Effects of unilateral temporal lobe resections on the cerebral processing of emotionally negative visual stimuli

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This project investigates effects of unilateral temporal lobe resections on the perception of and memory for visually presented emotionally negative and neutral pictures, faces, and words. Resections comprise either amygdala, hippocampus, and surrounding structures (AH+) or the amygdala and parts of the anterior temporal lobe, sparing the hippocampus (AAT+). Electrophysiologically, we investigate the extent to which such resections 1) reduce emotion-sensitive event-related potentials (ERPs) of the EEG. 2) Such reductions are hemisphere-specific or specific to certain stimulus types. 3) Differences exist between the AH+ and AAT+ groups. In parallel, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we test for 4) changes in hemodynamic responses during perception of and memory for emotional stimuli following temporal lobe resections. 5) Investigate whether any effects are stimulus- or hemisphere-specific. 6) AH+ and AAT+ groups differ in their activation patterns. Together, results will provide causal evidence regarding the role of amygdala and surrounding structures in affective stimulus processing.