The amygdala, also known as the amygdala body or cerebral amygdala, is a set of neurons located in the temporal lobe of our brain. Specifically, it is part of the limbic system and its function consists of the processing and regulation of emotions, memory, structuring and storing memories, among other functions. That is why many people want “relax” the amygdala. This is divided into three parts: the basolateral group, the centromedial nucleus and the cortical nucleus. It is connected to the prefrontal cortex, in order to connect emotions with different situations and behaviors.
Keep reading this Psychology-Online article to discover if you can have an inflamed brain amygdala, how to regulate the amygdala and find out if you can reduce activity in the brain amygdala.
Can you have an inflamed brain amygdala?
Like other parts of the brain, the tonsil can become inflamed. This is due to excess fluid accumulation in that area. This can occur after trauma or due to some type of illness or infection. The accumulated fluids can be from blood after the rupture of blood vessels or from necrosis of neurons. It can also cause brain inflammation.
The damage due to this inflammation can vary, from memory problems to the inability to recognize emotions in others or the inability to adapt emotional expression to different events or situations. These differences in the consequences of damage to the brain’s amygdala are due to which part or parts are damaged. If, for example, the damaged area is the efferent pathways, the problem will be the emotional expression in different situations. If, on the other hand, what is damaged are the afferent pathways, there will be an inability to understand the emotions that others are expressing. This damage to the amygdala can be a serious problem that leads to social isolation.
How to regulate the amygdala
Regulating the cerebral amygdala refers, roughly speaking, to the regulation of emotions. If you learn to regulate and manage your emotions better, you learn to regulate the amygdala. This is done with time, consistency and effort.
One of the ways to regulate it is by distancing ourselves from thoughts. These are the main causes of emotions: we are not affected by a situation, but by what we think and interpret about it.
By understanding thoughts as simple thoughts, you manage to make the emotions not so intense and the amygdala regulate itself. It has different cognitive defusion exercises that serve this cause. As we mentioned, it is about seeing thoughts for what they are, simple thoughts, having them as a radio in the background and not letting them dominate the way we see reality and, therefore, our emotions. In this article you will find more information about .
Can the activity of the brain’s amygdala be reduced?
An overactive amygdala is a symptom of high feelings of anxiety, fear or stress. Therefore, to reduce the activity of the brain’s amygdala, we have to manage these anxiety states. Let’s see how to reprogram the brain amygdala through 4 techniques:
- physical exercise. Doing activities that distract us, that release endorphins and that we like, such as sports, is a very good option to reduce the activity of the amygdala.
- Relaxing activities. On the other hand, there are people who prefer to relax by taking a walk, reading or doing some type of meditation. You can also learn to relax the amygdala. Ideally, you should try different options and discover which one works best for you.
- Observation of thought. On the other hand, in the previous section we talked about cognitive defusion. Although its intention is not to relax the person, but to prevent thoughts from dominating how we feel, in a certain way it can help reduce anxiety.
- Full attention. The same thing happens with mindfulness-type relaxations, their main function is not to reduce anxiety but sometimes, as is the case with . This consists of tensing and then relaxing each muscle in the body, one by one, until the body is completely relaxed.
All these exercises help ensure that there are no different stimuli that can alter and, therefore, activate the amygdala, but rather the only stimulus there is is the activity we are doing, so there is much less chance of this occurring. hyperactivity that we mentioned.
For more tips and techniques, check out the following article on .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
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- Davis, M. (1992). The Role Of The Amygdala In Fear And Anxiety. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 15(1), 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.15.1.353
- de León, FCP, Rivera, AP, & Castro-Sierra, E. (2006). Neurotransmitters of the limbic system. Amygdala. Second part. Mental Health, 29(1), 51-55.
- Tye, KM, Prakash, R., Kim, SY, Fenno, LE, Grosenick, L., Zarabi, H., … Deisseroth, K. (2011). Amygdala circuitry mediating reversible and bidirectional control of anxiety. Nature, 471(7338), 358–362. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09820