Amygdala Basal Activity Differs in Hospitalized Pediatric Psychiatry Patients Compared to Control.
Current data suggests that the amygdala is a central hub for emotional processing, decision making and fear. Very little research has been done that focuses on the pediatric and adolescent amygdala of psychiatric patients while in the hospital setting.
We seek to analyze two specific groups of pediatric patients with resting state-functional magnetic resonance imaging. It is
our hypothesis that patients who were hospitalized for a psychiatric cause would have increased perfusion as seen on functional magnetic resonance imaging when compared to a group of patients with intractable epilepsy. Patients with psychiatric disorders needing inpatient care usually complain of fear, anxiety and aggression.
There are multiple studies reporting structural and biochemical amygdala changes in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and mood dysregulation. A 2010 publication used emotional auditory stimuli to analyze brain activation in patients with schizophrenia.
They found an increase of activity in the parahippocampal gyrus and the amygdala during the emotional session. Auditory and gustatory hallucinations have been also found to be associated with amygdala activation.
Despite these findings, there is not a clear explanation of the role played by the amygdala in psychosis. Even in the event of observable increased fMRI activation of the amygdala in psychiatric patient, it is difficult to know if the observation is the cause or the effect of the fear, anxiety or aggression. Patients with intractable epilepsy are subject to chronic very stressful situations that in some non-infrequent occasions may even threaten the patient’s life.
Radiol Open J. 2019; 3(1): 12-18. doi: 10.17140/ROJ-3-120
