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Increased amygdala activation during mania: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Lori Altshuler1, Susan Bookheimer, Manuel A Proenza
1UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7057, USA. laltshuler@mednet.ucla.edu
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|June 3, 2005
Summary
This study found that individuals experiencing mania show increased amygdala activity and decreased orbitofrontal cortex activity. These brain changes may indicate a disruption in neural circuits regulating emotions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- The amygdala plays a crucial role in processing emotions.
- Dysregulation of emotional processing is a hallmark of manic episodes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate neural activity in the amygdala during manic episodes using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Main Methods:
- Nine individuals with mania and nine healthy controls underwent fMRI scans.
- Participants viewed faces displaying affect and geometric forms, matching them to similar images.
Main Results:
- Manic subjects exhibited significantly increased activation in the left amygdala compared to controls.
- Reduced bilateral activation in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex was observed in manic subjects.
Conclusions:
- Elevated amygdala activation and diminished orbitofrontal cortex activation suggest a disrupted neuroanatomic circuit in mania.
- These findings implicate the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex in affective regulation disorders.