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Abstract:
Abstract: The amygdala appears to play a central role in the
human response to affective or emotionally charged stimuli,
particularly fear producing stimuli. Recent imaging studies have
demonstrated that even facial expressions of fear, which do not
actually evoke fear responses in the viewer, can increase amygdala
activity in adults (Breiter et al., 1996; Whalen et al., 1998).
This effect has been examined more recently in adolescents (Baird
et al., 1999). The current study examined the specificity of the
amygdala response to different facial expressions in 18 adults and
children (range 7-36 years). Six adults and 12 children (6 female
and 6 male) were scanned in a 1.5T scanner during passive viewing
of fearful and neutral faces. Images were acquired in twelve 4-mm
contiguous coronal slices spanning the entire amygdala. ANOVAs were
conducted comparing age groups and genders. Overall, results
replicate increased activity in left amygdala and substantia
innominata (SI) for fearful faces as compared to fixation (Whalen
et al., 1998). Adults also demonstrated increased amygdala activity
for fearful faces vs. neutral faces. However, this pattern was not
consistently observed in children. The results are discussed in
terms of the effects of maturation and gender on the amygdala
response to emotion.
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