@article{WiebkingdeGreckDuncanetal.2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and de Greck, Moritz and Duncan, Niall W. and Tempelmann, Claus and Bajbouj, Malek and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression - an exploratory fMRI study investigating healthy, depressed and remitted participants}, series = {Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1662-5153}, doi = {10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00082}, pages = {33}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: Interoceptive awareness, the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying interoceptive awareness (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst healthy participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus.}, language = {en} } @article{WiebkingNorthoff2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia-An fMRI study in major depressive disorder and non-psychiatric controls}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00589}, pages = {16}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD.}, language = {en} } @article{HuangIvYueetal.2015, author = {Huang, Zirui and Iv, Henry (Hap) Davis and Yue, Qiang and Wiebking, Christine and Duncan, Niall W. and Zhang, Jianfeng and Wagner, Nils-Frederic and Wolff, Annemarie and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Increase in glutamate/glutamine concentration in the medial prefrontal cortex during mental imagery: A combined functional mrs and fMRI study}, series = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, volume = {36}, journal = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, number = {8}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1065-9471}, doi = {10.1002/hbm.22841}, pages = {3204 -- 3212}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Recent functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) studies have shown changes in glutamate/glutamine (Glx) concentrations between resting-state and active-task conditions. However, the types of task used have been limited to sensory paradigms, and the regions from which Glx concentrations have been measured limited to sensory ones. This leaves open the question as to whether the same effect can be seen in higher-order brain regions during cognitive tasks. Cortical midline structures, especially the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), have been suggested to be involved in various such cognitive tasks. We, therefore set out to use fMRS to investigate the dynamics of Glx concentrations in the MPFC between resting-state and mental imagery task conditions. The auditory cortex was used as a control region. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to explore task-related neural activity changes. The mental imagery task consisted of imagining swimming and was applied to a large sample of healthy participants (n=46). The participants were all competitive swimmers, ensuring proficiency in mental-swimming. Glx concentrations in the MPFC increased during the imagery task, as compared to resting-state periods preceding and following the task. These increases mirror BOLD activity changes in the same region during the task. No changes in either Glx concentrations or BOLD activity were seen in the auditory cortex. These findings contribute to our understanding of the biochemical basis of generating or manipulating mental representations and the MPFC's role in this. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3204-3212, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.}, language = {en} } @article{DuncanHayesWiebkingetal.2015, author = {Duncan, Niall W. and Hayes, Dave J. and Wiebking, Christine and Tiret, Brice and Pietruska, Karin and Chen, David Q. and Rainville, Pierre and Marjanska, Malgorzata and Ayad, Omar and Doyon, Julien and Hodaie, Mojgan and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Negative childhood experiences alter a prefrontal-insular-motor cortical network in healthy adults: A preliminary multimodal rsfMRI-fMRI-MRS-dMRI study}, series = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, volume = {36}, journal = {Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging}, number = {11}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1065-9471}, doi = {10.1002/hbm.22941}, pages = {4622 -- 4637}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Research in humans and animals has shown that negative childhood experiences (NCE) can have long-term effects on the structure and function of the brain. Alterations have been noted in grey and white matter, in the brain's resting state, on the glutamatergic system, and on neural and behavioural responses to aversive stimuli. These effects can be linked to psychiatric disorder such as depression and anxiety disorders that are influenced by excessive exposure to early life stressors. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of NCEs on these systems. Resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI), aversion task fMRI, glutamate magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) were combined with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) in healthy subjects to examine the impact of NCEs on the brain. Low CTQ scores, a measure of NCEs, were related to higher resting state glutamate levels and higher resting state entropy in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). CTQ scores, mPFC glutamate and entropy, correlated with neural BOLD responses to the anticipation of aversive stimuli in regions throughout the aversion-related network, with strong correlations between all measures in the motor cortex and left insula. Structural connectivity strength, measured using mean fractional anisotropy, between the mPFC and left insula correlated to aversion-related signal changes in the motor cortex. These findings highlight the impact of NCEs on multiple inter-related brain systems. In particular, they highlight the role of a prefrontal-insular-motor cortical network in the processing and responsivity to aversive stimuli and its potential adaptability by NCEs. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4622-4637, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.}, language = {en} } @article{WiebkingNorthoff2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, number = {589}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00589}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD.}, language = {en} } @misc{WiebkingdeGreckDuncanetal.2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and de Greck, Moritz and Duncan, Niall W. and Tempelmann, Claus and Bajbouj, Malek and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75161}, pages = {14}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: Interoceptive awareness (iA), the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst non-psychiatric participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus.}, language = {en} } @article{WiebkingdeGreckDuncanetal.2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and de Greck, Moritz and Duncan, Niall W. and Tempelmann, Claus and Bajbouj, Malek and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression}, series = {Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience}, journal = {Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience}, number = {9}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1662-5153}, doi = {10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00082}, pages = {14}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: Interoceptive awareness (iA), the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst non-psychiatric participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus.}, language = {en} } @misc{WiebkingNorthoff2015, author = {Wiebking, Christine and Northoff, Georg}, title = {Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78726}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD.}, language = {en} }