The adaptive threat bias in anxiety: Amygdala-dorsomedial prefrontal cortex coupling and aversive amplification

► Anxiety adaptively increases vigilance to aversive stimuli. ► We used fMRI to examine emotional face processing during induced anxiety. ► Increased DMPFC-amygdala coupling was associated with increased aversive vigilance. ► Correlates with trait anxiety and may thus drive anxiety disorder vulnerability. ► May be the human homologue of the rodent prelimbic-amygdala circuit.