PRIMATE AMYGDALA AND THE CONTROL OF VISUAL SEARCH OF EMOTIONAL STIMULI

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. This project examines the role of the primate amygdala in allocating visual attention to targets of emotional and social significance using reversible inactivation to separately manipulate two components of the amygdala complex; i.e. the centromedial and basolateral nuclear groups of the monkey amygdala. Since the funding of this project in September 2010, we have acquired a monkey and have instrumented this animal with a chamber that will allow access to the two nuclei. This animal has been also trained to fixate at a center point on a computer screen and visually explore images occurring at the fixation points. We have also acquired all the equipment to simultaneously record cell in the amygdala while injections of muscimol and bicuculine will either decrease or increase activity of the cells in the two amygdala nuclei. The results are expected to clarify the contribution of the amygdala to the acquisition of socially and emotionally relevant information-a critical prerequisite in designing a more effective intervention in socio-emotional disorders.