Back to Search
Start Over
Neural indicators of interpersonal anger as cause and consequence of combat training stress symptoms
- Source :
- Psychological medicine. 47(9)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- BackgroundAngry outbursts are an important feature of various stress-related disorders, and commonly lead to aggression towards other people. Findings regarding interpersonal anger have linked the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) to anger regulation and the locus coeruleus (LC) to aggression. Both regions were previously associated with traumatic and chronic stress symptoms, yet it is unclear if their functionality represents a consequence of, or possibly also a cause for, stress symptoms. Here we investigated the relationship between the neural trajectory of these indicators of anger and the development and manifestation of stress symptoms.MethodA total of 46 males (29 soldiers, 17 civilians) participated in a prospective functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment in which they played a modified interpersonal anger-provoking Ultimatum Game (UG) at two-points. Soldiers were tested at the beginning and end of combat training, while civilians were tested at the beginning and end of civil service. We assumed that combat training would induce chronic stress and result in increased stress symptoms.ResultsSoldiers showed an increase in stress symptoms following combat training while civilians showed no such change following civil service. All participants were angered by the modified UG irrespective of time point. Higher post-combat training stress symptoms were associated with lower pre-combat training vmPFC activation and with higher activation increase in the LC between pre- and post-combat training.ConclusionsResults suggest that during anger-provoking social interactions, flawed vmPFC functionality may serve as a causal risk factor for the development of stress symptoms, and heightened reactivity of the LC possibly reflects a consequence of stress-inducing combat training. These findings provide potential neural targets for therapeutic intervention and inoculation for stress-related psychopathological manifestations of anger.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
media_common.quotation_subject
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal Cortex
Interpersonal communication
Anger
03 medical and health sciences
Occupational Stress
0302 clinical medicine
Intervention (counseling)
medicine
Humans
Chronic stress
Interpersonal Relations
Psychiatry
Applied Psychology
media_common
Brain Mapping
Combat Disorders
medicine.diagnostic_test
Aggression
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
030227 psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
medicine.anatomical_structure
Military Personnel
Locus Coeruleus
medicine.symptom
Psychology
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Psychopathology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14698978 and 00332917
- Volume :
- 47
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Psychological medicine
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d9156ed2a5031025955b28c39428c8dc