The amygdala encodes level of perceived fear but not emotional ambiguity in visual scenes

Kryklywy, James H.; Nantes, Stephanie G.; Mitchell, Derek

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.06.010

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This result may be surprising in light of evidence that the amygdala is more reliably activated in response to fearful faces than to other expressions [Fusar‐Poli et al, ], but it is consistent with previous studies showing greater amygdala activation to approaching faces irrespective of emotion [Schienle et al, ]. Existing accounts implicate the amygdala—particularly its basolateral nucleus—in encoding salient, ambiguous or unpredictable information [Davis et al, ; Whalen, ], and in evaluating and representing the intensity of emotional stimuli [Kryklywy et al, ]. Both these processes are likely brought to bear in our paradigm; when approached by other individuals, it is likely advantageous to both identify and assess the intensity of their emotional states, in order to infer their behavioural intentions and adjust our behavior accordingly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on these data, we hypothesized that activity within the amygdala would be enhanced in response to approaching compared to receding faces, and would be associated with greater interpersonal distance. A solid body of research has also supported a privileged role of the amygdala in processing fear‐related stimuli [Adolphs et al, ; Aube et al, ; Kryklywy et al, ; Phillips et al, ], particularly fearful facial expressions [Fusar‐Poli et al, ; Thomas et al, ; Whalen et al, ]. In light of this evidence, we also predicted the amygdala would be preferentially engaged in response to fearful faces relative to other expressions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emotion and personal space: Neural correlates of approach‐avoidance tendencies to different facial expressions as a function of coldhearted psychopathic traits

Vieira

Tavares

Marsh

et al. 2016

Human Brain Mapping

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In social interactions, humans are expected to regulate interpersonal distance in response to the emotion displayed by others. Yet, the neural mechanisms implicated in approach-avoidance tendencies to distinct emotional expressions have not been fully described. Here, we investigated the neural systems implicated in regulating the distance to different emotions, and how they vary as a function of empathy. Twenty-three healthy participants assessed for psychopathic traits underwent fMRI scanning while they viewed approaching and withdrawing angry, fearful, happy, sad and neutral faces. Participants were also asked to set the distance to those faces on a computer screen, and to adjust the physical distance from the experimenter outside the scanner. Participants kept the greatest distances from angry faces, and shortest from happy expressions. This was accompanied by increased activation in the dorsomedial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, inferior frontal gyrus, and temporoparietal junction for angry and happy expressions relative to the other emotions. Irrespective of emotion, longer distances were kept from approaching faces, which was associated with increased activation in the amygdala and insula, as well as parietal and prefrontal regions. Amygdala activation was positively correlated with greater preferred distances to angry, fearful and sad expressions. Moreover, participants scoring higher on coldhearted psychopathic traits (lower empathy) showed reduced amygdala activation to sad expressions. These findings elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying social approach-avoidance, and how they are related to variations in empathy. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1492-1506, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion and personal space: Neural correlates of approach‐avoidance tendencies to different facial expressions as a function of coldhearted psychopathic traits

Vieira

Tavares

Marsh

et al. 2016

Human Brain Mapping

Self Cite

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“…According to this concept, the amygdala should be activated when encountering any stimuli that convey a biological significance for the individual, which can be of either positive or negative valence (Sergerie et al, 2008 ). Neuroimaging studies support this assumption by showing that amygdala activity varies according to the level of arousal evoked by a stimulus (Kensinger and Corkin, 2004 ; Sabatinelli et al, 2005 ; Kensinger and Schacter, 2006 ; Kryklywy et al, 2013 ). However, valence, which is the other main dimension in the Circumplex model of affect (Russell, 1980 ), seems to have a smaller effect on amygdala activity (Phan et al, 2002 ; Wager et al, 2003 ; Sergerie et al, 2008 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Evolutionary and Modern Image Content Differentially Influence the Processing of Emotional Pictures

Dhum

Herwig

Opialla

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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From an evolutionary perspective, environmental threats relevant for survival constantly challenged human beings. Current research suggests the evolution of a fear processing module in the brain to cope with these threats. Recently, humans increasingly encountered modern threats (e.g., guns or car accidents) in addition to evolutionary threats (e.g., snakes or predators) which presumably required an adaptation of perception and behavior. However, the neural processes underlying the perception of these different threats remain to be elucidated. We investigated the effect of image content (i.e., evolutionary vs. modern threats) on the activation of neural networks of emotion processing. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) 41 participants watched affective pictures displaying evolutionary-threatening, modern-threatening, evolutionary-neutral and modern-neutral content. Evolutionary-threatening stimuli evoked stronger activations than modern-threatening stimuli in left inferior frontal gyrus and thalamus, right middle frontal gyrus and parietal regions as well as bilaterally in parietal regions, fusiform gyrus and bilateral amygdala. We observed the opposite effect, i.e., higher activity for modern-threatening than for evolutionary-threatening stimuli, bilaterally in the posterior cingulate and the parahippocampal gyrus. We found no differences in subjective arousal ratings between the two threatening conditions. On the valence scale though, subjects rated modern-threatening pictures significantly more negative than evolutionary-threatening pictures, indicating a higher level of perceived threat. The majority of previous studies show a positive relationship between arousal rating and amygdala activity. However, comparing fMRI results with behavioral findings we provide evidence that neural activity in fear processing areas is not only driven by arousal or valence, but presumably also by the evolutionary content of the stimulus. This has also fundamental methodological implications, in the sense to suggest a more elaborate classification of stimulus content to improve the validity of experimental designs.

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“…On the neural level, we primarily focused on amygdala activity and connectivity because this brain area represents a key region in the evaluation and representation of fear intensity and pain and in deciphering threats in visual scenes ( Kryklywy et al, 2013 ). Furthermore, amygdala activity and its functional connectivity to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) have been shown to be meaningfully different between individuals with different emotional modulation strategies and are strongly related to treatment response in chronic pain conditions ( Bushnell et al, 2013 ; Silvers et al, 2014 ; Simons et al, 2014b ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear avoidance beliefs in back pain-free subjects are reflected by amygdala-cingulate responses

Meier

Stämpfli

Vrana

et al. 2015

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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In most individuals suffering from chronic low back pain, psychosocial factors, specifically fear avoidance beliefs (FABs), play central roles in the absence of identifiable organic pathology. On a neurobiological level, encouraging research has shown brain system correlates of somatic and psychological factors during the transition from (sub) acute to chronic low back pain. The characterization of brain imaging signatures in pain-free individuals before any injury will be of high importance regarding the identification of relevant networks for low back pain (LBP) vulnerability. Fear-avoidance beliefs serve as strong predictors of disability and chronification in LBP and current research indicates that back pain related FABs already exist in the general and pain-free population. Therefore, we aimed at investigating possible differential neural functioning between high- and low fear-avoidant individuals in the general population using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results revealed that pain-free individuals without a history of chronic pain episodes could be differentiated in amygdala activity and connectivity to the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex by their level of back pain related FABs. These results shed new light on brain networks underlying psychological factors that may become relevant for enhanced disability in a future LBP episode.

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The amygdala encodes level of perceived fear but not emotional ambiguity in visual scenes

Cited by 18 publications

References 36 publications

Emotion and personal space: Neural correlates of approach‐avoidance tendencies to different facial expressions as a function of coldhearted psychopathic traits

Emotion and personal space: Neural correlates of approach‐avoidance tendencies to different facial expressions as a function of coldhearted psychopathic traits

Evolutionary and Modern Image Content Differentially Influence the Processing of Emotional Pictures

Fear avoidance beliefs in back pain-free subjects are reflected by amygdala-cingulate responses

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