Counterfactual thinking induces different neural patterns of memory modification in anxious individuals.


Journal

Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
09 05 2024
Historique:
received: 16 12 2023
accepted: 07 05 2024
medline: 10 5 2024
pubmed: 10 5 2024
entrez: 9 5 2024
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Episodic counterfactual thinking (eCFT) is the process of mentally simulating alternate versions of experiences, which confers new phenomenological properties to the original memory and may be a useful therapeutic target for trait anxiety. However, it remains unclear how the neural representations of a memory change during eCFT. We hypothesized that eCFT-induced memory modification is associated with changes to the neural pattern of a memory primarily within the default mode network, moderated by dispositional anxiety levels. We tested this proposal by examining the representational dynamics of eCFT for 39 participants varying in trait anxiety. During eCFT, lateral parietal regions showed progressively more distinct activity patterns, whereas medial frontal neural activity patterns became more similar to those of the original memory. Neural pattern similarity in many default mode network regions was moderated by trait anxiety, where highly anxious individuals exhibited more generalized representations for upward eCFT (better counterfactual outcomes), but more distinct representations for downward eCFT (worse counterfactual outcomes). Our findings illustrate the efficacy of examining eCFT-based memory modification via neural pattern similarity, as well as the intricate interplay between trait anxiety and eCFT generation.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38724623
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61545-x
pii: 10.1038/s41598-024-61545-x
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

10630

Informations de copyright

© 2024. The Author(s).

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Auteurs

Shenyang Huang (S)

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. shenyang.huang@duke.edu.
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. shenyang.huang@duke.edu.

Leonard Faul (L)

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA.

Natasha Parikh (N)

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.

Kevin S LaBar (KS)

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.

Felipe De Brigard (F)

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. felipe.debrigard@duke.edu.
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. felipe.debrigard@duke.edu.
Department of Philosophy, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. felipe.debrigard@duke.edu.

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