based morphometry method (VBM) in 12 healthy subjects.

Results: The VBM analysis demonstrated an increased number of voxels attributed to grey matter after levodopa administration in an anatomical cluster which included substantia nigra, tegmental ventral area and subthalamic nucleus bilaterally, the principal origin and first relay nuclei of projections in brain dopaminergic systems (t = 8.