Articles tagged with Amygdala
Researchers found that dogs with anxiety have altered brain connectivity, particularly between the amygdala and hippocampus. The study used fMRI to characterize abnormal neural networks in anxious dogs, providing insight into anxiety disorders in both animals and humans.
A study in mice found that chronic stress impairs allopregnanolone production, a key neurosteroid involved in regulating emotions. This finding suggests that synthetic neurosteroid analogs might exert a beneficial effect in individuals with depression.
A Tufts-led team discovered a brain region marker that indicates vulnerability to developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study found heightened amygdala activation in response to neutral facial expressions, suggesting an acquired characteristic of PTSD. This finding may inform early intervention strategies for individual...
A new longitudinal study examines neural-based correlates and risk factors for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. The study found that greater amygdala reactivity during anticipation of social punishment predicted NSSI engagement one year later, particularly in those with lower peer-nominated social preference.
Researchers found that the brain's defense system is activated during selfless helping behavior, contrary to the long-held idea that empathy drives such actions. The study used fMRI scans to measure brain activity in 49 healthy volunteers who were asked to decide whether to help another person avoid discomfort.
A team of researchers has identified specific neurons in the amygdala that drive mice to eat fatty or sugary foods, even when not hungry. Switching off these neurons reduced overeating and protected against obesity, while also boosting physical activity and improving metabolic health.
Researchers at Boston University have found a way to manipulate emotional memories using optogenetics, allowing them to rewrite and reduce the potency of negative memories. The study reveals that positive and negative memories are stored in distinct regions of the brain and communicate through different pathways.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center used fMRI to study how the brain processes complex audiovisual speech. The study found that watching a narrator tell a story activates an extensive network of brain regions involved in sensory processing and cognitive functions associated with comprehension. This finding has pot...
Researchers at Linköping University discovered a biological mechanism that increases the strength of fear memories stored in the brain. This finding provides new knowledge on the mechanisms behind anxiety-related disorders and identifies shared mechanisms with alcohol dependence.
A new rodent study found that low doses of alcohol can trigger epigenomic and transcriptomic changes in the brain, creating an epigenetic pathway for addiction. The research suggests that even small quantities of alcohol can prime the brain for addiction, regardless of sex or quantity.
Researchers at Salk Institute discover a molecule called CGRP that enables neurons to bundle threatening sensory cues into a unified signal, conveying it to the amygdala. The study may lead to new therapies for fear-related disorders such as PTSD and autism.
A recent study published in eNeuro found that alcohol can change the pattern of activity in the basolateral amygdala, potentially leading to a better understanding of how the brain switches between negative emotions like anxiety and fear. The researchers also identified specific receptors involved in this process, which may lead to pot...
Researchers found alcohol alters synchronized brain activity in the amygdala of mice, differing by sex. The study suggests that alcohol can trigger changes in anxious behavior by affecting the amygdala's activity states.
Scientists at Tohoku University have identified specific brain wave patterns related to social behavior in mice. These findings provide a unified understanding of brain activity underlying social behavior and its deficits in disease.
Researchers discovered two novel categories of cells in the BLA that respond to ethological stimuli, including event-specific neurons responding to one type of stimulus and panresponsive neurons responding equally well to multiple stimuli. These findings suggest a larger role for the BLA in memory and behavior.
Research found that stimulating a specific brain circuit relieves pain and reduces defensive behaviors in rats, indicating potential physical and psychological relief. The pathway also increases reward and feeding behavior, suggesting improved emotional state.
Researchers discovered that stress neurotransmitter norepinephrine stimulates a specific population of inhibitory neurons in the amygdala to generate a repetitive bursting pattern of electrical discharges. This leads to the formation of fear memories, which can be difficult to forget due to their association with traumatic experiences.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago found that gene editing can reverse epigenetic changes in the brain caused by adolescent binge drinking, leading to a decrease in anxiety and excessive drinking behavior. The study used CRISPR-dCas9 technology to manipulate histone acetylation and methylation processes at the Arc gene.
A study published in Brain reveals a dedicated neural circuit responsible for post-sepsis anxiety and depression. The researchers identified a potential pharmacological treatment by silencing the amygdala circuit during sepsis, reducing the risk of developing anxiety disorders.
A University of Essex study found that people subconsciously attribute happiness to women and anger to men, with emotion influencing sex perception more than vice versa. The research suggests this bias may be an evolutionary advantage.
A study found that older people are more positively reactive to emotional stimuli and better at reframing negative experiences into positives. Despite a decline in basal negative affect with age, participants were able to extract more positivity from given negative situations.
A new study funded by the NIH found that amygdala overgrowth in autism spectrum disorder begins between 6-12 months of age, suggesting early intervention may be effective in reducing symptoms. The study also identified distinct brain growth patterns in infants with Fragile X syndrome.
Researchers found that babies who later develop autism show overgrowth of the amygdala between six and 12 months, prior to behavioral symptoms. This finding suggests a potential link between early sensory processing problems and amygdala enlargement.
Researchers found that suspected amygdala neurons producing corticotropin-releasing factor are not necessary for alcohol withdrawal or dependence. Instead, the CRF is believed to come from other neurons in the brain, with potential implications for human treatment options.
When the eyes land on a face, certain cells in the amygdala react and trigger memory-making activity. Theta wave activity is also reset or restarted, preparing the hippocampus to receive new socially relevant information.
Researchers found that loneliness is driven by different brain states than social anxiety, with distinct neural activity patterns. People with social anxiety showed increased amygdala activation and reduced nucleus accumbens activation, while those with high loneliness did not display these patterns.
A new study by the University of Arizona has identified a brain region and neural circuitry that mediate satiation, making it possible to create treatments with fewer side effects for eating disorders and weight management. The parasubthalamic nucleus plays a key role in regulating feelings of fullness after eating.
A study by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers found that autistic children have distinct amygdala changes, with larger volumes associated with traditional anxiety and smaller volumes linked to autism-distinct anxieties. The study used brain scans of 71 autistic and 55 non-autistic children between ages 2-12.
Researchers found lower functional connectivity between brain areas involved in social and emotional processing in individuals at risk of developing alcohol use disorder. This impairment may affect their ability to interpret facial expressions and respond to their environment, increasing the likelihood of disordered drinking.
Researchers discovered that toxic goiter causes shrinkage in central brain regions, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, which can lead to mental symptoms. The study provides key insights for patients with Graves' disease, a common form of hyperthyroidism.
Researchers will use transcriptomics and chemogenetics to identify molecular targets for pain management. The project aims to advance knowledge on pain mechanisms and develop novel therapeutic strategies.
Researchers found that non-mutated Apolipoprotein E was strongly enriched in dementia patients' brains, correlating with dementia diagnosis. Even those without the disease-driving APOE ε4 allele showed significant levels of ApoE peptides.
A recent study published in Experimental Neurology suggests that the accumulation of a fragment of the synaptic protein neurexin in the adult brain causes specific losses of memory. The researchers observed that this accumulation triggers defects in associative memory and presynaptic plasticity, particularly affecting the amygdala.
Researchers have identified significant neurological effects of social isolation on the brain, including altered neural circuits and increased risk for disease. Social isolation can cause permanent changes in behavior and lead to health issues like anxiety and depression.
A new study in rodents suggests that repeated stress during infancy can lead to lasting behavioral issues due to increased dopamine levels in the brain. The research team found that stressful conditions caused pups to spend less time near their mothers and peers.
Researchers found that mice have innate circuits for processing positive and negative stimuli in the amygdala brain region. The study suggests that an imbalance in these circuits may contribute to depression and other mental health issues.
Problem-solving therapy led to short-term changes in the amygdala, a key region for emotion regulation, in individuals with comorbid depression and obesity. The study suggests that neural target changes at two months predicted improved behavioral outcomes after 12 months.
Researchers found that brexanolone, a neuroactive steroid, alters brain oscillations in the basolateral amygdala, leading to long-lasting antidepressant effects. The study suggests that changing oscillations may be a new strategy for drug therapies.
Researchers have discovered the amygdala's role in pre-attentive mechanisms, shedding light on its connection to schizophrenia and other disorders. The study found that activating brain stem inhibitory neurons via the amygdala is crucial for startle inhibition.
Scientists have identified a unique subset of inhibitory cells in the amygdala known as apITC, which modulates plasticity in fear learning. The apITC connects to various regions, including thalamic processing centers and sensory areas, to regulate fear-related responses.
New research links prolonged amygdala activity to increased negative daily mood and decreased positive daily mood. Participants who displayed increased positive mood showed greater psychological wellbeing, suggesting the impact of amygdala activity on daily emotional experience.
A recent brain-and-behavior study investigates how humans perceive and respond to faces with anomalies, finding that the 'anomalous-is-bad' stereotype manifests in brain responses and attitudes, with the amygdala playing a key role.
A new study from University of Alberta researchers shows that childhood traumatic or stressful events can lead to tiny changes in key brain structures decades later. These changes may increase the risk of developing mental health disorders as adults during times of stress.
Research finds that chronic alcohol exposure compromises brain immune cells, fueling anxiety and excessive drinking in mice. Boosting IL-10 signaling reverses aberrant effects, reducing anxiety-like behaviors and motivation to drink. This study provides a new framework for therapeutic intervention, targeting anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are studying the brain circuits that underlie fear, using sophisticated neuroscience tools to map their connections. They found that the amygdala is not only involved in fear processing but also plays a crucial role in reward-based learning and regulating fearful memory.
A UMD-led study finds that fear and anxiety reflect overlapping brain circuits, challenging long-held scientific accounts. The research suggests that both 'fear' and 'anxiety' are constructed in the brain using a massively overlapping set of neural building blocks.
New research reveals that our brains favor experiences that end well, weighing the final moments more heavily than the rest of the experience. This 'happy ending effect' can lead to bad decisions when choosing whether to repeat an experience.
Researchers found that newborns lack mature brain circuitry for emotionally attaching to visual stimuli. However, connections develop within a few months after birth. The study's findings have important clinical implications for disorders like autism and anxiety.
Research finds that focusing on the ending of an experience can lead to undervaluing positive experiences that end poorly. The brain's neural representation of a pleasant ending can overpower information from the amygdala, resulting in poor decision-making.
A PET imaging study found that low aromatase enzyme activity in the brain's amygdala is associated with higher BMI and lower self-control. Estrogen production in the amygdala may regulate feeding behavior, influencing BMI.
Two groups of nerve cells in the posterior amygdala regulate emotions and drive male social behaviors like sex and aggression. Blocking signals from these neurons impairs males' ability to mate, while boosting them increases aggression.
Researchers propose a new 'Reciprocal Inhibition Model' of PTSD, explaining inhomogeneous symptoms by addressing variabilities at neural, attentional, and symptom levels. This model may aid tailored clinical treatment for individual patients.
A new study published in PNAS reveals that low levels of the cytokine IL-38 are associated with increased inflammation in the amygdala of children with autism spectrum disorder. This suggests that targeting IL-38 may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for treating autism.
Research reveals that traumatic stress can strengthen amygdala pathways involved in emotion and social behaviors, leading to increased aggression. Deep brain stimulation may be a potential target for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related aggression.
Research in marmosets suggests that increased levels of serotonin transporters in the amygdala may contribute to trait anxiety. Targeting this region with anti-anxiety medication, such as SSRIs, could provide faster symptom relief.
Preliminary research links amygdala activity to increased inflammation in arteries, indicating a potential connection between stress perception and heart disease. After six months, the study found that participants with recent heart attacks had near-normal brain emotional activity and reduced inflammation.
A study by Medical University of South Carolina researchers identified a specific brain region and system that can be manipulated to decrease binge drinking. The kappa opioid-receptor system plays a crucial role in driving binge and compulsive alcohol use, as well as contributing to stress and unease during withdrawal.
Researchers demonstrate that fear memory involves strengthening neural pathways between the hippocampus and amygdala, which can be erased by weakening these connections. This discovery provides potential therapeutic strategies to suppress maladaptive fear memories in post-traumatic stress disorder patients.
University of Iowa scientists have identified a specific area of the brain involved in seizure-induced loss of breathing, which could help predict and prevent sudden unexpected death due to epilepsy. The Amygdala Inhibition of Respiration (AIR) site was found to be critical in children with epilepsy.
Researchers at Yale University found a unique brain signature associated with pro-social and anti-social decisions in monkeys. Monkeys prefer to drink alone when faced with the option of sharing fruit juice with another monkey.