Abstract
The amygdala has a pivotal role in processing traumatic stress; hence, gaining control
over its activity could facilitate adaptive mechanism and recovery. To date, amygdala
volitional regulation could be obtained only via real-time functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI), a highly inaccessible procedure. The current article presents high-impact
neurobehavioral implications of a novel imaging approach that enables bedside monitoring
of amygdala activity using fMRI-inspired electroencephalography (EEG), hereafter termed
amygdala-electrical fingerprint (amyg-EFP). Simultaneous EEG/fMRI indicated that the
amyg-EFP reliably predicts amygdala-blood oxygen level–dependent activity. Implementing
the amyg-EFP in neurofeedback demonstrated that learned downregulation of the amyg-EFP
facilitated volitional downregulation of amygdala-blood oxygen level–dependent activity
via real-time fMRI and manifested as reduced amygdala reactivity to visual stimuli.
Behavioral evidence further emphasized the therapeutic potential of this approach
by showing improved implicit emotion regulation following amyg-EFP neurofeedback.
Additional EFP models denoting different brain regions could provide a library of
localized activity for low-cost and highly accessible brain-based diagnosis and treatment.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: January 06, 2016
Accepted:
December 17,
2015
Received in revised form:
December 16,
2015
Received:
August 24,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© Society of Biological Psychiatry, 2016.
ScienceDirect
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- Is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Inspired Electroencephalogram Feedback the Next New Treatment in Psychiatry?Biological PsychiatryVol. 80Issue 6
- PreviewEver since Hans Berger recorded the first electroencephalogram (EEG) in 1924, scientists have struggled to understand which exact regions of the brain are causing the signal on the scalp. This inverse problem has proved quite difficult to crack, despite decades of research. Some researchers have used electrodes within the brain (electrocorticograms) simultaneously with surface electrodes to try to understand the source. Others have recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signals with concurrent surface EEG.
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