Abstract
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.
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The work has been supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (grant no. GR-2010-2313418). This study applies tools developed under NIH R01 EB016089 and P41 EB015909; RAEE also receives salary support from these grants.
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429_2016_1276_MOESM1_ESM.tif
Supplementary material 1 Suppl. Figure 1 Spatial correspondence between 1H-MRS VOI and vmPFC-cluster in a representative subject. Panel a and b show findings for the left and right hemispheres, respectively. Color legends blue vmPFC-cluster; green 1H-MRS VOI; red cluster showing positive correlation with right and left amygdalae (TIFF 1146 kb)
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Delli Pizzi, S., Chiacchiaretta, P., Mantini, D. et al. Functional and neurochemical interactions within the amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex circuit and their relevance to emotional processing. Brain Struct Funct 222, 1267–1279 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1276-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1276-z