This article describes how to record amygdala activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG). In addition this article will describe how to conduct trace fear conditioning without awareness, a task that activates the amygdala. It will cover 3 topics: 1) Designing a trace conditioning paradigm using backward masking to manipulate awareness. 2) Recording brain activity during the task using magnetoencephalography. 3) Using source imaging to recover signal from subcortical structures.
Balderston, N. L., Schultz, D. H., Baillet, S., Helmstetter, F. J. How to Detect Amygdala Activity with Magnetoencephalography using Source Imaging. J. Vis. Exp. (76), e50212, doi:10.3791/50212 (2013).