Introducing the Glutamate-Amplifies-Noradrenergic-Effects (GANE) Model to the Neurocognitive Study of Emotion-Related Impulsivity

Abstract

Emotion-related impulsivity (ERI) shows robust longitudinal associations with psychiatric disorders, aggression, and suicidality, yet a parsimonious account of its neurocognitive correlates has not been offered. We connect ERI with the glutamate-amplifies-noradrenergic-effects (GANE) model, a framework describing how norepinephrine tunes “hotspots” of brain activation during heightened physiological arousal. First, we systematically reviewed studies of ERI and task-based functional MRI. Meta-analysis of significant effects yielded one cluster in right inferior frontal gyrus. Twenty-six of 30 significant effects systematically colocalized in neuroanatomical hotspots in each corresponding task, in line with GANE. Second, adults recruited for a range of psychopathology ( N = 120) completed a reward/punishment go/no-go task while undergoing functional MRI. ERI correlated with stronger nucleus-accumbens activation for a model sensitive to heightened trial reward and in anterior cingulate for models sensitive to heightened trial arousal. Findings provide empirical support for the relevance of GANE hotspot mechanisms to ERI.