Regional brain responses to pleasant and unpleasant IAPS pictures: Different networks

► Amygdala and hippocampus show greater activation in the processing of negative emotions than in positive emotions. ► Processing of negative and positive involves different brain regions. ► fMRI can differentiate functionally between positive and negative emotions. ► fMRI might be objective diagnostic tool for some psychiatric conditions. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the brain circuitry involved in the processing of both positive and negative emotions in normal healthy subjects. Method: we have recruited 15 healthy volunteers (9 males and 6 females, age range 30–60). In this block-design fMRI study, we compared the blood oxygen level dependant (BOLD) signal change as response to pleasant and unpleasant IAPS pictures, each compared to a neutral condition. Results: Pleasant pictures versus neutral condition contrast demonstrated significant activation (pFDRcorrected