Human fear-related motor neurocircuitry

• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.09.048
• Publication Date: 2007-11-06T12:20:25Z
• Authors: T. Butler; H. Pan; O. Tuescher; A. Engelien; M. Goldstein; J. Epstein; D. Weisholtz; J.C. Root; X. Protopopescu; A.C. Cunningham-B...; L. Chang; X.-H. Xie; Q. Chen; E.A. Phelps; J.E. Ledoux; E. Stern; D.A. Silbersweig
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Brain Mapping; Motor Cortex; Fear; Galvanic Skin Response; Amygdala; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Basal Ganglia; Oxygen; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Neural Pathways; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Humans; Female; Photic Stimulation

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and an experimental paradigm of instructed fear, we observed a striking pattern of decreased activity in primary motor cortex with increased activity in dorsal basal ganglia during anticipation of aversive electrodermal stimulation in 42 healthy participants. We interpret this pattern of activity in motor neurocircuitry in response to cognitively-induced fear in relation to evolutionarily-conserved responses to threat that may be relevant to understanding normal and pathological fear in humans.