Amygdala and Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation to Masked Angry Faces in Children and Adolescents With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

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Abstract
Vigilance for threat represents a prominent feature of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).1-4 Neuroimaging research implicates a neural circuit that includes the amygdala and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in vigilance for threat.4-7 Within this circuit, the amygdala is thought to support vigilance through immediate threat processing,8,9 whereas the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex facilitates later processes related to emotion regulation.5,10 Disturbed amygdala–ventrolateral prefrontal cortex interactions are thought to influence anxiety.10