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Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies consistently demonstrate an enhanced activation of the visual cortex in reaction to emotionally salient visual stimuli. This increase of activation is probably modulated by top-down processes, that are initiated in emotion processing structures, specifically the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. In the present fMRI study, a differential fear conditioning paradigm was applied to investigate this assumed modulation. Hemodynamic responses towards a neutral visual stimulus (CS+) predicting an electrical stimulation (UCS) were compared with responses towards a neutral and unpaired stimulus (CS-). Thereby, particularly the time courses of neural responses were considered. Skin conductance measures were concurrently recorded. Our results show that the differentiation between CS+ and CS- within the amygdala and the extended visual cortex was accomplished during a late acquisition phase. In the orbitofrontal cortex the differentiation occurred at an earlier stage and was then sustained throughout acquisition. It is suggested that these altering activation patterns are reflecting different phases of learning, integrating the analyzed regions to varying degrees. Additionally, the results indicate that statistical analyses comprising a temporal variation of hemodynamic responses are more likely to detect amygdala activation.
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This study investigates the effect of awareness of stimulus contingencies on BOLD responses within the amygdala, the orbitofrontal, and the occipital cortex, and on differential skin conductance responses (SCRs) during fear conditioning. Of two geometric figures, the paired conditioned stimulus (CS+) predicted an electrical stimulus (unconditioned stimulus = UCS), whereas the unpaired conditioned stimulus (CS-) was not followed by the UCS. Awareness of stimulus contingencies was manipulated experimentally, creating an aware and an unaware group: a distracter figure and a working memory task were introduced to conceal the stimulus contingencies of the conditioning paradigm, hence preventing contingency detection in the unaware group. The aware group was informed beforehand about the relation between CS+, CS-, and UCS. Differential SCRs were only obtained in the aware but not in the unaware group. Conversely, we observed enhanced responses of the amygdala, the orbitofrontal, and the occipital cortex to the CS+ in the unaware group only. Thus, we found a dissociation of SCR differentiation and the activation of a neural fear network depending on the presence or absence of awareness. These results support a model of fear conditioning that distinguishes between a more cognitive level of learning, reflected in contingency awareness and differential SCRs, and the awareness independent activation of a fear network.
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The majority of neuroimaging studies on affective processing have indicated that there are specific brain structures, which are selectively responsive to fear and disgust. Whereas the amygdala is assumed to be fear-related, the insular cortex is most likely involved in disgust processing. Since these findings are mainly a result of studies focusing exclusively either on fear, or on disgust, but rarely on both emotions together, the present experiment explored the neural effects of viewing disgusting and fear-inducing pictures in contrast to neutral pictures. This was done by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 19 subjects (nine males, ten females), who also gave affective ratings for the presented pictures. The fear and the disgust pictures were able to induce the target emotions and they received comparable valence and arousal ratings. The processing of both aversive picture types was associated with an increased brain activation in the occipital-temporal lobe, in the prefrontal cortex, and in the thalamus. The amygdala was significantly activated by disgusting, but not by fear-inducing, pictures. Thus, our data are in contrast with the idea of highly emotion-specific brain structures and rather suggest the existence of a common affective circuit.
Erkunden
Eintragsart
Sprache
- Englisch (3)
Thema
- Fear/*physiology
- Adult (3)
- Amygdala/*blood supply/*physiology (1)
- Amygdala/physiology (1)
- Arousal/physiology (1)
- Association Learning/*physiology (1)
- Awareness/*physiology (1)
- Brain Mapping (1)
- Brain/physiology (1)
- Cerebellum/physiology (1)
- Cerebral Cortex/*physiology (1)
- Cerebrovascular Circulation/*physiology (1)
- Conditioning, Classical/*physiology (1)
- Conditioning, Psychological/*physiology (1)
- Dominance, Cerebral/physiology (1)
- Electric Stimulation (1)
- Emotions/*physiology (1)
- Female (3)
- Galvanic Skin Response/physiology (1)
- Galvanic Skin Response/*physiology (1)
- Hemodynamics/*physiology (2)
- Humans (3)
- Image Processing, Computer-Assisted (2)
- *Image Processing, Computer-Assisted (1)
- *Knowledge of Results, Psychological (1)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (2)
- *Magnetic Resonance Imaging (1)
- Male (3)
- Oxygen/blood (1)
- Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology (1)
- Photic Stimulation (2)
- Sex Characteristics (1)
- Synaptic Transmission/physiology (1)
- Visual Cortex/*blood supply/*physiology (1)