Amygdala And Its Role In FearUpdated at Aug 28, 2022, 19:13
What is the Amygdala?
The amygdala is a tiny, marble-sized cluster of cells which are located at the base of the brain. The name is Greek and it defines the shape, which is very much like an almond. We should also note that you have two amygdalae, one on each hemisphere of the brain. Both are in close proximity to your hippocampus towards the front portion of your temporal lobe.
Your amygdala helps in determining responses to your environment and this is especially the case where emotions are concerned. For thousands of years, we were under the constant threat of other tribes and wild animals. The Amygdala’s fight or flight response results in emotions like anger, fear and anxiety. This is generally automatic as the strong surge of emotion pushes us to either fight or run away.
The brain’s frontal lobes balance this mechanism out by processing the world around us to make sure that it is a real danger you need to act on right now. But then why is something like speaking to people considered a threat that causes extreme bouts of anxiety for some of us?