Neural indicators of interpersonal anger as cause and consequence of combat training stress symptoms

Gilam, Gadi; Lin, Tamar; Fruchter, Eyal; Hendler, Talma

doi:10.1017/s0033291716003354

Cited by 23 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…This sample is similar to that reported in Gilam et al (2017). Participants were recruited to the study during the first 2 weeks after military service enlistment.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Further support for the relation between vigilance and anger is gained from a recent study showing the high locus coeruleus (LC) activity to interpersonal anger induced by a modified ultimatum game was associated with less anger regulation (Gilam et al, 2015). In fact, it has been recently shown that an increase in this LC activation during interpersonal anger following chronic stress was associated with the manifestation of PTSS (Gilam et al, 2017). Moreover, PTSD patients have increased LC activation during direct vs. averted eye-to-eye contact, which may be perceived as threat (Steuwe et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accessible Neurobehavioral Anger-Related Markers for Vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Population of Male Soldiers

Lin

Gilam

Raz

et al. 2017

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Identifying vulnerable individuals prone to develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) is of paramount importance, especially in populations at high risk for stress exposure such as combat soldiers. While several neural and psychological risk factors are known, no post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) biomarker has yet progressed to clinical use. Here we present novel and clinically applicable anger-related neurobehavioral risk markers for military-related PTSS in a large cohort of Israeli soldiers. The psychological, electrophysiological and neural (Simultaneous recording of scalp electroencephalography [EEG] and functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) reaction to an anger-inducing film were measured prior to advanced military training and PTSS were recorded at 1-year follow-up. Limbic modulation was measured using a novel approach that monitors amygdala modulation using fMRI-inspired EEG, hereafter termed amygdala electrical fingerprint (amyg-EFP). Inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis on fMRI data indicated that during movie viewing participants’ brain activity was synchronized in limbic regions including the amygdala. Self-reported state-anger and amyg-EFP modulation successfully predicted PTSS levels. State-anger significantly accounted for 20% of the variance in PTSS, and amyg-EFP signal modulation significantly accounted for additional 15% of the variance. Our study was limited by the moderate PTSS levels and lack of systematic baseline symptoms assessment. These results suggest that pre-stress neurobehavioral measures of anger may predict risk for later PTSS, pointing to anger-related vulnerability factors that can be measured efficiently and at a low cost before stress exposure. Possible mechanisms underlying the association between the anger response and risk for PTSS are discussed.

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“…This sample is similar to that reported in Gilam et al (2017). Participants were recruited to the study during the first 2 weeks after military service enlistment.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessible Neurobehavioral Anger-Related Markers for Vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Population of Male Soldiers

Lin

Gilam

Raz

et al. 2017

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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show abstract

“…Other studies have found that activation of the locus coeruleus, an important structure in the hormone cascade associated with the autonomic stress response, is linked specifically to aggression 138,139 . It is hypothesized that locus coeruleus activity helps to orient attention to salient information and that changes to activity within this region may alter threat reactivity 140 .…”

Section: Altered Arousal and Reactivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction in particular has been linked to aggressive and/or impulsive behaviour 146–148 . Specifically, in PTSD there is empirical evidence of differential activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, vmPFC and locus coeruleus in anger-related paradigms 140,142 .…”

Section: Altered Arousal and Reactivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain circuit dysfunction in post-traumatic stress disorder: from mouse to man

et al. 2018

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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent, debilitating and sometimes deadly consequence of exposure to severe psychological trauma. Although effective treatments exist for some individuals, they are limited. New approaches to intervention, treatment and prevention are therefore much needed. In the past few years, the field has rapidly developed a greater understanding of the dysfunctional brain circuits underlying PTSD, a shift in understanding that has been made possible by technological revolutions that have allowed the observation and perturbation of the macrocircuits and microcircuits thought to underlie PTSD-related symptoms. These advances have allowed us to gain a more translational knowledge of PTSD, have provided further insights into the mechanisms of risk and resilience and offer promising avenues for therapeutic discovery.

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“…Since the specific infantry unit recruits only male soldiers, participants in this study were only male. The soldiers were at the beginning of an intense combat-training period of 1 year which was subsequently shown to increase traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) levels (Gilam et al, 2017 ). The civilians had no change in TSS along a similar period of civil-service.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing the Neural Carryover Effects of Interpersonal Anger on Resting-State fMRI in Men and Their Relation to Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Subsample of Soldiers

Gilam

Maron‐Katz

Kliper

et al. 2017

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Uncontrolled anger may lead to aggression and is common in various clinical conditions, including post traumatic stress disorder. Emotion regulation strategies may vary with some more adaptive and efficient than others in reducing angry feelings. However, such feelings tend to linger after anger provocation, extending the challenge of coping with anger beyond provocation. Task-independent resting-state (rs) fMRI may be a particularly useful paradigm to reveal neural processes of spontaneous recovery from a preceding negative emotional experience. We aimed to trace the carryover effects of anger on endogenous neural dynamics by applying a data-driven examination of changes in functional connectivity (FC) during rs-fMRI between before and after an interpersonal anger induction (N = 44 men). Anger was induced based on unfair monetary offers in a previously validated decision-making task. We calculated a common measure of global FC (gFC) which captures the level of FC between each region and all other regions in the brain, and examined which brain regions manifested changes in this measure following anger. We next examined the changes in all functional connections of each individuated brain region with all other brain regions to reveal which connections underlie the differences found in the gFC analysis of the previous step. We subsequently examined the relation of the identified neural modulations in the aftermath of anger with state- and trait- like measures associated with anger, including brain structure, and in a subsample of designated infantry soldiers (N = 21), with levels of traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) measured 1 year later following combat-training. The analysis pipeline revealed an increase in right amygdala gFC in the aftermath of anger and specifically with the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG).We found that the increase in FC between the right amygdala and right IFG following anger was positively associated with smaller right IFG volume, higher trait-anger level and among soldiers with more TSS. Moreover, higher levels of right amygdala gFC at baseline predicted less reported anger during the subsequent anger provocation. The results suggest that increased amygdala-IFG connectivity following anger is associated with maladaptive recovery, and relates to long-term development of stress symptomatology in a subsample of soldiers.

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Neural indicators of interpersonal anger as cause and consequence of combat training stress symptoms

Cited by 23 publications

References 73 publications

Accessible Neurobehavioral Anger-Related Markers for Vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Population of Male Soldiers

Accessible Neurobehavioral Anger-Related Markers for Vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Population of Male Soldiers

Brain circuit dysfunction in post-traumatic stress disorder: from mouse to man

Tracing the Neural Carryover Effects of Interpersonal Anger on Resting-State fMRI in Men and Their Relation to Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Subsample of Soldiers

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