脑电图研究结果揭示了恐惧如何在大脑中传递

"We have known for a long time that the brain prioritizes threatening information over other cognitive processes," explained Bambi DeLaRosa, study lead author. "These findings show us how this happens. Theta wave activity starts in the back of the brain, in it's fear center -- the amygdala -- and then interacts with brain's memory center -- the hippocampus -- before traveling to the frontal lobe where thought processing areas are engaged. At the same time, beta wave activity indicates that the motor cortex is revving up in case the feet need to move to avoid the perceived threat."
“我们很早就知道大脑对威胁信息的敏感度要高于其他认知过程，”该研究的首席作者Bambi DeLaRosa解释道。“这些发现向我们展示了它是如果发生的。θ波活动开始于位于大脑后部的恐惧中心——杏仁核——然后在前往思维加工区域，大脑额叶之前，与大脑记忆中心——海马体——相互作用。同时，β波活动表明，在需要移动位置以避免威胁时，运动皮层加速加速运转。”

For the study, 26 adults (19 female, 7 male), ages 19-30 were shown 224 randomized images that were either unidentifiably scrambled or real pictures. Real pictures were separated into two categories: threatening (weapons, combat, nature or animals) and non-threatening (pleasant situations, food, nature or animals).
在这项研究中，给予年龄在19岁到30岁之间的26个成年人(19个女性，7个男性) 224随机影像，要么是无法辨认的乱码，要么是真实的图片。真实的图片被分为两类：具有威胁性的(武器、战斗、自然或动物)和的不具有威胁性的(愉快的场景、食品、自然或动物)。

While wearing an EEG cap, participants were asked to push a button with their right index finger for real items and another button with their right middle finger for nonreal/scrambled items. Shorter response times were recorded for scrambled images than the real images. There was no difference in reaction time for threatening versus non-threatening images.
在戴着脑电图帽的同时，参与者被要求用右手食指按下按钮以看到真实图片，另用右手中指按另一个按钮以看到不真实的图片或乱码。乱码图像比真正的图像记录的响应时间更短。威胁性图片和不具威胁性的图片在反应时间上没有差别。

EEG results revealed that threatening images evoked an early increase in theta activity in the occipital lobe (the area in the brain where visual information is processed), followed by a later increase in theta power in the frontal lobe (where higher mental functions such as thinking, decision-making, and planning occur). A left lateralized desynchronization of the beta band, the wave pattern associated with motor behavior (like the impulse to run), also consistently appeared in the threatening condition.
脑电图结果表明威胁图片诱发枕叶（大脑中处理视觉信息的区域）中的θ波活动早期增加，紧随其后的是枕叶区域（更高级的心理机能，如思考、决策和计划，在这里发生）θ波的增加。β波左单侧性的去同步化，与运动行为(如脉冲运行)相关的波动行为，也一再出现在威胁情况下。

This study will serve as a foundation for future work that will explore normal versus abnormal fear associated with an object in other atypical populations including individuals with PTSD.
本研究将成为未来研究工作的基础，将在其他非典型人群中，包括在患有创伤后应激障碍的人群中，探索与一个对象相联系的正常和不正常的恐惧。

This work was supported by the Berman Laboratory of Learning and Memory at The University of Texas at Dallas and the Jane and Bud Smith Distinguished Chair.
这项工作是达拉斯德州大学的学习和记忆伯曼实验室、Jane和Bud Smith特聘教授提供支持。