Department of Functional Brain Imaging Research, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Department of Molecular Imaging and Theranostics, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 24;7(1):420. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00502-3.
Negativity bias, which describes the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli or events as negative, is often observed in patients with depression and may prevent psychological well-being. Here, we used ambiguous facial stimuli, with negative (sad) and positive (happy) emotions simultaneously accessible, to examine neural activation during perceptual decision-making in healthy participants. The negativity bias was positively correlated with the activity of the bilateral pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) when ambiguous faces were perceived as sad versus happy. Additionally, the strength of the functional connectivity between the bilateral pgACC and the right dorsal ACC (dACC)/right thalamus was positively correlated with hopelessness, one of the core characteristics of depression. Given the role of the pgACC as a major site of depressive affect and the roles of the dACC and thalamus in conflict monitoring and vigilance, respectively, our results reveal valid and important neuroanatomical correlates of the association between negativity bias and hopelessness in the healthy individuals.
负面偏差，即倾向于将模棱两可的刺激或事件解释为负面，在抑郁症患者中经常观察到，可能会阻碍心理健康。在这里，我们使用了具有负面（悲伤）和正面（快乐）情绪的模糊面部刺激，来检查健康参与者在进行感知决策时的神经激活。当模糊的面孔被感知为悲伤时，与双侧前扣带回皮质（pgACC）的活动呈正相关。此外，双侧 pgACC 与右侧背侧前扣带回皮质（dACC）/右侧丘脑之间的功能连接强度与绝望呈正相关，绝望是抑郁症的核心特征之一。鉴于 pgACC 作为抑郁情绪的主要部位以及 dACC 和丘脑在冲突监测和警觉中的作用，我们的研究结果揭示了健康个体中负面偏差与绝望之间关联的有效且重要的神经解剖学相关因素。
