Description of Amygdala

• Introduction:

  • One in each hemisphere and is located in the medial temporal lobe.
  • Highly connected to other brain structures such as the hippocampus and pre-frontal cortex which together form the limbic system
  • The limbic system is associated with emotions.
• Over active Amygdala:

  • Amygdala detects threat and raises the alert in order to initiate flight or fight response
  • Over active amygdala~ a person may perceive a mild or non-threatening situation as more threatening than it actually is.
  • This can lead to an overly aggressive response.
  • E.g. people who lash out when they believe someone has given them a dirty look.
• Under Active Amygdala:

  • Fail to recognize threatening situations.
  • Cause them to be almost immune to fear conditioning in childhood. e.g. they don't detect the threat associated with a stern look or certain tone of voice.
  • Therefore, they don't learn to regulate their behaviour and can become overly aggressive, fearless and anti-social