Amygdala News and Research

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Link between emotional impairment and poor cognition in children with bipolar disorder

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Pavuluri and her colleagues examined the brain activity of teens while they were performing certain mental tasks. The researchers scanned the brains of 10 unmedicated bipolar patients with normal mood and compared them with 10 healthy subjects of the same age and gender.

20 Oct 2005

Brain mechanism may play a central role in regulating anxiety and alcohol-drinking

The finding, by researchers supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), could provide important clues about the neurobiology of alcohol-drinking behaviors in humans.

3 Oct 2005

Protein found in the brain is genetically linked to alcoholism and anxiety

The researchers studied rats selectively bred for high alcohol preference (P rats), which were found to have high anxiety levels and consume greater amounts of alcohol than alcohol non-preferring (NP) rats.

3 Oct 2005

Extreme gene pin-pointed

One teenager likes to snowboard off a cliff. Another prefers to read a book and wouldn't think of trading places. Why these differences exist is a mystery, but for the first time researchers have identified a possible genetic explanation behind risk-seeking behavior.

26 Sep 2005

Researchers selectively knock out memory associations connected with receiving cocaine

Addicts crave drugs and suffer relapse not just because of the alluring high of drugs, but also because they are compelled by the powerful, haunting memory associations with the environment surrounding their drug taking. Thus, treatments that could eliminate those memory associations could prove effective in treating addiction, researchers believe.

19 Sep 2005

Researchers pinpoint specific cause of defects in motor learning in Fragile X patients

While researchers have long known the genetic defect underlying Fragile X syndrome, they are still tracing how that defect creates the complex mix of mental retardation, hyperactive behavior, attention deficits, and other problems in the disorder.

3 Aug 2005

Neuroscientists identify how the brain processes and stores emotional experiences as long-term memories

The research, performed on rats, could help neuroscientists better understand why emotionally arousing events are remembered over longer periods than emotionally neutral events, and may ultimately find application in treatments for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

26 Jul 2005

Researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed

University of Queensland researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed, paving the way for new strategies to treat conditions certain mental disorders.

18 Jul 2005

Oxytocin raises aggression, cuts anxiety during lactation

Maternal aggressive/protective behavior is recognized throughout mammalian species, especially during lactation. When hiking, we warn our kids not to approach bear cubs, or to get between a cub and the mother. While driving and you see a fawn, you know a doe can't be too far away and will run headlong to protect it.

18 Jul 2005

Researchers find genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans--one of the most important but least understood aspects of human nature.

13 Jul 2005

Size of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in the brain may be associated with the ability to recover emotionally from traumatic events

A new study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds that an area called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is thicker in volunteers who appear better able to modify their anxious response to memories of discomfort. The report will appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

11 Jul 2005

Researchers discover genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans - one of the most important but least understood aspects of human nature. The findings are reported in Nature Neuroscience.

11 Jul 2005

Secrets of how the brain is wired for sex revealed

There are two brain structures that a mouse just can't do without when it comes to hooking up with the mate of its dreams--and trying to stay off the lunch menu of the neighborhood cat. These are the amygdala, which is involved in the initial response to cues that signal love or war, and the hypothalamus, which coordinates the innate reproductive or defensive behaviors triggered by these cues.

23 May 2005

Brains of both black and white people have been programmed by racist stereotyping

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, carried out brain scans of black and white Americans, focusing on a part of the brain called the amygdala, the area that reacts to threat and novelty, and, because the region responds in different ways, exactly what goes on in that area was unclear.

10 May 2005

African Americans and Caucasians viewing African American faces display extremely similar changes in the activity of brain structures that respond to emotional events

The changes occur in the amygdala, a region of the brain that serves as an "alarm" to activate a cascade of other biological systems to protect the body in times of danger, said Matthew D. Lieberman, assistant professor of psychology at UCLA and lead author of the study.

9 May 2005

Suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression

People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. How well the circuit was connected accounted for nearly 30 percent of their anxious temperament

8 May 2005

Discovery of brain's first known 'safety circuit' gives new perspective on anxiety disorders

Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center have made a surprising finding about positive emotions that should change the way people think about anxiety disorders.

20 Apr 2005

Evidence for a self-reinforcing "memory loop" - brain emotional center triggers the memory center

Researchers exploring the brain structures involved in recalling an emotional memory a year later have found evidence for a self-reinforcing "memory loop" - in which the brain's emotional center triggers the memory center, which in turn further enhances activity in the emotional center.

8 Mar 2005

Two important brain systems can influence an individual's behavior and emotional expression in times of need

The willingness to call out in distress to get help from others appears to be regulated by two brain systems with very different responsibilities, according to a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

7 Mar 2005

Autistic children shy from eye contact because they perceive even the most familiar face as an uncomfortable threat

The work deepens understanding of an autistic brain's function and may one day inform new treatment approaches and augment how teachers interact with their autistic students.

6 Mar 2005