BACKGROUND The amygdala has a central role in processing emotions, particularly fear. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) amygdala activation has been demonstrated outside of conscious awareness using masked emotional faces. METHODS We applied the masked faces paradigm to patients with major depression (n = 11) and matched control subjects (n = 11) during fMRI to compare amygd...

The amygdala is a key region in emotion processing. In particular, fMRI studies have demonstrated that the amygdala is active during the viewing of emotional faces. Previous research has consistently found greater amygdala responses to fearful than to neutral faces in adults, convergent with a focus in the animal literature on the amygdala's role in fear processing. Studies have shown that the ...

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that decision-making is a process that depends on emotion. Studies have shown that damage of the ventromedial prefrontal (VMF) cortex precludes the ability to use somatic (emotional) signals that are necessary for guiding decisions in the advantageous direction. However, given the role of the amygdala in emotional processing, we asked whether amygdala dama...

Background: The amygdala has a central role in processing emotions, particularly fear. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) amygdala activation has been demonstrated outside of conscious awareness using masked emotional faces. Methods: We applied the masked faces paradigm to patients with major depression (n 11) and matched control subjects (n 11) during fMRI to compare amygdala ...

  Background: Vitex agnus - castus extract (Vitex) is available in dosage forms for female disorders treatment. This extract has shown controversial effects against seizures induced by Maximal electroshock (MES) or pentylenetetrazole (PTZ).   Objective: In the present study the anti-seizure activity of Vitex against acquisition of amygdala kindling was evaluated in male rats.   Methods: Intact ...

In this study the role of CA1 region of dorsal hippocamus an amygdala kindling rate was investigated by bilateral microinjection of lidocaine into hippocampus.28 rats were divided into four groups.in group I:animals were implanted only with a tripolar electrode into the amygdala but in groups 2-4,two guide cannulaae were also implanted into  the CA1 region of the dorsale hippocampus.two monopol...

Objective(s): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of the most devastating kinds of anxiety disorders, is the consequence of a traumatic event followed by intense fear. In rats with contextual fear conditioning (CFC), a model of PTSD caused by CFC (electrical foot shock chamber), deep brain stimulation (DBS) alleviates CFC abnormalities.Materials and Methods: Forty Male Wistar rats (220–2...

This study addresses the neuronal representation of aversive sounds that are perceived as unpleasant. Functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans demonstrated responses in the amygdala and auditory cortex to aversive sounds. We show that the amygdala encodes both the acoustic features of a stimulus and its valence (perceived unpleasantness). Dynamic causal modeling of this system revealed t...

BACKGROUND We aimed to investigate the disruptions of functional connectivity of amygdala-based networks in adolescents with untreated generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 26 adolescents with first-episode GAD and 20 normal age-matched volunteers underwent resting-state and T1 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed the correlation of fMRI sign...

There are two views regarding the role of the amygdala in emotional memory formation. According to one view, the amygdala modulates memory-related processes in other brain regions, such as the hippocampus. According to the other, the amygdala is a site for some aspects of emotional memory. Here the authors adduce behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical evidence in support of an integr...