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Abstract
The brains ventral visual processing network includes the fusiform gyrus (FG) and lateral occipital cortex (LOC) that, in concert with the amygdala, show enhanced activation during the perception of emotionally arousing scenes. The orbitofrontal cortex shares dense interconnections with amygdala, and has been implicated in naturalistic scene processing in humans, but our understanding of the contributions of this region to emotional perception is poorly defined. Here we present rapid functional imaging data acquired from these ventral brain regions as a group of participants viewed pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant scenes over multiple scanning sessions across three days. Amygdala, FG, and LOC all exhibited enhanced activation in response to emotionally arousing, compared to neutral scenes, while OFC activity showed a marginally significant enhancement by scene arousal. Additionally, the amygdala and FG discriminated arousing scenes prior to such discrimination in LOC, consistent with past work. We also identified bidirectional directional connectivity between the amygdala and both OFC and FG. We found no significant influence of scanning session on the amplitude of affective neural enhancement by essentially novel scenes, thus, activity of the brain regions examined here appears to be resistant to emotional scene habituation. In sum, these data support a perspective in which amygdala and rostral visual regions initiate the discrimination of emotional scenes. This process involves contributions from the orbitofrontal and lateral occipital cortex, and shows a pattern of persistent reactivity that may reflect an evolved adaptation toward sensitivity to survival relevant cues.