Dynamic Regulation of Internal Experience Jessica Andrews-Hanna, Ph.D. Department of Psychology; Cognitive Science Program University of Arizona
Mary-Frances O Connor Thank You! Kalina Christoff Zac Irving Kieran Fox Joanna Arch Randy Buckner Marie Banich Tor Wager Sona Dimidjian Rosi Kaiser Marina Lopez-Sola Lindsay Ives Ramsey Wilcox Jessica Renger Sydney Freidman Quentin Raffaelli Jonathan Smallwood Nathan Spreng Diego Pizzagalli Tal Yarkoni 2
HERE AND NOW
Off-Task Thinking (i.e. Mind-Wandering ) What are you doing right now? Were you thinking about something other than what you were doing? 46.9% YES Killingsworth & Gilbert, Science, 2010
You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. James Allen (1864 1912), author. 5
How to harness the adaptive potential of human thought? How to promote enduring change?
Task-Related and Task-Unrelated Cognition GREEN GREEN Lab and Real-World Contexts Static and Dynamic Approaches measurement Time measurements Time Behavioral, Physiological, and Neural
DYNAMIC REGULATION / CONTROL of: WHAT topics our thoughts concern Are our thoughts largely positive or negative? Constructive or unconstructive? WHEN our thoughts occur Do we let our thoughts interfere with important activities? HOW we relate to our thoughts How fused are we with our thoughts? Do they bother us and loom large in our mind? Smallwood & Andrews-Hanna, FrontiersPsych, 2013; Andrews-Hanna, Smallwood & Spreng, ANYAS, 2014; Christoff, Irving, Fox, Spreng & Andrews-Hanna, NRN, 2016; Andrews-Hanna et al., in press
DYNAMIC REGULATION / CONTROL of: PROCESSES by which our thoughts initiate and unfold Are they influenced by constraints on cognition? Do our thoughts transition with ease?
A Taxonomy of Thought Christoff, Irving, Fox, Spreng & Andrews-Hanna, NRN, 2016; Andrews-Hanna et al., in press
Dynamics of Internal Experience Highly Dynamic Thoughts Highly Rigid Thought / Little Dynamic Flow Content Content Time Time Christoff, Irving, Fox, Spreng & Andrews-Hanna, NRN, 2016; Andrews-Hanna et al., in press
Patterns of Thought What is Normal? 11 studies of off-task thought, (N> 5,000) Emotions in daily life (all types of thought) On average, people tend to think about mildly positive topics, even when those topics are unrelated to the task at hand. Fox, Andrews-Hanna et al., 2015; in prep;mills et al., submitted Trampe et al., PLOS One, 2015
Thought Content, Continued We are all preoccupied with internal thoughts. These thoughts can often be a source of excitement, anxiety, or irritation. In this experiment, we are interested in what kinds of thoughts have been on your mind lately. UPCOMING HAWAII TRIP Future-Oriented MY COLLEGE GPA Self-Relevant Important / Of Value MISS MY PARENTS Recurring Thought CLIMB PIKE S PEAK Positive Socially-Oriented Vivid Moderately Specific Andrews-Hanna et al, FrontiersPsych, 2013
Positive, Constructive Content is the Norm Somewhat positive Valence Strongly Negative Neutral Strongly Positive Self-Relevant Personally-significant Of Value/Importance Central to Self-Identity Recurrent Thought Strongly Disagree Neither Strongly Disagree Agree Somewhat social Social / Involve Other People Strongly Disagree Neither Strongly Disagree Agree Future oriented Present/ Non-temporal Future Past Andrews-Hanna et al., FrontiersPsych, 2013
Well-Being Correlates of Thought Content Depression / Negative Affect (BDI-II + PANAS-Gen) 43% of variance explained by thought content Rumination (RRS + RRQ- Rumination) 31% of variance explained by thought content Mindfulness (FFMQ) 45% of variance explained by thought content Specificity / Imagery Personal Significance / Recurrency Temporal Orientation (Future vs. Past) Valence (Pos vs. Neg) More negative *** * More personallysignificant/ recurrent Less specific/ imagery * Less personallysignificant/ recurrent * * * More specific/ imagery More positive Effect Size (Standardized β) Effect Size (Standardized β) Effect Size (Standardized β) Andrews-Hanna et al., FrontiersPsych, 2013
Where s My Mind? App Develop an international database of daily thinking patterns. Explore their content, correlates, and consequences https://play.google.c om/store/apps Andrews-Hanna & Arch, in prep
Affective Constraints on Cognition MDD = Less variable off-task thought content as related to symptoms in an experimental setting (Hoffman et al., JAD, 2016) Rumination predicts subsequent negative affect (Moberly & Watkins, J. Abnormal Psych, 2008) Negative (especially self-relevant) material more salient, sticky, and remembered better in MDD (Matthews & MacLeod, Ann Rev Clin Psych, 2005; Gotlib & Joorman, Ann Rev Clin Psy, 2010)
Heightened Salience of Negative Information Critical Personal Comments N-Back Task (1 and 2-back) Praiseworthy Personal Comments N-Back Task (1 and 2-back) No relationships with individual difference measures following praise Kaiser, Andrews-Hanna, Metcalf, & Dimidjian, Cog Therapy Res, 2015
Affective Constraints on Cognition Daily events perceived as more stressful in MDD (Bylsma et al., J. Abnormal Psych, 2011) MDD and GAD = heightened & extended rumination à poorer subsequent affect & worse symptoms (Ruscio et al., J. Abnormal Psy, 2015) Broad impairments in executive function in MDD (i.e. poorer inhibition, shifting, working memory updating) (Snyder, Psych Bull, 2014)
Learned patterns of thinking and feeling a certain way Strong automatic (affective) biases Constrain thought content Time Broad impairments in executive function Restrict flow and impede dynamic regulation of thought
Brain mechanisms Default Network Frontoparietal Control Network Salience Network
The Default Network Default Network TASK < REST Initially defined as regions that deactivate during tasks as compared to rest (Shulman et al., JOCN, 1997; Raichle et al., PNAS, 2001) Subsequently called a task-negative network (Fox et al., PNAS, 2005)
The Default Network Default Network AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY PROSPECTION MENTALIZING Initially defined as regions that deactivate during tasks as compared to rest (Shulman et al., JOCN, 1997; Raichle et al., PNAS, 2001) Subsequently called a task-negative network (Fox et al., PNAS, 2005) Better characterized by role in internally-guided cognition (Buckner, Andrews-Hanna, Schacter, ANYAS, 2008; Andrews-Hanna, Smallwood, Spreng, ANYAS, 2014)
Default Network The Default Network Comprised of at least two subsystems that interact through core hubs (Andrews-Hanna et al., Neuron, 2010)
The Default Network Default Network Meta-cognitive reflection (mentalizing self and other) Affective personal significance/meaning Constructive episodic simulation Comprised of at least two subsystems that interact through core hubs (Andrews-Hanna et al., Neuron, 2010) Components contribute differently to internally-guided cognition (Andrews-Hanna, Smallwood, Spreng, 2014) Also engaged when mind-wandering (Fox et al., NI, 2015; Andrews-Hanna et al., JNeurophys, 2010). DMN core may be source of automatic constraints; MT subsystem may be a source of variability / spontaneity (Christoff et al., NRN, 2016)
Frontoparietal Control Network Frontoparietal Control Network Dynamic regulation of external and internal attention based on nature of task (Spreng et al., JOCN, 2010; Andrews-Hanna, Smallwood, Spreng, ANYAS, 2013) May buffer internal thought and external attention from distracting information (Smallwood et al., Brain Res, 2011) Source of deliberate constraints on thought (Christoff et al., NRN, 2016)
Salience Network Salience Network Aversive > Neutral Films Propanolol (beta-blocker) reduced HR and connectivity of salience network Bottom-up attention to salient external and internal information (Corbetta et al., Neuron, 2008; Hermans et al., 2011) Communicates with frontoparietal control network and default / dorsal attention networks to up-regulate attentional resources to internal or external sources (Uddin, NRN, 2015) Source of automatic constraints on thought (Christoff et al., NRN, 2016) SN regulated by locus coeruleus vis noradrenergic arousal mechanisms
Are brain network dynamics altered in mood and anxiety disorders?
Neural Alterations in Mood & Anxiety Disorders Structural alterations in default, control & salience network in MDD (Drevets et al., Brain Struct Func, 2008; Koolschijn et al., HBM, 2009) Hyperactivity of default network in MDD (Sheline et al., PNAS, 2009; Whitfield-Gabrieli & Ford, ARCP, 2012) Heightened SN and amygdala activity in response to negative stimuli in MDD and anxiety; reduced frontoparietal control activity (Hamilton et al., AmJPsych, 2012; Etkin & Wager, 2007) Task-related connectivity between ACC and PCC increased with depressive symptoms Kaiser, Andrews-Hanna, et al., SCAN, 2015
Neural Alterations in Mood & Anxiety Disorders Salience network hyperconnectivity relates to anxiety (Seeley et al., JNeurosci, 2007) Increase default network vs. task positive network dominance during rest states in MDD (Hamilton et al., BioPsych, 2011) Correlates with rumination Hamilton et al., BioPsych, 2011
Meta-Analysis of Resting State Connectivity in Depression Frontoparietal Control Network General deficits in cognitive control Bias towards internal thoughts Bias away from external environment Default Network Increased in Depression Reduced in Depression Dorsal Attention Network ALSO: 1) Dysfunctional DN-FPCN-salience network connectivity 2) Reduced limbic accumbens and amygdala connectivity 34 Kaiser, Andrews-Hanna, Wager, & Pizzagalli, JAMA Psych, 2015
Measuring Brain Dynamics with Dynamic Connectivity Dynamic connectivity Static connectivity Hutchison et al., Neuroimage, 2013
Dynamic connectivity measures can be more sensitive markers of mental health than static measures (e.g. Damaraju et al., Neuroimage Clinical, 2014) Measure of connectivity Static rs-fcmri 70% Dynamic rs-fcmri 80.5% Static + Dynamic rs-fcmri 90% Accuracy predicting group status (HC, SCZ, BPD)
Dynamic Connectivity May Relate to Ongoing Cognition Fluctuations in spontaneous mental states occurs at similar frequencies as resting state fmri Vanhaudenhuyse et al., JOCN, 2010; Zabelina & Andrews-Hanna, Curr Opinion Neurol, 2016, Kuyci, NI, 2017
Dynamic connectivity in MDD Decreased dynamic connectivity within default network in MDD Increased dynamic connectivity between MPFC and both insula and dlpfc Kaiser et al., Neuropsychopharm, 2015
Salience Network Default Network Learned patterns of thinking and feeling a certain way Strong automatic (affective) biases Constrain thought content Time Broad impairments in executive function Frontoparietal Control Network Restrict dynamic flow and regulation of thought
Promoting Enduring Change Lane, Ryan, Nadel & Greenberg, Behav Brain Sci, 2015
Make new meaning out of maladaptive thought patterns Promoting Enduring Change Constructive meta-cognitive reflection / reappraisal Episodic simulation / memory retrieval Lane, Ryan, Nadel & Greenberg, Behav Brain Sci, 2015
Salience Network Default Network Reconsolidated internal experience Reduce automatic (affective) biases Less affectively constrained thought content Time Strengthen attentional control Frontoparietal Control Network Facilitate dynamic flow and regulation of thought
Mary-Frances O Connor Thank You! Kalina Christoff Zac Irving Kieran Fox Joanna Arch Randy Buckner Marie Banich Tor Wager Sona Dimidjian Rosi Kaiser Marina Lopez-Sola Lindsay Ives Ramsey Wilcox Jessica Renger Sydney Freidman Quentin Raffaelli Jonathan Smallwood Nathan Spreng Diego Pizzagalli Tal Yarkoni 43