Prefrontal-Amygdala Interactions in Social Learning

项目摘要 这项R 01更新申请提出了对人类受试者进行功能性神经成像研究，以阐明前额叶皮层和杏仁核在预测关键社会结果的面部身份和表情处理中的作用。在神经影像学研究中，情绪的面部表情的呈现被证明是激活杏仁核和前额叶区域的特别强大的刺激，这些区域参与处理生物相关的社会线索。在这里，我们建议进一步发展我们的新的结构和功能的神经影像学方法，以更好地了解杏仁核如何相互作用，当遇到这样的表达与连接的前额叶区域。具体来说，我们之前的研究发现，杏仁核-前额叶通路的结构完整性预测了报告焦虑的个体差异-我们在超过250名受试者中复制了这一效应，并观察到了令人兴奋的性别差异;这种效应在女性中比男性更强。在这里，我们建议跟进这种效果与更高分辨率的DTI方法，并将其扩展到功能静息状态的数据，看看是否相同的性别差异观察功能。此外，我们提出了一个新的数学模型，我们相信我们可以从大脑成像数据中的唤醒中解开效价的影响，这是该领域继续努力的一个困惑。最后，我们提出了一个新的面部表情刺激集的发展，我们记录的心理状态的模型构成的表情，所以我们可以确定任何互动，这可能与我们的研究对象的心理状态。然后，该领域可以有效地将这些数据与补充发展研究（即，儿童和青少年）并且将适于直接转化为临床人群（例如，焦虑和抑郁）。

PROJECT SUMMARY This R01 renewal application proposes functional neuroimaging studies with human subjects to elucidate the role of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala in the processing of facial identities and expressions that predict critical social outcomes. Presentations of facial expressions of emotion in neuroimaging studies have proven particularly robust stimuli for activating amygdala and prefrontal regions involved in processing biologically- relevant social cues. Here we propose to further develop our novel structural and functional neuroimaging methods to better understand how the amygdala interacts with reciprocally connected prefrontal areas when such expressions are encountered. Specifically, following up on our previous findings that the structural integrity of an amygdala-prefrontal pathway predicts individual differences in reported anxiety – we replicated this effect in > 250 subjects and observed an exciting sex difference; this effect is compellingly stronger in females than in males. Here we propose to follow up on this effect with higher resolution DTI methods and to extend it to functional resting state data to see if the same sex difference is observed functionally. In addition, we propose a new mathematical model where we believe we can disentangle the effects of valence from arousal in brain imaging data, a confound the field continues to struggle with. Finally, we propose the development of a new facial expression stimulus set where we record the psychological status of the models posing for the expressions so we can determine any interaction this might have with the psychological status of the our subjects of study. The field can then usefully compare these data to complementary developmental research (i.e., with children and adolescents) and will be amenable to direct translation to clinical populations (e.g., anxiety and depression).