| Abstract |
| The purpose of this study was to investigate the neural substrates for recognizing facial expressions among alcoholics by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Abstinent inpatient alcoholics (n=18 males) and demographically similar social drinkers (n=16 males) participated in the study. The participants viewed pictures from the Japanese Female Facial Expression Database (JAFFE) and evaluated intensity of facial expressions. the alcoholics had a reduced activation in the limbic areas including amygdala and hippocampus while recognizing the emotional facial expressions compared to the nonalcoholic controls. On the other hand, the alcoholics showed greater brain activations than the controls in the left lingual (BA 19)/fusiform gyrus, the left middle frontal gyrus (BA 8/9/46), and the right superior parietal lobule (BA 7) during the viewing of emotional faces. In sum, specific brain regions were identified that are associated with recognition of facial expressions among alcoholics. The implication of the present study could be used in developing intervention for alcoholism. |
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| Key Words |
| 알코올 중독자, 얼굴 표정 인식, 뇌 활성화, fMRI, Alcoholics, Recognition of Facial Expressions, Brain Activation |
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