Seeing Fear: It's All in the Eyes?

Trends in Neurosciences
Lisa Feldman Barrett

Abstract

Is an amygdala necessary to experience and perceive fear? Intriguing evidence comes from patient S.M. who lost her left and right amygdalae to disease. Initial testing suggested that S.M.'s most defining symptom was an inability to recognize fear in other people's facial expressions. A fascinating paper by Adolphs and colleagues in 2005 examined one potential mechanism for this impairment: a failure to spontaneously attend to widened eyes, the most distinctive physical feature portrayed in symbolic fear expressions. This study helped to invigorate debates about the brain basis of fear and paved the way for a more nuanced understanding of amygdalar function.

References

Apr 29, 1999·Brain : a Journal of Neurology·R KawashimaK Nakamura
Jun 7, 2003·Science·Reginald B AdamsRobert E Kleck
Dec 18, 2004·Science·Paul J WhalenTom Johnstone
Jan 7, 2005·Nature·Ralph AdolphsAntonio R Damasio
Aug 2, 2012·Nature Reviews. Neuroscience·Cornelius T Gross, Newton Sabino Canteras
May 21, 2013·Neurobiology of Learning and Memory·Susan Shi Yuan Li, Gavan P McNally
Nov 3, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Carlos CrivelliJosé-Miguel Fernández-Dols

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Citations

Dec 4, 2019·Journal of Vision·Oakyoon ChaRandolph Blake

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