The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high metabolic demand. Increased o... more The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high metabolic demand. Increased oxidative stress and depletion of glutathione (GSH) are observed with aging and many neurological diseases. Exercise training has the potential to reduce oxidative stress in the brain. In this study, nine healthy sedentary males (aged 25 ± 4 years) undertook a bout of continuous moderate intensity exercise and a high-intensity interval (HII) exercise bout on separate days. GSH concentration in the anterior cingulate was assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in four participants, before and after exercise. This was a pilot study to evaluate the ability of the MRS method to detect exercise-induced changes in brain GSH in humans for the first time. MRS is a non-invasive method based on nuclear magnetic resonance, which enables the quantification of metabolites, such as GSH, in the human brain in vivo. To add context to brain GSH data, other markers of oxidative stress were also a...
British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953), Jan 16, 2016
The presence of peers is suggested to increase risk-taking behaviour by heightening response to r... more The presence of peers is suggested to increase risk-taking behaviour by heightening response to reward. The current study investigated this using a computerized financial risk-taking task which was performed twice by a group of young adults (n = 201, median age 19.8 years): once alone and once while in the presence of two peers. An overall increase in risk-taking was observed when with peers compared to when alone (CHANGE). CHANGE was positively associated with self-reported levels of reward responsiveness and fun seeking while older age and lack of perseverance were associated with reduced CHANGE. The association between risk-taking when with peers and both resistance to the influence of peers and age was indirect through reward responsiveness. Reward responsiveness was positively associated with impulsiveness. Only in those who showed a peer-related decrease in risk-taking (1/3 of participants), risk-taking in the presence of peers was associated with increased impulsiveness. The ...
81 Background: Identifying neurobiologically based transdiagnostic categories of depression 82 an... more 81 Background: Identifying neurobiologically based transdiagnostic categories of depression 82 and psychosis may elucidate heterogeneity, and provide better candidates for predictive 83 modelling. We aimed to identify clusters across patients with recent onset depression (ROD) 84 and recent onset psychosis (ROP) based on structural neuroimaging data. We hypothesized 85 that these transdiagnostic clusters would identify patients with poor outcome and allow more 86 accurate prediction of symptomatic remission than traditional diagnostic structures. 87 Methods: HYDRA (HeterogeneitY through DiscRiminant Analysis) was trained on whole 88 brain volumetric measures from 577 participants from the discovery sample of the multi-site 89 PRONIA study to identify neurobiologically driven clusters which were then externally 90 validated in the PRONIA replication sample (n=404) and three datasets of chronic samples 91 (COBRE, n=146; MCIC, n=202; MUC, n=470). 92 Results: The optimal clustering solution was two transdiagnostic clusters (Cluster 1, n=153, 93 67 ROP, 86 ROD and Cluster 2, n=149, 88 ROP, 61 ROD; ARI=.618). The two clusters 94 contained both ROP and ROD. One cluster had widespread GMV deficits, more positive, 95 negative, and functional deficits (impaired cluster) and one cluster revealed a more preserved 96 neuroanatomical signature and more ‘core’ depressive symptomatology (preserved cluster). 97 The clustering solution was internally and externally validated and assessed for clinical utility 98 in predicting 9-month symptomatic remission -outperforming traditional diagnostic 99
This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of empathy... more This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of empathy, Theory of Mind (ToM), and self-other differentiation involved in the adaptive understanding of people's internal states. Three conditions were distinguished in both sad and neutral (no obvious emotion) contexts. The empathy condition involved imagining what another person is feeling while the more cognitively loaded ToM condition involved imagining what would make another person feel better. The self-reference condition required participants to imagine how they would feel in someone else's situation. Areas previously implicated in empathy, ToM, and self-other differentiation were identified within the different conditions, regardless of emotional context. Specifically, the frontal and temporal poles responded more strongly for ToM than for empathy. The self-reference condition was associated with stronger dorsolateral prefrontal response than the empathy condition, while the reverse comparison revealed a stronger role for right frontal pole. Activations in frontal pole and orbitofrontal cortex were shared between the three conditions. Contrasts of parameter estimates demonstrated modulation by emotional context. The findings of common and differential patterns of responding observed in prefrontal and temporal regions suggest that within the social cognition network empathy, ToM and self-other differentiation have distinct roles that are responsive to context.
The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high metabolic demand. Increased o... more The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high metabolic demand. Increased oxidative stress and depletion of glutathione (GSH) are observed with aging and many neurological diseases. Exercise training has the potential to reduce oxidative stress in the brain. In this study, nine healthy sedentary males (aged 25 ± 4 years) undertook a bout of continuous moderate intensity exercise and a high-intensity interval (HII) exercise bout on separate days. GSH concentration in the anterior cingulate was assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in four participants, before and after exercise. This was a pilot study to evaluate the ability of the MRS method to detect exercise-induced changes in brain GSH in humans for the first time. MRS is a non-invasive method based on nuclear magnetic resonance, which enables the quantification of metabolites, such as GSH, in the human brain in vivo. To add context to brain GSH data, other markers of oxidative stress were also a...
British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953), Jan 16, 2016
The presence of peers is suggested to increase risk-taking behaviour by heightening response to r... more The presence of peers is suggested to increase risk-taking behaviour by heightening response to reward. The current study investigated this using a computerized financial risk-taking task which was performed twice by a group of young adults (n = 201, median age 19.8 years): once alone and once while in the presence of two peers. An overall increase in risk-taking was observed when with peers compared to when alone (CHANGE). CHANGE was positively associated with self-reported levels of reward responsiveness and fun seeking while older age and lack of perseverance were associated with reduced CHANGE. The association between risk-taking when with peers and both resistance to the influence of peers and age was indirect through reward responsiveness. Reward responsiveness was positively associated with impulsiveness. Only in those who showed a peer-related decrease in risk-taking (1/3 of participants), risk-taking in the presence of peers was associated with increased impulsiveness. The ...
81 Background: Identifying neurobiologically based transdiagnostic categories of depression 82 an... more 81 Background: Identifying neurobiologically based transdiagnostic categories of depression 82 and psychosis may elucidate heterogeneity, and provide better candidates for predictive 83 modelling. We aimed to identify clusters across patients with recent onset depression (ROD) 84 and recent onset psychosis (ROP) based on structural neuroimaging data. We hypothesized 85 that these transdiagnostic clusters would identify patients with poor outcome and allow more 86 accurate prediction of symptomatic remission than traditional diagnostic structures. 87 Methods: HYDRA (HeterogeneitY through DiscRiminant Analysis) was trained on whole 88 brain volumetric measures from 577 participants from the discovery sample of the multi-site 89 PRONIA study to identify neurobiologically driven clusters which were then externally 90 validated in the PRONIA replication sample (n=404) and three datasets of chronic samples 91 (COBRE, n=146; MCIC, n=202; MUC, n=470). 92 Results: The optimal clustering solution was two transdiagnostic clusters (Cluster 1, n=153, 93 67 ROP, 86 ROD and Cluster 2, n=149, 88 ROP, 61 ROD; ARI=.618). The two clusters 94 contained both ROP and ROD. One cluster had widespread GMV deficits, more positive, 95 negative, and functional deficits (impaired cluster) and one cluster revealed a more preserved 96 neuroanatomical signature and more ‘core’ depressive symptomatology (preserved cluster). 97 The clustering solution was internally and externally validated and assessed for clinical utility 98 in predicting 9-month symptomatic remission -outperforming traditional diagnostic 99
This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of empathy... more This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of empathy, Theory of Mind (ToM), and self-other differentiation involved in the adaptive understanding of people's internal states. Three conditions were distinguished in both sad and neutral (no obvious emotion) contexts. The empathy condition involved imagining what another person is feeling while the more cognitively loaded ToM condition involved imagining what would make another person feel better. The self-reference condition required participants to imagine how they would feel in someone else's situation. Areas previously implicated in empathy, ToM, and self-other differentiation were identified within the different conditions, regardless of emotional context. Specifically, the frontal and temporal poles responded more strongly for ToM than for empathy. The self-reference condition was associated with stronger dorsolateral prefrontal response than the empathy condition, while the reverse comparison revealed a stronger role for right frontal pole. Activations in frontal pole and orbitofrontal cortex were shared between the three conditions. Contrasts of parameter estimates demonstrated modulation by emotional context. The findings of common and differential patterns of responding observed in prefrontal and temporal regions suggest that within the social cognition network empathy, ToM and self-other differentiation have distinct roles that are responsive to context.
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Papers by Renate Reniers