title: Dissecting the role of amygdala reactivity in antisocial behavior in a sample of young, low-income, urban men.
abstract: Neuroimaging has suggested that amygdala reactivity to emotional facial expressions is associated with antisocial behavior (AB), particularly among those high on callous-unemotional (CU) traits. To investigate this association and potential moderators of this relationship, including task/stimuli effects, subregional anatomy of the amygdala, and participant race, we used fMRI in a sample of 167 racially diverse, 20 year-old men from low-income families. We found that AB, but not CU traits, was negatively related to amygdala reactivity to fearful faces. This result was specific to fearful faces and strongest in the centro-medial subregion of the amygdala. Arrest record was positively related to basolateral amygdala reactivity to fearful and angry faces. Results were strongest among those identified as African American and not present in those identified as European American. Our findings suggest substantial complexity in the relationship between amygdala function and AB reflecting moderating effects of task stimulus, subregional anatomy, and race.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI ; Center for Human Growth and Development & Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Luke W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA ; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gard
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of NeuroGenetics, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC.
authors.forename: Ahmad R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hariri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA ; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Erika E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Forbes
keywords: conduct problems; externalizing; neuroimaging; psychopathy; violence