Lack of control over significant events may induce a state of learned helplessness that is characterized by cognitive, motivational, and affective deficits. Although highly relevant in the pathogenesis of several mental disorders, the extent of the cognitive deficits induced by experiences of uncontrollability and the neural mechanisms underlying such deficits in humans remain poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested here whether uncontrollability over aversive events impairs subsequent working memory performance and, if so, which neural processes are involved in such deficits. We assessed working memory and the involved neurocircuitry in the MRI scanner before and after participants underwent a task in which they could either learn to avoid electric shocks or had no instrumental control over shocks. Our results show that subjective, but not objective, uncontrollability over aversive events impaired working memory performance. This impact of subjective uncontrollability was linked to altered prefrontal and parahippocampal activities and connectivity as well as decreased crosstalk between frontoparietal executive and salience networks. Our findings show that the perceived uncontrollability over aversive events, rather than the aversive events themselves or the actual, objective control over them, disrupts subsequent working memory processes, most likely through altered crosstalk between prefrontal, temporal, and parietal areas.

中文翻译：

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对厌恶事件的主观不可控性降低了工作记忆性能和相关的大规模网络交互。

对重大事件缺乏控制可能会导致习得性无助状态，其特征是认知、动机和情感缺陷。尽管与几种精神障碍的发病机制高度相关，但人们对无法控制的经历引起的认知缺陷的程度以及人类此类缺陷背后的神经机制仍知之甚少。使用功能性磁共振成像 (fMRI)，我们在这里测试了对厌恶事件的不可控性是否会损害随后的工作记忆表现，如果是，那么哪些神经过程与这种缺陷有关。我们在参与者接受一项任务之前和之后评估了 MRI 扫描仪中的工作记忆和涉及的神经电路，在该任务中他们可以学会避免电击或无法控制电击。我们的结果表明，对厌恶事件的主观而非客观的不可控制性会损害工作记忆性能。主观无法控制的这种影响与前额叶和海马旁活动和连接的改变以及额顶执行和显着网络之间的串扰减少有关。我们的研究结果表明，对厌恶事件的感知无法控制，而不是厌恶事件本身或对它们的实际客观控制，破坏了随后的工作记忆过程，最有可能是通过改变前额叶、颞叶和顶叶区域之间的串扰。主观无法控制的这种影响与前额叶和海马旁活动和连接的改变以及额顶执行和显着网络之间的串扰减少有关。我们的研究结果表明，对厌恶事件的感知无法控制，而不是厌恶事件本身或对它们的实际客观控制，扰乱了随后的工作记忆过程，最有可能是通过改变前额叶、颞叶和顶叶区域之间的串扰。主观无法控制的这种影响与前额叶和海马旁活动和连接的改变以及额顶执行和显着网络之间的串扰减少有关。我们的研究结果表明，对厌恶事件的感知无法控制，而不是厌恶事件本身或对它们的实际客观控制，破坏了随后的工作记忆过程，最有可能是通过改变前额叶、颞叶和顶叶区域之间的串扰。