Hamann Stephan B, Ely Timothy D, Hoffman John M, Kilts Clinton D
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Psychol Sci. 2002 Mar;13(2):135-41. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00425.
Considerable evidence indicates that the amygdala plays a critical role in negative, aversive human emotions. Although researchers have speculated that the amygdala plays a role in positive emotion, little relevant evidence exists. We examined the neural correlates of positive and negative emotion using positron emission tomography (PET), focusing on the amygdala. Participants viewed positive and negative photographs, as well as interesting and uninteresting neutral photographs, during PET scanning. The left amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex were activated during positive emotion, and bilateral amygdala activation occurred during negative emotion. High-interest, unusual photographs also elicited left-amygdala activation, a finding consistent with suggestions that the amygdala is involved in vigilance reactions to associatively ambiguous stimuli. The current results constitute the first neuroimaging evidence for a role of the amygdala in positive emotional reactions elicited by visual stimuli. Although the amygdala appears to play a more extensive role in negative emotion, it is involved in positive emotion as well.
大量证据表明，杏仁核在人类负面、厌恶情绪中起着关键作用。尽管研究人员推测杏仁核在积极情绪中发挥作用，但相关证据很少。我们使用正电子发射断层扫描（PET）研究了积极和消极情绪的神经关联，重点关注杏仁核。在PET扫描期间，参与者观看了积极和消极的照片，以及有趣和无趣的中性照片。在积极情绪期间，左侧杏仁核和腹内侧前额叶皮层被激活，而在消极情绪期间双侧杏仁核被激活。高兴趣、不寻常的照片也引发了左侧杏仁核的激活，这一发现与杏仁核参与对联想模糊刺激的警觉反应的观点一致。目前的结果构成了杏仁核在视觉刺激引发的积极情绪反应中发挥作用的首个神经影像学证据。尽管杏仁核似乎在消极情绪中发挥着更广泛的作用，但它也参与积极情绪。
