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Katherine McMullin

Bio: Katherine McMullin is an academic researcher from Harvard University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Functional magnetic resonance imaging & Functional imaging. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 12 publications receiving 1984 citations. Previous affiliations of Katherine McMullin include Washington University in St. Louis.

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TL;DR: These results provide evidence for exaggerated amygdala responsivity, diminished medial prefrontal cortexresponsivity, and a reciprocal relationship between these 2 regions during passive viewing of overtly presented affective stimuli unrelated to trauma in PTSD.
Abstract: Background: Previous functional neuroimaging studies have demonstrated exaggerated amygdala responses and diminished medial prefrontal cortex responses during the symptomatic state in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objectives: To determine whether these abnormalities also occur in response to overtly presented affective stimuli unrelated to trauma; to examine the functional relationship between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex and their relationship to PTSD symptom severity in response to these stimuli; and to determine whether responsivity of these regions habituates normally across repeated stimulus presentations in PTSD.

908 citations

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TL;DR: Cortical parcellation of magnetic resonance imaging data was performed to test for volumetric differences in pregenual ACC and SC, and results are consistent with contemporary schemes regarding functional and structural dissection of frontal cortex, and suggest specific regional cortical pathology in PTSD.
Abstract: Different subterritories of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and adjacent ventromedial frontal cortex have been shown to serve distinct functions. This scheme has influenced contemporary pathophysiologic models of psychiatric disorders. Prevailing neurocircuitry models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) implicate dysfunction within pregenual ACC and subcallosal cortex (SC), as well as amygdala and hippocampus. In the current study, cortical parcellation of magnetic resonance imaging data was performed to test for volumetric differences in pregenual ACC and SC, between women with PTSD and trauma-exposed women without PTSD. The PTSD group exhibited selectively decreased pregenual ACC and SC volumes. These results are consistent with contemporary schemes regarding functional and structural dissection of frontal cortex, and suggest specific regional cortical pathology in PTSD.

284 citations

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TL;DR: The results suggest that at least one primary function of the amygdala is to detect and process unexpected or unfamiliar events that have potential biological import, of which stimuli symbolic of fear or threat are but one possible example.

228 citations

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TL;DR: These results replicate previous smaller studies showing aberrant hippocampal recruitment in OCD during SRT performance and suggest that this inconsistency may be attributable to differences among OCD symptom dimensions.

153 citations

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TL;DR: It is speculated that the signal changes to neutral faces in the amygdala and SI with respect to condition (multiple or single faces) and stimulus order may relate to the involvement of these structures in novelty detection and the orienting response.

142 citations


Cited by
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TL;DR: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies of posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and fear conditioning in healthy individuals provided neuroimaging evidence for common brain mechanisms in anxiety disorders and normal fear.
Abstract: Objective: The study of human anxiety disorders has benefited greatly from functional neuroimaging approaches. Individual studies, however, vary greatly in their findings. The authors searched for common and disorder-specific functional neurobiological deficits in several anxiety disorders. The authors also compared these deficits to the neural systems engaged during anticipatory anxiety in healthy subjects. Method: Functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and fear conditioning in healthy individuals were compared by quantitative meta-analysis. Included studies compared negative emotional processing to baseline, neutral, or positive emotion conditions. Results: Patients with any of the three disorders consistently showed greater activity than matched comparison subjects in the amygdala and insula, structures linked to negative emotional responses. A similar pattern was observed during f...

2,848 citations

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TL;DR: Several components through which mindfulness meditation exerts its effects are explored, suggesting that the mechanisms described here work synergistically, establishing a process of enhanced self-regulation.
Abstract: Cultivation of mindfulness, the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment, produces beneficial effects on well-being and ameliorates psychiatric and stress-related symptoms. Mindfulness meditation has therefore increasingly been incorporated into psychotherapeutic interventions. Although the number of publications in the field has sharply increased over the last two decades, there is a paucity of theoretical reviews that integrate the existing literature into a comprehensive theoretical framework. In this article, we explore several components through which mindfulness meditation exerts its effects: (a) attention regulation, (b) body awareness, (c) emotion regulation (including reappraisal and exposure, extinction, and reconsolidation), and (d) change in perspective on the self. Recent empirical research, including practitioners’ self-reports and experimental data, provides evidence supporting these mechanisms. Functional and structural neuroimaging studies have begun to explore the neuroscientific processes underlying these components. Evidence suggests that mindfulness practice is associated with neuroplastic changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, temporo-parietal junction, fronto-limbic network, and default mode network structures. The authors suggest that the mechanisms described here work synergistically, establishing a process of enhanced self-regulation. Differentiating between these components seems useful to guide future basic research and to specifically target areas of development in the treatment of psychological disorders.

2,109 citations

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TL;DR: A meta-analytic summary of the neuroimaging literature on human emotion finds little evidence that discrete emotion categories can be consistently and specifically localized to distinct brain regions, and finds evidence that is consistent with a psychological constructionist approach to the mind.
Abstract: Researchers have wondered how the brain creates emotions since the early days of psychological science. With a surge of studies in affective neuroscience in recent decades, scientists are poised to answer this question. In this target article, we present a meta-analytic summary of the neuroimaging literature on human emotion. We compare the locationist approach (i.e., the hypothesis that discrete emotion categories consistently and specifically correspond to distinct brain regions) with the psychological constructionist approach (i.e., the hypothesis that discrete emotion categories are constructed of more general brain networks not specific to those categories) to better understand the brain basis of emotion. We review both locationist and psychological constructionist hypotheses of brain-emotion correspondence and report meta-analytic findings bearing on these hypotheses. Overall, we found little evidence that discrete emotion categories can be consistently and specifically localized to distinct brain regions. Instead, we found evidence that is consistent with a psychological constructionist approach to the mind: A set of interacting brain regions commonly involved in basic psychological operations of both an emotional and non-emotional nature are active during emotion experience and perception across a range of discrete emotion categories.

1,702 citations

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TL;DR: Additional research will be needed to clarify the exact role of each component of the fear circuitry in the anxiety disorders, determine whether functional abnormalities identified in the Anxiety disorders represent acquired signs of the disorders or vulnerability factors that increase the risk of developing them, and use functional neuroimaging to predict treatment response and assess treatment-related changes in brain function.

1,617 citations