TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of amygdala in emotional and social functions: implications for temporal lobe epilepsy.
AU - Cristinzio, Chiara
AU - Vuilleuimier, P.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Temporal lobe epilepsy is among the most frequent
causes of chronic and drug-resistant seizure disorders.
It is typically associated with lesions involving critical
limbic structures within the anterior medial temporal
lobe, such as the amygdala and hippocampus. While
the role of the hippocampus and adjacent cortical
regions in memory function is now well established, the
role of the amygdala and related brain circuits is still
poorly known. The amygdala is a complex neural structure
implicated in several aspects of emotional and
social behaviour, but the varieties and the consequences
of amygdala dysfunction in patients with temporal
lobe epilepsy remain unclear, and insufficiently examined
in standard neuropsychological assessments.
Here we review data from recent research in humans
indicating that amygdala lesions may impair selective
domains of affect and cognition, all related to the appraisal
of emotional and social significance of sensory
events. We describe neurophysiological and behavioural
evidence to illustrate how the amygdala may contribute
to a wide range of affective functions, including recognition
of facial expressions, perception of gaze direction,
modulation of attention and memory, perception
of musical emotions, theory of mind, plus mood and
psychiatric disorders. We argue that a more systematic
assessment of affective functions mediated by the
amygdala and related circuits might provide useful information
about temporal lobe pathology and neuropsychological
outcome after surgery.
AB - Temporal lobe epilepsy is among the most frequent
causes of chronic and drug-resistant seizure disorders.
It is typically associated with lesions involving critical
limbic structures within the anterior medial temporal
lobe, such as the amygdala and hippocampus. While
the role of the hippocampus and adjacent cortical
regions in memory function is now well established, the
role of the amygdala and related brain circuits is still
poorly known. The amygdala is a complex neural structure
implicated in several aspects of emotional and
social behaviour, but the varieties and the consequences
of amygdala dysfunction in patients with temporal
lobe epilepsy remain unclear, and insufficiently examined
in standard neuropsychological assessments.
Here we review data from recent research in humans
indicating that amygdala lesions may impair selective
domains of affect and cognition, all related to the appraisal
of emotional and social significance of sensory
events. We describe neurophysiological and behavioural
evidence to illustrate how the amygdala may contribute
to a wide range of affective functions, including recognition
of facial expressions, perception of gaze direction,
modulation of attention and memory, perception
of musical emotions, theory of mind, plus mood and
psychiatric disorders. We argue that a more systematic
assessment of affective functions mediated by the
amygdala and related circuits might provide useful information
about temporal lobe pathology and neuropsychological
outcome after surgery.
KW - Facial expression recognition
KW - emotional memory
KW - eye gaze
KW - perception
KW - temporal lobe epilepsy
KW - Facial expression recognition
KW - emotional memory
KW - eye gaze
KW - perception
KW - temporal lobe epilepsy
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/56196
M3 - Article
SP - 78
EP - 89
JO - Epileptologie
JF - Epileptologie
ER -