The role of the basolateral amygdala in the perception of faces in natural contexts.

ABSTRACT: The amygdala is a complex structure that plays its role in perception and threat-related behaviour by activity of its specific nuclei and their separate networks. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated the role of the basolateral amygdala in face and context processing. Five individuals with focal basolateral amygdala damage and 12 matched controls viewed fearful or neutral faces in a threatening or neutral context. We tested the hypothesis that basolateral amygdala damage modifies the relation between face and threatening context, triggering threat-related activation in the dorsal stream. The findings supported this hypothesis. First, activation was increased in the right precentral gyrus for threatening versus neutral scenes in the basolateral amygdal

SUBMITTER: Hortensius R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4843614 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature