Increased social fear and decreased fear of objects in monkeys with neonatal amygdala lesions

Prather, Melissa; Lavenex, Pierre; Mauldin-Jourdain, Melissa L; Mason, William A.; Capitanio, John P.; Mendoza, Sally P.; Amaral, David G.

doi:10.1016/s0306-4522(01)00445-6

Cited by 228 publications

(193 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Human patients with Urbach-Wiethe, a disease that results in destruction of the amygdala, do not display core autistic symptomotology. In addition, nonhuman primates that sustained amygdala damage early in development are able to produce species-typical social behaviors (Prather et al, 2001). The view from our animal studies, which is consistent with human lesion studies, is that dysfunction of the amygdala is not responsible for the core social deficits of autism.…”

Section: The Amygdala In Autismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Amygdala Is Enlarged in Children But Not Adolescents with Autism; the Hippocampus Is Enlarged at All Ages

et al. 2004

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Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in reciprocal social interaction, deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, and a restricted repertoire of activities or interests. We performed a magnetic resonance imaging study to better define the neuropathology of autistic spectrum disorders. Here we report findings on the amygdala and the hippocampal formation. Borders of the amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebrum were defined, and their volumes were measured in male children (7.5-18.5 years of age) in four diagnostic groups: autism with mental retardation, autism without mental retardation, Asperger syndrome, and age-matched typically developing controls. Although there were no differences between groups in terms of total cerebral volume, children with autism (7.5-12.5 years of age) had larger right and left amygdala volumes than control children. There were no differences in amygdala volume between the adolescent groups (12.75-18.5 years of age). Interestingly, the amygdala in typically developing children increases substantially in volume from 7.5 to 18.5 years of age. Thus, the amygdala in children with autism is initially larger, but does not undergo the age-related increase observed in typically developing children. Children with autism, with and without mental retardation, also had a larger right hippocampal volume than typically developing controls, even after controlling for total cerebral volume. Children with autism but without mental retardation also had a larger left hippocampal volume relative to controls. These cross-sectional findings indicate an abnormal program of early amygdala development in autism and an abnormal pattern of hippocampal development that persists through adolescence. The cause of amygdala and hippocampal abnormalities in autism is currently unknown.

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Section: The Amygdala In Autismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Amygdala Is Enlarged in Children But Not Adolescents with Autism; the Hippocampus Is Enlarged at All Ages

et al. 2004

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Section: Subjects and Rearing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At one year of age, all animals became permanently socially housed (24 hours per day) with the five peers, adult male and adult female from their socialization groups in one of four chainlink, indoor enclosures (2.13 m width × 3.35 m length × 2.44 m height). Over the next four years, all animals were studied in a range of behavioral tasks, including assessments of social behavior (Prather et al, 2001, Bauman et al, 2004a, maternal preference (Bauman et al, 2004a), spatial relational memory (Lavenex et al, 2007), and emotional reactivity.The current study was conducted when the animals were between 3.9 and 4.8 years old, weighed 5.1 -10.1 kg and were not participating in any other behavioral testing. Animals were removed from their socialization groups 1 -3 months prior to the current study and housed indoors within two adjoining cages (each 66 cm width × 61 cm length × 81 cm height) in same sex pairs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of neonatal amygdala or hippocampus lesions on resting brain metabolism in the macaque monkey: A microPET imaging study

et al. 2008

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Longitudinal analysis of animals with neonatal brain lesions enables the evaluation of behavioral changes during multiple stages of development. Interpretation of such changes, however, carries the caveat that permanent neural injury also yields morphological and neurochemical reorganization elsewhere in the brain that may lead either to functional compensation or to exacerbation of behavioral alterations. We have measured the long-term effects of selective neonatal brain damage on resting cerebral glucose metabolism in nonhuman primates. Sixteen rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) received neurotoxic lesions of either the amygdala (n = 8) or hippocampus (n = 8) when they were 2-weeks-old. Four years later, these animals, along with age-and experience-matched sham-operated control animals (n = 8), were studied with high-resolution positron emission tomography (microPET) and 2-deoxy-2[ 18 F]fluoro-D-glucose ([ 18 F]FDG) to detect areas of altered metabolism. The groups were compared using an anatomically-based region of interest analysis. Relative to controls, amygdala-lesioned animals displayed hypometabolism in three frontal lobe regions, as well as in the neostriatum and hippocampus. Hypermetabolism was also evident in the cerebellum of amygdala-lesioned animals. Hippocampal-lesioned animals only showed hypometabolism in the retrosplenial cortex. These results indicate that neonatal amygdala and hippocampus lesions induce very different patterns of long-lasting metabolic changes in distant brain regions. These observations raise the possibility that behavioral alterations in animals with neonatal lesions may be due to the intended damage, to consequent brain reorganization or to a combination of both factors.The study of neurodevelopmental disorders within a clinical setting is inherently complex since each patient's specific behavioral and cognitive deficits stem from a unique interaction between genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors. Longitudinal analysis of animal models provides a complementary approach, since genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors * Corresponding Author: David G. Amaral, Ph.D., The M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California, Davis, 2825 50 th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817,, Email: dgamaral@ucdavis.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptNeuroimage. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 January 15. Published in final edited form as:Neuroimage. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript can be selectively manipulated and tightly controlle...

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“…As a result, potential developmental differences in the neural responses to threat have been presumed to reflect changes in major input pathways to the amygdala or interconnections among a circuit encompassing the amgydala, PFC, and other neocortical regions, as opposed to changes within intrinsic amgydala nucleii. However, lesion studies in non-human primates suggest that the developmental stage during which intrinsic amygdala dysfunction occurs strongly effects the degree to which fear behaviors are altered (Bachevalier et al, 2001;Prather et al, 2001;Amaral, 2002). As a result, developmental differences in the threat response may reflect both intrinsic immaturity within specific neural structures, as well as immaturity in the connections among these structures.…”

Section: Developmental Psychobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma, Proximity, and Developmental Psychopathology: The Effects of War and Terrorism on Children

Pine

Costello

Masten

2005

Neuropsychopharmacol

136

121

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This report summarizes recent literature relevant to the effects of terrorism on children's mental health. The paper addresses three aspects of this topic. In the first section of the paper, data are reviewed concerning the relationships among stress, trauma, and developmental psychopathology. A particular emphasis is placed on associations with indirect forms of trauma, given that terrorism involves high levels of indirect trauma. Second, the paper delineates a set of key principles to be considered when considering ways in which the effects of terrorism on children's mental health can be minimized. Third, data are reviewed from studies in developmental psychobiology. These data are designed to illustrate the mechanisms through which children exhibit unique effects in the wake of traumatic circumstances.

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Increased social fear and decreased fear of objects in monkeys with neonatal amygdala lesions

Cited by 228 publications

References 26 publications

The Amygdala Is Enlarged in Children But Not Adolescents with Autism; the Hippocampus Is Enlarged at All Ages

The Amygdala Is Enlarged in Children But Not Adolescents with Autism; the Hippocampus Is Enlarged at All Ages

Effects of neonatal amygdala or hippocampus lesions on resting brain metabolism in the macaque monkey: A microPET imaging study

Trauma, Proximity, and Developmental Psychopathology: The Effects of War and Terrorism on Children

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