Introducing the Glutamate-Amplifies-Noradrenergic-Effects (GANE) Model to the Neurocognitive Study of Emotion-Related...

Emotion-related impulsivity (ERI) shows robust longitudinal associations with psychiatric disorders, aggression, and suicidality, yet a parsimonious account of its neurocognitive correlates has not been offered. We connect ERI with the Glutamate Amplifies Noradrenergic Effects (GANE) model, a framework describing how norepinephrine tunes "hotspots" of brain activation during heightened physiological arousal. First, we systematically reviewed studies of ERI and task-based functional MRI. Meta-analysis of significant effects yielded one cluster in right inferior frontal gyrus. 26 of 30 significant effects systematically co-localized in neuroanatomical "hotspots" in each corresponding task, in line with GANE. Second, adults recruited for a range of psychopathology (n = 120) completed a reward/punishment Go No-Go task while undergoing functional MRI. ERI correlated with stronger nucleus accumbens activation for a model sensitive to heightened trial reward and in anterior cingulate for models sensitive to heightened trial arousal. Findings provide empirical support for the relevance of GANE "hotspot" mechanisms to ERI.