Brain Activation During Passive vs Active Tasks

For those who like to muse on such things, thanks to Ulrich Lanius for providing this.

Task Instructions Modulate Neural Responses to Fearful Facial Expressions Biological Psychiatry Prepublication Abstract
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Task Instructions Modulate Neural Responses to Fearful Facial Expressions

K. Lange, L. M. Williams, A. W. Young, Edward T. Bullmore, M. J. Brammer, Steven Williams, Jeffrey A. Gray and Mary L. Phillips Accepted 5/23/2002

Abstract

Background: The amygdala, hippocampus, ventral and dorsal prefrontal cortices have been demonstrated to be involved in the response to fearful facial expressions. Little is known, however, about the effect of task instructions upon the intensity of responses within these regions to fear-inducing stimuli.

Methods: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined neural responses to alternating, 30-sec blocks of fearful and neutral expressions in nine, right-handed male volunteers during three different 5-min conditions: 1. passive viewing; 2. performance of a sex decision task, with no explicit judgement of facial emotion; 3. performance of an emotionality judgement task - an explicitly emotional task.

Results: There was a significant effect of task upon activation within the left hippocampus and the left inferior occipital gyrus, and upon the magnitude of response within the left hippocampus, with maximal activation in these regions occurring during passive viewing, and minimal during performance of the explicit task. Performance of the sex-decision and explicit tasks, but not passive viewing, was also associated with activation within ventral frontal cortex.

Conclusions: Neural responses to fearful facial expressions are modulated by task instructions.

Replies:

Re: Avoiding Triggers, by Musing, 01/29/03

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