Fear-enhanced visual search persists after amygdala lesions.

Neuropsychologia
Richard M PiechDavid H Zald

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that the amygdala is a critical neural substrate of the emotional modulation of attention. However, a recent case study suggests that the amygdala may not be essential for all types of emotion-attention interactions. In order to test this hypothesis, we assessed the visual-search performance of patients with unilateral amygdala lesions, matched controls, and medication-matched epilepsy patients with intact amygdalae. All participants completed a visual-search task consisting of trials in which (1) an emotional target was embedded among neutral distractors, (2) a neutral target was embedded among emotional distractors, or (3) a neutral target was embedded among neutral distractors. All participant groups, including those with amygdala lesions, detected emotional targets more efficiently than neutral targets. These data indicate that the amygdala is not necessary for emotion-guided visual search and suggest that other mechanisms beyond the amygdala help guide attention toward threatening stimuli.

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Citations

Mar 1, 2012·Biological Psychology·Gilles PourtoisPatrik Vuilleumier
Aug 20, 2015·Human Brain Mapping·Chrysa LithariNathan Weisz
Jan 23, 2013·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Judith Domínguez-BorràsPatrik Vuilleumier
Feb 25, 2011·Neuropsychologia·Dominik R BachRaymond J Dolan
Oct 6, 2014·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Dominik R BachRaymond J Dolan
Aug 8, 2013·Acta Psychologica·Anke HaberkampThomas Schmidt
May 14, 2016·Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior·Morteza PishnamaziJoel S Winston
Jan 1, 2016·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Mara MatherCarolyn W Harley
Dec 5, 2018·Human Brain Mapping·Timothy R PowellDanai Dima

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