Functional Neuroanatomy of Grief: An fMRI Study

Gündel, Harald; O’Connor, Mary-Frances; Littrell, Lindsey; Fort, Carolyn; Lane, Richard D.

doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.11.1946

Cited by 294Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthDeath, Funerary Practices, and MourningNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Functional Neuroanatomy of Grief: An fMRI Study

Gündel, Harald, O’Connor, Mary-Frances, Littrell, Lindsey, Fort, Carolyn, Lane, Richard D.·2003·American Journal of Psychiatry

DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.11.1946

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In this study the authors examined the functional neuroanatomy of grief, which to their knowledge has not been studied previously in functional neuroimaging research. METHOD: Grief was elicited in eight bereaved women through photographs of the deceased versus a stranger, combined with words specific to the death event versus neutral words. Use of both pictures and words resulted in a 2x2 factorial design. RESULTS: Three brain regions were independently activated by the picture and word factors: posterior cingulate cortex, medial/superior frontal gyrus, and cerebellum. The two factors also activated distinct regions: for the picture factor, they were the cuneus, superior lingual gyrus, insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, inferior temporal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus; and for the word factor, they were the precuneus, precentral gyrus, midbrain, and vermis. The interaction of the two factors showed significant activation in the cerebellar vermis. CONCLUSIONS: Grief is mediated by a distributed neural network that subserves affect processing, mentalizing, episodic memory retrieval, processing of familiar faces, visual imagery, autonomic regulation, and modulation/coordination of these functions. This neural network may account for the unique, subjective quality of grief and provide new leads in understanding the health consequences of grief and the neurobiology of attachment.

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Affected brain areas in prolonged grief disorder include the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, the nucleus accumbens and the insula.
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Authors: Gündel, H., O’Connor, M.-F., Littrell, L., Fort, C., & Lane, R. D.
Affiliations: TUM Klinikum (DE)
University of Arizona (US)
ORCID: Gündel, Harald
Lane, Richard D.
Venue: American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published: 2003-11-01
Volume: 160
Issue: 11
Pages: 1946-1953
ISSN: 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
1535-7228
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.11.1946
OpenAlex: W2107751666
Cited by: 293
References: 37
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 17
FWCI: 15.48
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords: grief, bereavement, functional neuroanatomy, posterior cingulate cortex, cerebellar vermis, medial frontal gyrus, mentalization, episodic memory retrieval, visual imagery, autonomic regulation, attachment
MeSH terms: Adult, Arousal, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Form Perception, Galvanic Skin Response, Grief, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net, Object Attachment, Mental Recall, Semantics, Verbal Behavior, Visual Perception

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Functional Neuroanatomy of Grief: An fMRI Study

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