Wakonig Katharina, Eitel Fabian, Ritter Kerstin, Hetzer Stefan, Schmitz-Hübsch Tanja, Bellmann-Strobl Judith, Haynes John-Dylan, Brandt Alexander U, Gold Stefan M, Paul Friedemann, Weygandt Martin
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Berlin, Germany.
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany.
Front Neurol. 2020 Oct 6;11:568850. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.568850. eCollection 2020.
Psychological stress can influence the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), but little is known about neurobiological factors potentially counteracting these effects. To identify gray matter (GM) brain regions related to relaxation after stress exposure in persons with MS (PwMS). 36 PwMS and 21 healthy controls (HCs) reported their feeling of relaxation during a mild stress task. These markers were related to regional GM volumes, heart rate, and depressive symptoms. Relaxation was differentially linked to heart rate in both groups ( = 2.20, = 0.017), i.e., both markers were only related in HCs. Relaxation was positively linked to depressive symptoms across all participants ( = 1.99, = 0.045) although this link differed weakly between groups ( = 1.62, = 0.108). Primarily, the volume in medial temporal gyrus was negatively linked to relaxation in PwMS ( = -5.55, p = 0.018). A group-specific coupling of relaxation and GM volume was found in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) ( = -4.89, p = 0.039). PwMS appear unable to integrate peripheral stress signals into their perception of relaxation. Together with the group-specific coupling of relaxation and VMPFC volume, a key area of the brain reward system for valuation of affectively relevant stimuli, this finding suggests a clinically relevant misinterpretation of stress-related affective stimuli in MS.
心理压力会影响多发性硬化症（MS）的严重程度，但对于可能抵消这些影响的神经生物学因素却知之甚少。为了确定与MS患者（PwMS）应激暴露后放松相关的灰质（GM）脑区。36名PwMS患者和21名健康对照者（HCs）报告了他们在轻度应激任务期间的放松感受。这些指标与区域GM体积、心率和抑郁症状相关。两组中放松与心率的关联存在差异（ = 2.20， = 0.017），即这两个指标仅在HCs中相关。在所有参与者中，放松与抑郁症状呈正相关（ = 1.99， = 0.045），尽管两组之间这种关联差异较小（ = 1.62， = 0.108）。主要地，颞中回的体积与PwMS患者的放松呈负相关（ = -5.55，p = 0.018）。在腹内侧前额叶皮层（VMPFC）发现了放松与GM体积的组特异性耦合（ = -4.89，p = 0.039）。PwMS患者似乎无法将外周应激信号整合到他们对放松的感知中。连同放松与VMPFC体积的组特异性耦合，VMPFC是大脑奖励系统中评估情感相关刺激的关键区域，这一发现表明MS患者对应激相关情感刺激存在临床上相关的误解。
