Biological Explanation 2: Role Of The Amygdala Flashcards
What is the amygdala?
Structure in the brain made of ‘grey matter’, a collection of neuron cell bodies densely packed together into a cluster of 13 nuclei.
Where is the amygdala located?
Medial temporal lobe of the brain and is part of a wider collection of brain structures called the limbic system
What is the amygdala neurally linked to?
Hypothalamus, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Therefore it has a widespread influence on brain functioning and on behaviours associated with emotion, motivation and social interactions.
What does the amygdala play a major role in?
How we assess and respond to environmental threats, hence it’s importance in determining aggressive behaviour.
Emil Coccaro Et al. (2007)
Investigated the effects of the amygdala on aggression by studying people with intermittent explosive disorder (IED), a common symptom of which is outbursts of reactive aggression. Each participant viewed images of faves at the time as having fMRI scan of their brain.
What did they find in Emil’s study?
There was a key difference between these participants and non-IEDA accent Controls. The participants with IED showed high levels of amygdala activity when they viewed angry faces.
What do the findings of Emil’s study suggest?
Demonstrates an association between amygdala activity and processing of aggressive emotions- abs the study had high realism because an angry facial expression is an everyday signal of threat.
