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Trait anxiety and the neural efficiency of manipulation in working memory.

ABSTRACT: The present study investigates the effects of trait anxiety on the neural efficiency of working memory component functions (manipulation vs. maintenance) in the absence of threat-related stimuli. For the manipulation of affectively neutral verbal information held in working memory, high- and low-anxious individuals (N = 46) did not differ in their behavioral performance, yet trait anxiety was positively related to the neural effort expended on task processing, as measured by BOLD signal changes in fMRI. Higher levels of anxiety were associated with stronger activation in two regions implicated in the goal-directed control of attention--that is, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left inferior frontal sulcus--and with stronger deactivation in a region assigned to the brain's default-mode network--that is, rostral-ventral anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, anxiety was associated with a stronger functional coupling of right DLPFC with ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. We interpret our findings as reflecting reduced processing efficiency in high-anxious individuals and point out the need to consider measures of functional integration in addition to measures of regional activation strength when investigating individual differences in neural efficiency. With respect to the functions of working memory, we conclude that anxiety specifically impairs the processing efficiency of (control-demanding) manipulation processes (as opposed to mere maintenance). Notably, this study contributes to an accumulating body of evidence showing that anxiety also affects cognitive processing in the absence of threat-related stimuli.

SUBMITTER: Basten U

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3400031 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Trait anxiety and the neural efficiency of manipulation in working memory.

Basten Ulrike U Stelzel Christine C Fiebach Christian J CJ

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience 20120901 3

The present study investigates the effects of trait anxiety on the neural efficiency of working memory component functions (manipulation vs. maintenance) in the absence of threat-related stimuli. For the manipulation of affectively neutral verbal information held in working memory, high- and low-anxious individuals (N = 46) did not differ in their behavioral performance, yet trait anxiety was positively related to the neural effort expended on task processing, as measured by BOLD signal changes ...[more]

PMID: 22644759

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Project description:Impairment of working memory and executive functions is already frequently observed in early stages of Parkinson's disease. Improvements in working memory performance in this cohort could potentially be achieved via working memory training. However, the specific neural mechanisms underlying different working memory processes such as maintenance as opposed to manipulation are largely under-investigated in Parkinson's disease. Moreover, the plasticity of these correlates as a function of working memory training is currently unknown in this population. Thus, the working memory subprocesses of maintenance and manipulation were assessed in 41 cognitively healthy patients with Parkinson's disease using a newly developed working memory paradigm and functional MRI. Nineteen patients were randomized to a 5-week home-based digital working memory training intervention while the remaining patients entered a control, wait list condition. Working memory task-related activation patterns and context-dependent functional connectivity, as well as the change of these neural correlates as a function of training, were assessed. While both working memory processes activated an extended frontoparietal-cerebellar network, only the manipulation of items within working memory also recruited the anterior striatum. The intervention effect on the neural correlates was small, but decreased activation in areas relevant for working memory could be observed, with activation changes correlating with behavioural change. Moreover, training seemed to result in decreased functional connectivity when pure maintenance was required, and in a reorganization of functional connectivity when items had to be manipulated. In accordance with the neural efficacy hypothesis, training resulted in overall reduced activation and reorganized functional connectivity, with a differential effect on the different working memory processes under investigation. Now, larger trials including follow-up examinations are needed to further explore the long-term effects of such interventions on a neural level and to estimate the clinical relevance to potentially delay cognitive decline in cognitively healthy patients with Parkinson's disease.

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Trait anxiety and the neural efficiency of manipulation in working memory.

Publications

Trait anxiety and the neural efficiency of manipulation in working memory.

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