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Cited by 35Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Guanfacine modulates the influence of emotional cues on prefrontal cortex activation for cognitive control

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Schulz, Kurt P., Clerkin, Suzanne M., Fan, Jin, Halperin, Jeffrey M., Newcorn, Jeffrey H.·2013·Psychopharmacology
DOI 10.1007/s00213-012-2893-8PMC PMC3567242
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Abstract

Rationale Functional interactions between limbic regions that process emotions and frontal networks that guide response functions provide a substrate for emotional cues to influence behavior. Stimulation of postsynaptic α₂ adrenoceptors enhances the function of prefrontal regions in these networks. However, the impact of this stimulation on the emotional biasing of behavior has not been established. Objectives This study tested the effect of the postsynaptic α₂ adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine on the emotional biasing of response execution and inhibition in prefrontal cortex. Methods Fifteen healthy young adults were scanned twice with functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a face emotion go/no-go task following counterbalanced administration of single doses of oral guanfacine (1 mg) and placebo in a double-blind, cross-over design. Results Lower perceptual sensitivity and less response bias for sad faces resulted in fewer correct responses compared to happy and neutral faces but had no effect on correct inhibitions. Guanfacine increased the sensitivity and bias selectively for sad faces, resulting in response accuracy comparable to happy and neutral faces, and reversed the valence-dependent variation in response-related activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), resulting in enhanced activation for response execution cued by sad faces relative to happy and neutral faces, in line with other frontoparietal regions. Conclusions These results provide evidence that guanfacine stimulation of postsynaptic α₂ adrenoceptors moderates DLPFC activation associated with the emotional biasing of response execution processes. The findings have implications for the α₂ adrenoceptor agonist treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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  • In healthy adults, guanfacine reverses the bias to respond less accurately to negative compared to positive emotional stimuli, partly through boosting activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

    “In healthy adults, guanfacine reverses the bias to respond less accurately to negative compared to positive emotional stimuli, partly through boosting activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (130).”

    From Emotion Dysregulation in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (2014) · cites this paper as [130]

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Authors
Schulz, K. P., Clerkin, S. M., Fan, J., Halperin, J. M., & Newcorn, J. H.
Affiliations
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • Queens College, CUNY (US)
Corresponding author
Schulz, Kurt P.
ORCID
Venue
Psychopharmacology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2012-10-20
Volume
226
Issue
2
Pages
261-271
ISSN
  • 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2072
DOI
10.1007/s00213-012-2893-8
PMC
PMC3567242
OpenAlex
W2114479725
Cited by
35
References
13
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1
FWCI
1.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH070892)
  • National Center for Research Resources (M01RR000071, M01-RR-00071)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Keywords
guanfacine, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, emotional cues, cognitive control, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, response inhibition, response bias, facial emotion recognition, sad faces, emotional valence, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
MeSH terms
Adult, Cognition, Cues, Double-Blind Method, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Guanfacine, Prefrontal Cortex, Cross-Over Studies, Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists

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