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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

How to Detect Amygdala Activity with Magnetoencephalography using Source Imaging
Published on: June 3, 2013
An amygdala response to fearful faces with covered eyes
Aziz U R Asghar1, Yi-Chieh Chiu, Glyn Hallam
1Hull York Medical School & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK. aziz.asghar@hyms.ac.uk
Abstract:
Findings of amygdala responsiveness to the eye region of fearful faces raise the question of whether eye widening is the only facial cue involved. We used fMRI to investigate the differential amygdala response to fearful versus neutral stimuli for faces, eyes, and for faces in which the eye region was masked. For maximum sensitivity, a block design was used, with a region of interest (ROI) centred on the amygdala which included peri-amygdalar areas. Evidence of amygdala responsiveness to fear compared to neutral stimuli was found for whole faces, eye region only, and for faces with masked eyes. The amygdala can therefore use information from facial regions other than the eyes, allowing it to respond differentially to fearful compared to neutral faces even when the eye region is hidden.
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