Neurogenetic Variations in Norepinephrine Availability Enhance Perceptual Vividness

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Abstract

Emotionally salient aspects of the world are experienced with greater perceptual vividness than mundane ones; however, such emotionally enhanced vividness (EEV) may be experienced to different degrees for different people. We examined whether BOLD activity associated with a deletion variant of the ADRA2b gene coding for the α2b adrenoceptor modulates EEV in humans. Relative to noncarriers, ADRA2b deletion carriers showed higher levels of perceptual vividness, with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) showing greater modulation by EEV. Deletion carriers were also more sensitive to the featural salience of the images, suggesting a more pervasive role of norepinephrine in perceptual encoding. Path analysis revealed that, whereas a simple model by which the amygdala modulated the lateral occipital complex best characterized EEV-related activity in noncarriers, contributions of an additional VMPFC pathway best characterized deletion carriers. Thus, common norepinephrine-related neurogenetic differences enhance the subjective vividness of perceptual experience and its emotional enhancement.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Neurosci

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J. Neurosci

Journal ID (hwp): jneuro

Journal ID (pmc): jneurosci

Journal ID (publisher-id): J. Neurosci

Title: The Journal of Neuroscience

Publisher: Society for Neuroscience

ISSN (Print): 0270-6474

ISSN (Electronic): 1529-2401

Publication date (Print): 22 April 2015

Volume: 35

Issue: 16

Pages: 6506-6516

Affiliations

[1] ¹Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada,

[2] ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Neurogenetics Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada,

[3] ³Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G3, Canada,

[4] ⁴Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, M6A 2E1, Canada, and

[5] ⁵Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 1485

Author notes

Correspondence should be addressed to Rebecca Todd, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. becket.todd@ 123456psych.ubc.ca

Author contributions: R.M.T., D.J.M., D.J.P., B.L., and A.K.A. designed research; R.M.T., M.R.E., and A.R. performed research; R.M.T., M.R.E., D.J.M., and N.F. analyzed data; R.M.T., M.R.E., and A.K.A. wrote the paper.

D.J. Palombo's present address: VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130.

Author information

Mana R. Ehlers http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1316-3787

Daniela J. Palombo http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8082-3522

Article

Accession ID: PMC6605217 Pmcid ID: PMC6605217 Pmc-uid ID: 6605217 Publisher ID: 4489-14

DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4489-14.2015

PMC ID: 6605217

PubMed ID: 25904801

SO-VID: 8e08e855-2f64-4f0f-b40b-dfe3d6e71120

History

Date received : 29 October 2014

Date revision received : 13 March 2015

Date accepted : 16 March 2015

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