Lesioning the amygdala causes blunted affect responses to both positive and negative stimuli. Damage to the amygdala of adult rhesus macaques early in life can permanently alter affective processing. In individuals with schizophrenia with blunted affect neural processes begin in the occipitotemporal region of the brain and go through the ventral visual pathway and the limbic structures until they reach the inferior frontal areas. Individuals with schizophrenia with flat affect show decreased activation in the limbic system when viewing emotional stimuli. Individuals with schizophrenia with blunted affect show activation in the following brain regions when shown emotionally negative pictures: midbrain, pons, anterior temporal pole, and extrastriate visual cortex. Individuals with schizophrenia without blunted affect show activation in the following brain areas when shown emotionally negative pictures: midbrain, pons, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex, anterior temporal pole, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and extrastriate visual cortex. Individuals with schizophrenia with blunted affect show different regional brain activity in fMRI scans when presented with emotional stimuli compared to individuals with schizophrenia without blunted affect. Factor 1 of the Psychopathy Checklist identifies shallow affect as a common attribute of psychopathy. Shallow affect has equivalent meaning to blunted affect. A person with blunted affect, on the other hand, has a significantly reduced intensity in emotional expression". He or she may not react at all to circumstances that usually evoke strong emotions in others. A person with flat affect has no or nearly no emotional expression.
"The difference between flat and blunted affect is in degree. Blunted and Flat Affectīlunted affect is a lack of affect more severe than restricted or constricted affect, but less severe than flat or flattened affect. A restricted or constricted affect is a reduction in an individual's expressive range and the intensity of emotional responses.
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