amygdala
An almond-shaped mass of nerve cells lying deep in the cerebral
hemispheres of the brain. The amygdala
is concerned with decoding emotions, and in particular stimuli that are
threatening to the organism. As a result of evolution, many of our body's
alarm circuits are grouped together in the amygdala. Consequently, many
sensory inputs converge in the amygdala to inform it of potential dangers
in its environment. This sensory information comes to the amygdala either
directly from the sensory thalamus or from
the various sensory cortexes. The amygdala also receives numerous connections
from the hippocampus. Since the hippocampus
is involved in storing and retrieving explicit memories, its connections
to the amygdala may be the origin of strong emotions triggered by particular
memories.
Related category
• ANATOMY
AND PHYSIOLOGY
Sources: Canadian
Institutes of Health, Canadian Institutes of Neurosciences, Mental Health
and Addiction.
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