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The Protective Effects of Perceived Control During Repeated Exposure to Aversive Stimuli
Kainan S Wang1,2, Mauricio R Delgado3
1McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|February 22, 2021
Summary
Perceived control can reverse learned helplessness and anxiety caused by uncontrollable negative events. Greater ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activation correlated with stronger protective effects of control.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Perceived control significantly impacts mental and physical wellbeing.
- Uncontrollable aversive stimuli lead to anxiety and reduced motivation, while controllable stimuli promote behavioral vigor.
- Controllability offers protective effects against motivation deficits in aversive environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if controllability can reverse passivity after exposure to uncontrollable aversive stimuli.
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying the protective effects of perceived control.
- To examine the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in encoding the value of control.
Main Methods:
- Human participants completed the Control in Aversive Domain (CAD) task.
- Participants were exposed to uncontrollable aversive stimuli followed by controllable aversive stimuli.
- Brain activity, specifically vmPFC activation, was measured using fMRI during the task.
Main Results:
- Repeated uncontrollability led to reduced avoidance attempts and increased passivity.
- Subsequent exposure to controllable stimuli rescued avoidance behavior, demonstrating a protective effect of control.
- Stronger behavioral responses to control were associated with greater vmPFC activation.
Conclusions:
- Perceived control has a potent protective effect against passivity induced by aversive environments.
- The vmPFC plays a crucial role in the neural encoding of control and its beneficial effects on behavior.
- Findings have implications for understanding how perceived control influences adaptive behavior and mental health.
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