The bilateral GM Amygdala superficial group R in the Juelich maxprob thr25 2mm Atlas refers to the right superficial nuclear group of the amygdala, a collection of nuclei located in the medial temporal lobe and considered part of the extended olfactory and limbic system. This group is involved in socio-emotional processing, evaluation of social signals, and integration of chemosensory (including olfactory) information with affective states. Cytoarchitectonically, the superficial group comprises nuclei such as the cortical and periamygdaloid areas, characterized by their connectivity with olfactory cortices, limbic regions, and higher-order association cortices. Functionally, this region contributes to emotional learning, social cognition, and modulation of autonomic responses in the context of social and environmental cues. There is no direct Wikipedia article for the “Amygdala superficial group”; a related and encompassing structure is the Amygdala.
The bilateral superficial amygdala (Juelich maxprob thr25 2 mm, GM Amygdala superficial group R/L) has been implicated in several large-scale imaging–genetics and psychiatric GWAS meta-analyses, though most findings target amygdala subregions or overall volume rather than this specific parcellation. Variants in and near genes such as SLC6A4, BDNF, FKBP5, CRHR1, and COMT have repeatedly been associated with structural and functional differences in the amygdala, especially in superficial and basolateral complexes involved in socio-emotional processing, fear, and anxiety. Large GWAS of amygdala volume (e.g., ENIGMA, UK Biobank) have identified multiple loci (e.g., near MAD1L1, DRD2, APOE, and immune-related genes) influencing amygdala size, some with stronger effects in medial/superficial subdivisions, and polygenic risk for disorders such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and anxiety disorders correlates with variation in amygdala structure and reactivity. GWAS of traits closely tied to the superficial amygdala’s functions—such as social anxiety, neuroticism, extraversion, aggression, and fear conditioning—have implicated genes involved in synaptic plasticity, glutamatergic and GABAergic signaling, and neurodevelopment, which in turn show enrichment in amygdala-expressed gene sets. Although few studies report loci specifically mapped to the “Juelich superficial amygdala” label, convergent imaging–genetics evidence links this region’s structure and connectivity to genetic risk architectures for affective and stress-related disorders, social behavior, and emotional temperament, suggesting that many amygdala-related GWAS signals likely exert at least part of their effects via superficial amygdala circuits.
Overview generated by GPT-4o (2026).
Region ID: 12
Hemisphere: bilateral
Atlas: Juelich maxprob thr25 2mm
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Full Quality Version: Download MP4
Wali Sidiqyar*, Gaurav Rudravaram*, Elyssa M. McMaster, Trent M. Schwartz, Adam M. Saunders, Kurt G. Schilling, Bennett A. Landman "Introducing SPINS: A Shared Public Visualization Library of Neuroanatomical Structures." Medical Imaging with Deep Learning- short paper
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