A negative association between brainstem pontine grey-matter volume, well-being and resilience in healthy twins.

BACKGROUND Associations between well-being, resilience to trauma and the volume of grey-matter regions involved in affective processing (e.g., threat/reward circuits) are largely unexplored, as are the roles of shared genetic and environmental factors derived from multivariate twin modelling. METHODS This study presents, to our knowledge, the first exploration of well-being and volumes of grey-matter regions involved in affective processing using a region-of-interest, voxel-based approach in 263 healthy adult twins (60% monozygotic pairs, 61% females, mean age 39.69 yr). To examine patterns for resilience (i.e., positive adaptation following adversity), we evaluated associations between the same brain regions and well-being in a trauma-exposed subgroup. RESULTS We found a correlated effect between increased well-being and reduced grey-matter volume of the pontine nuclei. This association was strongest for individuals with higher resilience to trauma. Multivariate twin modelling suggested that the common variance between the pons volume and well-being scores was due to environmental factors. LIMITATIONS We used a cross-sectional sample; results need to be replicated longitudinally and in a larger sample. CONCLUSION Associations with altered grey matter of the pontine nuclei suggest that basic sensory processes, such as arousal, startle, memory consolidation and/or emotional conditioning, may have a role in well-being and resilience.

[1]  Wolfgang Schramm,et al.  Team , 2018, Spaces of Intensity.

[2]  C. Clark,et al.  Shared versus distinct genetic contributions of mental wellbeing with depression and anxiety symptoms in healthy twins , 2016, Psychiatry Research.

[3]  L. Williams,et al.  Precision psychiatry: a neural circuit taxonomy for depression and anxiety. , 2016, The lancet. Psychiatry.

[4]  J. Freeman,et al.  Amygdala Modulation of Cerebellar Learning , 2016, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[5]  Florin Dolcos,et al.  Optimism and the brain: trait optimism mediates the protective role of the orbitofrontal cortex gray matter volume against anxiety. , 2016, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[6]  Stella W. Y. Chan,et al.  Hippocampal volume in vulnerability and resilience to depression. , 2016, Journal of affective disorders.

[7]  Xiaobin Dang,et al.  Examining gray matter structures associated with individual differences in global life satisfaction in a large sample of young adults. , 2015, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[8]  M. Yücel,et al.  Trait positive affect is associated with hippocampal volume and change in caudate volume across adolescence , 2015, Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience.

[9]  L. Williams,et al.  The heritability of mental health and wellbeing defined using COMPAS-W, a new composite measure of wellbeing , 2014, Psychiatry Research.

[10]  Yasuyuki Taki,et al.  Anatomical correlates of quality of life: Evidence from voxel‐based morphometry , 2014, Human brain mapping.

[11]  Britta K. Hölzel,et al.  Change in Brainstem Gray Matter Concentration Following a Mindfulness-Based Intervention is Correlated with Improvement in Psychological Well-Being , 2014, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[12]  Geraint Rees,et al.  Neural correlates of the ‘good life’: eudaimonic well-being is associated with insular cortex volume , 2013, Social cognitive and affective neuroscience.

[13]  C. Clark,et al.  The TWIN-E Project in Emotional Wellbeing: Study Protocol and Preliminary Heritability Results Across Four MRI and DTI Measures , 2012, Twin Research and Human Genetics.

[14]  F. Karube,et al.  Specialized Cortical Subnetworks Differentially Connect Frontal Cortex to Parahippocampal Areas , 2012, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[15]  J. J. Siegel,et al.  Persistent activity in a cortical-to-subcortical circuit: bridging the temporal gap in trace eyelid conditioning. , 2012, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  K. Kendler,et al.  The Relationship Between the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Common Externalizing Psychopathology and Mental Wellbeing , 2011, Twin Research and Human Genetics.

[17]  K. Berridge,et al.  Building a neuroscience of pleasure and well-being , 2011, Psychology of well-being.

[18]  Peter F. Lovibond,et al.  Depression Anxiety Stress Scales , 2011 .

[19]  Ralf Deichmann,et al.  fMRI of the brainstem using dual-echo EPI , 2011, NeuroImage.

[20]  K. Kendler,et al.  The Relationship Between the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Common Internalizing Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Well-Being , 2011, Behavior genetics.

[21]  Inah Lee,et al.  Neuronal Correlates of Cross-Modal Transfer in the Cerebellum and Pontine Nuclei , 2011, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[22]  Britta K. Hölzel,et al.  Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density , 2011, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

[23]  M. Fendt,et al.  Group III Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Inhibit Startle-Mediating Giant Neurons in the Caudal Pontine Reticular Nucleus But Do Not Mediate Synaptic Depression/Short-Term Habituation of Startle , 2010, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[24]  E. Nestler,et al.  Psychobiology and molecular genetics of resilience , 2009, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[25]  Leanne M Williams,et al.  Enhanced amygdala and medial prefrontal activation during nonconscious processing of fear in posttraumatic stress disorder: An fMRI study , 2008, Human brain mapping.

[26]  E. Garcia-Rill,et al.  The developmental decrease in REM sleep: the role of transmitters and electrical coupling. , 2008, Sleep.

[27]  Ahmad R. Hariri,et al.  Individual Differences in Stressor-Evoked Blood Pressure Reactivity Vary with Activation, Volume, and Functional Connectivity of the Amygdala , 2008, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[28]  E. Gordon,et al.  Development and validation of a World-Wide-Web-based neurocognitive assessment battery: WebNeuro , 2007, Behavior research methods.

[29]  Philip D. Harvey,et al.  Hippocampal volume in aging combat veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder: relation to risk and resilience factors. , 2007, Journal of psychiatric research.

[30]  E. Gordon,et al.  CROSS-CULTURAL ASSESSMENT OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE AND ELECTRICAL BRAIN FUNCTION MEASURES: ADDITIONAL VALIDATION OF AN INTERNATIONAL BRAIN DATABASE , 2007, The International journal of neuroscience.

[31]  Le Song,et al.  The ‘when’ and ‘where’ of perceiving signals of threat versus non-threat , 2006, NeuroImage.

[32]  C. Keyes,et al.  Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. , 2005, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[33]  E. Gordon,et al.  THE TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF A STANDARDIZED NEUROCOGNITIVE AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL TEST BATTERY: “NEUROMARKER” , 2005, The International journal of neuroscience.

[34]  E. Gordon,et al.  PRELIMINARY VALIDITY OF “INTEGNEUROTM”: A NEW COMPUTERIZED BATTERY OF NEUROCOGNITIVE TESTS , 2005, The International journal of neuroscience.

[35]  E. Garcia-Rill,et al.  The developmental decrease in REM sleep , 2003 .

[36]  C. Keyes,et al.  Optimizing Well-Being: The Empirical Encounter of Two Traditions , 2002 .

[37]  N. Tzourio-Mazoyer,et al.  Automated Anatomical Labeling of Activations in SPM Using a Macroscopic Anatomical Parcellation of the MNI MRI Single-Subject Brain , 2002, NeuroImage.

[38]  E. Gordon,et al.  Arousal Dissociates Amygdala and Hippocampal Fear Responses: Evidence from Simultaneous fMRI and Skin Conductance Recording , 2001, NeuroImage.

[39]  D. Perrett,et al.  A differential neural response in the human amygdala to fearful and happy facial expressions , 1996, Nature.

[40]  B. Sanders,et al.  The measurement of psychological maltreatment: early data on the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale. , 1995, Child abuse & neglect.

[41]  A. Waterman.  Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. , 1993 .

[42]  G. Vogler,et al.  Methodology for genetic studies of twins and families , 1993 .