Neurogenetic Variations in Norepinephrine Availability Enhance Perceptual Vividness
- Rebecca M. Todd1,
- Mana R. Ehlers1,
- Daniel J. Müller2,
- Amanda Robertson3,
- Daniela J. Palombo3,4,
- Natalie Freeman2,
- Brian Levine3,4, and
- Adam K. Anderson5
- 1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada,
- 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Neurogenetics Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada,
- 3Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G3, Canada,
- 4Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, M6A 2E1, Canada, and
- 5Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 1485
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Author contributions: R.M.T., D.J.M., D.J.P., B.L., and A.K.A. designed research; R.M.T., M.R.E., and A.R. performed research; R.M.T., M.R.E., D.J.M., and N.F. analyzed data; R.M.T., M.R.E., and A.K.A. wrote the paper.
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.
- Received October 29, 2014.
- Revision received March 13, 2015.
- Accepted March 16, 2015.
- Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/356506-11$15.00/0
