anomalous hypothalamic responses to humor in cataplexy异常下丘脑对幽默的反应在猝倒.pdfVIP

Anomalous Hypothalamic Responses to Humor in Cataplexy 1 1 1 2 1,3 2 Allan L. Reiss *, Fumiko Hoeft , Adam S. Tenforde , Wynne Chen , Dean Mobbs , Emmanuel J. Mignot 1 Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America, 2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Narcolepsy, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America, 3 MRC-Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom Abstract Background: Cataplexy is observed in a subset of patients with narcolepsy and affects approximately 1 in 2,000 persons. Cataplexy is most often triggered by strong emotions such as laughter, which can result in transient, yet debilitating, muscle atonia. The objective of this study was to examine the neural systems underlying humor processing in individuals with cataplexy. Methodology/Principal Findings: While undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), we showed ten narcolepsy-cataplexy patients and ten healthy controls humorous cartoons. In addition, we examined the brain activity of one subject while in a full-blown cataplectic attack. Behavioral results showed that participants with cataplexy rated significantly fewer humorous cartoons as funny compared to controls. Concurrent fMRI showed that patients, when compared to controls and in the absence of overt cataplexy symptoms, showed pronounced activity in the emotional