Early detection of intentional harm in the human amygdala

Hesse, Eugenia; Mikulan, Ezequiel; Decety, Jean; Sigman, Mariano; García, María del Carmen García; Silva, Walter; Ciraolo, Carlos; Vaucheret, Esteban; Baglivo, Fabricio; Huepe, David; López, Vladimir; Manes, Facundo; Bekinschtein, Tristán A.; Ibáñez, Agustín

doi:10.1093/brain/awv336

Cited by 90 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Likewise, Sato et al (2011) showed greater gamma-band activity in response to fear compared to neutral faces between 50 and 150 ms. Even though this study confirmed early responses to emotional stimuli, sensory or attentional unawareness was not manipulated and stimuli were projected centrally for 1 s. Similarly, Hesse et al (2016) recorded local field potential in three patients with depth electrodes placed in the Amg and found that early activity in Amg (80–200 ms), but not in other temporal, parietal, or frontal sites, predicts rapid encoding of intentional harm from visual scenes (Hesse et al, 2016). Lastly, a recent study by Mendez-Bertolo et al (2016) found fast Amg responses beginning 74 ms post-stimulus onset specific for fearful compared to neutral or happy facial expressions.…”

Section: Timing Of Amg Response: Fast Signals For Slow Measures?mentioning

confidence: 67%

Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli without Awareness: Facts and Interpretations

et al. 2017

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Over the past two decades, evidence has accumulated that the human amygdala exerts some of its functions also when the observer is not aware of the content, or even presence, of the triggering emotional stimulus. Nevertheless, there is as of yet no consensus on the limits and conditions that affect the extent of amygdala’s response without focused attention or awareness. Here we review past and recent studies on this subject, examining neuroimaging literature on healthy participants as well as brain-damaged patients, and we comment on their strengths and limits. We propose a theoretical distinction between processes involved in attentional unawareness, wherein the stimulus is potentially accessible to enter visual awareness but fails to do so because attention is diverted, and in sensory unawareness, wherein the stimulus fails to enter awareness because its normal processing in the visual cortex is suppressed. We argue this distinction, along with data sampling amygdala responses with high temporal resolution, helps to appreciate the multiplicity of functional and anatomical mechanisms centered on the amygdala and supporting its role in non-conscious emotion processing. Separate, but interacting, networks relay visual information to the amygdala exploiting different computational properties of subcortical and cortical routes, thereby supporting amygdala functions at different stages of emotion processing. This view reconciles some apparent contradictions in the literature, as well as seemingly contrasting proposals, such as the dual stage and the dual route model. We conclude that evidence in favor of the amygdala response without awareness is solid, albeit this response originates from different functional mechanisms and is driven by more complex neural networks than commonly assumed. Acknowledging the complexity of such mechanisms can foster new insights on the varieties of amygdala functions without awareness and their impact on human behavior.

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Section: Timing Of Amg Response: Fast Signals For Slow Measures?mentioning

confidence: 67%

Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli without Awareness: Facts and Interpretations

et al. 2017

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“…A unique approach to define necessary hubs in brain networks and infer reliable mechanisms in cognitive neuroscience consists in applying direct intracranial electrical stimulation to single subjects (epilepsy patients implanted with depth electrodes) in specific brain regions to causally modulated cognitive task performance. Here, as part of an ongoing program of research (Chennu et al, 2013; Canales-Johnson et al, 2015; Hesse et al, 2016), we profited from the unique opportunity to produce such causal evidence via single-subject direct intracranial electrical stimulation (Parvizi et al, 2012; Mégevand et al, 2014). Specifically, we stimulated the left parietal cortex (precuneus) during the visual STM task in a patient implanted with intracranial electrodes, and compared the results with a non-stimulated condition and to the performance of a matched control group (for details about the participant and the controls, see “Participants” Section; intracranial recording specifications are offered in “Subject’s Intracranial Recording” Section).…”

Section: Working Memory Binding: Antecedents and Case Reportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Working Memory Binding by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Parietal Cortex

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Hesse

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et al. 2017

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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Recent works evince the critical role of visual short-term memory (STM) binding deficits as a clinical and preclinical marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These studies suggest a potential role of posterior brain regions in both the neurocognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s patients and STM binding in general. Thereupon, we surmised that stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) might be a successful approach to tackle working memory deficits in this condition, especially at early stages. To date, no causal evidence exists of the role of the parietal cortex in STM binding. A unique approach to assess this issue is afforded by single-subject direct intracranial electrical stimulation of specific brain regions during a relevant cognitive task. Electrical stimulation has been used both for clinical purposes and to causally probe brain mechanisms. Previous evidence of electrical currents spreading through white matter along well defined functional circuits indicates that visual working memory mechanisms are subserved by a specific widely distributed network. Here, we stimulated the parietal cortex of a subject with intracranial electrodes as he performed the visual STM task. We compared the ensuing results to those from a non-stimulated condition and to the performance of a matched control group. In brief, direct stimulation of the parietal cortex induced a selective improvement in STM. These results, together with previous studies, provide very preliminary but promising ground to examine behavioral changes upon parietal stimulation in AD. We discuss our results regarding: (a) the usefulness of the task to target prodromal stages of AD; (b) the role of a posterior network in STM binding and in AD; and (c) the potential opportunity to improve STM binding through brain stimulation.

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“…Emotion-processing deficits have been associated with moral judgment impairments [21,65], and key brain regions involved in emotion processing (e.g. amygdala and VMPFC) are also relevant for moral judgment [15,66,67]. Thus, moral judgment abnormalities in bvFTD patients may also be related to emotion-processing impairments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The orbitofrontal and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices are implied in the inhibition of automatic or impulsive responses and in processing social prompts [11,12]. The amygdala is involved in moral learning and threat responses [13,14,15]. The precuneus subserves processing of mental states [16] and integration of self-referential stimuli in the broader emotional or moral context of the self [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of Intention and Outcome for Moral Judgment in Frontotemporal Dementia: Brain Structural Signatures

et al. 2016

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Background: Moral judgment has been proposed to rely on a distributed brain network. This function is impaired in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a condition involving damage to some regions of this network. However, no studies have investigated moral judgment in bvFTD via structural neuroimaging. Methods: We compared the performance of 21 bvFTD patients and 19 controls on a moral judgment task involving scenarios that discriminate between the contributions of intentions and outcomes. Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess (a) the atrophy pattern in bvFTD patients, (b) associations between gray matter (GM) volume and moral judgments, and (c) structural differences between bvFTD subgroups (patients with relatively preserved moral judgment and patients with severer moral judgment impairments). Results: Patients judged attempted harm as more permissible and accidental harm as less permissible than controls. The groups' performance on accidental harm was associated with GM volume in the precuneus. In controls, it was al- so associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Also, both groups' performance on attempted harm was associated with GM volume in the temporoparietal junction. Patients exhibiting worse performance displayed smaller GM volumes in the precuneus and temporal pole. Conclusions: Results suggest that moral judgment abnormalities in bvFTD are associated with impaired integration of intentions and outcomes, which depends on an extended brain network. In bvFTD, moral judgment seems to critically depend on areas beyond the VMPFC.

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Early detection of intentional harm in the human amygdala

Cited by 90 publications

References 29 publications

Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli without Awareness: Facts and Interpretations

Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli without Awareness: Facts and Interpretations

Enhanced Working Memory Binding by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Parietal Cortex

Integration of Intention and Outcome for Moral Judgment in Frontotemporal Dementia: Brain Structural Signatures

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