Greater amygdala activity and dorsomedial prefrontal-amygdala coupling are associated with enhanced inflammatory responses to stress
- PMID: 25016200
- PMCID: PMC4368432
- DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2014.06.201
Greater amygdala activity and dorsomedial prefrontal-amygdala coupling are associated with enhanced inflammatory responses to stress
Abstract
Psychological stress is implicated in the etiology of many common chronic diseases and mental health disorders. Recent research suggests that inflammation may be a key biological mediator linking stress and health. Nevertheless, the neurocognitive pathways underlying stress-related increases in inflammatory activity are largely unknown. The present study thus examined associations between neural and inflammatory responses to an acute laboratory-based social stressor. Healthy female participants (n=31) were exposed to a brief episode of stress while they underwent an fMRI scan. Blood samples were taken before and after the stressor, and plasma was assayed for markers of inflammatory activity. Exposure to the stressor was associated with significant increases in feelings of social evaluation and rejection, and with increases in levels of inflammation. Analyses linking the neural and inflammatory data revealed that heightened neural activity in the amygdala in response to the stressor was associated with greater increases in inflammation. Functional connectivity analyses indicated that individuals who showed stronger coupling between the amygdala and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) also showed a heightened inflammatory response to the stressor. Interestingly, activity in a different set of neural regions was related to increases in feelings of social rejection. These data show that greater amygdala activity in response to a stressor, as well as tighter coupling between the amygdala and the DMPFC, are associated with greater increases in inflammatory activity. Results from this study begin to identify neural mechanisms that might link stress with increased risk for inflammation-related disorders such as cardiovascular disease and depression.
Keywords: Amygdala; IL-6; Inflammation; Medial prefrontal cortex; Neuroimaging; Social rejection; Social stress; Stress; fMRI.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Neural sensitivity to social rejection is associated with inflammatory responses to social stress.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 17;107(33):14817-22. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1009164107. Epub 2010 Aug 2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. PMID: 20679216 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Neural mechanisms linking social status and inflammatory responses to social stress.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2016 Jun;11(6):915-22. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsw025. Epub 2016 Mar 15. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2016. PMID: 26979965 Free PMC article.
-
Sustained anxiety increases amygdala-dorsomedial prefrontal coupling: a mechanism for maintaining an anxious state in healthy adults.J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2014 Sep;39(5):321-9. doi: 10.1503/jpn.130145. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2014. PMID: 24886788 Free PMC article.
-
Neural Mechanisms Linking Emotion with Cardiovascular Disease.Curr Cardiol Rep. 2018 Oct 11;20(12):128. doi: 10.1007/s11886-018-1071-y. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2018. PMID: 30311094 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The human dimension: how the prefrontal cortex modulates the subcortical fear response.Rev Neurosci. 2007;18(3-4):191-207. doi: 10.1515/revneuro.2007.18.3-4.191. Rev Neurosci. 2007. PMID: 18019606 Review.
Cited by
-
Neighborhood Perceptions Are Associated With Intrinsic Amygdala Activity and Resting-State Connectivity With Salience Network Nodes Among Older Adults.Psychosom Med. 2024 Feb-Mar 01;86(2):116-123. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001272. Epub 2023 Dec 28. Psychosom Med. 2024. PMID: 38150567
-
Heightened neural activity and functional connectivity responses to social rejection in female adolescents at risk for depression: Testing the Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression.J Affect Disord. 2024 Jan 15;345:467-476. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.113. Epub 2023 Oct 16. J Affect Disord. 2024. PMID: 37852590 Free PMC article.
-
The Ketogenic Diet and Cardiovascular Diseases.Nutrients. 2023 Jul 28;15(15):3368. doi: 10.3390/nu15153368. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 37571305 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Blunted diurnal interleukin-6 rhythm is associated with amygdala emotional hyporeactivity and depression: a modulating role of gene-stressor interactions.Front Psychiatry. 2023 May 30;14:1196235. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1196235. eCollection 2023. Front Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 37324818 Free PMC article.
-
Ketogenic Diet and Inflammation: Implications for Mood and Anxiety Disorders.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2023;1411:537-554. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-7376-5_23. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2023. PMID: 36949325 Review.
References
-
- Baker DG, Nievergelt CM, O’Connor DT. Biomarkers of PTSD: neuropeptides and immune signaling. Neuropharmocology. 2012;62:663–673. - PubMed
-
- Bierhaus A, Wolf J, Andrassy M, Rohleder N, Humpert PM, Petrov D, Ferstl R, von Eynatten M, Wendt T, Rudofsky G, Joswig M, Morcos M, Schwaninger M, McEwen B, Kirschbaum C, Nawroth PP. A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003;100:1920–1925. - PMC - PubMed
-
- Capuron L, Miller AH. Cytokines and psychopathology: lessons from interferon-a. Biol Psychiatry. 2004;56:819–824. - PubMed
-
- Choy EHS, Panayi GS. Mechanisms of disease: cytokine pathways and joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:907–916. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical