Down-regulation of amygdala activation with real-time fMRI neurofeedback in a healthy female sample
Open accessAbstract
Psychiatric conditions of emotion dysregulation are often characterized by difficulties in regulating the activity of limbic regions such as the amygdala. Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) allows to feedback brain activation and opens the possibility to establish a neurofeedback (NF) training of amygdala activation, e.g., for subjects suffering from emotion dysregulation. As a first step, we investigated whether feedback of the amygdala response to aversive scenes can improve down-regulation of amygdala activation. One group of healthy female participants received amygdala feedback (N = 16) and a control group was presented with feedback from a control region located in the basal ganglia [N(sum) = 32]. Subjects completed a one-session rt-fMRI-NF training where they viewed aversive pictures and received continuous visual feedback on brain activation (REGULATE condition). In a control condition, subjects were advised to respond naturally to aversive pictures (VIEW), and a neutral condition served as the non-affective control (NEUTRAL). In an adjacent run, subjects were presented with aversive pictures without feedback to test for transfer effects of learning. In a region of interest (ROI) analysis, the VIEW and the REGULATE conditions were contrasted to estimate brain regulation success. The ROI analysis was complemented by an exploratory analysis of activations at the whole-brain level. Both groups showed down-regulation of the amygdala response during training. Feedback from the amygdala but not from the control region was associated with down-regulation of the right amygdala in the transfer test. The whole-brain analysis did not detect significant group interactions. Results of the group whole-brain analyses are discussed. We present a proof-of-concept study using rt-fMRI-NF for amygdala down-regulation in the presence of aversive scenes. Results are in line with a potential benefit of NF training for amygdala regulation.
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A combined anatomical and functional approach for defining a target region is commonly implemented in rt-fMRI NF studies focusing on emotion regulation.
“A combined anatomical and functional approach for defining a target region is commonly implemented in rt-fMRI NF studies focusing on emotion regulation (Nicholson et al., 2017, Paret et al., 2014, Paret et al., 2016).”
From Rt-fMRI neurofeedback-guided cognitive reappraisal training modulates amygdala responsivity in posttraumatic stress disorder (2020) · cites this paper as Paret et al., 2014
The Introduction (page unavailable) says the study combined anatomical delineation of the bilateral amygdala with functional voxel selection. The Methods describe both steps for its neurofeedback target. This supports the paper as an example of the approach, but it does not establish that the approach is commonly implemented across emotion-regulation rt-fMRI neurofeedback studies. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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References 61 · Cited by 95
- Authors
- Paret, C., Kluetsch, R., Ruf, M., Demirakca, T., Hoesterey, S., Ende, G., & Schmahl, C.
- Affiliations
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Paret, Christian
- Venue
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2014-09-18
- Volume
- 8
- Pages
- 299-299
- ISSN
- 1662-5153 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4166899
- OpenAlex
- W2128019149
- Cited by
- 95
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 6
- FWCI
- 4.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EN 361/13-1, SCHM 1526/14-1, /14-1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- real-time fMRI neurofeedback, emotional dysregulation, limbic system, transfer of learning, right amygdala, emotion regulation training
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