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. 2012 Jun;7(5):568-77.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsr038. Epub 2011 Jun 11.

Amygdala responses to averted vs direct gaze fear vary as a function of presentation speed

Reginald B Adams Jr  1 , Robert G Franklin Jr, Kestutis Kveraga, Nalini Ambady, Robert E Kleck, Paul J Whalen, Nouchine Hadjikhani, Anthony J Nelson
Affiliations

Amygdala responses to averted vs direct gaze fear vary as a function of presentation speed

Reginald B Adams Jr et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

We examined whether amygdala responses to rapidly presented fear expressions are preferentially tuned to averted vs direct gaze fear and conversely whether responses to more sustained presentations are preferentially tuned to direct vs averted gaze fear. We conducted three functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to test these predictions including: Study 1: a block design employing sustained presentations (1 s) of averted vs direct gaze fear expressions taken from the Pictures of Facial Affect; Study 2: a block design employing rapid presentations (300 ms) of these same stimuli and Study 3: a direct replication of these studies in the context of a single experiment using stimuli selected from the NimStim Emotional Face Stimuli. Together, these studies provide evidence consistent with an early, reflexive amygdala response tuned to clear threat and a later reflective response tuned to ambiguous threat.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Activation maps correspond to whole-brain analyses for Study 1 (A) and Study 2 (B). Activations for Study 3 (C and D) correspond to whole-brain analyses, but are restricted to the ROI masks determined by Studies 1 and 2. Activations in Study 3 represent points of direct overlap with Study 1 for the 1 s presentation condition (C) and with Study 2 for the 300 ms presentation condition (D) for the contrasts averted minus direct fear (displayed in the bottom panel) and direct minus averted fear (displayed in the top panel). Significant left amygdala activation (circled in green) was found for direct minus averted fear in both Studies 1 and 3 (1 s presentation condition) and significant right dorsal amygdala/SI (circled in green) was apparent to averted minus direct fear in both Studies 2 and 3 (300 ms presentation condition).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bars represent the mean beta weights of 8 mm clusters centered over the peaks of the three amygdala ROIs derived from Studies 1 and 2 (i.e. left amygdala in Study 1, bilateral dorsal amygdala/SI in Study 2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adams RB, Jr, Ambady N, Macrae CN, Kleck RE. Emotional expressions forecast approach-avoidance behavior. Motivation and Emotion. 2006;30(2):177–86.
    1. Adams RB, Jr, Franklin RG., Jr Influence of emotional expression on the processing of gaze direction. Motivation and Emotion. 2009;33:106–12.
    1. Adams RB, Jr, Franklin RG, Jr, Nelson AJ, Stevenson MT. Compound social cues in face processing. In: Adams RB Jr, Ambady N, Nakayama K, Shimojo S, editors. The Science of Social Vision. New York: Oxford University Press; 2010a. pp. 90–107.
    1. Adams RB, Jr, Franklin RG, Rule NO, et al. Culture, gaze, and the neural processing of fear expressions: an fMRI investigation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 2010b;5:340–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adams RB, Jr, Gordon HL, Baird AA, Ambady N, Kleck RE. Effects of gaze on amygdala sensitivity to anger and fear faces. Science. 2003;300:1536. - PubMed

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