Schedule of Events | Symposia

Examining Asymmetric Amygdala Activity in Adolescents with Anxiety Using fMRI

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Ava Moore¹ (amoore86@fordham.edu), Amy Roy, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary; ¹Fordham Univeristy, ²CUNY Hunter College

Previous studies using EEG suggest that anxiety may be associated with hemispheric asymmetries. However, MRI allows for the examination of asymmetry in subcortical structures such as the amygdala, which plays an important role in regulating fear responses. Two theories exist regarding amygdala lateralization and emotion: 1) the right amygdala is associated with emotion regardless of valence, and 2) the right amygdala is associated with negative emotions and the left amygdala with positive emotions. Interestingly, recent meta-analyses of amygdala lateralization show left-sided amygdala activity to be associated with emotional tasks more often than right-sided amygdala activity, regardless of valence (Baas et al., 2004; Wager et al., 2003). Participants were 52 children (ages 12-14) with symptoms of anxiety recruited from the New York City area. Both parents and children completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED). Resting-state fMRI scans were conducted, and hemispheric asymmetry was assessed using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF). Asymmetry in the amygdala was calculated ([L-R]/[L+R]), based on previous research. Regression analysis, controlling for sex, revealed greater left-than-right amygdala activation to be significantly associated with higher total scores on the child report of the SCARED, as well as the generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder subscales. This is the first study to examine amygdala asymmetry in this age group using fALFF. These findings challenge traditional theories of amygdala lateralization, which have primarily focused on right-sided dominance for negative emotions, suggesting that left-sided amygdala activation may also be integral to emotional responses in anxiety.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Other