from Pixabay.com
The amygdala are two tonsil shaped groups of cells located deep within the temporal lobes of the brain. They are responsible for regulating emotion, processing memory, and helping with split second decision making.
It’s believed that the amygdala help coordinate a link between emotions and learning, called emotional learning. Studies have shown those with dysfunctions of the amygdala have trouble with concentration and memory compared to those with fully functioning amygdala when reading a story concerning strong emotions and then expected to answer comprehension questions about it.
Individuals with larger amygdalas were found to have larger social networks and more friends compared to those with smaller amygdalas. This leads to the theory that the size of the amygdala can change – shrinking or enlarging over time. Stimulation of the amygdala has also been shown to produce aggressive behaviors
The amygdala also plays a large part in anxiety disorders. On scans, the amygdala lights up when someone is experiencing stress or anxiety. It causes the body to release adrenaline which then courses through the body – helping it respond to perceived threats. This can also cause problems however. When this limbic system malfunctions – such as in anxiety disorders or PTSD, the body is flooded with adrenaline when there is no real threat. Could medications regulating this action of the amygdala be a possible treatment for these disorders? People diagnosed with bipolar disorder were also found to have more activity in their amygdalas.
The amygdala is certainly an important part of our brains! It regulates hormones released into our bodies, including adrenaline and helps with our learning. It can even possibly change size over time. By studying these small tonsil like areas of our brain – scientists will learn more about human emotion and how our fight or flight reflex is governed.
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I have read that a roughly almond-shaped mass of grey matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions. Your amygdala are essential to your ability to feel certain emotions and to perceive them in other people. This includes fear and the many changes that it causes in the body.
If you are being followed at night by a suspect-looking individual and your heart is pounding, chances are that your amygdala are very active!
In certain studies, researchers have directly stimulated the amygdalae of patients who were undergoing brain surgery, and asked them to report their impressions. The subjective experience that these patients reported most often was one of imminent danger and fear. In studies of the very small number of patients who have had had only their amygdala destroyed (as the result of a stroke, for example), they recognized the facial expressions of every emotion except fear.
In fact, the amygdala seems to modulate all of our reactions to events that are very important for our survival. Events that warn us of imminent danger are therefore very important stimuli for the amygdala, but so are events that signal the presence of food, sexual partners, rivals, children in distress, and so on.
That is why the amygdala has so many connections with several other structures in the brain.