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Neurogenetic variations in norepinephrine availability enhance perceptual vividness Todd, Rebecca M.; Ehlers, Mana R.; Müller, Daniel J.; Robertson, Amanda; Palombo, Daniela J.; Freeman, Natalie; Levine, Brian; Anderson, Adam K.

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.

Item Metadata

Title
Neurogenetic variations in norepinephrine availability enhance perceptual vividness
Creator
Todd, Rebecca M.; Ehlers, Mana R.; Müller, Daniel J.; Robertson, Amanda; Palombo, Daniela J.; Freeman, Natalie; Levine, Brian; Anderson, Adam K.
Date Issued
2015-04-22
Description
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.
Subject
ADRA2b; attention; emotion; emotionally enhanced vividness; fMRI; neurogenetics
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-09-20
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0355695
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63076
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Non UBC; Psychology, Department of
Citation
Todd, R. M., Ehlers, M. Mueller, D. J., Robertson, A.,Freeman, N., Palombo, D. J., Levine, B., & Anderson, A. K. (2015). Neurogenetic variations in norepinephrine availability enhance perceptual vividness. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(16), 6506-6516
Publisher DOI
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4489-14.2015
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International