Indeed, many experiments have found that the amygdala is active when people are afraid. But it also activates at other times, for example in response to pleasant photographs and happy faces. The misconception came from how scientists first approached studying the brain. Almost every study of fear finds that the amygdala is active.
Instead, the amygdala seems to be doing something more subtle: processing events that are related to what a person cares about at the moment. But hungry people have increased amygdala activity in response to pictures of food and people who are very empathetic have an amygdala response to seeing other people. But the brain is too complicated for that. Cunningham also thinks many scientists have gotten too attached to a rigid definition of emotions—anger, fear, sadness, happiness, and so on.
However you may feel, it seems that many different parts of the brain are involved. A recent article in my local newspaper cited the observation of a Stanford neuroendocrinologist who claims that overstressed pregnant women secrete a hormone probably Cortisol which results in their offspring having enlarged amygdalae and subsequent hyper anxiety as with panic disorder. Is this true? Please help. APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website.
This link between the amygdala and fear — especially a fear of others unlike us, has gone too far, not only in pop culture, but also in psychological science, say the authors of a new paper which will be published in the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Indeed, many experiments have found that the amygdala is active when people are afraid.
But it also activates at other times, for example in response to pleasant photographs and happy faces. The misconception came from how scientists first approached studying the brain. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Medical Xpress in any form. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties. More information Privacy policy.
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