Reduced amygdala activity during aversive conditioning in human narcolepsy

• Published in: Annals of neurology Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 394 - 398
• Main Authors: Ponz, Aurélie, Khatami, Ramin, Poryazova, Rositsa, Werth, Esther, Boesiger, Peter, Schwartz, Sophie, Bassetti, Claudio L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.03.2010; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Adult; Affective Symptoms - etiology; Affective Symptoms - physiopathology; Amygdala - physiopathology; Attention - physiology; Avoidance Learning - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - analysis; Biomarkers - blood; Brain Mapping; Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology; Emotions - physiology; Fear - physiology; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - analysis; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - blood; Learning Disorders - etiology; Learning Disorders - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Narcolepsy - complications; Narcolepsy - physiopathology; Narcolepsy - psychology; Neurology; Neuropeptides - analysis; Neuropeptides - blood; Neuropsychological Tests; Orexins; Photic Stimulation; Reaction Time - physiology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Young Adult; Human; Nervous system diseases; Amygdala; Sleep disorder; Narcolepsy; Conditioning; Neurological disorder
• ISSN: 0364-5134; 1531-8249; 1531-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/ana.21881

Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a sleep‐wake disorder caused by a loss of hypothalamic hypocretins. Here we assessed the time course of amygdala activation during aversive conditioning in unmedicated patients with narcolepsy. Unlike healthy matched control subjects, narcolepsy patients had no enhancement of amygdala response to conditioned stimuli and no increase in functional coupling between the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that human narcolepsy is accompanied by abnormal emotional learning, and that, in line with animal data, the hypocretin system and the amygdala are involved in this process. ANN NEUROL 2010;67:394–398