The relationship between early and recent life stress and emotional expression processing: A functional connectivity...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Stress Research

Background:

• Stress exposure, particularly in early life and adulthood, can shape neural responses to emotional stimuli.
• Two prominent models, cumulative and match/mismatch stress, offer differing perspectives on how stress impacts development and coping.
• Understanding these models is crucial for elucidating the neural underpinnings of emotional processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural activation patterns during negative facial expression processing.
• To examine how early-life and adult stress levels, individually and interactively, influence these neural responses.
• To test the applicability of both cumulative and match/mismatch stress models in explaining observed neural alterations.

Main Methods:

• Functional connectivity analyses were employed using seed regions including the amygdala, fusiform face area (FFA), occipital face area (OFA), and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS).
• Participants were assessed for early-life and adult stress levels.
• Neural activation during the processing of negative facial expressions was characterized.

Main Results:

• The interaction between early and adult stress levels was associated with altered functional connectivity in brain regions such as the cerebellum, middle temporal gyrus, and supramarginal gyrus.
• Cumulative stress levels showed associations with altered functional connectivity in regions including the middle temporal gyrus, lateral occipital cortex, precuneus, precentral and postcentral gyri, anterior and posterior cingulate gyri, and Heschl's gyrus.
• Findings support the involvement of specific neural circuits in processing emotional expressions under different stress paradigms.

Conclusions:

• Both cumulative and match/mismatch stress models provide valuable frameworks for understanding the long-term effects of stress on neural circuitry.
• Stress timing and accumulation significantly influence neural processing of negative facial expressions.
• This research contributes to understanding the complex interplay between stress, brain function, and emotional regulation.