Effective emotion regulation strategies improve fMRI and ECG markers of psychopathology in panic disorder: implications for psychological treatment action.

Impairments in emotion regulation are thought to have a key role in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders, but the neurobiological underpinnings contributing to vulnerability remain poorly understood. It has been a long-held view that exaggerated fear is linked to hyperresponsivity of limbic brain areas and impaired recruitment of prefrontal control. However, increasing evidence suggests that prefrontal-cortical networks are hyperactive during threat processing in anxiety disorders. This study directly explored limbic-prefrontal neural response, connectivity and heart-rate variability (HRV) in patients with a severe anxiety disorder during incidental versus intentional emotion regulation. During 3 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging, 18 participants with panic disorder and 18 healthy controls performed an emotion regulation task. They either viewed negative images naturally (Maintain), or they were instructed to intentionally downregulate negative affect using previously taught strategies of cognitive reappraisal (Reappraisal). Electrocardiograms were recorded throughout to provide a functional measure of regulation and emotional processing. Compared with controls, patients showed increased neural activation in limbic-prefrontal areas and reduced HRV during incidental emotion regulation (Maintain). During intentional regulation (Reappraisal), group differences were significantly attenuated. These findings emphasize patients' ability to regulate negative affect if provided with adaptive strategies. They also bring prefrontal hyperactivation forward as a potential mechanism of psychopathology in anxiety disorders. Although these results challenge models proposing impaired allocation of prefrontal resources as a key characteristic of anxiety disorders, they are in line with more recent neurobiological frameworks suggesting that prefrontal hyperactivation might reflect increased utilisation of maladaptive regulation strategies quintessential for anxiety disorders.

Conservation outside protected areas and the effect of human-dominated landscapes on stress hormones in Savannah elephants.

Biodiversity conservation strategies are increasingly focused on regions outside national protected areas, where animals face numerous anthropogenic threats and must coexist with human settlements, livestock, and agriculture. The effects of these potential threats are not always clear, but they could have profound implications for population viability. We used savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a case study to assess the physiological stress associated with living in a human-livestock-dominated landscape. We collected samples over two 3-month periods in 2007 and 2008. We used fecal DNA to identify 96 individual elephants in a community conservation area (CCA) and measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations as a proxy for stress. The CCA is community Maasai land managed for livestock and wildlife. We compared the FGM concentrations from the CCA to FGM concentrations of 40 elephants in Amboseli National Park and 32 elephants in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where human settlements and intense livestock grazing were absent. In the CCA, we found no significant individual differences in FGM concentrations among the elephants in 2007 (p = 0.312) or 2008 (p = 0.412) and no difference between years (p = 0.616). The elephants in the CCA had similar FGM concentrations to the Maasai Mara population, but Amboseli elephants had significantly lower FGM concentrations than those in either Maasai Mara or the CCA (Tukey pairwise test, p < 0.001), due primarily to females excreting significantly lower FGM relative to males (p = 0.025). In the CCA, there was no relation among female group size, average pairwise group relatedness, and average group FGM concentration. We found no clear evidence of chronic stress in elephants living on CCA communal land, which is encouraging for conservation strategies promoting the protection of animals living outside protected areas.

Decreased heart rate variability during emotion regulation in subjects at risk for psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Dysfunctions in the regulation of emotional responses are related to poor psychological well-being and increased impact of cardiovascular disease. It has been suggested that the relationship between negative affect and higher morbidity could be mediated by a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), for example, of heart rate variability (HRV). Neuroticism is a personality trait associated with a maladaptive emotion regulation and also with alterations in ANS function. However, it is unknown whether subjects with high neuroticism present with specific biases in emotion regulation associated with reduced HRV. METHOD: In total, 33 healthy subjects (n=13, highly neurotic) performed an emotion regulation task, during which they were instructed to either passively view negative pictures or attempt to down-regulate the affect elicited by the images. During the task an electrocardiogram was recorded and HRV was measured by calculation of the high frequency spectrum (HF-HRV). RESULTS: A significant interaction between task condition and personality group was observed on HF-HRV measures (F 1,31=6.569, p=0.016). This was driven by subjects with low neuroticism presenting higher HF-HRV during down-regulation compared to passive exposure to negative stimuli, while subjects with high neuroticism reported an opposite tendency. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show reduced HF-HRV during cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli in high neuroticism and indicate a specific link between loss of flexibility in the parasympathetic cardiovascular tone and emotion regulation, consistent with previous work. Such findings support the importance of exploring the combination of ANS adaptability and emotional dysregulation in neuroticism as different facets of a common psychosomatic vulnerability factor.

Human-modified ecosystems and future evolution.

Our global impact is finally receiving the scientific attention it deserves. The outcome will largely determine the future course of evolution. Human-modified ecosystems are shaped by our activities and their side effects. They share a common set of traits including simplified food webs, landscape homogenization, and high nutrient and energy inputs. Ecosystem simplification is the ecological hallmark of humanity and the reason for our evolutionary success. However, the side effects of our profligacy and poor resource practices are now so pervasive as to threaten our future no less than that of biological diversity itself. This article looks at human impact on ecosystems and the consequences for evolution. It concludes that future evolution will be shaped by our awareness of the global threats, our willingness to take action, and our ability to do so. Our ability is presently hampered by several factors, including the poor state of ecosystem and planetary knowledge, ignorance of human impact, lack of guidelines for sustainability, and a paucity of good policies, practices, and incentives for adopting those guidelines in daily life. Conservation philosophy, science, and practice must be framed against the reality of human-dominated ecosystems, rather than the separation of humanity and nature underlying the modern conservation movement. The steps scientists can take to imbed science in conservation and conservation in the societal process affecting the future of ecosystems and human well-being are discussed.

Diagnostic accuracy with US: remote radiologists' versus on-site radiologists' interpretations.

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists interpreting static ultrasonographic (US) images electronically transmitted to an academic medical center (remote radiologists) with that of radiologists performing "hands-on" US at a community-based outpatient site (on-site radiologists). MATERIALS AND METHODS: During 8 months, 80 patients underwent pelvic US at a community-based outpatient site. Images were electronically transmitted to a remote medical center as they were acquired at the community site and were printed on a laser printer identical to the one used at the outpatient site. The reference standard for correct diagnosis was based on histopathologic findings (n = 13), additional imaging results (n = 34), or review by a second independent observer (n = 33). Both an on-site and a remote radiologist interpreted the images, and their interpretations were rated as agree, both correct; agree, both incorrect; or disagree. Cases of disagreement were rated as major or minor. RESULTS: On-site and remote radiologists agreed in 69 of 80 patients (86%), and both radiologists were correct in all of these cases. There were 10 minor discrepancies and one major discrepancy. The diagnostic accuracies of the one-site and remote radiologists were 92% and 94%, respectively. CONCLUSION: High levels of diagnostic accuracy can be achieved by radiologists interpreting static US images. Strict protocols and excellent communication between the radiologist and sonographer are necessary to avoid diagnostic errors.

Structure and history of African elephant populations: I. Eastern and southern Africa.

Patterns of restriction site variation within mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 270 individuals were used to examine the current structure of savanna elephant populations and to infer historical patterns of gene flow across eastern and southern Africa. Elephants have a complex population structure characterized by marked subdivision at the continental level (Fst = 0.39; 95% confidence interval 0.19-0.58), and isolation by distance at the regional level. However, phylogeographic analysis revealed evidence of protracted gene flow across the continent. First, one relatively derived haplotype was found at all sampling locations. Second, haplotypes representing exceptionally divergent (up to 8.3%) mitochondrial clades were found to coexist at distant (> 2,000 km) sampling locations. In the few other species characterized by sympatric individuals bearing such divergent haplotypes, all such individuals were found to coexist within limited geographical regions. Accordingly, pronounced mitochondrial divergence within populations is often attributed to ancestral isolation in allopatry, followed by secondary contact. The patterns within elephants do not accord with ancestral isolation in allopatry. Given the exceptional mobility of elephants, a geographical barrier is unlikely to have obstructed gene flow between regions for long enough to produce the observed mitochondrial divergence. Rather, the patterns are consistent with the more parsimonious hypothesis, based on neutral coalescent theory, that gene flow has maintained a sufficiently large effective population size (> 50,000 females) for representatives of clades that diverged at least 4 million years ago to have persisted by chance within a population that was subdivided, but not strictly isolated in allopatry.

Malevolent object representations in borderline personality disorder and major depression.

To study malevolent representations, earliest memories were reliably coded on scales of affect tone. Ss were diagnosed with borderline personality disorder: 31 without and 30 with concurrent major depression. Nonborderline comparison subjects had either major depressive disorder (n = 26) or no psychiatric diagnosis (n = 30). Borderline subjects were discriminated from comparison subjects by their more malevolent representations; they more frequently produced memories involving deliberate injury; and they portrayed potential helpers as less helpful. Results suggest the diagnostic significance of malevolent representations, which need to be explained by any theory of borderline personality disorder.

Africa's elephants and rhinos: Flagships in crisis.

Despite extensive conservation measures over the last two decades, populations of elephants and rhinos in Africa continue to decline. The plight of the black rhino is especially acute. Poaching for rhino horn and ivory, rather than habitat loss, remains the principal threat to these species. The only long-term hope may lie in the effective protection of small, isolated populations.