Functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuit and their relevance to emotional processing.

• Autores: Stefano Delli Pizzi, Piero Chiacchiaretta, Dante Mantini, Giovanna Bubbico, Antonio Ferretti, Richard A Edden, Camillo Di Giulio, Marco Onofrj, Laura Bonanni
• Localización: Brain Structure and Function, ISSN 1863-2653, ISSN-e 1863-2661, Vol. 222, Nº. 3, 2017, págs. 1267-1279
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) circuit plays a key role in emotional processing. GABA-ergic inhibition within the mPFC has been suggested to play a role in the shaping of amygdala activity. However, the functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala-mPFC circuits and their relevance to emotional processing remain unclear. To investigate this circuit, we obtained resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and proton MR spectroscopy in 21 healthy subjects to assess the potential relationship between GABA levels within mPFC and the amygdala-mPFC functional connectivity. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2). Partial correlations were used to measure the relationships among the functional connectivity outcomes, mPFC GABA levels and STAI-Y2 scores. Age, educational level and amount of the gray and white matters within 1H-MRS volume of interest were included as nuisance variables. The rs-fMRI signals of the amygdala and the vmPFC were significantly anti-correlated. This negative functional coupling between the two regions was inversely correlated with the GABA+/tCr level within the mPFC and the STAI-Y2 scores. We suggest a close relationship between mPFC GABA levels and functional interactions within the amygdala-vmPFC circuit, providing new insights in the physiology of emotion.;