The amygdala is a brain structure that is responsible for emotions and is closely related to the learning process and memory. It is one of the main nuclei that make up the limbic system, a complex system that is responsible for the processing and generation of emotions found in what is known as the midbrain.
It is a rather complex structure that, as is the case with almost the entire brain, not all of its functions and implications are yet known, since as scientific research advances, more and more mysteries of the wonderful amygdala complex and its impact are revealed. in the life and survival of mammals.
What is the amygdala?
The amygdala is a subcortical structure that is located in the inner part of the medial temporal lobe of all mammals. It is responsible for controlling everything related to emotions and feelings. Together with other brain structures it makes up the limbic system.
It has a large number of connections that go to the brain, and it is known that in addition to influencing emotions, it plays a fundamental role in the memory process. Being such a complex and important structure, it also has the possibility of affecting the way the entire body and nervous system functions.
It is a key piece of the survival of mammals, as it is responsible for giving a physiological and behavioral response to stimuli, integrating emotions with the established responses they have (behavioral patterns).
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Its importance lies in the fact that it is not only a structure that is responsible for generating emotions in the various situations that arise, but it also has the ability to inhibit behaviors, which has been key to the survival and evolution of mammals. , including human beings.
It is also responsible for the somatic expression that occurs when faced with the emotions that arise and the coordination between these emotions and their feeling in a conscious manner, being a key piece for learning based on emotional experiences.
It is also known as the amygdaloid complex, this is because it is made up of 3 parts, being one of the most complex structures of the brain of which it is not yet possible to fully understand its function and implications for the entire life of the brain. mammals.
Amygdala complex: the 3 parts of the amygdala
The amygdala is made up of 3 parts, as we mentioned before, and they are:
- corticomedial nucleus. It is the part in charge of hormonal control and the capture of pheromones, therefore it has a very important role in the sexual function of mammals, in addition to being the part in charge of producing the feeling of satiety when eating.
- basolateral nuclei. These nuclei are responsible, together with the corticomedial nucleus, for producing satiety. They are also fundamental in learning emotional responses, mainly those related to fear.
- Central core. It is mainly responsible for emotional responses. Its function directly affects the autonomic nervous system and physical responses in relation to emotional responses.
Functions of the amygdala
Like several brain structures, the amygdala has various functions that allow mammals to function and survive. It is important to keep in mind that there are still mysteries regarding all the functions that this complex structure fulfills. Below we will see some of them.
emotional response
The amygdala is not only responsible for producing an emotional response, but is also capable of anticipating it, taking into account the stimuli that are presented, producing physiological reactions that prepare us to inhibit responses or act, such as muscle tension, increased heart rate, increased of breathing, etc.
It has been determined that the amygdala is essential for the perception and production of reactions related to fear; studies have even been carried out using musical processing where it has been observed that patients with lesions in the amygdala are unable to perceive the music that is associated with them. to fear.
Episodic memory
One of the most notable qualities of the amygdala is its function within episodic memory, which helps us remember situations that have been previously experienced. It allows you to remember emotions associated with particular events, especially when they have had a significant emotional impact.
Thanks to this function, we can remember what we were doing in detail, and it even allows us to be able to feel as if we were living certain situations again, mainly those in which fear has been present as a central emotion.
Information processing
The amygdala is the structure that is responsible for collecting all the information around us to determine an emotional response to it that allows us to stay safe, and previous experiences play an important role in this.
For example, if we have been attacked by a dog, we are more likely to be aware of any dog that may be on the street. Our attention is focused on the search for that significant stimulus that is important to us.
Social analysis
On the other hand, through the functions of the amygdala we can determine whether other people are trustworthy or not, through the evaluation and analysis of their face and facial expressions, being fundamental within the process of social cognition.
In this regard, studies such as that of Winston et al. (2002) or the study of Engell et al. (2007), both carried out with brain images, reported that the activity of the amygdala increases when a person faces a dodgy looking face.
And another study, by Adolphs et al (1998), found that patients with bilateral lesions in the amygdala evaluate every face presented to them as trustworthy, and that the amygdala is activated when a person encounters fearful faces. These findings would demonstrate that people perceive an object, in this case a face, as worthy of their trust when the amygdala is not activated.
emotional learning
The amygdala is also responsible for helping the brain to be able to consolidate and subsequently store all the information that has had an implicit emotional impact. The greater the emotional impact, the stronger the learning will be consolidated.
That is why it is easy to remember those things that have been learned or experienced with intense emotions (especially pleasant ones), such as joy, and even more so those that have been learned with fear, since their emotional imprint has been stronger.
References:
- Adolphs, R., Tranel, D. & Damasio, A. The human amygdala in social judgment. Nature 393, 470–474 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/30982
- Andrew D. Engell, James V. Haxby, Alexander Todorov; Implicit Trustworthiness Decisions: Automatic Coding of Face Properties in the Human Amygdala. J Cogn Neurosci 2007; 19 (9): 1508–1519. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2007.19.9.1508
- Winston, J., Strange, B., O’Doherty, J. et al. Automatic and intentional brain responses during evaluation of trustworthiness of faces. Nat Neurosci 5, 277–283 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn816