Ventromedial Prefrontal Activation at Baseline and in Response to Affective Pictures Predicts Positive Affective Style: A Source Localization Study

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Ventromedial Prefrontal Activation at Baseline
and in Response to Affective Pictures Predicts
Positive Affective Style A Source Localization
Study

• CJ Norris, CM van Reekum, LL Greischar,
• RC Lapate, AJ Shackman, BW McMenamin,
• GM Beguhn, NB Rawlings RJ Davidson
• University of Wisconsin Madison

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Design

• Participants 84 (43 female) individuals from the
  Midlife in the US (MIDUS) study ranging in age
  from 37 82 years old.
• Data
• Task EEG. Participants completed an emotion
  modulated startle task during which they viewed a
  series of negative, neutral, and positive
  pictures. Eyeblink startle was measured in
  response to 105 dB probes presented both during
  and after pictures. In addition, EEG and EMG over
  corrugator supercilii were collected
  continuously.
• Baseline EEG. 12 minutes of resting baseline EEG
  activity was also collected (half eyes
  open/closed half pre-/post-task).
• Surveys. Participants filled out multiple surveys
  both as part of the current project (e.g., PANAS,
  DPAS, STAIX) as well as part of a SAQ at a
  different time (e.g., PWB, Coping).

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EEG Data Analysis

• ICA was used to remove eye blinks, eye movements,
  and HR
• Spectral frequency was determined for each of 7
  2-s bins, starting 2 s before picture onset and
  ending 12 s after picture picture offset
• LORETA solution coefficients were averaged across
  bins and baseline corrected, leaving the
  following design
• 3(Valence neg, neu, pos)
• 4(Epoch baseline 2 s pre-pic early 0-4 s,
  picture pres mid 4-8 s, post-pic late 8-12
  s, post-pic)
• Correlations were conducted between self-report
  measures of affective style and LORETA estimates
  of alpha activity (note that greater alpha
  activity corresponds to less neural activation)

Picture
0 s
-2 s
4 s
8 s
12 s
Baseline
Early (Time1)
Middle (Time2)
Late (Time3)
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Structure of Results

1. First, well consider the baseline period during
   the startle task (i.e., the Task EEG baseline
   epoch that preceded picture onset).
2. Then, well examine Baseline EEG for consistent
   patterns.
3. Finally, well look at relationships between EEG
   in response to negative pictures and indices of
   reactivity and recovery.

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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Affective Style correlates with ventromedial PFC
activation at baseline
Baseline Preceding Negative Pictures
Baseline Preceding Neutral Pictures
Baseline Preceding Positive Pictures
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Affective Style correlates with ventromedial PFC
activation at baseline
Average across 3 baselines
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
r(82) -.226, p lt .05
Statistical ROI
VMPFC Alpha Activity
r(82) -.243, p lt .05
r(82) .201, p .07
VMPFC Alpha Activity
VMPFC Alpha Activity
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Statistical ROI
r(82) -.255, p lt .05
VMPFC Alpha Activity
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Anatomical ROIs
LH
RH
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Age correlates with ventromedial PFC activation
at baseline
as well as temporal cortex (especially left
temporal), and right inferior frontal cortex/DLPFC
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
LH
RH
r(82) .312, p lt .05
r(82) .310, p lt .05
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Note that Emotion Focused Coping is a 12-item
scale combining Focus on and venting of emotion
(e.g., I get upset and let my emotions out),
Denial, and Behavioral disengagement i.e.,
NOT an adaptive, active form of coping.
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EEG Source Localization Results Task Baseline
Emotion-focused coping correlates with
ventromedial PFC activation at baseline
Anatomical ROIs
r(82) .313, p lt .05
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EEG Source Localization Results Task EEG
Baseline
Age and PWB independently predict VMPFC
activation during the baseline epoch of the
pictures task
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EEG Source Localization Results Baseline EEG
Age VMPFC activation
Age Temporal activation
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EEG Source Localization Results Baseline EEG
Age Temporal Activation
r(82) .224, p lt .05
r(82) .388, p lt .001
r(82) .375, p lt .001
r(82) .229, p lt .05
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EEG Source Localization Results Baselines
Age Frontal, Hippocampus, Amygdala Activation
r(82) .221, p lt .05
r(82) .236, p lt .05
r(82) .305, p lt .01
r(82) .255, p lt .05
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EEG Source Localization Results Baseline EEG
Affective Style PFC activation Left
Lateralized?
Emotion Focused Coping PFC activation Left
Lateralized?
Trait Anxiety PFC activation Left Lateralized?
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EEG Source Localization Results Baselines
Emotion Focused Coping PFC Activation
r(82) .281, p lt .01
r(82) .279, p lt .01
Stepwise regressions predicting Left and Right
(below) VMPFC alpha activity from all self
reports and Age indicate that Emotion Focused
Coping is the only significant predictor (Age is
close).
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EEG Source Localization Results
PFC Activation PWB DURING Picture Presentations
Negative Pictures
Neutral Pictures
Positive Pictures
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EEG Source Localization Results
PFC Activation During Neg Pics and
Psychophysiological Indicators of Reactivity
VMPFC Activation during neg pics is negatively
correlated with startle to neg pictures,
suggesting that greater regulation results in
decreased reactivity
r(75) .25, p lt .05
r(75) .24, p lt .05
r(75) .32, p lt .05
r(75) .29, p lt .05
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EEG Source Localization Results
PFC Activation During Neg Pics and
Psychophysiological Indicators of Recovery
VMPFC Activation during neg pics is negatively
correlated with the difference in corrugator
activity to neg vs. neu pictures during the late
recovery period (i.e., 4-8 s post-picture
offset), suggesting that greater regulation
results in better recovery
r(49) .52, p lt .001
r(49) .50, p lt .001
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General Conclusions

• Age is negatively correlated with VMPFC
  activation during both resting baselines and
  during picture viewing task baseline epochs
• Independently of age, VMPFC activation at
  baseline is correlated with positive affective
  style (as indicated by greater PWB, less Emotion
  Focused Coping)
• Finally, greater VMPFC activation during the
  viewing of negative pictures is associated with
  decreased reactivity to and increased recovery
  from negative stimuli

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EEG Source Localization Results
Emotion Focused Coping, PFC Activation _at_ Baseline
During Neg Pics, and Corrugator Recovery to Neg
Pics
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MIDUS II startle study trial schema
Pictures 30 positive, 30 negative and 30 neutral
trials participants respond to border color
(purple or yellow) as quickly as possible.
1 s fix
0.5 s picture with border
3.5 s picture without border
probe a
2 s
//
14-18 s random ITI
//
1 s fix
0.5 s border
Startle probe times a) 2900 ms after picture
onset b) 4400 ms after picture onset ( 0.5 s
after picture offset) c) 5900 s after picture
onset ( 2 s after picture offset)
2 s
probe c
3.5 s picture