Role of the amygdala

• Amygdala is located in the medial temporal lobe of the brain and part of a wider collection of brain structures called the limbic system
• a collection of neuron cell bodies densely packed together into a cluster of 13 nuclei
• The amygdala is highly connected,it is neurally linked to the hypothalamus,hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.It has a widespread influence on brain functioning and on behaviours associated with emotion,motivation and social interaction
• Plays a major role in determining aggressive behaviour as it plays a role in how we assess environmental threats
• Role of the amygdala in aggression comes from research of Intermittent explosive disorder(IED),people with this disorder are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour,in particular violent crime.High levels of amygdala activity may cause the disorder
• Coccaro et al


  studied the impact of the amygdala on aggression in individuals with IED using fMRI scans while participants viewed faces.They found that higher amygdala activity when people with IED when they viewed angry faces.

  Links amygdala activity with processing aggressive emotions
• Matthies et al


  explored the connection between amygdala size and aggression.

  Their findings suggested that the volume of the amygdala could be significant indicator of aggressiveness in humans
• Gao et al


  highlight that as children,we learn to control aggression through fear conditioning,a process involving the amygdala

  If the amygdala is dysfunctional,a child may struggle to recognise social cues indicating threat,leading to a failure in linking punishment to aggressive behaviour.

  This can lead to individuals with amygdala dysfunction appearing fearless,overly aggressive and antisocial.
• Feinstein et al


  examined a rare case of a woman named SM with lesions in both amygdalae,causing her inability to experience fear
• Glenn et al


  found a link between psychopathy and reduced amygdala activity during decision-making in emotionally charged situations.

  The amygdala typically responds to signs of distress,curbing antisocial behaviour.In psychopaths this system is disrupted,enabling impulsiveness,aggressive behaviour and involvement in crime without any guilt
• Egger and Flynn


  studied amygdala stimulation in cats,when the amygdala was stimulated the cat killed the rat.

  Different amygdala stimulation caused the cat to attack the experimenter and not the rat