Preclinical Atherosclerosis Covaries with Individual Differences in Reactivity and Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala

Gianaros, Peter J.; Hariri, Ahmad R.; Sheu, Lei K.; Muldoon, Matthew F.; Sutton-Tyrrell, Kim; Manuck, Stephen B.

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.10.007

Cited by 77 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…With respect to PTSD, an approach after acute trauma is the administration of glucocorticoids based on the counterintuitive findings that low normal glucocorticoid levels at the time of trauma predispose to development of PTSD symptoms (62). Increased amygdala reactivity to angry and sad faces is reported in individuals with early signs of cardiovascular disease (63), suggesting that the increased sympathetic activity and blood pressure reactivity may be a cause of allostatic load resulting from increased reactivity to daily experiences over time. Increased amygdala reactivity to faces has also been reported in individuals traumatized by 9/11 (64) as well as after sleep deprivation (65).…”

Section: Structural Plasticity In Other Brain Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin

McEwen

2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

953

722

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Stress is a state of the mind, involving both brain and body as well as their interactions; it differs among individuals and reflects not only major life events but also the conflicts and pressures of daily life that alter physiological systems to produce a chronic stress burden that, in turn, is a factor in the expression of disease. This burden reflects the impact of not only life experiences but also genetic variations and individual health behaviors such as diet, physical activity, sleep, and substance abuse; it also reflects stable epigenetic modifications in development that set lifelong patterns of physiological reactivity and behavior through biological embedding of early environments interacting with cumulative change from experiences over the lifespan. Hormones associated with the chronic stress burden protect the body in the short run and promote adaptation (allostasis), but in the long run, the burden of chronic stress causes changes in the brain and body that can lead to disease (allostatic load and overload). Brain circuits are plastic and remodeled by stress to change the balance between anxiety, mood control, memory, and decision making. Such changes may have adaptive value in particular contexts, but their persistence and lack of reversibility can be maladaptive. However, the capacity of brain plasticity to effects of stressful experiences in adult life has only begun to be explored along with the efficacy of top-down strategies for helping the brain change itself, sometimes aided by pharmaceutical agents and other treatments.

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Section: Structural Plasticity In Other Brain Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin

McEwen

2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

953

722

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“…Low perceived social standing is associated with reduced PFC gray matter volume as well as with an increased systemic inflammatory tone and altered white matter structure throughout the brain (Gianaros et al, 2007(Gianaros et al, , 2013) and preclinical atherosclerosis is associated with increased amygdala reactivity to stimuli such as sad and angry faces and reduced inhibitory input from the PFC (Gianaros et al, 2009).…”

Section: Translation To the Human Pfcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress Effects on Neuronal Structure: Hippocampus, Amygdala, and Prefrontal Cortex

McEwen

Nasca

Gray

2015

Neuropsychopharmacol

1,122

769

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The hippocampus provided the gateway into much of what we have learned about stress and brain structural and functional plasticity, and this initial focus has expanded to other interconnected brain regions, such as the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Starting with the discovery of adrenal steroid, and later, estrogen receptors in the hippocampal formation, and subsequent discovery of dendritic and spine synapse remodeling and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus, mechanistic studies have revealed both genomic and rapid non-genomic actions of circulating steroid hormones in the brain. Many of these actions occur epigenetically and result in ever-changing patterns of gene expression, in which there are important sex differences that need further exploration. Moreover, glucocorticoid and estrogen actions occur synergistically with an increasing number of cellular mediators that help determine the qualitative nature of the response. The hippocampus has also been a gateway to understanding lasting epigenetic effects of early-life experiences. These findings in animal models have resulted in translation to the human brain and have helped change thinking about the nature of brain malfunction in psychiatric disorders and during aging, as well as the mechanisms of the effects of early-life adversity on the brain and the body.

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“…For example, individual differences in amygdala reactivity to emotionally salient stimuli have been shown to covary with physiological parameters associated with cardiovascular disease risk, including basal levels of autonomic-cardiac control (42), stressor-evoked changes in blood pressure (43), and diurnal variations in the secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol (44). Recently, it has been demonstrated that individuals who express greater amygdala reactivity to threatening social cues (angry and fearful facial expressions) also exhibit higher levels of preclinical atherosclerosis (Figure 3) (45). In that study, individuals who showed lower levels of preclinical atherosclerosis exhibited a pattern of dynamic functional connectivity (correlated activity) between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex that suggested a potentially greater regulation of amygdala activity by the prefrontal cortex during threat processing.…”

Section: Brain Systems Mediating and Targeted By Allodynamic Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain Plasticity

2011

Self Cite

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The brain is the key organ of stress processes. It determines what individuals will experience as stressful, it orchestrates how individuals will cope with stressful experiences, and it changes both functionally and structurally as a result of stressful experiences. Within the brain, a distributed, dynamic, and plastic neural circuitry coordinates, monitors, and calibrates behavioral and physiological stress response systems to meet the demands imposed by particular stressors. These allodynamic processes can be adaptive in the short term (allostasis) and maladaptive in the long term (allostatic load). Critically, these processes involve bidirectional signaling between the brain and body. Consequently, allostasis and allostatic load can jointly affect vulnerability to brain-dependent and stress-related mental and physical health conditions. This review focuses on the role of brain plasticity in adaptation to, and pathophysiology resulting from, stressful experiences. It also considers interventions to prevent and treat chronic and prevalent health conditions via allodynamic brain mechanisms.

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Preclinical Atherosclerosis Covaries with Individual Differences in Reactivity and Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala

Cited by 77 publications

References 68 publications

Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin

Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin

Stress Effects on Neuronal Structure: Hippocampus, Amygdala, and Prefrontal Cortex

Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain Plasticity

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