NewsMine — nature-health — society — amygdala — Viewing Item

Blame region more active shy people { June 19 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2959326 http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2959326 Brain Region More Active in Shy People Thu June 19, 2003 09:20 PM ET By Linda Carroll NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When confronted with a new face, shy people show more activity in an emotion-related brain region compared with more outgoing types, a study released Thursday shows. Young adults who had been deemed "inhibited" as toddlers had a heightened response in the brain region, called the amygdala, when viewing unfamiliar faces, researchers report in the journal Science. The study provides a possible physical explanation for some differences in temperament, according to lead author Dr. Carl E. Schwartz, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "These two temperament types are like two flavors of human beings," Schwartz said in an interview with Reuters Health. "They're not the only two," he added. "There are many, like the list of flavors at Ben and Jerry's." Schwartz and his colleagues used an imaging technique called functional MRI to take a closer look at the relationship between temperament and brain function. The 22 adults who took part in the new research had participated in a study of temperament when they were toddlers, Schwartz explained. At that time, researchers determined whether the children were inhibited or uninhibited using a number of tests. One of the tests involved a battery-operated robot. "A grad student made a little R2D2 robot," Schwartz said. "The uninhibited toddlers would walk up and poke the robot in the eye and say 'duh.' The inhibited child would freeze or even run to his mother." For the new study, Schwartz and his colleagues took brain scans of the 22 participants -- 13 of whom had been categorized as shy toddlers -- as they looked at a series of photographs of six different faces. Next, participants were shown a series of photographs that included the familiar six plus some new ones. While all 22 showed activity in the amygdala when new faces appeared, people who had been labeled shy as toddlers had a greater response in the brain region. Schwartz and his colleagues looked at the amygdala because of its established role in emotion. "It's known to have a central role in processing of stimuli and experiences that have an emotional content," Schwartz said. But, he said, this and other research "suggests a somewhat broader role" for the amygdala in detecting novelty and changes in the environment. SOURCE: Science 2003;300:1952-1953.

Blame region more active shy people { June 19 2003 } Blame shy on amygdala Born shy { June 19 2003 } Children inherited shy temperament Timid toddlers show later brain differences Why toddlers risk mental disorders Files Listed: 6

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.