FMRI STUDIES OF AMYGDALA RESPONSE TO FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

到目前为止，人类神经成像研究已经提供了使用面部表情作为刺激的杏仁核功能的重要见解。我们的目标是加强这些初步研究，将我们的努力集中在数据收集战略上，这些战略将提供关于我们个别主题的信息。具体地说，我们将使用功能磁共振成像(FHRI)来测试这一假设，即对模棱两可的面部表情的主观评级可以用来预测杏仁核对这些表情以及对更明显的负面面孔(例如，恐惧的面孔)的反应。除了杏仁核的响应性之外，我们还将收集更多旨在更全面地定义面部表情正面与负面评级的受试者的心理特征的指标。此外，我们将通过在三个不同的时间点(在受试者内)评估杏仁核功能磁共振反应和价级来评估我们测量的可靠性。最后，该项目最终与埃塞克斯项目V合作，在72名具有不同内在化问题风险的青少年受试者中评估杏仁核信号，因为它与我们的配价评级任务有关，从而为精神病理学评估了DSK。并行的线下行为研究将 确定我们任务的概括性。这些离线研究将有助于确定这项任务在未来实地研究中的适用性。拟议的研究建立在我们实验室和其他实验室工作的基础上，证明了涉及面部表情呈现的fMRI任务可以提供有关正常杏仁核功能及其在精神病理学中的变异的有用信息。这些研究将提供急需的数据，涉及a)这些反应的个体受试者的差异，b)这些数据对青少年的普适性，以及c)这些措施与其他与精神病理学易感性有关的措施的关系。

To date, human neuroimaging studies have offered important insights into amygdala function using facial expressions of emotion as presented stimuli. Our aim is to augment these initial studies by concentrating our efforts on data collection strategies that will provide information about our individual subjects. Specifically, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fHRI) to test the hypothesis that subjective ratings of ambiguously-valenced facial expressions can be used to predict amygdala response to these expressions as well as to more clearly negative faces (e.g., fearful faces). In addition to amygdala responsivity, we will collect additional measures aimed at more comprehensively defining the psychological profile of subjects who rate facial expressions positively vs. negatively. In addition, we will assess the reliability of our measures by assessing both amygdala fMRI response and valence ratings at three separate time points (within-subject). Finally, the project culminates with a collaboration with the Essex Project V in assessing amygdala signal as it relates to our valence rating task, in a group of 72 well characterized adolescent subjects with varying risk for internalizing problems, and thus dsk for psychopathology. Parallel offline behavioral studies that will determine the generalizability of our task. These offline studies will be cdtical in determining the applicability of this task for future field studies. The proposed studies build upon the work of our laboratory and that of others demonstrating that fMRI tasks involving the presentation of facial expressions can provide useful information about normal amygdala function and its aberrance in psychopathology. These studies will provide much needed data concerning a) individual subject differences in these responses b) the generalizability of these data to adolescents and c) the relationship of these measures with others related to vulnerability to psychopathology.