Differential amygdalar response to novel versus newly familiar neutral faces: a functional MRI probe developed for studying inhibited temperament

As a prelude to future studies of subjects with different temperaments, we sought to develop a probe to measure differential amygdalar responses to novel versus familiar stimuli. Prior neuroimaging studies of the amygdala in humans to date have focused principally on responses to emotional stimuli,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological psychiatry (1969) 2003-05, Vol.53 (10), p.854-862
Main Authors: Schwartz, Carl E, Wright, Christopher I, Shin, Lisa M, Kagan, Jerome, Whalen, Paul J, McMullin, Katherine G, Rauch, Scott L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Amygdala
Amygdala - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - physiology
cortex
emotion
Face
faces
familiar
Female
Humans
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Medical sciences
Nervous system
novelty
Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry
Recognition (Psychology) - physiology
Reference Values
Temperament
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Summary:As a prelude to future studies of subjects with different temperaments, we sought to develop a probe to measure differential amygdalar responses to novel versus familiar stimuli. Prior neuroimaging studies of the amygdala in humans to date have focused principally on responses to emotional stimuli, primarily aversive, rather than to novelty per se. Eight normal subjects aged 22.4 ± 1.3 years were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during passive viewing of novel and familiar faces. Using this newly developed paradigm, we found greater fMRI blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal response within the right amygdala to novel versus familiar faces—all with neutral expression. Furthermore, although a new facial identity was always presented in the novel condition, signal in the amygdala declined over time as it did for the familiar condition. These results suggest that at least one primary function of the amygdala is to detect and process unexpected or unfamiliar events that have potential biological import, of which stimuli symbolic of fear or threat are but one possible example. We propose that this experimental paradigm will be useful for examining brain responses to novelty in different temperamental groups, as well as various psychiatric disorders.
ISSN:0006-3223
1873-2402
DOI:10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01906-6