Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Amygdala activation in the processing of neutral faces in social anxiety disorder: is neutral really neutral?
Rebecca E Cooney1, Lauren Y Atlas, Jutta Joormann
1Department of Psychology, Bldg. 420, Jordan Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. rcooney@psych.stanford.edu
Abstract:
Previous research has suggested that Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is associated with a tendency to interpret ambiguous social stimuli in a threatening manner. The present study used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine patterns of neural activation in response to the processing of neutral facial expressions in individuals diagnosed with SAD and healthy controls (CTLs). The SAD participants exhibited a different pattern of amygdala activation in response to neutral faces than did the CTL participants, suggesting a neural basis for the biased processing of ambiguous social information in SAD individuals.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Social Anxiety Disorder
Role of Amygdala in Memory
One of the...
Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Physiology of Emotion
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a critical role in emotional responses by regulating involuntary physiological functions. It consists of two main components: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system...

