NEURAL CORRELATES OF SELF-INDUCED DYSPHORIA

Objective: The authors explored the question of whether acute, transie nt changes in mood are reflected in activation of discrete neuronal sy stems in the human brain. Method: Using positron emission tomography, they measured the regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) of seven psychiat rically healthy subjects under two conditions. During the control cond ition the subjects were resting with their eyes closed. During the act ive condition, with their eyes still closed, they were asked to imagin e or recall a situation that would make them feel very sad. They were explicitly asked to experience sadness and to avoid any feelings of an ger or anxiety. Results: There were significant differences in regiona l CBF measured during the control condition and during the active cond ition, particularly in the inferior and orbitofrontal cortices. Women showed bilateral inferior and orbitofrontal activation, but men displa yed predominantly left-sided activation in these areas. Conclusions: T he authors conclude that the inferior and orbitofrontal cortices play an important role in normal emotional cognitive processes.