Kleinhans Natalia M, Johnson Leonard C, Mahurin Roderick, Richards Todd, Stegbauer Keith C, Greenson Jessica, Dawson Geraldine, Aylward Elizabeth
Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Neuroreport. 2007 Jul 2;18(10):987-91. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e328165d189.
Recent evidence suggests that the role of the amygdala may extend beyond threat detection to include processing socially relevant stimuli in general. Thus, we investigated perception and memory for neutral faces; a stimulus-type that lacks emotional valence yet contains relevant social information. Participants viewed neutral faces or houses when undergoing functional MRI. Neutral face memory testing was conducted outside the scanner. In the functional MRI of faces vs. houses contrast, significant bilateral activation in the amygdala and lateral fusiform gyrus was observed. Increased bilateral amygdala activation was associated with better delayed-memory performance. These findings indicate that the role of the amygdala may include processing neutral yet socially relevant stimuli. Further, amygdala activation, independent of emotional valence, appears to be associated with memory enhancement.
最近的证据表明，杏仁核的作用可能不仅限于威胁检测，还包括一般地处理与社会相关的刺激。因此，我们研究了对中性面孔的感知和记忆；这种刺激类型缺乏情感效价，但包含相关的社会信息。参与者在接受功能磁共振成像时观看中性面孔或房屋。中性面孔记忆测试在扫描仪外进行。在面孔与房屋对比的功能磁共振成像中，观察到杏仁核和外侧梭状回出现显著的双侧激活。双侧杏仁核激活增加与更好的延迟记忆表现相关。这些发现表明，杏仁核的作用可能包括处理中性但与社会相关的刺激。此外，杏仁核激活与情感效价无关，似乎与记忆增强有关。
