This part of the brain is responsible, among other functions, for memory and the management of emotions.
The tonsils of the brain are part of the most important structures of the Central Nervous System.
These sets ofnerve cellsare present in our body in duplicate: each normally developed brain has an amygdala in each of its hemispheres.
On the other hand, these structures are present in all complex vertebrates, and it is believed that this is due to their importance in evolutionary terms, since it seems to carry out very basic and elementary functions for survival.
In this article we will see what these parts of the brain consist of and what are their functions and their implication in the way in which we experienceemotions.
- We recommend:”Human brain: its main parts and functions”
What is the brain amygdala?
A cerebral amygdala, also sometimes called the tonsillar body, is a group of neurons (mainly crowded neuronal somae) located in the deepest part of the temporal lobe of thebrain. This means that, since there is a temporal lobe in each of the cerebral hemispheres, in each brain there are two cerebral tonsils, one on each side.
On the other hand, the tonsils of the brain are part of the limbic system, a set of brain structures and neural networks whose main function has to do with the processing of emotional reactions to what we experience, regardless of whether the stimuli come from the outside or from our memory or imagination.
Thus, the brain tonsils also participate in this process of generation and regulation of emotions, although this does not mean that they are responsible for producing them individually and separately from the rest.
All parts of the brain work in coordination with each other, so emotional reactions can only exist if the tonsils work together with many other areas of the nervous system and even with other parts of the body, especially those involved in the endocrine system.
Parts
These are the main parts of the brain amygdala.
1. Central core
The central core of the amygdalin body is also involved in theprocessing of emotionsand their implications for the actions to be undertaken in the present. It sends nerve projections to many areas of the brain.
2. Medial nucleus
The medial nucleus isinvolved in the processing of information from pheromonesoutside, and is related to the state ofhormonal activationof the organism, coordinating with it.
3. Basolateral complex (or basolateral nuclei)
This set of sub-structures are the basal, accessory-basal and lateral nuclei of the amygdala, whichparticipate in learning from emotional reaction mechanisms.
Functions of this part of the brain
Belowyou will find classified several of the functions attributed to the amygdala.
Keep in mind that there is still much to investigate in this regard, and each of the studies that have been carried out on this subject are very complex to interpret precisely because of what has already been mentioned: it is difficult to know to what extent a function is more dependent on the amygdala taking into account that it always works in conjunction with other structures of the organism.
1. Processing emotions
As already mentioned, the cerebral amygdala participates in the set of nervous structures linked to the experimentation of emotions.
It is believed to have a fundamental role in fear reactions and in anxiety and hyperarousal responses tosituations seen as something dangerous. It has also been seen that they are activated in the interpretation of facial gestures.
On the other hand, in disorders such asmajor depression, Bipolar Disorder or social phobia these structures show activation patterns that are unusual, which makes sense considering that all of them involve the processes of emotional regulation and anxious reaction to specific situations.
In general, it has been seen that the amygdalin bodies are very important when it comes to integrating emotions with each other, causing a preponderant emotion to emerge that “summarizes” our positioning or attitude to an event, and this allows us to have a clear and coherent response to the experiences we experience on a day-to-day basis.
2. Intervention in memory
There are indications that the brain amygdala is involved in the consolidation of memories. In particular, it helps to make them fixed and associated with a certain type of emotion; The more intense that emotion is, the stronger that fixation on long-term memory will be.
As a consequence, the amygdala are also thought to be involved in experiential learning systems, assuming that our emotional reaction to past events predisposes us to act one way or another in the present when exposed to events related to events. the contents of those memories.
For this reason, many investigations analyze the activity of the amygdaloid bodies in relation to experimental conditioning situations.
3. Satisfaction response
The amygdala plays a role in the emergence of the satisfaction reaction , especially in those behaviors related to food intake. This marks the end of a behavior, since feeling satisfied, the motivation to continue doing what we were doing decreases.
4. Intervention in sexual response
As part of the limbic system, the amygdala also contributes a lot to the processes of sexual behavior , providing motivation and predisposition factors (something that does not occur in asexual subjects). In addition, it reacts in a very intense way to the presence of sexual hormones.
5. Management of social relationships
The amygdala is believed to be involved in interpreting the emotional content of other people’s faces , and also to elicit an emotional response to how close others are to us.
6. Communication bridge between other parts of the brain
It should not be forgotten that beyond the mental processes carried out by the amygdala, it also acts as an “intermediate stop” between different regions of the brain .
Specifically, each amygdala communicates through neurons with the diencephalon (specifically, with the thalamus and the hypothalamus), the nucleus accumbens, the locus coerulus, and many others.
Bibliographic references
- Amunts K, Kedo O, Kindler M, Pieperhoff P, Mohlberg H, Shah NJ, Habel U, Schneider F, Zilles K (December 2005). Cytoarchitectonic mapping of the human amygdala, hippocampal region and entorhinal cortex: intersubject variability and probability maps. Anatomy and Embryology. 210(5–6): pp. 343 – 352.
- Cahill, L., Haier, R.J., White, N.S., Fallon, J., Kilpatrick, L., Lawrence, C., Potkin, S.G., Alkire, M.T. (2001). Sex-related difference in amygdala activity during emotionally influenced memory storage. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 75 (1): pp. 1 – 9.
- Killcross S., Robbins T., Everitt, B. (1997). Different types of fear-conditioned behaviour mediated by separate nuclei within amygdala. Nature 388(6640): pp. 377 – 380.
- Phan, K.L., Fitzgerald, D.A., Nathan, P.J., Tancer, M.E. (2006). Association between amygdala hyperactivity to harsh faces and severity of social anxiety in generalized social phobia. Biological Psychiatry. 59(5): 424 – 429.
- Ressler, K.; Davis, M. (2003). Genetics of Childhood Disorders: L. Learning and Memory, Part 3: Fear Conditioning. J. Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42(5): pp. 612 – 615.
- Williams, L.M., Liddell, B.J., Kemp, A.H., Bryant, R.A., Meares, R.A., Peduto, A.S., Gordon, E. (2006). Amygdala-prefrontal dissociation of subliminal and supraliminal fear. Human Brain Mapping. 27 (8): pp. 652 – 61.
- Ziabreva , I. , Poeggel , G. , Schnabel , R. , Braun , K. (2003). Separation-induced receptor changes in the hippocampus and amygdala of Octodon degus: influence of maternal vocalizations. The Journal of Neuroscience. 23 ( 12 ): pp. 131-1 5329 –
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