Study reveals insights into emotion processing in the brain

Alexander Heinzel, Jörg Mauler, Hans Herzog, Frank Boers, Felix M. Mottaghy, Karl-Josef Langen, Jürgen Scheins, Christoph Lerche, Bernd Neumaier, Georg Northoff and N. Jon Shah

12th September 2023

Researchers from the Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, and the Institute of Mental Health at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and University of Ottawa, Canada, have uncovered significant findings regarding the neural mechanisms behind emotion processing. Using a Siemens (Erlangen, Germany) hybrid 3 T MR-BrainPET scanner, the team simultaneously employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, measures the BOLD signal) and positron emission tomography (PET) with [¹¹C]flumazenil to explore the relationship between GABA_A receptor binding potential and emotional reactions in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC).

Healthy subjects were exposed to visual emotional stimuli and completed a task comprising two types of emotional processing: passive viewing and appraisal. The results showed a distinct correlation between the passive viewing of emotionally charged images and GABA_A receptor binding potential in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). In contrast, the correlation between GABA_A receptor binding potential and the BOLD signal was evident in the paracingulate gyrus during picture appraisal.

This research not only establishes a link between GABA_A receptors in the MPFC/paracingulate gyrus and emotion processing but also reveals divergent roles of these receptors in different regions of the brain during distinct emotional processes. This finding contributes to a deeper understanding of emotion regulation in the brain and may hold promise for future developments in the field of emotional neuroscience.

Origional publication: GABA_A receptor availability relates to emotion-induced BOLD responses in the medial prefrontal cortex: simultaneous fMRI/PET with [¹¹C]flumazenil