Anger in healthy men: A PET study using script-driven imagery

Background: An understanding of the neurobiological basis of normal emotion al processing is useful in formulating hypotheses regarding the pathophysio logy of psychiatric illnesses. Methods: This study examined the mediating functional neuroanatomy of anger in eight healthy men. Narrative scripts were developed from autobiographic al information to inducer anger and neutral states. The subjects imagined t he content of the narrative scripts to induce anger during positron emissio n tomography to measure normalized regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), Psy chophysiologic responses and subjective ratings of Emotional state were mea sured for each condition, Statistical parametric maps were constructed to r eflect the Anger versus Neutral state contrast. Results: Anger was associated with activation of the left orbitofrontal cor tex, right anterior cingulate cortex affective division, and bilateral ante rior temporal poles. Conclusions: These results suggest that the subjective experience of anger is associated with rCBF increases in anterior paralimbic regions of the bra in. Biol Psychiatry 1999;46:466-472 (C) 1999 Society of Biological Psychiat ry.