title: Overactivation of fear systems to neutral faces in schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The amygdala plays a central role in detecting and responding to fear-related stimuli. A number of recent studies have reported decreased amygdala activation in schizophrenia to emotional stimuli (such as fearful faces) compared with matched neutral stimuli (such as neutral faces). We investigated whether the apparent decrease in amygdala activation in schizophrenia could actually derive from increased amygdala activation to the neutral comparator stimuli.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen patients with schizophrenia and 24 matched control participants viewed pictures of faces with either fearful or neutral facial expressions, and a baseline condition, during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with schizophrenia showed a relative decrease in amygdala activation to fearful faces compared with neutral faces. However, this difference resulted from an increase in amygdala activation to the neutral faces in patients with schizophrenia, not from a decreased response to the fearful faces.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with schizophrenia show an increased response of the amygdala to neutral faces. This is sufficient to explain their apparent deficit in amygdala activation to fearful faces compared with neutral faces. The inappropriate activation of neural systems involved in fear to otherwise neutral stimuli may contribute to the development of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. jhall5@staffmail.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Heather C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McKirdy
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romaniuk
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McGonigle
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: Ben J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Baig
authors.forename: Viktoria-Eleni
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Gountouna
authors.forename: Dominic E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Job
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Donaldson
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sprengelmeyer
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Eve C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lawrie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology