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Abstract #3648

Self-Regulation of Amygdala Activation with Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback

Vadim Zotev1, Frank Kruger2, Raquel Phillips1, Ruben Alvarez1, W Kyle Simmons1, Pat Bellgowan1, Wayne Drevets1, Jerzy Bodurka1

1Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States; 2Department of Molecular Neuroscience, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States


Real-time fMRI neurofeedback allows a person to self-regulate activation in a specific brain region. We explore feasibility of amygdala activity self-regulation in emotional processing. A custom rtfMRI system was used to measure fMRI activation and provide region-of-interest neurofeedback as a variable-height bar. Twenty-one healthy male subjects were asked to feel happy so as to raise the bar. Eleven subjects experienced left amygdala neurofeedback. Ten received "sham" neurofeedback from the horizontal segment of intraparietal sulcus. Increased left amygdala activation was observed across training runs only with real neurofeedback. Our results demonstrate that healthy subjects can self-regulate amygdala function.