Neural Circuits Underlying Emotional Distress in Humans
Abstract
Difficulties in the experiences and regulation of emotional stress have been associated with the development of psychiatric and substance use disorders. This study examined neural circuits underlying emotional distress in healthy volunteers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques. Recall of personal nontraumatic, highly stressful life events with script-driven guided imagery was used to induce moderate levels of emotional distress in eight healthy volunteers. Subjects participated in six guided imagery trials (3 separate stress and 3 separate neutral-relaxing scripts each) interspersed by rest periods in a 1.5T scanner. Results indicated significant activation in the medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate, caudate, putamen, thalamus, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior cingulate regions during emotional distress relative to brain activation during neutral-relaxing imagery. These findings suggest that specific striatal-limbic-prefrontal cortical circuits are involved in the experience and regulation of emotional stress in humans. The study also provides a feasible method to study brain correlates of emotional stress processing in healthy individuals and clinical samples.
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Functional MRI studies have shown that listening to a stressful account of one's own life, compared to listening to a neutral passage, increases the BOLD response in the medial PFC (anterior cingulate cortex), especially in the right hemisphere.
“Functional MRI studies have shown that listening to a stressful account of one’s own life, compared to listening to a neutral passage, increases the blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) response in the medial PFC (anterior cingulate cortex), especially in the right hemisphere30.”
From Stress weakens prefrontal networks: molecular insults to higher cognition (2015) · cites this paper as [30]
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- Authors
- SINHA, R., LACADIE, C., SKUDLARSKI, P., & WEXLER, B. E.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- SINHA, RAJITA
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2004-12
- Volume
- 1032
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 254-257
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- OpenAlex
- W1983202231
- Cited by
- 121
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 3.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- emotional distress, emotional stress, neural circuits, guided imagery, anterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, parahippocampal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, stress processing, healthy volunteers
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Emotions, Female, Humans, Limbic System, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Muscle Relaxation, Nerve Net, Oxygen, Stress, Psychological, Imagery, Psychotherapy
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