Cited by 264Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlStress Responses and Cortisol

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 117 of the 118 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Brain mediators of cardiovascular responses to social threat, part II: prefrontal–subcortical pathways and relationship with anxiety

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Abstract

Social evaluative threat (SET) is a potent stressor in humans that causes autonomic changes, endocrine responses, and multiple health problems. Neuroimaging has recently begun to elucidate the brain correlates of SET, but as yet little is known about the mediating cortical-brainstem pathways in humans. This paper replicates and extends findings in a companion paper (Wager et al., 2009) using an independent cohort of participants and different image acquisition parameters. Here, we focused specifically on relationships between the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG), and heart rate (HR). We applied multi-level path analysis to localize brain mediators of SET effects on HR and self-reported anxiety. HR responses were mediated by opposing signals in two distinct sub-regions of the MPFC-increases in rostral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (rdACC) and de-activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). In addition, HR responses were mediated by PAG. Additional path analyses provided support for two cortical-subcortical pathways: one linking vmPFC, PAG, and HR, and another linking rdACC, thalamus, and HR. PAG responses were linked with HR changes both before and during SET, whereas cortical regions showed stronger connectivity with HR during threat. Self-reported anxiety showed a partially overlapping, but weaker, pattern of mediators, including the vmPFC, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and lateral frontal cortex, as well as substantial individual differences that were largely unexplained. Taken together, these data suggest pathways for the translation of social threats into both physiological and experiential responses, and provide targets for future research on the generation and regulation of emotion.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.05.044

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  1. Critchley, 2003, Human cingulate cortex and autonomic control: converging neuroimaging and clinical evidence, Brain, 126, 2139, 10.1093/brain/awg216 · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Wager, T. D., van Ast, V. A., Hughes, B. L., Davidson, M. L., Lindquist, M. A., & Ochsner, K. N.
Affiliations
Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Wager, Tor D.
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-09
Volume
47
Issue
3
Pages
836-851
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2105639637
Cited by
264
References
118
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 29
FWCI
10.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH076136, MH082308, R01MH076137, R01MH076136, R21MH082308, MH076137)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD069178)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
social-evaluative threat, heart rate, anxiety, medial prefrontal cortex, periaqueductal gray, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, brainstem, emotion regulation, individual differences
MeSH terms
Anxiety, Autonomic Nervous System, Brain Mapping, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Periaqueductal Gray, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult

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