The Experts below are selected from a list of 318 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Jack Van Honk - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a single administration of cortisol acutely reduces Preconscious attention for fear in anxious young men
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2007Co-Authors: H P F Koppeschaar, Erno J Hermans, Peter Putman, Alexandra Van Schijndel, Jack Van HonkAbstract:Chronically elevated HPA activity has often been associated with fear and anxiety, but there is evidence that single administrations of glucocorticoids may acutely reduce fear. Moreover, peri-traumatic cortisol elevation may protect against development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypervigilant processing of threat information plays a role in anxiety disorders and although relations with HPA functioning have been established, causality of these relations remains unclear. Presently, self-reported anxiety and response time patterns on a masked emotional Stroop task with fearful faces were measured in 20 healthy young men after double-blind, placebo-controlled oral administration of 40 mg cortisol. The masked fearful Stroop task measures vocal colornaming response latencies for pictures of neutral and fearful faces presented below the threshold for conscious perception. Results showed increased response times on trials for fearful compared to neutral faces after placebo, but this emotional Stroop effect was acutely abolished by cortisol administration. This effect was most pronounced in subjects with heightened anxiety levels. This is the first evidence showing that exogenous cortisol acutely reduces anxiety-driven selective attention to threat. These results extend earlier findings of acute fear reduction after glucocorticoid administration. This suggests interactions of HPA functioning and vigilant attention in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Possible neuroendocrine mechanisms of action are discussed.
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the effects of social stress and cortisol responses on the Preconscious selective attention to social threat
Biological Psychology, 2007Co-Authors: Karin Roelofs, Patricia Bakvis, Erno J Hermans, Johannes Van Pelt, Jack Van HonkAbstract:The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of social stress and stress-induced cortisol on the Preconscious selective attention to social threat. Twenty healthy participants were administered a masked emotional Stroop task (comparing color-naming latencies for angry, neutral and happy faces) in conditions of rest and social stress. Stress was induced by means of the Trier social stress test. Based on the stress-induced increase in cortisol levels, participants were allocated post hoc (median-split) to a high and low responders group. In contrast to low responders, high responders showed a negative or avoidant attentional bias to threat (i.e. shorter latencies for angry than neutral faces) in the rest condition. Most importantly, although low responders became avoidant, the high responders became vigilant to the angry faces after stress induction. There were no such effects for happy faces. Our findings are in line with previous studies in both animals and humans, that associate high glucocorticoid stress-responsiveness with diminished avoidance and prolonged freezing reactions during stress.
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conscious and Preconscious selective attention to social threat different neuroendocrine response patterns
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2000Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was designed to investigate the relationship between selective attention to social threat and neuroendocrine activity. Selective attention to social threat was measured using a supraliminal (unmasked) and a subliminal (masked) version of a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing color-naming latencies of neutral and angry faces. Neuroendocrine activity was assessed as (pre-task to post-task) increases in salivary cortisol and testosterone. Forty subjects were randomly assigned to the unmasked or masked version of the task. Analyses for the unmasked task revealed that post-task cortisol levels were significantly increased in subjects showing selective attention to angry faces. Results for the masked task indicated that post-task cortisol and testosterone levels were significantly increased in subjects showing Preconscious selective attention to angry faces. The difference in neuroendocrine activity between tasks is suggested to depend on cortical (i.e. prefrontal) control in the unmasked task. Thus, psychological affective regulatory processes were involved in the unmasked task, whereas the neuroendocrine response patterns in the masked task indicates a biologically prepared mechanism.
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baseline salivary cortisol levels and Preconscious selective attention for threat a pilot study
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1998Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was conducted to examine the relationship between baseline salivary cortisol (CORT) levels and selective attention for displays of angry faces. Selective attention was investigated using a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing colournaming-speed of angry and neutral faces. The task was assessed in supraliminal (unmasked) and subliminal (masked) conditions to 28 non-clinical subjects (14 male and 14 female). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between median split CORT levels (low vs. high) and masked face valence (angry vs. neutral). The latter effect was mainly due to significant facilitation in the high CORT subject-group; these subjects seemed to allocate their attention away from the masked angry face. A relation between baseline CORT levels and fast withdrawal behavior is suggested.
Adriaan Tuiten - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the influence of testosterone combined with a pde5 inhibitor on cognitive affective and physiological sexual functioning in women suffering from sexual dysfunction
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009Co-Authors: Flip Van Der Made, Jos Bloemers, Wadi E Yassem, Gunilla Kleiverda, Walter Everaerd, Diana Van Ham, Berend Olivier, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan TuitenAbstract:INTRODUCTION: Women with female sexual dysfunction have a reduced sensitivity to sexual stimuli. Activation of central mechanisms may open a window for phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5) to be effective; as a consequence, the combination of testosterone and a PDE5 inhibitor will restore sexual function. AIM: To demonstrate that the combination of testosterone and vardenafil will increase the sensitivity for sexual stimuli and will improve the desire and arousal components of the sexual response. Methods. In a double-blind randomly assigned placebo-controlled crossover design, 28 women with desire and/or arousal disorder underwent four different drug treatments on four separate experimental days. A masked version of the emotional Stroop task with sexual and nonsexual words was used to measure sensitivity for sexual content. Neutral and erotic film fragments were used to determine genital-physiological and subjective reactions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A masked version of the emotional Stroop task, vaginal pulse amplitude. For subjective measurement, responses were collected continuously with a lever and two self-report measures were used. RESULTS: In two subgroups, which were differentiated on the basis of their initial Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues, a different sexual response profile was found. In an initially low-attention group, Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues increased under the testosterone condition. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil caused an improvement in genital response and subjective indices of sexual functioning. In the group that had initially a high attention for sexual cues, Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues decreased under the condition of testosterone. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil had no effect on any of the indices of their sexual functioning. CONCLUSION: In women suffering from low sexual desire-associated with low attention for sexual cues-the combination of testosterone and vardenafil may be a promising new treatment.
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conscious and Preconscious selective attention to social threat different neuroendocrine response patterns
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2000Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was designed to investigate the relationship between selective attention to social threat and neuroendocrine activity. Selective attention to social threat was measured using a supraliminal (unmasked) and a subliminal (masked) version of a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing color-naming latencies of neutral and angry faces. Neuroendocrine activity was assessed as (pre-task to post-task) increases in salivary cortisol and testosterone. Forty subjects were randomly assigned to the unmasked or masked version of the task. Analyses for the unmasked task revealed that post-task cortisol levels were significantly increased in subjects showing selective attention to angry faces. Results for the masked task indicated that post-task cortisol and testosterone levels were significantly increased in subjects showing Preconscious selective attention to angry faces. The difference in neuroendocrine activity between tasks is suggested to depend on cortical (i.e. prefrontal) control in the unmasked task. Thus, psychological affective regulatory processes were involved in the unmasked task, whereas the neuroendocrine response patterns in the masked task indicates a biologically prepared mechanism.
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baseline salivary cortisol levels and Preconscious selective attention for threat a pilot study
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1998Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was conducted to examine the relationship between baseline salivary cortisol (CORT) levels and selective attention for displays of angry faces. Selective attention was investigated using a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing colournaming-speed of angry and neutral faces. The task was assessed in supraliminal (unmasked) and subliminal (masked) conditions to 28 non-clinical subjects (14 male and 14 female). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between median split CORT levels (low vs. high) and masked face valence (angry vs. neutral). The latter effect was mainly due to significant facilitation in the high CORT subject-group; these subjects seemed to allocate their attention away from the masked angry face. A relation between baseline CORT levels and fast withdrawal behavior is suggested.
H P F Koppeschaar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the influence of testosterone combined with a pde5 inhibitor on cognitive affective and physiological sexual functioning in women suffering from sexual dysfunction
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009Co-Authors: Flip Van Der Made, Jos Bloemers, Wadi E Yassem, Gunilla Kleiverda, Walter Everaerd, Diana Van Ham, Berend Olivier, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan TuitenAbstract:INTRODUCTION: Women with female sexual dysfunction have a reduced sensitivity to sexual stimuli. Activation of central mechanisms may open a window for phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5) to be effective; as a consequence, the combination of testosterone and a PDE5 inhibitor will restore sexual function. AIM: To demonstrate that the combination of testosterone and vardenafil will increase the sensitivity for sexual stimuli and will improve the desire and arousal components of the sexual response. Methods. In a double-blind randomly assigned placebo-controlled crossover design, 28 women with desire and/or arousal disorder underwent four different drug treatments on four separate experimental days. A masked version of the emotional Stroop task with sexual and nonsexual words was used to measure sensitivity for sexual content. Neutral and erotic film fragments were used to determine genital-physiological and subjective reactions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A masked version of the emotional Stroop task, vaginal pulse amplitude. For subjective measurement, responses were collected continuously with a lever and two self-report measures were used. RESULTS: In two subgroups, which were differentiated on the basis of their initial Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues, a different sexual response profile was found. In an initially low-attention group, Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues increased under the testosterone condition. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil caused an improvement in genital response and subjective indices of sexual functioning. In the group that had initially a high attention for sexual cues, Preconscious attentional bias for sexual cues decreased under the condition of testosterone. In these women, the combination of testosterone and vardenafil had no effect on any of the indices of their sexual functioning. CONCLUSION: In women suffering from low sexual desire-associated with low attention for sexual cues-the combination of testosterone and vardenafil may be a promising new treatment.
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a single administration of cortisol acutely reduces Preconscious attention for fear in anxious young men
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2007Co-Authors: H P F Koppeschaar, Erno J Hermans, Peter Putman, Alexandra Van Schijndel, Jack Van HonkAbstract:Chronically elevated HPA activity has often been associated with fear and anxiety, but there is evidence that single administrations of glucocorticoids may acutely reduce fear. Moreover, peri-traumatic cortisol elevation may protect against development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypervigilant processing of threat information plays a role in anxiety disorders and although relations with HPA functioning have been established, causality of these relations remains unclear. Presently, self-reported anxiety and response time patterns on a masked emotional Stroop task with fearful faces were measured in 20 healthy young men after double-blind, placebo-controlled oral administration of 40 mg cortisol. The masked fearful Stroop task measures vocal colornaming response latencies for pictures of neutral and fearful faces presented below the threshold for conscious perception. Results showed increased response times on trials for fearful compared to neutral faces after placebo, but this emotional Stroop effect was acutely abolished by cortisol administration. This effect was most pronounced in subjects with heightened anxiety levels. This is the first evidence showing that exogenous cortisol acutely reduces anxiety-driven selective attention to threat. These results extend earlier findings of acute fear reduction after glucocorticoid administration. This suggests interactions of HPA functioning and vigilant attention in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Possible neuroendocrine mechanisms of action are discussed.
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conscious and Preconscious selective attention to social threat different neuroendocrine response patterns
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2000Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was designed to investigate the relationship between selective attention to social threat and neuroendocrine activity. Selective attention to social threat was measured using a supraliminal (unmasked) and a subliminal (masked) version of a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing color-naming latencies of neutral and angry faces. Neuroendocrine activity was assessed as (pre-task to post-task) increases in salivary cortisol and testosterone. Forty subjects were randomly assigned to the unmasked or masked version of the task. Analyses for the unmasked task revealed that post-task cortisol levels were significantly increased in subjects showing selective attention to angry faces. Results for the masked task indicated that post-task cortisol and testosterone levels were significantly increased in subjects showing Preconscious selective attention to angry faces. The difference in neuroendocrine activity between tasks is suggested to depend on cortical (i.e. prefrontal) control in the unmasked task. Thus, psychological affective regulatory processes were involved in the unmasked task, whereas the neuroendocrine response patterns in the masked task indicates a biologically prepared mechanism.
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baseline salivary cortisol levels and Preconscious selective attention for threat a pilot study
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1998Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was conducted to examine the relationship between baseline salivary cortisol (CORT) levels and selective attention for displays of angry faces. Selective attention was investigated using a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing colournaming-speed of angry and neutral faces. The task was assessed in supraliminal (unmasked) and subliminal (masked) conditions to 28 non-clinical subjects (14 male and 14 female). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between median split CORT levels (low vs. high) and masked face valence (angry vs. neutral). The latter effect was mainly due to significant facilitation in the high CORT subject-group; these subjects seemed to allocate their attention away from the masked angry face. A relation between baseline CORT levels and fast withdrawal behavior is suggested.
Edgar Garciarill - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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chapter 10 Preconscious awareness
Waking and the Reticular Activating System in Health and Disease, 2015Co-Authors: Edgar GarciarillAbstract:Sensory input induces gamma band activity in the reticular activating system that participates in Preconscious awareness, the process necessary to support a state capable of reliably assessing the world around us on a continuous basis. This process is manifested rapidly upon waking, following increased blood flow in the thalamus and brain stem that occurs ahead of increases in cortical blood flow. This mechanism is also involved in the Preconscious activity necessary for the preparation for voluntary movements. This occurs in advance of the subjective sensation of will or intention to move, that is, Preconsciously.
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pedunculopontine nucleus gamma band activity Preconscious awareness waking and rem sleep
Frontiers in Neurology, 2014Co-Authors: Francisco J Urbano, James Hyde, Paige Beck, Stasia Donofrio, Brennon Luster, Veronica Bisagno, Edgar GarciarillAbstract:The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) is a major component of the reticular activating system (RAS) that regulates waking and REM sleep, states of high-frequency EEG activity. Recently, we described the presence of high threshold, voltage-dependent N- and P/Q-type calcium channels in RAS nuclei that subserve gamma band oscillations in the mesopontine PPN, intralaminar parafascicular nucleus (Pf), and pontine subcoeruleus nucleus dorsalis (SubCD). Cortical gamma band activity participates in sensory perception, problem solving, and memory. Rather than participating in the temporal binding of sensory events as in the cortex, gamma band activity in the RAS may participate in the processes of Preconscious awareness, and provide the essential stream of information for the formulation of many of our actions. That is, the RAS may play an early permissive role in volition. Our latest results suggest that (1) the manifestation of gamma band activity during waking may employ a separate intracellular pathway compared to that during REM sleep, (2) neuronal calcium sensor (NCS-1) protein, which is over expressed in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, modulates gamma band oscillations in the PPN in a concentration-dependent manner, (3) leptin, which undergoes resistance in obesity resulting in sleep dysregulation, decreases sodium currents in PPN neurons, accounting for its normal attenuation of waking, and (4) following our discovery of electrical coupling in the RAS, we hypothesize that there are cell clusters within the PPN that may act in concert. These results provide novel information on the mechanisms controlling high-frequency activity related to waking and REM sleep by elements of the RAS.
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gamma band activity in the reticular activating system
Frontiers in Neurology, 2012Co-Authors: Francisco J Urbano, Nebojsa Kezunovic, James Hyde, Christen Simon, Paige Beck, Edgar GarciarillAbstract:This review considers recent evidence showing that cells in three regions of the reticular activating system (RAS) exhibit gamma band activity, and describes the mechanisms behind such manifestation. Specifically, we discuss how cells in the mesopontine pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), intralaminar parafascicular nucleus (Pf), and pontine Subcoeruleus nucleus dorsalis (SubCD) all fire in the beta/gamma band range when maximally activated, but no higher. The mechanisms behind this ceiling effect have been recently elucidated. We describe recent findings showing that every cell in the PPN have high threshold, voltage-dependent P/Q-type calcium channels that are essential, while N-type calcium channels are permissive, to gamma band activity. Every cell in the Pf also showed that P/Q-type and N-type calcium channels are responsible for this activity. On the other hand, every SubCD cell exhibited sodium-dependent subthreshold oscillations. A novel mechanism for sleep-wake control based on well-known transmitter interactions, electrical coupling, and gamma band activity is described. The data presented here on inherent gamma band activity demonstrates the global nature of sleep-wake oscillation that is orchestrated by brainstem-thalamic mechanism, and questions the undue importance given to the hypothalamus for regulation of sleep-wakefulness. The discovery of gamma band activity in the RAS follows recent reports of such activity in other subcortical regions like the hippocampus and cerebellum. We hypothesize that, rather than participating in the temporal binding of sensory events as seen in the cortex, gamma band activity manifested in the RAS may help stabilize coherence related to arousal, providing a stable activation state during waking and paradoxical sleep. Most of our thoughts and actions are driven by Preconscious processes. We speculate that continuous sensory input will induce gamma band activity in the RAS that could participate in the processes of preconsciou
Rien Verbaten - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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conscious and Preconscious selective attention to social threat different neuroendocrine response patterns
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2000Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was designed to investigate the relationship between selective attention to social threat and neuroendocrine activity. Selective attention to social threat was measured using a supraliminal (unmasked) and a subliminal (masked) version of a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing color-naming latencies of neutral and angry faces. Neuroendocrine activity was assessed as (pre-task to post-task) increases in salivary cortisol and testosterone. Forty subjects were randomly assigned to the unmasked or masked version of the task. Analyses for the unmasked task revealed that post-task cortisol levels were significantly increased in subjects showing selective attention to angry faces. Results for the masked task indicated that post-task cortisol and testosterone levels were significantly increased in subjects showing Preconscious selective attention to angry faces. The difference in neuroendocrine activity between tasks is suggested to depend on cortical (i.e. prefrontal) control in the unmasked task. Thus, psychological affective regulatory processes were involved in the unmasked task, whereas the neuroendocrine response patterns in the masked task indicates a biologically prepared mechanism.
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baseline salivary cortisol levels and Preconscious selective attention for threat a pilot study
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1998Co-Authors: Jack Van Honk, H P F Koppeschaar, Adriaan Tuiten, Marcel A Van Den Hout, J H H Thijssen, Edward H F De Haan, Rien VerbatenAbstract:This study was conducted to examine the relationship between baseline salivary cortisol (CORT) levels and selective attention for displays of angry faces. Selective attention was investigated using a pictorial emotional Stroop task, comparing colournaming-speed of angry and neutral faces. The task was assessed in supraliminal (unmasked) and subliminal (masked) conditions to 28 non-clinical subjects (14 male and 14 female). Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between median split CORT levels (low vs. high) and masked face valence (angry vs. neutral). The latter effect was mainly due to significant facilitation in the high CORT subject-group; these subjects seemed to allocate their attention away from the masked angry face. A relation between baseline CORT levels and fast withdrawal behavior is suggested.
