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Updated: May 1, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Amygdala Activation and Emotional Processing in Adolescents at Risk for Substance Use Disorders
Dawn L Thatcher1, Stefan Pajtek1, Ralph Tarter2
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara St., Oxford Bldg. Suite 800, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
Abstract:
Studies are needed that examine neurobiological characteristics in high risk individuals prior to substance use disorder (SUD) development. In this pilot study, 4 adolescent subjects at high risk (having at least 1 parent with a SUD) for SUD were compared with 4 adolescent reference subjects on a corticolimbic reactivity paradigm, where they were presented with affect-laden faces or geometric shapes. FMRI was used to measure cortical activation in response to these stimuli. High risk subjects, compared to low risk, exhibited greater left amygdala activation (t=3.60, df=6, p=0.01), suggesting they may exhibit hyper-responsivity of the amygdala in response to emotional stimuli.
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