Negative Urgency Mediates the Relationship between Amygdala and Orbitofrontal Cortex Activation to Negative Emotional Stimuli and General Risk-Taking
Open accessAbstract
The tendency toward impulsive behavior under emotional duress (negative and positive urgency) predicts a wide range of maladaptive risk-taking and behavioral disorders. However, it remains unclear how urgency relates to limbic system activity as induced from emotional provocation. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the relationship between brain responses to visual emotional stimuli and urgency traits. Twenty-seven social drinkers (mean age = 25.2, 14 males) viewed negative (Neg), neutral (Neu), and positive (Pos) images during 6 fMRI scans. Brain activation was extracted from a priori limbic regions previously identified in studies of emotional provocation. The right posterior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left amygdala were activated in the [Neg>Neu] contrast, whereas the left posterior OFC was activated in the [Pos>Neu] contrast. Negative urgency was related to the right lateral OFC (r = 0.43, P = 0.03) and the left amygdala (r = 0.39, P = 0.04) [Neg>Neu] activation. Negative urgency also mediated the relationship between [Neg>Neu] activation and general risk-taking (regression weights = 3.42 for right OFC and 2.75 for the left amygdala). Emotional cue-induced activation in right lateral OFC and left amygdala might relate to emotion-based risk-taking through negative urgency.
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Post-TBI negative urgency impulsivity is presumed to be secondary to disinhibition of the limbic system from TBI-related damage to the prefrontal cortex, specifically the VMPFC, medial orbitofrontal cortex, or both.
“Post-TBI negative urgency impulsivity is presumed to be secondary to disinhibition of the limbic system from TBI-related damage to the prefrontal cortex, specifically the VMPFC, medial orbitofrontal cortex, or both [16].”
From Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
The Results and Discussion link negative urgency to amygdala and orbitofrontal activation in healthy young adults. The Participants section says they had no history of cerebral neurological disorders; the paper does not support the claim that post-TBI urgency results from prefrontal damage disinhibiting the limbic system. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTBI predisposes individuals to impulsivity.
“TBI predisposes individuals to functional deficits [14,15] and impulsivity [16], and those with impulsivity likely struggle with functional deficits [17].”
From Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
The Introduction discusses urgency and risk-taking, and the Discussion lists disorders associated with impulsivity; neither addresses traumatic brain injury. Searches for “TBI” and “traumatic brain injury” found no passage stating that TBI predisposes individuals to impulsivity. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredImpulsivity is associated with TBI of all severities.
“Impulsivity is associated with TBI of all severities [16,37,38].”
From Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
The Introduction and Discussion address impulsivity in relation to risk-taking and several clinical disorders, but do not address traumatic brain injury. A search for “TBI” and “traumatic brain injury severity” found no passage linking impulsivity to TBI at any severity; the Participants section describes healthy social drinkers without a history of cerebral neurological disorders. Our copy therefore cannot verify the attributed claim. (LLM, conf=0.77)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Cites
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
How do negative emotions impair self-control? A neural model of negative urgency
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- Authors
- Cyders, M. A., Dzemidzic, M., Eiler, W. J., Coskunpinar, A., Karyadi, K. A., & Kareken, D. A.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US)
- Indiana University School of Medicine (US)
- Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cyders, Melissa A.
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2014-06-05
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 4094-4102
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- PMC
- PMC4626829
- OpenAlex
- W2170858196
- Cited by
- 69
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 4.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Purdue University Indianapolis (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA017661, K01AA020102, P60AA007611)
- National Center for Research Resources (M01RR000750)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- negative urgency, positive urgency, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, risk-taking, emotional stimuli, limbic system activation, impulsivity, social drinkers, mediation
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Brain Mapping, Emotions, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Risk-Taking, Negotiating, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Self Report, Basolateral Nuclear Complex
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