Amygdala activation in affective priming: A magnetoencephalogram study

Maite Garolera, Richard Coppola, Karen E. Muñoz, Brita Elvevåg, Frederick W. Carver, Daniel R. Weinberger, Terry E. Goldberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

We employed magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine amygdala activity during a linguistic affective priming task. The experimental design included positive and negative word pairs. Using synthetic aperture magnetometry in the analysis of MEG data, we identified a left amygdala power increase in the theta frequency range during priming involving negative words. We found that the amygdala displayed a time-dependent intensification in responsiveness to negative stimuli, specifically between 150 and 400 ms after target presentation. This study provides evidence for theta power changes in the amygdala and demonstrates that the analysis of brain oscillations provides a powerful tool to explore mechanisms implicated in emotional processing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1449-1453
Number of pages5
JournalNeuroreport
Volume18
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Amygdala
  • Emotion
  • Magnetoencephalography
  • Priming
  • Synthetic aperture magnetometry
  • Theta rhythm

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Amygdala activation in affective priming: A magnetoencephalogram study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this