Stefanie Lis

Bio: Stefanie Lis is an academic researcher from Heidelberg University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Borderline personality disorder & Cognition. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 96 publications receiving 4066 citations. Previous affiliations of Stefanie Lis include University of Giessen & University of Freiburg.

Oxytocin Modulates Neural Circuitry for Social Cognition and Fear in Humans

Abstract: In non-human mammals, the neuropeptide oxytocin is a key mediator of complex emotional and social behaviors, including attachment, social recognition, and aggression. Oxytocin reduces anxiety and impacts on fear conditioning and extinction. Recently, oxytocin administration in humans was shown to increase trust, suggesting involvement of the amygdala, a central component of the neurocircuitry of fear and social cognition that has been linked to trust and highly expresses oxytocin receptors in many mammals. However, no human data on the effects of this peptide on brain function were available. Here, we show that human amygdala function is strongly modulated by oxytocin. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to image amygdala activation by fear-inducing visual stimuli in 15 healthy males after double-blind crossover intranasal application of placebo or oxytocin. Compared with placebo, oxytocin potently reduced activation of the amygdala and reduced coupling of the amygdala to brainstem regions implicated in autonomic and behavioral manifestations of fear. Our results indicate a neural mechanism for the effects of oxytocin in social cognition in the human brain and provide a methodology and rationale for exploring therapeutic strategies in disorders in which abnormal amygdala function has been implicated, such as social phobia or autism.

Superior ‘theory of mind’ in borderline personality disorder: An analysis of interaction behavior in a virtual trust game

Abstract: To gain further insight into interpersonal dysfunction in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) we investigated the effects of emotional cues and the fairness of a social partner on the ability to infer other peoples' intentions in a virtual social exchange. 30 BPD patients and 30 nonpatients were asked to play a multiround trust game with four virtual trustees. The trustees varied in regard to fairness and presence of emotional facial cues which were both linked to repayment ratio. BPD patients adjusted their investment to the fairness of their partner. In contrast, nonpatients disregarded the trustees' fairness in the presence of emotional facial expressions. Both groups performed equally in an emotion recognition task and assessed the trustees' fairness comparably. When the unfair trustee provided emotional cues, BPD patients assessed their own behavior as more fair, while the lack of cues led patients to assess their own behavior as unfair. BPD patients are superior in the attribution of mental states to interaction partners when emotional cues are present. While the emotional expressions of a partner dominated the exchange behavior in nonpatients, BPD patients used the objective fairness of their social counterparts to guide their own behavior despite the existence of emotional cues.

Mechanisms of disturbed emotion processing and social interaction in borderline personality disorder: state of knowledge and research agenda of the German Clinical Research Unit

Abstract: The last two decades have seen a strong rise in empirical research in the mechanisms of emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder. Major findings comprise structural as well as functional alterations of brain regions involved in emotion processing, such as amygdala, insula, and prefrontal regions. In addition, more specific mechanisms of disturbed emotion regulation, e.g. related to pain and dissociation, have been identified. Most recently, social interaction problems and their underlying neurobiological mechanisms, e.g. disturbed trust or hypersensitivity to social rejection, have become a major focus of BPD research. This article covers the current state of knowledge and related relevant research goals. The first part presents a review of the literature. The second part delineates important open questions to be addressed in future studies. The third part describes the research agenda for a large German center grant focusing on mechanisms of emotion dysregulation in BPD.

Cerebral processing of social rejection in patients with borderline personality disorder

Abstract: An intense fear of abandonment or rejection is a central feature of social relationships for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). A total of 20 unmedicated BPD patients and 20 healthy participants (HC, matched for age and education) played a virtual ball-tossing game including the three conditions: exclusion, inclusion and a control condition with predefined game rules, whereas cerebral activity was assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjective experiences of exclusion were assessed after each blocked condition. Both groups felt similarly excluded during the exclusion condition; however, BPD subjects felt more excluded than HC during the inclusion and control conditions. In all three conditions, BPD patients showed a stronger engagement of the dorsal anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex. For HC, activation in several cerebral regions such as the insula and the precuneus differed depending on the interaction situation, whereas for BPD subjects activation in these regions was not modulated by experimental conditions. Subjects with BPD differed from HC in both their subjective reactions to and their neural processing of social interaction situations. Our data suggest that individuals with BPD have difficulty in discriminating between social situations, and tend to hypermentalize during social encounters that are not determined by the intentions of others.

Neuropsychology Mental Structure

Abstract: problems in addition to the signs of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Many of the patients were closely examined over long periods and the authors make the point that repeated examinations for as long as ten years in some instances allowed them to describe the natural history of the syndrome. and this they do in their third chapter. Again the description of the pathological findings is precise and comprehensive and the authors stress the periventricular distribution of the lesions and their bilateral symmetry. The authors consider specifically the neuropathological substrate on which are based the defective memory, ocular motor signs, the ataxia, the global confusional state and the occasional disturbance of olfactory and gustatory function. They argue a unity between Wernicke's disease and Korsakoff's psychosis and discuss the relationship between these two and alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, central pontine myelinolysis and other myelinolytic syndromes and interestingly discuss the problem of \"alcoholic dementia\" concluding that the nosological status ofalcoholic dementia is by

Oxytocin, vasopressin, and the neurogenetics of sociality.

Abstract: There is growing evidence that the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin modulate complex social behavior and social cognition. These ancient neuropeptides display a marked conservation in gene structure and expression, yet diversity in the genetic regulation of their receptors seems to underlie natural variation in social behavior, both between and within species. Human studies are beginning to explore the roles of these neuropeptides in social cognition and behavior and suggest that variation in the genes encoding their receptors may contribute to variation in human social behavior by altering brain function. Understanding the neurobiology and neurogenetics of social cognition and behavior has important implications, both clinically and for society.