%0 Case Reports
%T Case report: stimulation of the right amygdala induces transient changes in affective bias.
%A Bijanki KR
%A Kovach CK
%A McCormick LM
%A Kawasaki H
%A Dlouhy BJ
%A Feinstein J
%A Jones RD
%A Howard MA
%J Brain Stimul
%V 7
%N 5
%D Sep-Oct 2014
%M 24972588
%F 9.184
%R 10.1016/j.brs.2014.05.005
%X BACKGROUND: Sensitive outcome measures are needed to quantify the effects of neuromodulation in mood disorders.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the utility of a novel affective bias (AB) task in identifying transient mood changes induced by amygdala stimulation in a single rare participant.
METHODS: Localized, pulsed electrical stimulation was delivered for 8 min during measures of AB and self-reported mood. Responses were compared with those gathered without stimulation on the same day in the same setting, using paired t-tests.
RESULTS: Stimulation of the basolateral nucleus of the right amygdala at 50 Hz, 15 V, and 200 μs pulse-width produced a significant positive shift in AB (t = -2.864, df = 53, P = .006), despite equivocal findings on self-reported mood (t = -.184, df = 12, P = .857).
CONCLUSIONS: Affective bias may be more sensitive to stimulation-induced fluctuations in mood than subjective report, suggesting utility as an outcome measure in neuromodulation studies.