How Does the Amyglada (A Part of the Brain) Work?

by Hellraiser Media

Question by Psycho-logist: How does the amyglada (a part of the brain) work?
I am especially interested in amygladas supposed function as the “fear center” of the brain.

Best answer:

Answer by Ahmad
In humans, the emotional nature of stimuli appears to have a complex influence on long-term declarative memory for those stimuli: Whereas emotion enhances memory for gist, it may suppress memory for detail. On the basis of prior studies, the authors hypothesized that the amygdala helps mediate the above 2 effects. Long-term memory for gist and for visual detail of aversive and neutral scenes was assessed in 20 subjects with unilateral amygdala damage and 1 rare subject with bilateral amygdala damage. Comparisons with 2 control groups (15 brain-damaged and 47 healthy) provided evidence that bilateral, but not unilateral, damage to the amygdala results in poorer memory for gist but superior memory for visual details. The pattern of findings provides preliminary support for the idea that the amygdala may help filter the encoding of relevant information from stimuli that signal threat or danger.

Answer by smiles101
The amygdala seems to respond to severe traumas with an un-erasable fear response (“post-traumatic stress disorder“, or PTSD). It seems to be genetically different and “wired” for a higher level of fear in some individuals, such as those with panic disorder. And it recently has been shown to be larger in some people with bipolar disorder, though what that means is still a mystery.
Two major bundles of fibers connect the amygdala with other areas of the brain: the stria terminalis and the ventral amygdalofugal pathway.

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“STRESS-CENTER” CJSC – stress center.