Existential neuroscience: a functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of neural responses to reminders of one's mortality.
A considerable body of evidence derived from terror management theory indicates that the awareness of mortality represents a potent psychological threat engendering various forms of psychological defense. However, extant research has yet to examine the neurological correlates of cognitions about one's inevitable death. The present study thus investigated in 17 male participants patterns of neural activation elicited by mortality threat. To induce mortality threat, participants answered questions arranged in trial blocks that referred to fear of death and dying. In the control condition participants answered questions about fear of dental pain. Neural responses to mortality threat were greater than to pain threat in right amygdala, left rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and right caudate nucleus. We discuss implications of these findings for stimulating further research into the neurological correlates of managing existential fear.
Department of Psychology, Universität Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, 49069 Osnabrück, Germany. mquirin@uos.de
Markus
M
Quirin
Alexander
A
Loktyushin
Jamie
J
Arndt
Ekkehard
E
Küstermann
Yin-Yueh
YY
Lo
Julius
J
Kuhl
Lucas
L
Eggert
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003643:Death; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male
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