Cardiogenic control of affective behavioural state

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiology
• Psychology

Background:

• Emotional states influence physiological processes like heart rate.
• The influence of heart rate on emotional states, particularly anxiety, remains unclear.
• Physiological theories suggest a significant body-to-brain information flow in emotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if increased heart rate can induce anxiety-like behaviors.
• To explore the role of the body in signaling emotional states to the brain.
• To identify neural mechanisms mediating the effect of cardiac activity on behavior.

Main Methods:

• Development of a noninvasive optogenetic pacemaker for precise control of heart rate in mice.
• Utilizing a wearable micro-LED harness and viral delivery of channelrhodopsin.
• Employing whole-brain activity screening and electrophysiology to identify activated brain regions.

Main Results:

• Optically induced tachycardia significantly enhanced anxiety-like behavior in risky contexts.
• The posterior insular cortex was identified as a brain region activated by imposed cardiac rhythms.
• Optogenetic inhibition of the posterior insular cortex attenuated optically induced anxiety-like behavior.

Conclusions:

• Cardiac activity can directly influence emotional states, supporting bottom-up theories of emotion.
• The posterior insular cortex plays a key role in processing cardiac interoception and mediating anxiety.
• Understanding joint body-brain interactions is crucial for comprehending emotional states.