Sex-related differences in brain dynamism at rest as neural correlates of positive and negative valence system constructs

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nina de Lacy, University of Washington; Nathan J Kutz, University of Washington; Vince Calhoun, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-07-25
• Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Rights managed by Taylor & Francis
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2020.1793752
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 3-4
• Start Page: 131
• End Page: 154
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health under Award Number 1K99MH118359 to NdL, and NIH 2R01EB005846, P20GM103472, P30GM122734 and R01EB020407 and NSF 153906 to VDC. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH
• Keywords: FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY; negative valence; FMRI DATA; dynamism; GENDER-DIFFERENCES; ACTIVATION; brain networks; TIME-COURSE; INDEPENDENT COMPONENTS; Sex; EMOTION; Neurosciences; Science & Technology; positive valence; CLONINGERS TEMPERAMENT DIMENSIONS; ANXIETY DISORDERS; depression; DEPRESSION; gender; anxiety; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Neurosciences & Neurology

Abstract

Clinical anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental illnesses, likely representing maladaptive expressions of negative valence systems concerned with conditioned responses to fear, threat, loss, and frustrative nonreward. These conditions exhibit similar, striking sex/gender-related differences in onset, incidence, and severity for which the neural correlates are not yet established. In alarge sample of neurotypical young adults, we demonstrate that intrinsic brain dynamism metrics derived from sex-sensitive models of whole-brain network function are significantly associated with valence system traits. Surprisingly, we found that greater brain dynamism is strongly positively correlated to anxiety and depression traits in males, but almost wholly decoupled from traits for important cognitive control and reappraisal strategies associated with positive valence. Conversely, intrinsic brain dynamism is strongly positively coupled to drive, novelty-seeking and self-control in females with only rare or non-significant directional negative correlation with anxiety and depression traits. Our results suggest that the dynamic neural correlates of traits for valence, anxiety and depression are significantly different in males/men and females/women. These findings may relate to the known sex/gender-related differences in cognitive reappraisal of emotional experiences and clinical presentations of anxiety and depression, with potential relevance to gold standard therapies based on enhancing cognitive control strategies.