RUMINATION AND
WORRY: NEURAL AND
COGNITIVE
MECHANISMS
Laura Gramling, Joseph Nijmeh, Carolyn M. Resner,
Stacie L. Warren Ph.D.
Background
■ Anxiety and Depression are highly prevalent, comorbid, and difficult
to treat.
– Co-occur with deficits in cognitive functioning and EF.
■ Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT)
– Transdiagnositc process
Worry
Rumination
• Anxiety Disorders
• Depressive Disorders
• “Self-attentiveness
motivated by perceived
threats, losses, or
injustices to the self”
(Trapnell & Campbell,
1999).
• Cognitive
Processes.
• Repetitive
• Verbally Mediated
• Intrusive
• Difficult to
terminate
• Negatively valenced
thoughts and images that
represent a problem-solving
attempt but are generally
focused on negative
outcomes (Borkovec et al.,
1983)
Are these distinct processes?
Repetitive Negative Thought and
Working Memory
■ Working Memory (WM) is the temporary storage and manipulation
of information.
■ Worriers displayed more restricted WM capacity when worrying
than when thinking about positive topics.
■ Rumination has been linked with memory deficits and biases
■ Individual’s self-reported level of rumination was negatively
correlated with their ability to remove irrelevant negative
information from working memory.
Hypotheses
■ Worry and rumination are separate processes.
– Will be associated with overlapping and distinct regions of brain
activity during a WM task.
– Worry and rumination will interact with updating ability to predict
working memory (WM) performance.
Methods
■ 19 participants ages ranged from 19– 52 (M = 29.1, SD = 8.3)
–
SCID
■
–
–
–
Measures:
Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)
Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ)
Measures of executive function
Tiger
§ Updating Working Memory
■ fMRI
– Mental sorting task (“Sticky Thoughts” Task )
(Joormann, Levens, & Gotlib, 2011)
Fruit
Color
J
L
F
A
Sticky Thoughts Task
Word 1
Word 2
Word 3
Forward/Backward
(Joormann, Levens, & Gotlib, 2011)
3
Analysis
■ PCA = Updating Working Memory Factor
– Spatial Updating, Keep Track, and Letter Memory tasks
■ Hierarchical linear regressions
– Worry, Updating, Interaction
– Rumination, Updating, Interaction
Results
■ Full model using worry as a predictor was not significant.
■ Full model using rumination as a predictor did significantly predict
WM performance R2 = 0.56, p = 0.04
– Rumination R2 = .32, p = .02
– Updating ∆R2 = .05, p = .29
– Rumination X Updating ∆R2 = .18, p = .03
Average RT Correct Trials
RRQ x Updating
Low Updating Factor
1.5
1
High Updating Factor
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
Low RRQ
High RRQ
Neuroimaging Analysis
■ Hierarchical linear regressions
– Main Effects: Worry, Rumination
– Combined model
■ Corrected for multiple comparisons.
Total Effects of Rumination and Worry
Left IFG
Left dlPFC
Left OFC
L
X = -14 Y = 8 Z = 24
Worry = Red
Rumination = Green
X = -14 Y = 8 Z = 24
Overlap = Yellow
Unique Effects of Rumination and Worry
Left IFG
Left dlPFC
Left OFC
L
X = -42 Y = 10 Z= 26
Worry = Red
Rumination = Green
X = -42 Y = 10 Z= 26
Overlap = Yellow
Discussion
■ Worry and rumination are operating on the same neural pathway
but represent distinct constructs.
■ Operate through separate cognitive mechanisms.
– Updating Working Memory
■ The similarities between these two cognitive processes is that they
may both be serving an avoidance function (Fresco, et al., 2002).
Future Directions
■ Overlap in neural connectivity
■ Directionality of deficits
References
■
Barlow, D. H. (2004). Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic. Guilford press.
■
Borkovec, T. D., Robinson, E., Pruzinsky, T., & DePree, J. A. (1983). Preliminary exploration of worry: Some characteristics and processes. Behaviour
Research And Therapy, 21(1), 9-16. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(83)90121-3
■
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clinical sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 110, 585-599.
■
Fresco, D. M., Frankel, A. N., Mennin, D. S., Turk, C. L., & Heimberg, R. G. (2002). Distinct and overlapping features of rumination and worry: The
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■
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■
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■
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abnormal psychology, 117(1), 182.
■
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■
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■
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