Amygdala lesions in rhesus macaques decrease attention to threat.

Vincent D Costa,Olga Dal Monte,Elisabeth A Murray,Bruno B Averbeck,Pamela L Noble

doi:10.1038/ncomms10161

Vincent D Costa, Olga Dal Monte + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10161

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Abstract

Evidence from animal and human studies has suggested that the amygdala plays a role in detecting threat and in directing attention to the eyes. Nevertheless, there has been no systematic investigation of whether the amygdala specifically facilitates attention to the eyes or whether other features can also drive attention via amygdala processing. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of amygdala lesions in rhesus monkeys on attentional capture by specific facial features, as well as gaze patterns and changes in pupil dilation during free viewing. Here we show reduced attentional capture by threat stimuli, specifically the mouth, and reduced exploration of the eyes in free viewing in monkeys with amygdala lesions. Our findings support a role for the amygdala in detecting threat signals and in directing attention to the eye region of faces when freely viewing different expressions.

Highlights

Evidence from animal and human studies has suggested that the amygdala plays a role in detecting threat and in directing attention to the eyes
We examined the effects of amygdala lesions on attentional capture by social and nonsocial stimuli, as well as gaze patterns and changes in pupil dilation when free viewing different facial expressions
Using the attentional capture task we found that monkeys with amygdala lesions and controls had similar reaction times when they were presented with nonsocial images at fixation

Summary

Introduction

Evidence from animal and human studies has suggested that the amygdala plays a role in detecting threat and in directing attention to the eyes. Our findings support a role for the amygdala in detecting threat signals and in directing attention to the eye region of faces when freely viewing different expressions. In both human and non-human primates, facial expressions are salient cues used as a means of non-vocal communication. Studies in non-human primates have reported BOLD signal changes in the amygdala and increases in single-neuron activity for threatening faces relative to neutral and affiliative faces This is consistent with a recent imaging study in human participants that showed significant signal changes in the amygdala for both fearful and angry faces, suggesting a more general role for the amygdala in processing threatening and aversive stimuli. Having within-subject data from the two experiments allowed for better comparison with previous literature in humans

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