Psychobiology and molecular genetics of resilience
Nature reviews. NeurosciencePublished 20 May 2009Open access
Adriana Feder, Eric J. Nestler, Dennis S. Charney
Citations1,269
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TL;DR
Research has shown that resilience is mediated by adaptive changes in several neural circuits involving numerous neurotransmitter and molecular pathways, which shape the functioning of the neural circuits that regulate reward, fear, emotion reactivity and social behaviour.
Abstract
Every individual experiences stressful life events. In some cases acute or chronic stress leads to depression and other psychiatric disorders, but most people are resilient to such effects. Recent research has begun to identify the environmental, genetic, epigenetic and neural mechanisms that underlie resilience, and has shown that resilience is mediated by adaptive changes in several neural circuits involving numerous neurotransmitter and molecular pathways. These changes shape the functioning of the neural circuits that regulate reward, fear, emotion reactivity and social behaviour, which together are thought to mediate successful coping with stress.
Keywords
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This manuscript reviews how animal models of fear are translated to human behavior, and how some fears are more easily acquired in humans (i.e., social-cultural), and attempts to extend these findings to human models targeted to helping facilitate extinction or abolishment of fears.
NeuroImageRegulation of anterior insular cortex activity using real-time fMRI
347 Citations2007Andrea Carìa, Ralf Veit +5 more
This is the first group study investigating the volitional control of emotionally relevant brain region by using rtfMRI training and confirms that self-regulation of local brain activity with rTFMRI is possible.
Annals of the New York Academy of SciencesConceptual Issues in Studies of Resilience
345 Citations2006Suniya S. Luthar, JEANETTE A. SAWYER +1 more
Critical conceptual issues in research on resilience are considered, including distinctions between protective, promotive, and vulnerability factors, the need to unpack underlying processes, and the benefits and potential pitfalls of an overwhelming scientific focus on biological and genetic factors.
American Journal of PsychiatryAmygdala and Nucleus Accumbens Activation to Emotional Facial Expressions in Children and Adolescents at Risk for Major Depression
340 Citations2007Christopher S. Monk, Rachel G. Klein +11 more
Amygdala and nucleus accumbens responses to affective stimuli may reflect vulnerability for major depression, and constraining attention may normalize emotion-related neural function possibly by engagement of the medial prefrontal cortex.
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