Emotions, Aggression, & Stress: Brain Regions Involved

Made by @agreyr

Amygdala

Threat detection/appraisal

Responsible for the evaluation of emotion-relevant aspects of a stimulus

Limbic system

Maintain amygdala response or dial it back

Processes higher order information and monitors appropriate amygdala activation

How the system works

Low Road: eye —> thalamus —> amygdala

High Road: eye —> thalamus —> cortex —> amygdala

Evidence for brain regions

Klüver-Bucy Syndrome, Urbach-Wiethe Disease, Sham Rage, fear conditioning

Klüver-Bucy Syndrome

Bilateral amygdala damage causes emotional changes including a reduction of fear and anxiety; initially found in monkeys

Urbach-Wiethe Disease

Calcification of the amygdala leads to the inability to recognize expressions of fear and danger; also a lack of fear

Sham Rage

Cats and dogs with their cortex removed show extreme and unfocused aggressive responses; hypothalamus must remain intact when cortex is removed

Fear conditioning

Establishment of fear response to a previously neutral stimulus (tone); the tone alone comes to elicit freezing and enhanced startle