the.com/amygdala
the tiny almond in your skull that decides fear before you've finished reading the threat
means The small almond-shaped cluster of neurons deep in each temporal lobe of the brain that processes emotions, especially fear and threat detection.
from Straight from Greek 'amygdalē,' meaning 'almond' — anatomists naming what they saw, a little nut-shaped lump tucked in the brain. The same Greek root gives us 'amygdalin,' the bitter-almond compound, so the word literally calls this fear-center a nut in your head.
- name origin
- Greek for almond, after its shape
- speed demon
- reacts to threats before conscious awareness kicks in
- pair, not one
- you have two, one per hemisphere
- memory glue
- burns emotional moments deeper into recall
- famous patient
- a damaged amygdala can erase fear entirely
for instance
phineas gage tamping iron — 1848 railroad accident damaged frontal lobe and amygdala region, changed his personality from calm to aggressive