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amygdala

The image shows the opiod system in the brain.

Featured Psychology

·October 10, 2013·5 min read

Sticks and Stones: Brain Releases Natural Painkillers During Social Rejection

Researchers find the opioid system responds to social rejection, not just physical pain.

This drawing is a human outline with a brain and stomach connection shown.

Featured Neurology

·September 26, 2013·4 min read

Scientists Identify Brain Circuitry Which Triggers Overeating

Researchers have pinpointed the precise cellular connections responsible for triggering overeating.

This fMRI scan shows the location of the amygdala in the brain.

Featured Psychology

·September 22, 2013·3 min read

Calming Fear During Sleep

Researchers reduce fear by exposing people to the memory over and over while they slept. The finding could provide a new treatment option for those who suffer from phobias.

This shows neuron expressions in the amgydala and hippocampus.

Featured Psychology

·August 21, 2013·3 min read

Brain Circuit Can Tune Anxiety

Researchers have discovered a communication pathway between the amygdala and ventral hippocampus which appears to control anxiety. The findings could help pinpoint better targets for anti-anxiety treatments.

The fMRI image shows the elevated activity in the amygdala in children with depression.

Featured Psychology

·July 1, 2013·3 min read

Brain Differences Seen in Depressed Preschoolers

The amygdala, an area of the brain which regulates emotion, works differently in preschoolers with depression compared to their health peers, a new study suggests.

This illustration shows the anatomy of the brain with the auditory cortex highlighted in green.

Featured Psychology

·June 30, 2013·4 min read

Researchers Discover Link Between Fear and Sound Perception

Researchers have discovered how fear can increase or decrease the ability to discriminate among sounds, depending upon context. The study provides insight into distorted sound perception with victims of PTSD.

The MRI scan highlights the location of the amygdala

Featured Psychology

·June 26, 2013·3 min read

Tired and Edgy? Sleep Deprivation Boosts Anticipatory Anxiety

A new study finds sleep deprivation could play a role in ramping up specific brain regions which contribute to excessive worrying.

This image shows a brain with a glass of an alc

Featured Neuroscience

·June 24, 2013·4 min read

Addiction Relapse Might Be Thwarted By Turning Off Brain Trigger

Researchers have been able to identify and deactivate a brain pathway liked to memories associated with alcohol cravings in rats.

The diagram shows the location of the amygdala in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 12, 2013·4 min read

Researchers Point to Brain’s ‘Dark Side’ as Key to Cocaine Addiction

A new study provides evidence that the central amygdala, an area of the brain associated with emotion, plays a major role in sustaining cocaine addiction.

The image shows brain scans of damage to the amgydala. The caption explains this best.

Featured Neurology

·February 4, 2013·4 min read

Human Brain is Divided on Fear and Panic

A new study provides proof that the amygdala is not the only gatekeeper of fear in the human brain. Other regions, such as the brainstem, diencephalon, or insular cortex, could sense the body’s most primal inner signals of danger when basic survival is threatened.

The image shows Courney Miller, the lead researcher for this memory research.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 30, 2013·2 min read

Scientists Uncover a Previously Unknown Mechanism of Memory Formation

A recent study indicates microRNAs may play a far more important role in memory formation than previously thought. The research suggests microRNA—miR-182 is involved in developing memory in the amgydala.

Amygdala is shown and the image is explained well in the caption

Featured Neuroscience

·January 28, 2013·4 min read

Neuroscientists Pinpoint Location of Fear Memory in Amygdala

Researchers examine the how fear responses are learned, controlled, and memorized. They show that a particular class of neurons in a subdivision of the amygdala plays an active role in these processes.