Abstract
BackgroundThe left and right amygdalae are key regions distinctly involved in emotion-regulation processes. Individual differences, such as personality features, may affect the implicated neurocircuits. The lateralized amygdala affective processing linked with the temperament dimension Harm Avoidance (HA) remains poorly understood. Resting state functional connectivity imaging (rsFC) may provide more insight into these neuronal processes.MethodsIn 56 drug-naive healthy female subjects, we have examined the relationship between the personality dimension HA on lateralized amygdala rsFC.ResultsAcross all subjects, left and right amygdalae were connected with distinct regions mainly within the ipsilateral hemisphere. Females scoring higher on HA displayed stronger left amygdala rsFC with ventromedial prefrontal cortical (vmPFC) regions involved in affective disturbances. In high HA scorers, we also observed stronger right amygdala rsFC with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), which is implicated in negative affect regulation.ConclusionsIn healthy females, left and right amygdalae seem implicated in distinct mPFC brain networks related to HA and may represent a vulnerability marker for sensitivity to stress and anxiety (disorders).
Highlights
Emotions involve brain networks includingfrontal cortical and limbic areas [1,2]
An emotional stimulus automatically activates the right amygdala, which is thought to play a role in dynamic emotional stimulus detection, while the left amygdala seems to be more involved in specific, sustained stimulus evaluation [7,8]
The Shapiro-Wilk normality test showed that Harm Avoidance (HA) scores were normally distributed (p = .46)
Summary
Emotions involve brain networks including (pre)frontal cortical and limbic areas [1,2]. Within these emotional networks the amygdalae play a crucial role [3,4]. How individual differences can affect left and right amygdala related neurocircuits differently remains poorly understood [9,10,11,12]. Trait and state anxiety has been found to modulate amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) related to ventromedial prefrontal cortical (vmPFC), but not with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortical (dmPFC) activity [13]. The left and right amygdalae are key regions distinctly involved in emotion-regulation processes Individual differences, such as personality features, may affect the implicated neurocircuits. Resting state functional connectivity imaging (rsFC) may provide more insight into these neuronal processes
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