Amygdala : A Powerhouse of Emotions

Ever wondered what part of your brain is actually responsible for - you being scared during a horror movie or the losing of your temper over something that ticked you off?

Well, it’s this almond-shaped mass of grey (a.k.a Amygdala) in your brain, that is responsible for half of the meltdowns you have or have had. If I get into the science of it, then it is a cluster of nuclei (two halves in each hemisphere of the brain) located in the medial temporal lobe, and it’s part of the limbic system (a group of structures linked to the processing of emotions). The limbic system is involved in learning, memory and the experience of pleasure. Anyway, let’s not get too sciency.

So, the Amygdala is named after the Greek word - amygdale, which clearly means almonds. I have always considered my personality to be responsible for me being an emotional wreck, but I never looked into the science of it. Once I started reading up on it, I came across this cheeky little brat, and I realised that this tiny thing is responsible for all those times I have had to face a flight-or-fight situation or blushed when I saw someone cute.

In humans, the amygdala is known to be a sexually dimorphic brain structure - which means that it exhibits different characteristics according to gender. Research says that a male amygdala will shrink almost 30% upon castration. (Ouch!).

Also, the amygdala is more prominent in size in males than it is in females - which is ironic since they identify us girls to be more sensitive and emotional. 🙄

According to psychologists, any damage to the amygdala can lead to animals that are usually docile to behave aggressively and irrationally.

Many disorders or conditions like - anxiety, depression PTSD, phobias and even autism, are associated with malfunctioning of the amygdala. Any injury or abnormal functioning of this tiny structure can lead to many developmental problems and cognitive irregularities.

The study on the functions of the amygdala is still on-going as scientists speculate that amygdala may also be responsible for addiction, social interactions, and consolidation of memories linked to happy or sad events. They obviously don’t have concrete proof for that as research is in process, but we do know that the functions of the amygdala are quite diverse and mysterious.

So the next time you feel a wave of emotions overpowering or overwhelming you and don’t why you know what to blame.

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

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