Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Neuroimage. 2011 Aug 15;57(4):1534-41. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.074. Epub 2011 Jun 2.
Whereas we know a fair amount on the role of the amygdala in the acute stress response, virtually nothing is known about its role during the recovery period after the stress has waned. Functional connectivity analysis of the amygdala during this period might be useful in revealing brain circuits promoting adaptive recovery from a stressful event, as well as consolidation of emotionally relevant information in preparing for future challenges. Healthy participants were randomly assigned to either a psychosocial stress task (n=18; stress group) or a comparable non-stressful control procedure (n=20; controls). To study the prolonged effects of stress on amygdala functional connectivity, resting-state fMRI scans were acquired an hour after the stress task. Amygdala functional connectivity with other brain regions was assessed using seed-based correlations. The stress group exhibited a strong physiological and behavioral reaction to psychosocial stress exposure. Compared with controls the stress group showed increased amygdala functional connectivity with three cortical midline structures: the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus (p<.05, corrected), and the medial prefrontal cortex (p<.05, small volume corrected). An hour after psychosocial stress, changes in amygdala functional connectivity were detected with cortical midline structures involved in the processing and regulation of emotions, as well as autobiographical memory. It is hypothesized that these effects could relate to top-down control of the amygdala and consolidation of self-relevant information after a stressful event. These results on functional connectivity in the recovery phase after stress might provide an important new vantage point in studying both sensitivity and resilience to stress.
虽然我们对杏仁核在急性应激反应中的作用了解颇多，但对于它在应激消退后的恢复期间的作用却几乎一无所知。在这段时间内对杏仁核进行功能连接分析，可能有助于揭示促进从应激事件中适应性恢复的大脑回路，以及巩固与情绪相关的信息，为未来的挑战做好准备。健康参与者被随机分配到心理社会应激任务（n=18；应激组）或类似的非应激性对照程序（n=20；对照组）中。为了研究应激对杏仁核功能连接的长期影响，在应激任务后一小时采集静息态 fMRI 扫描。使用基于种子的相关性评估杏仁核与其他脑区的功能连接。应激组对心理社会应激暴露表现出强烈的生理和行为反应。与对照组相比，应激组的杏仁核与三个皮质中线结构的功能连接增加：后扣带回和楔前叶（p<.05，校正），以及内侧前额叶（p<.05，小体积校正）。在心理社会应激后一小时，检测到杏仁核与参与情绪处理和调节以及自传体记忆的皮质中线结构的功能连接发生变化。据推测，这些影响可能与杏仁核的自上而下控制以及应激后自我相关信息的巩固有关。这些应激后恢复阶段功能连接的研究结果可能为研究应激的敏感性和韧性提供了一个重要的新视角。
