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Interaction between trait anxiety and trait anger predict amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions in men but not women.

ABSTRACT: The amygdala is critically involved in mediating physiological and behavioral responses to threat. In particular, neuroimaging research indicates that the amygdala is highly responsive to facial signals of threat such as fearful and angry expressions. However, individuals differ substantially in both their relative sensitivity to threat and the magnitude of amygdala reactivity to facial signals of threat. Here, we report the novel finding that individual differences in trait anger are positively correlated with bilateral dorsal amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions, but only among men with elevated trait anxiety scores. These findings add to the growing body of evidence indicating that variability in personality traits contribute to individual differences in threat-related amygdala reactivity and further suggest that heightened amygdala reactivity to angry faces may be uniquely involved in the expression of reactive aggression in men.

SUBMITTER: Carre JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3277369 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interaction between trait anxiety and trait anger predict amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions in men but not women.

Carré Justin M JM Fisher Patrick M PM Manuck Stephen B SB Hariri Ahmad R AR

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 20101222 2

The amygdala is critically involved in mediating physiological and behavioral responses to threat. In particular, neuroimaging research indicates that the amygdala is highly responsive to facial signals of threat such as fearful and angry expressions. However, individuals differ substantially in both their relative sensitivity to threat and the magnitude of amygdala reactivity to facial signals of threat. Here, we report the novel finding that individual differences in trait anger are positively ...[more]

PMID: 21183456

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Project description:Serotonin 1A (5-hydroxytryptamine 1A [5-HT(1A)]) autoreceptors mediate negative feedback inhibition of serotonergic neurons and play a critical role in regulating serotonin signaling involved in shaping the functional response of major forebrain targets, such as the amygdala, supporting complex behavioral processes. A common functional variation (C[-1019]G) in the human 5-HT(1A) gene (HTR1A) represents 1 potential source of such interindividual variability. Both in vitro and in vivo, -1019G blocks transcriptional repression, leading to increased autoreceptor expression. Thus, -1019G may contribute to relatively decreased serotonin signaling at postsynaptic forebrain target sites via increased negative feedback.To evaluate the effects of HTR1A C(-1019)G on amygdala reactivity and to use path analyses to explore the impact of HTR1A-mediated variability in amygdala reactivity on individual differences in trait anxiety. We hypothesized that -1019G, which potentially results in decreased serotonin signaling, would be associated with relatively decreased amygdala reactivity and related trait anxiety.Imaging genetics in participants from an archival database.Eighty-nine healthy adults.Consistent with prior findings, -1019G was associated with significantly decreased threat-related amygdala reactivity. Importantly, this effect was independent of that associated with another common functional polymorphism that affects serotonin signaling, 5-HTTLPR. While there were no direct genotype effects on trait anxiety, HTR1A C(-1019)G indirectly predicted 9.2% of interindividual variability in trait anxiety through its effects on amygdala reactivity.Our findings further implicate relatively increased serotonin signaling, associated with a genetic variation that mediates increased 5-HT(1A) autoreceptors, in driving amygdala reactivity and trait anxiety. Moreover, they provide empirical documentation of the basic premise that genetic variation indirectly affects emergent behavioral processes related to psychiatric disease risk by biasing the response of underlying neural circuitries.

Project description:Background and objectivesFacial expression recognition has been studied extensively, including in relation to social anxiety. Nonetheless, a limited number of studies examined recognition of disgust expressions. Results suggest that disgust is perceived as more threatening than anger, and thus may invite more extreme responses. However, few studies have examined responses to facial expressions. These studies have focused on approach-avoidance responses. Our primary aim was to examine to what extent anger and disgust expressions might invite interpersonal responses in terms of quarrelsomeness-agreeableness and dominance-submissiveness. As social anxiety has been previously associated with a heightened sensitivity to anger and disgust expressions, as well as with alterations in quarrelsomeness-agreeableness and dominance-submissiveness, our secondary aim was to examine whether social anxiety would moderate these responses.MethodsParticipants were 55 women and 43 men who completed social anxiety measures, including the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, and two tasks that involved "targets" expressing anger, disgust, or happiness at 0%, 50%, or 100%. Participants first indicated how quarrelsome or agreeable and how dominant or submissive they would be towards each target, and then how much they would avoid or approach each target.ResultsWhile 100% disgust and anger expressions invited similar levels of quarrelsomeness and avoidance, 50% disgust invited more quarrelsomeness and stronger avoidance than 50% anger. While these patterns were not meaningfully moderated by social anxiety, individuals with higher BFNE scores showed a relatively strong approach of happy faces.LimitationsActual interpersonal behaviour in response to facial expressions was not assessed.ConclusionsFindings support the relevance of disgust as an interpersonal signal and suggest that, especially at mild intensity, disgust may have a stronger impact than anger on people's quarrelsomeness and avoidance responses. Findings provided no support for the view that people with social anxiety would be particularly responsive to disgust (or anger) expressions.

Dataset Information

Interaction between trait anxiety and trait anger predict amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions in men but not women.

Publications

Interaction between trait anxiety and trait anger predict amygdala reactivity to angry facial expressions in men but not women.

Similar Datasets

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