Amygdala News and Research

RSS

Dopamine improves deficiencies in social behavior, could have implications for neuropsychiatric disorders

A stressful pregnancy might be the last thing a future mother needs, but it is to her unborn baby that this stress spells real trouble. All because stress hormones (called glucocorticoids or GCs) can disturb normal foetal brain development, leading to behavioural and/or emotional problems later in life.

5 Sep 2013

Alcohol reduces communication in areas of brain responsible for perceiving social cues

Alcohol intoxication reduces communication between two areas of the brain that work together to properly interpret and respond to social signals, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

30 Aug 2013

Brain Study Suggests New Way To Treat Anxiety

...

22 Aug 2013

In dynamic mind-body interaction, brain recruits cells from immune system to promote anxiety

New research shows that in a dynamic mind-body interaction during the interpretation of prolonged stress, cells from the immune system are recruited to the brain and promote symptoms of anxiety.

22 Aug 2013

Research reveals that brain circuits can help reduce anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders, which include posttraumatic stress disorder, social phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder, affect 40 million American adults in a given year. Currently available treatments, such as antianxiety drugs, are not always effective and have unwanted side effects.

22 Aug 2013

Individuals with ASD display altered brain activations when processing facial images

Difficulty in registering and responding to the facial expressions of other people is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Relatedly, functional imaging studies have shown that individuals with ASD display altered brain activations when processing facial images.

16 Aug 2013

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and emotional memories: an interview with Dr. Fiona Kumfor and Assoc. Prof. Olivier Piguet, NeuRA

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder, which affects the frontal and temporal lobes. Unlike other types of dementia, it more commonly occurs in individuals in their 50s and 60s, and is therefore referred to as a “younger-onset dementia”.

9 Aug 2013

Implanting false memory in the brain can be possible, say MIT neuroscientists

The phenomenon of false memory has been well-documented: In many court cases, defendants have been found guilty based on testimony from witnesses and victims who were sure of their recollections, but DNA evidence later overturned the conviction.

26 Jul 2013

NeuRA study demonstrate that FTD patients lose emotional content/colour of memories

A study by researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia is the first to demonstrate that patients with frontotemporal dementia lose the emotional content/colour of their memories. These findings explain why FTD patients may not vividly remember an emotionally charged event like a wedding or funeral.

15 Jul 2013

NeuRA study: Orbitofrontal cortex plays key role in linking emotion, memories in FTD patients

A study by researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) is the first to demonstrate that patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) lose the emotional content/colour of their memories. These findings explain why FTD patients may not vividly remember an emotionally charged event like a wedding or funeral.

9 Jul 2013

Researchers find fear can increase or decrease ability to discriminate among sounds depending on context

Anyone who's ever heard a Beethoven sonata or a Beatles song knows how powerfully sound can affect our emotions. But it can work the other way as well - our emotions can actually affect how we hear and process sound.

1 Jul 2013

Innate worriers are more vulnerable to impacts of sleep loss, find UC Berkeley neuroscientists

UC Berkeley researchers have found that a lack of sleep, which is common in anxiety disorders, may play a key role in ramping up the brain regions that contribute to excessive worrying.

27 Jun 2013

New study points to potential strategy for erasing memory of addiction

A new study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco offers encouraging findings that researchers hope may one day lead to a treatment option for people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders and other addictions.

25 Jun 2013

TSRI scientists find emotion-related brain region plays major role in sustaining cocaine addiction

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that an emotion-related brain region called the central amygdala—whose activity promotes feelings of malaise and unhappiness—plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction.

13 Jun 2013

Common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning, new report suggests

An interesting new report of animal research published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning that is important clinically.

10 Jun 2013

New MRI superresolution methods enable structural study of psychosis

A team of researchers from the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre has developed new superresolution and segmentation methods for magnetic resonance images so that they can be applied to the structural study of psychosis. The aim is to be able to identify the differences that are produced in specific parts of the brain in psychotic patients with respect to their healthy relatives or other people.

28 May 2013

TF-CBT and EMDR are effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder

Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder.

27 May 2013

Study: Sleep disturbance may contribute to depression risk by impairing emotion regulation

A new study provides neurobiological evidence for dysfunction in the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation in people with insomnia, which may have implications for the risk relationship between insomnia and depression.

23 May 2013

UTMB researchers awarded grant to study gene therapy techniques to eliminate neuropathic pain

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have been awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to apply the techniques of gene therapy to the problem of neuropathic pain - that is, pain that arises from a malfunction in the nervous system.

21 May 2013

Spontaneous brain activity in amygdala higher among combat veterans with PTSD

Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks, such as recalling a traumatic event or reacting to a photo of a threatening face.

18 May 2013

Amygdala News and Research

Dopamine improves deficiencies in social behavior, could have implications for neuropsychiatric disorders

Alcohol reduces communication in areas of brain responsible for perceiving social cues

Brain Study Suggests New Way To Treat Anxiety

In dynamic mind-body interaction, brain recruits cells from immune system to promote anxiety

Research reveals that brain circuits can help reduce anxiety disorders

Individuals with ASD display altered brain activations when processing facial images

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and emotional memories: an interview with Dr. Fiona Kumfor and Assoc. Prof. Olivier Piguet, NeuRA

Implanting false memory in the brain can be possible, say MIT neuroscientists

NeuRA study demonstrate that FTD patients lose emotional content/colour of memories

NeuRA study: Orbitofrontal cortex plays key role in linking emotion, memories in FTD patients

Researchers find fear can increase or decrease ability to discriminate among sounds depending on context

Innate worriers are more vulnerable to impacts of sleep loss, find UC Berkeley neuroscientists

New study points to potential strategy for erasing memory of addiction

TSRI scientists find emotion-related brain region plays major role in sustaining cocaine addiction

Common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning, new report suggests

New MRI superresolution methods enable structural study of psychosis

TF-CBT and EMDR are effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder

Study: Sleep disturbance may contribute to depression risk by impairing emotion regulation

UTMB researchers awarded grant to study gene therapy techniques to eliminate neuropathic pain

Spontaneous brain activity in amygdala higher among combat veterans with PTSD

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News