Description: This article discusses generalized anxiety modulates frontal and limbic activation in major depression. Abstract: Background: Anxiety is relatively common in depression and capable of modifying the severity and course of depression. Yet our understanding of how anxiety modulates frontal and limbic activation in depression is limited. Methods: The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging and two emotional information processing tasks to examine frontal and limbic activation in ten patients with major depression and comorbid with preceding generalized anxiety (MDD/GAD) and ten non-depressed controls. Results: Consistent with prior studies on depression, MDD/GAD patients showed hypoactivation in medial and middle frontal regions, as well as in the anterior cingulate and insula. However, heightened anxiety in MDD/GAD patients was associated with increased activation in middle frontal regions and the insula and the effects varied with the type of emotional information presented. Conclusions: The authors' findings highlight frontal and limbic hypoactivation in patients with depression and comorbid anxiety and indicate that anxiety level may modulate frontal and limbic activation depending upon the emotional context. One implication of this finding is that divergent findings reported in the imaging literature on depression could reflect modulation of activation by anxiety level in response to different types of ...

Description: This article discusses environmentalism and ways in which dharmic methods can help save the planet. While most Americans are familiar with the terms such as "yoga" and "Bollywood," Indian perspectives toward the ecology seem to be largely unknown.

Description: This article reviews the book Habits of the Heartland: Small-Town Life in Modern America by Lyn C. MacGregor. Based on Lyn C. MacGregor's dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Habits of the Heartland is an ethnographic study of Viroqua, a small town approximately 4,000 residents in southwestern Wisconsin. MacGregor's two years living in Viroqua was time well spent: she collected a great deal of ethnographic and interview data, and her arguments regarding the town's social divisions are generally convincing and well supported as a result. MacGregor comes across as a trustworthy guide to Viroqua, and the book is well written and genuinely edifying.

Description: This article discusses amygdala involvement in human avoidance, escape and approach behavior. Abstract: Many forms of psychopathology and substance abuse problems are characterized by chronic ritualized forms of avoidance and escape behavior that are designed to control or modify external or internal (i.e., thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations) threats. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation, the authors examined amygdala reactivity to threatening cues when avoidance responding consistently prevented contact with an upcoming aversive event (money loss). In addition, the authors examined escape responding that terminated immediate escalating money loss and approach responding that produced a future money gain. Results showed cues prompting avoidance, escape and approach behavior recruited a similar fronto-striatal-parietal network. Within the amygdala, bilateral activation was observed to threatening avoidance and escape cues, even though money loss was consistently avoided, as well as to the reward cue. The magnitude of amygdala responses within-subjects was relatively similar to avoidance, escape and approach cues, but considerable between-subject differences were found. The heightened amygdala response to avoidance and escape cues observed within a subset of subjects suggests threat related responses can be maintained even when aversive events are consistently avoided, which may account for the persistence of avoiding-coping in various clinical ...

Description: This article discusses neural systems supporting avoidance behavior in healthy youths. Active avoidance involving controlling and modifying threatening situations characterizations many forms of clinical pathology, particularly childhood anxiety. Presently our understanding of the neural systems supporting human avoidance is largely based on nonhuman research. Establishing the generality of nonhuman findings to healthy children is a needed first step towards advancing developmental affective neuroscience research on avoidance in childhood anxiety. Accordingly, this investigation examined brain activation patterns to threatening cues that prompted avoidance in healthy youths. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, fifteen youths (ages 9-13) completed a task that alternatively required approach or avoidance behaviors. On each trial either a threatening 'Snake' cue or a 'Reward' cue advanced towards a bank containing earned points. Directional buttons enabled subjects to move cues away from (Avoidance) or towards the bank (Approach). Avoidance cues elicited activation in regions hypothesized to support avoidance in nonhumans (amygdala, insula, striatum and thalamus). Results also highlighted that avoidance response rates were positively correlated with amygdala activation and negatively correlated with insula and anterior cingulate activation. Moreover, increased amygdala activity was associated with decreased insula and anterior cingulate activity. Our results suggest nonhuman neurophysiological research findings on avoidance may ...