Role In Emotional Processing Research Articles

A Review of Biological Foundations of Anger

Anger, happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, and disgust are the six fundamental emotions that people can experience. Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. It is a blaming emotion that is aimed against individuals, and it frequently leads to violent actions. However, anger serves survival purposes and is embedded in humans. While anger is typically viewed as a psychological or social phenomenon, it also has a biological basis. This literature review focuses on anger and its underlying biological foundations. The biological basis of anger can be explained through the activation of the amygdala, which plays a crucial role in emotional processing. Additionally, studies have shown that anger is associated with decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex. When a person becomes angry, this region of the brain is less active, leading to impulsive behaviors and decreased rational thinking. This explains why individuals often engage in aggressive or violent behaviors when angry. Understanding the biological basis of anger can help us better manage and control this emotion. By recognizing the physiological changes that occur when we become angry, we can take steps to calm ourselves down and develop healthier coping mechanisms.Keywords: Emotions, Anger, Amygdala, Prefrontal cortex, Biological basis

Contribution of prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus to anxiety in young epileptic mice

Children with epilepsy are particularly vulnerable to anxiety disorders, where these disorders are frequently underdiagnosed and untreated. Despite the high prevalence of anxiety in epilepsy, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not fully understood. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and ventral hippocampus (vHPC) are key brain regions implicated in the genesis and modulation of anxiety, and their interactions play a crucial role in emotional processing including anxiety. We utilized a pilocarpine-induced epilepsy model in young mice (7 weeks old) to assess anxiety-like behaviors using the open field test (OFT), light/dark box, and elevated plus maze (EPM). Local field potential (LFP) recordings were conducted to examine theta power and coherence between the mPFC and vHPC. LFP recordings revealed significantly altered theta power variation in both the mPFC and vHPC during exposure to anxiogenic contexts, suggesting the involvement of these regions in anxiety in the young epileptic mice. Notably, theta-frequency synchrony between the mPFC and vHPC was not significantly altered in the young epileptic mice, indicating that altered theta power rather than inter-regional synchrony may underlie anxiety behaviors in young epileptic mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that chemogenetic inhibition of excitatory neurons in the mPFC and vHPC reduced anxiety levels in young epileptic mice. Altogether, our findings highlight the critical contributions of mPFC and vHPC to the pathogenesis of comorbid anxiety in epilepsy. These findings underscore the potential therapeutic significance of modulating the activity in these two regions as means to alleviate anxiety in a youth epilepsy population.

Role of Microstructural White Matter Changes of Somatosensory Cortex in Stress Among Non-Clinical Population: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

Introduction: Stress is a common response to stressors or potential threats, resulting in physical, affective, and cognitive changes. Emotions are linked to interpretations of bodily alterations, with the somatosensory cortex, including the postcentral gyrus, playing a key role in emotional processing. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress and microstructural white matter changes in the somatosensory cortex among healthy adults, crucial for early detection and treatment of stress in non-clinical populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 participants were recruited. The participants were administered the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) questionnaire. All subjects underwent MRI brain scanning, with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) used to assess white matter integrity. The association between stress scores in DASS-21 and DTI parameters was analyzed. Results: A significant negative correlation between stress scores and fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the left postcentral gyrus (r = -0.393, p = 0.32) was found, indicating early impairment by stress. No significant correlation was found in the right postcentral gyrus (r = -0.300, p = 0.107). Conclusion: Our research results demonstrated that the microstructural somatosensory cortex, especially the left postcentral gyrus, might have early changes impairment by stress using the technique of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Therefore, the microstructural white matter changes in the brain before suffering the disorder may be crucial and can be a novel potential biomarker for the early detection and intervention of the disease in the non-clinical population.

Are vaccination uptake and non-uptake influenced by our emotions? An experimental study on the role of emotional processes and compassion

Objective This study examined the effects of emotional arousal, emotional competence, emotion regulation (ER), and compassion on COVID-19 and flu vaccination intentions (VI) among the French population. Design Data were collected online from October to December 2020. Altogether, 451 participants (Mage = 35.8, SD = 16.4) were allocated to four groups. High positive (n = 104) or negative (n = 103) emotional arousal were induced into two groups using pictures and music, and compared against a control group (flu group; n = 116) and a reference group (COVID-19 group; n = 114). All groups completed questionnaires on emotional arousal, ER, emotional competence, compassion, and VI. Results The findings indicated a significant effect of group on VI, h2 =.023, 95% CI [–.002, .09]. The Group*Gender interaction on emotional arousal was non-significant, η p 2 =.015, 95%CI [.000, .041]. However, emotional arousal was observed to have a significant main effect on VI, η p 2 =.09, 95% CI [.043, .238]. The ER type*Emotional arousal*Gender interaction on ER use was trend, η p 2 = .002, 95% CI [.000, .005]. The emotional competence*ER type interaction on ER use was significant, η p 2 = .028, 95% CI [.011, .049]. Only experiential avoidance mediated the relationship between emotional arousal and VI, p < .018, 95% CI [.015, .18]. Conclusion Emotional arousal impacts VI. High emotional competence only reduces the use of dysfunctional ER strategies.

Modeling brain sex in the limbic system as phenotype for female-prevalent mental disorders

BackgroundSex differences exist in the prevalence and clinical manifestation of several mental disorders, suggesting that sex-specific brain phenotypes may play key roles. Previous research used machine learning models to classify sex from imaging data of the whole brain and studied the association of class probabilities with mental health, potentially overlooking regional specific characteristics.MethodsWe here investigated if a regionally constrained model of brain volumetric imaging data may provide estimates that are more sensitive to mental health than whole brain-based estimates. Given its known role in emotional processing and mood disorders, we focused on the limbic system. Using two different cohorts of healthy subjects, the Human Connectome Project and the Queensland Twin IMaging, we investigated sex differences and heritability of brain volumes of limbic structures compared to non-limbic structures, and subsequently applied regionally constrained machine learning models trained solely on limbic or non-limbic features. To investigate the biological underpinnings of such models, we assessed the heritability of the obtained sex class probability estimates, and we investigated the association with major depression diagnosis in an independent clinical sample. All analyses were performed both with and without controlling for estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV).ResultsLimbic structures show greater sex differences and are more heritable compared to non-limbic structures in both analyses, with and without eTIV control. Consequently, machine learning models performed well at classifying sex based solely on limbic structures and achieved performance as high as those on non-limbic or whole brain data, despite the much smaller number of features in the limbic system. The resulting class probabilities were heritable, suggesting potentially meaningful underlying biological information. Applied to an independent population with major depressive disorder, we found that depression is associated with male–female class probabilities, with largest effects obtained using the limbic model. This association was significant for models not controlling for eTIV whereas in those controlling for eTIV the associations did not pass significance correction.ConclusionsOverall, our results highlight the potential utility of regionally constrained models of brain sex to better understand the link between sex differences in the brain and mental disorders.

Specialization of amygdala subregions in emotion processing.

The amygdala is important for human fear processing. However, recent research has failed to reveal specificity, with evidence that the amygdala also responds to other emotions. A more nuanced understanding of the amygdala's role in emotion processing, particularly relating to fear, is needed given the importance of effective emotional functioning for everyday function and mental health. We studied 86 healthy participants (44 females), aged 18-49 (mean 26.12 ± 6.6) years, who underwent multiband functional magnetic resonance imaging. We specifically examined the reactivity of four amygdala subregions (using regions of interest analysis) and related brain connectivity networks (using generalized psycho-physiological interaction) to fear, angry, and happy facial stimuli using an emotional face-matching task. All amygdala subregions responded to all stimuli (p-FDR < .05), with this reactivity strongly driven by the superficial and centromedial amygdala (p-FDR < .001). Yet amygdala subregions selectively showed strong functional connectivity with other occipitotemporal and inferior frontal brain regions with particular sensitivity to fear recognition and strongly driven by the basolateral amygdala (p-FDR < .05). These findings suggest that amygdala specialization to fear may not be reflected in its local activity but in its connectivity with other brain regions within a specific face-processing network.

Heart rate and insula activity increase in response to music in individuals with high interoceptive sensitivity.

Interoception plays an important role in emotion processing. However, the neurobiological substrates of the relationship between visceral responses and emotional experiences remain unclear. In the present study, we measured interoceptive sensitivity using the heartbeat discrimination task and investigated the effects of individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity on changes in pulse rate and insula activity in response to subjective emotional intensity. We found a positive correlation between heart rate and valence level when listening to music only in the high interoceptive sensitivity group. The valence level was also positively correlated with music-elicited anterior insula activity. Furthermore, a region of interest analysis of insula subregions revealed significant activity in the left dorsal dysgranular insula for individuals with high interoceptive sensitivity relative to individuals with low interoceptive sensitivity while listening to the high-valence music pieces. Our results suggest that individuals with high interoceptive sensitivity use their physiological responses to assess their emotional level when listening to music. In addition, insula activity may reflect the use of interoceptive signals to estimate emotions.

The Role of Emotional Processes in Explaining the Link Between Severity of Childhood Maltreatment and Relationship Difficulties.

Up to 32% of adults have experienced some form of childhood maltreatment (CM). Research has shown that these early childhood experiences are associated with a variety of interpersonal difficulties in adult sexual and romantic relationships. Polusny and Follette have suggested that these negative long-term effects are the result of emotional avoidance strategies that individuals use to cope with thoughts, feelings, and memories associated with CM. The present study tested this theorized mediational model with a sample of 150 participants, all of whom were currently in long-term relationships. Participants completed questionnaires designed to assess the severity of CM, fear of their own emotions, and a task designed to assess their accuracy at identifying emotions. Additionally, participants completed a variety of measures assessing the quality of their sexual and romantic relationships. These measures assessed their satisfaction, their communication, and the extent of problems in each domain. Our results showed that higher levels of CM were associated with lower satisfaction with communication and more problems in both the romantic and sexual domains. In regard to our mediational hypothesis, we found partial support showing that fear of one's own emotions and emotion recognition mediated some of these associations. Our findings suggest that treatments targeting affective processes may be particularly important for helping victims of CM.

Activation of the basolateral or the central amygdala dampened the incentive motivation for food reward on high fixed-ratio schedules

The amygdala plays crucial roles in emotional processing, motivated behaviors, and stress responses. It receives sensory information and modulates fear- and anxiety-related behaviors. Neuronal activations are induced in the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) when exposing to acute stress, leading to increased alertness and proper behavioral adaptation. Previous studies have shown that animals displayed a decrease in appetitive motivated behaviors under stress conditions. However, whether the hyperactive amygdala is responsible for the decrease in appetitive motivated behaviors remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of BLA or CeA activation in effort-based motivated behavior. We pharmacologically activated the BLA or the CeA with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) before the lever-pressing for food reward test on different fixed-ratio (FR) schedules (FR1, FR16, or FR32) in male Long-Evans rats. Our data showed that activation of either the BLA or the CeA with NMDA (0.05 μg in 0.5 μl per site) decreased the lever-pressing behavior on higher FR schedules of FR16 and FR32, but not on the FR1 test. Importantly, locomotor activity and free-feeding food intake were intact under amygdala activation, suggesting that the decrease in lever-pressing behavior was not due to motor disablement or decreased appetite. These results suggested that activation of the BLA or the CeA negatively impaired the effort-based motivated behavior that the animals were less willing to work for food reward.

Explicating the role of amygdala substructure alterations in the link between hypoleptinemia and rumination in anorexia nervosa.

The amygdaloid complex plays a pivotal role in emotion processing and has been associated with rumination transdiagnostically. In anorexia nervosa (AN), we previously observed differential reductions of amygdala nuclei volumes (rostral-medial cluster substantially affected) and, in another study, elevated food-/weight-related rumination. Both amygdala volumes and rumination frequency correlated with characteristically suppressed leptin levels in AN. Thus, we hypothesized that amygdala nuclei alterations might be associated with AN-related rumination and potentially mediate the leptin-rumination relationship in AN. Rumination (food-/weight-related) was assessed using ecological momentary assessment for a 14-day period. We employed frequentist and Bayesian linear mixed effects models in females with AN (n = 51, 12-29 years, majority admitted to inpatient treatment) and age-matched healthy females (n = 51) to investigate associations between rostral-medial amygdala nuclei volume alterations (accessory basal, cortical, medial nuclei, corticoamygdaloid transitions) and rumination. We analyzed mediation effects using multi-level structural equation models. Reduced right accessory basal and cortical nuclei volumes predicted more frequent weight-related rumination in AN; both nuclei fully mediated the effect of leptin on weight-related rumination. In contrast, we found robust evidence for the absence of amygdala nuclei volume effects on rumination in healthy females. This study provides first evidence for the relevance of specific amygdala substructure reductions regarding cognitive symptom severity in AN and points toward novel mechanistic insight into the relationship between hypoleptinemia and rumination, which might involve the amygdaloid complex. Our findings in AN may have important clinical value with respect to understanding the beneficial neuropsychiatric effects of leptin (treatment) in AN and potentially other psychiatric conditions such as depression.

Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Is Associated with Difficulty in Explicit Emotion Regulation in Young Children.

Executive function (EF) consists of explicit emotion regulation (EER) and cognitive control (CC). Childhood EER in particular predicts mental and physical health in adulthood. Identifying factors affecting EER development has implications for lifelong physical and mental health. Gut microbiota (GM) has attracted attention as a potential biomarker for risk of physical and mental problems in adulthood. Furthermore, GM is related to brain function/structure, which plays a crucial role in emotional processing. However, little is known about how GM compositions are associated with the development of emotion regulation in early childhood. Therefore, in this study, we examined 257 children aged 3-4 to investigate links between GM and risk to EF. EF was measured using the Mother-Reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool version. GM composition (alpha/beta diversity and genus abundance) was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared between EF-risk and non-risk groups. Our results show that children with EER-risk (an index of inhibitory self-control) had a higher abundance of the genera Actinomyces and Sutterella. Although we have not established a direct link between GM and CC risk, our findings indicate that GM of preschoolers is closely associated with emotional processing and that EERrisk children have more inflammation-related bacteria.

Incongruent gestures slow the processing of facial expressions in university students with social anxiety.

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have examined the mechanisms underlying nonverbal emotional information processing in people with high social anxiety (HSA). However, most of these studies have focused on the processing of facial expressions, and there has been scarce research on gesture or even face-gesture combined processing in HSA individuals. The present study explored the processing characteristics and mechanism of the interaction between gestures and facial expressions in people with HSA and low social anxiety (LSA). The present study recruited university students as participants and used the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale scores to distinguish the HSA and LSA groups. We used a 2 (group: HSA and LSA) × 2 (emotion valence: positive, negative) × 2 (task: face, gesture) multifactor mixed design, and videos of a single face or gesture and combined face-gesture cues were used as stimuli. We found that (1) there is a distinction in the processing of faces and gestures, with individuals recognizing gestures faster than faces; (2) there is an attentional enhancement in the processing of gestures, particularly for negative gestures; and (3) when the emotional valence of faces and gestures align, it facilitates the recognition of both. However, incongruent gestures have a stronger impact on the processing of facial expressions compared to facial expressions themselves, suggesting that the processing of facial emotions is more influenced by environmental cues provided by gestures. These findings indicated that gestures played an important role in emotional processing, and facial emotional processing was more dependent on the environmental cues derived from gestures, which helps to clarify the reasons for biases in the interpretation of emotional information in people with HSA.

The role of emotional processing, inflammation and heart rate variability in the reduction of depression, pain, and fatigue of breast cancer survivors

The role of emotional processing, inflammation and heart rate variability in the reduction of depression, pain, and fatigue of breast cancer survivors

Opposite effects of estradiol and progesterone on woman's disgust processing.

Ovarian hormones play a critical role in emotion processing, which may be a major reason for the high rates of major depressive disorders in women. However, the exact roles of estradiol and progesterone in emotional processing remain unclear. To this end, we performed behavioral and rs-fMRI studies on the effects ovarian hormones on disgust emotion. In Experiment 1, 95 Chinese female undergraduates completed the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT) and explicit measures of disgust intensity task, 32 in the menstrual phase, 30 in the follicular phase, and 33 in the luteal phase. In Experiment 2, A total of 25 healthy female undergraduates completed three sessions of the rs-fMRI. The menstrual group was scanned during cycle days 2-5, the follicular group during cycle during days 10-13, and the luteal group was scanned 3-7 days before the next menstruation. The behavioral results showed that women during the luteal phase had higher D scores and shorter response times (RTs) to disgust stimuli compared to the menses and follicular phases. In contrast, women during the follicular phase had fewer feelings of disgust and longer RTs to pathogen stimuli compared with that during the menses and luteal phases, but this effect was moderated by the intensity of the stimuli. rs-fMRI studies showed that women during the luteal phase have higher functional connectivity in the salience network than those in the follicular phase. Compared with the menstrual phase, women have lower functional connectivity in the amygdala during the follicular phase. In summary, a more negative attitude to disgust stimuli and the enhanced functional connectivity of the salience network during the luteal phase may be associated with high progesterone levels, whereas lower disgust feelings and reduced functional connectivity of the amygdala during the follicular phase may be associated with high estradiol levels.

Is abnormal metabolism in the olfactory bulb and amygdala associated with bipolar disorder?

Accumulated evidence has demonstrated abnormal amygdala activation in bipolar disorder (BD). The olfactory bulb (OB) has vigorous connections with the amygdala. Although odor-related functions of the OB decreased during the evolutionary process, we hypothesized that an evolved OB with increased activation in emotion regulation may be one of the main factors affecting amygdala functions in BD. Our aim was to investigate metabolism in the OB and amygdala in patients with BD. Twenty-six patients diagnosed with BD according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria were included in this cross-sectional study. Metabolism in the OB and amygdala was assessed using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT in patients with BD. The OB and amygdala metabolism was compared with the patients' Z scores. Both OB and amygdala metabolic activities were significantly higher than in the controls. A positive correlation was detected between right/left amygdala metabolism and right OB metabolism (p < 0.05, r:467 and r:662, respectively). This study increased our understanding of the etiopathogenesis of BD. In BD, the main cause of hypermetabolism in the amygdala may be increased metabolism in the OB. During evolution, the OB may have assumed a dominant role in emotional processing rather than olfactory functions.

Integrating the pattern of negative emotion processing and acute stress response with childhood stress among healthy young adults

Childhood adversity might impair corticolimbic brain regions, which play a crucial role in emotion processing and the acute stress response. The dimensional model of childhood adversity proposed that deprivation and threat dimensions might associated with individuals’ development through different mechanisms. However, few studies have explored the relationship between different dimensions of childhood stress, emotion processing, and acute stress reactivity despite the overlapping brain regions of the last two. With the aid of the event-related potentials technique, we explore whether negative emotion processing, which might be particularly relevant for adaptive stress responding among individuals with adverse childhood experience, mediates the relationship between dimensional childhood stress and acute stress response. Fifty-one young adults completed a free-viewing task to evaluate neural response to negative stimuli measured by late positive potential (LPP) of ERPs (Event-related potentials). On a separate day, heart rate and salivary cortisol were collected during a social-evaluative stress challenge (i.e. TSST, Trier Social Stress Test). After the TSST, the childhood trauma questionnaire was measured to indicate the level of abuse (as a proxy of threat) and neglect (as a proxy of deprivation) dimensions. Multiple linear regression and mediation analysis were used to explore the relationship among childhood stress, emotion processing, and acute stress response. Higher level of childhood abuse (but not neglect) was distinctly related to smaller LPP amplitudes to negative stimuli, as well as smaller heart rate reactivity to acute stress. For these participants, smaller LPP amplitudes were linked with smaller heart rate reactivity to acute stress. Furthermore, decreased LPP amplitudes to negative stimuli mediated the relationship between higher level of childhood abuse and blunted heart rate reactivity to stress. Consistent with the dimensional model of childhood stress, our study showed that childhood abuse is distinctly associated with neural as well as physiological response to threat. Furthermore, the blunted neural response to negative stimuli might be the underlying mechanism in which childhood abuse leads to the blunted acute stress response. Considering that all the participants are healthy in the present study, the blunted processing of negative stimuli might rather reflect adaptation instead of vulnerability, in order to prevent stress overshooting in the face of early-life threatening experiences.

Prospective Longitudinal Analysis of Amygdala Volumes and Association with Mood and Memory Outcomes in Brain Tumor Patients

<h3>Purpose/Objective(s)</h3> The amygdala, a deep gray matter structure comprised of several nuclei with different functional connectivity, plays a key role in emotional processing and memory. We analyzed volume change of the amygdala and respective nuclei after brain RT using quantitative brain MRI, and association with mood and memory outcomes. <h3>Materials/Methods</h3> On a prospective trial, primary brain tumor patients (n=63) receiving fractionated RT underwent volumetric brain MRI and mood and memory testing (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]; Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]; Brief Visuospatial Memory Test [BVMT] Total/Delayed Recall; Hopkins Verbal Learning Test [HVLT] Total/Delayed Recall) at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months post RT. Amygdala and 8 nuclei (lateral [L], basal [B], central [C], medial [M], cortical [CO], accessory basal [AB], corticoamygdaloid transition [CA], paralaminar [PL]) were autosegmented bilaterally with validated methods. Tumor/surgical cavity/edema were censored. Nuclei with "higher order" cortical connectivity (CA, B, AB) were grouped. Linear mixed effects models assessed longitudinal change in amygdala volumes and association with dose, controlling for time and subject-specific effects. Amygdala volume change from baseline to 3 and 6 months was dichotomized by the median (low vs high atrophy). Wilcoxon rank sum tests assessed association between volume change and cognitive scores. <h3>Results</h3> We found atrophy over time in combined (p=0.001), right (p=0.001), and left (p<0.05) amygdala. Atrophy was noted bilaterally in CA (left p=0.023, right p=0.003), B (left p=0.024, right p=0.006) and AB nuclei (left p=0.016, right p=0.005), which are higher order nuclei. Higher RT dose was associated with atrophy in combined (p=0.037), left (0.011) and right (0.002) amygdala volumes. Left higher order nuclei atrophy was inversely associated with change in BDI scores from baseline to 6 months (p=0.025). Similarly, right higher order nuclei atrophy was inversely associated with change in BDI scores from baseline to 3 months (p=0.04). BAI scores at 6 months were higher in the low atrophy group for combined amygdala volume (p=0.038). Right higher order nuclei volume change from baseline to 3 months was associated with BVMT total (p=0.009) and delayed (p=0.007) recall at 6 months, and change in BVMT total (p=0.041) from baseline to 6 months; higher scores were found in patients with less volume loss. There were no significant associations on HVLT. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The amygdala and its subregions exhibit dose-dependent volume loss after brain RT. Certain subregions, particularly higher order nuclei with more cortical connectivity, are more susceptible. Atrophy within higher order nuclei appears associated with depression and anxiety symptoms, and decline in visuospatial but not verbal memory. Future cognitive-sparing efforts should consider this amygdala subregion.

Long-term effects of prenatal stress on the development of prefrontal cortex in the adolescent offspring

Exposure to stress during pregnancy consequently prompts long-lasting effects on fetal brain development and predisposes the offspring to mental illnesses in later life. Adolescence is a vulnerable period of prefrontal cortex (PFC) development and coincident with the onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms. The medial PFC (mPFC) is the brain area that plays a significant role in emotional processing, and stress alters the function of this brain area leading to emotional disorders. Microglia not only play a role in neuroinflammatory responses but also play a crucial role in brain development, especially during synaptic development and pruning. Previous studies have revealed the long-term effects of prenatal stress (PS) on microglia activation and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of the offspring. However, there is still a need to investigate how PS alters the mPFC development during adolescence. This study examines the effects of maternal stress during the last week of gestation on microglia activation and neuroimmune response in the mPFC of adolescent offspring. Morphological study demonstrated that PS increased the density of activated microglia in the prelimbic region of the mPFC of adolescent offspring. Besides, PS significantly increased the levels of microglia marker (Iba1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the mPFC of the adolescent offspring. In conclusion, PS-induced microglia activation and neuroinflammation in the mPFC might increase the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in the offspring in later years.

Amygdala and hippocampus dialogue with neocortex during human sleep and wakefulness.

Previous studies have described synchronic electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns of the background activity that is characteristic of several vigilance states. To explore whether the background synchronous activity of the amygdala-hippocampal-neocortical circuit is modified during sleep in the delta, theta, alpha, sigma, beta, and gamma bands characteristic of each sleep state. By simultaneously recording intracranial and noninvasive scalp EEG (10-20 system) in epileptic patients who were candidates for neurosurgery, we explored synchronous activity among the amygdala, hippocampus, and neocortex during wakefulness (W), Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), and Rapid-Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Our findings reveal that hippocampal-cortical synchrony in the sleep spindle frequencies was spread across the cortex and was higher during NREM versus W and REM, whereas the amygdala showed punctual higher synchronization with the temporal lobe. Contrary to expectations, delta synchrony between the amygdala and frontal lobe and between the hippocampus and temporal lobe was higher during REM than NREM. Gamma and alpha showed higher synchrony between limbic structures and the neocortex during wakefulness versus sleep, while synchrony among deep structures showed a mixed pattern. On the one hand, amygdala-hippocampal synchrony resembled cortical activity (i.e. higher gamma and alpha synchrony in W); on the other, it showed its own pattern in slow frequency oscillations. This is the first study to depict diverse patterns of synchronic interaction among the frequency bands during distinct vigilance states in a broad human brain circuit with direct anatomical and functional connections that play a crucial role in emotional processes and memory.

ID:16202 Tractography-Based Parcellation of the Amygdala

The amygdala plays a role in emotion processing, learning, and memory and has been implicated in psychiatric disorders. The understanding of the amygdala circuitry and its connectivity is crucial to develop new therapeutic strategies for these disorders.