Amygdala Flashcards
What structures are included in the limbic system?
The amygdala, cingulate cortex, and hippocampus.
What are the main functions of the amygdala?
Processing and regulating emotions such as fear, anger, anxiety, and joy; recognizing emotions in facial expressions; attaching emotions to memories.
What type of memories is the amygdala important for forming?
Flashbulb memories.
What role does the amygdala play in pain modulation?
It is part of the pain matrix and influences amplification and reduction of pain sensation.
How is the amygdala linked to risk-taking behavior?
It is part of a neural circuitry critical for the experience and expression of emotions related to risky decision-making.
What symptoms are associated with Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
Hyperphagia, hyperorality, reduced fear, hypersexuality, and visual agnosia.
Which researchers identified Kluver-Bucy syndrome?
Kluver and Bucy in 1939.
What psychiatric disorders have been linked to amygdala abnormalities?
- Social anxiety disorder
- Other anxiety disorders
- Major depressive disorder
- PTSD
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Substance use disorders
True or False: The amygdala is involved in recognizing emotions in facial expressions.
True.
Fill in the blank: The amygdala is known to play a key role in _______ responses to pain.
[emotional]
What is hyperphagia?
An excessive appetite or eating behavior.
What is visual agnosia also known as?
Psychic blindness.
What are the functions of the limbic system?
Same as Cingulate cortex
- emotion
- motivation
- memory
Amygdala is mostly related to which emotional reactions?
Fear and Anger
What is psychic blindness also known as?
Visual agnosia.
What is visual agnosia?
An inability to visually recognize familiar objects.
True or False: The amygdala is responsible for recognizing emotions in facial expressions.
True
Fill in the blank: The limbic system includes the amygdala and _______.
hippocampus
What essential functions does the amygdala participate in?
Processing and regulating fear, anger, anxiety, joy, and other emotions
The amygdala is crucial for emotional regulation and recognition.
What type of memories is the amygdala important for forming?
Flashbulb memories
Flashbulb memories are vivid and enduring memories for surprising and shocking events.
Role of the Amygdala in experiencing pain?
The amygdala is part of the
- Pain matrix (areas of the brain responsive to poisonous stimuli)
- It plays a key role in pain modulation (amplification and reduction of the sensation of pain) and
- Emotional responses to pain, especially anxiety and fear
What syndrome is produced by bilateral lesioning of the amygdala, hippocampus, and temporal lobes in rhesus monkeys?
Kluver-Bucy syndrome
Named after researchers Kluver and Bucy who identified the symptoms in 1939.
List the symptoms of Kluver-Bucy syndrome.
- Hyperphagia
- Hyperorality
- Reduced fear
- Hypersexuality
- Visual agnosia (psychic blindness)
These symptoms were noted in rhesus monkeys with specific brain lesions.
True or False: Kluver-Bucy syndrome has only been observed in monkeys.
False
It has also been observed in humans with bilateral temporal lobe lesions that include amygdala lesions.
