UNDERSTANDING THE AMYGDALA: THE KEY TO EMOTIONAL REGULATION AND MEMORY
- dannyelletansey
- Oct 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 18, 2023
It is crucial to comprehend how your brain reacts to stress triggers to gain control over your reactions and responses.
By doing so, you can minimize the impact of stressors on your overall wellbeing and life satisfaction. In this blog we will explore the Amygdala and the relation to the stress response.
Exploring the Amygdala
The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure located within the limbic system. The limbic system, which is responsible for regulating emotions, behaviour, and memory, is made up of several anatomical structures, including the limbic cortex, cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampal formation, dentate gyrus, hippocampus, subauricular complex, septal area, hypothalamus, and the amygdala. This small, almond-shaped structure is located within the limbic system and is composed of several nuclei grouped into five primary categories: basolateral, cortical-like, central, other amygdaloid, and extended amygdala.
The amygdala regulates the processing of information between prefrontal-temporal association cortices and the hypothalamus through neural circuits. It carries out many functions, including regulating emotional responses such as anxiety, aggression, fear, emotional memory, and social cognition. Additionally, it is involved in the conditioning of stimuli related to appetite and pleasure, including food, sex, and drugs.
The Amygdala and Its Role in Our Responses
The amygdala also plays a crucial role in the acquisition and consolidation of emotionally charged events, and its functions are controlled by two primary output pathways: the dorsal route via stria terminalis that projects to the septal area and hypothalamus, and the ventral route via the ventral amygdalofugal pathway that terminates in the septal area, hypothalamus, and the medial dorsal thalamic nucleus.
The amygdala plays a critical role in our response to stimuli, including perceived threats. It triggers survival instincts that can vary in intensity and can limit our ability to think rationally. Our reactions to people, places, and things are influenced by the amygdala, so it's important to be aware of this response to evaluate situations objectively.
The amygdala is important in information processing and can impact our success in life by activating cognitive functions such as long term decision making and appropriate social actions. However, when activated in reverse, it triggers a fear response, activating the ANS and relying more on instinctive responses from the reptilian brain and in turn impairs rational thinking and leads to thoughts that do not benefit a peaceful life.
The amygdala is responsible for triggering the body's fight-or-flight response when an individual is anxious or threatened. The eyes or ears transmit information to the amygdala, which interprets the sensory input, and if danger is perceived, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, activating the sympathetic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system, controlled by the hypothalamus, communicates with the body through the release of hormones such as epinephrine and cortisol. These hormones cause several physical changes, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. The HPA axis maintains activation of the sympathetic nervous system by using a sequence of hormonal signals. When the danger subsides, cortisol levels decrease, and the parasympathetic nervous system reduces the stress response.
Understanding the Function of the Amygdala in Memory and Emotion Regulation
The amygdala is a crucial component that connects our sensory system, nerves, and
sense organs with brain functions. It stores personal event memories that impact our reactions and acts as a gatekeeper, comparing incoming sensory data with memories linked to emotional events and the resulting feelings. The amygdala serves as the brain's "quick reference guide."
The amygdala is responsible for processing and storing emotions and memories associated with significant events, and quickly prioritizes energy allocation based on the event's similarity to past experiences. It signals the sympathetic nervous system for danger and initiates the fight or flight response, and for pleasurable events, recalls prior experiences and initiates a parasympathetic response.
The autonomic nervous system can trigger programmed responses in our subconscious mind, which may have formed before our conscious mind fully understood them. Our subconscious mind has learned from every input in our lives, including attitudes, beliefs, and education, which may be forgotten by our conscious mind but are still stored in our subconscious
Our sense of smell has the power to evoke deep-seated memories and emotions
The olfactory nerve connects our sense of smell directly to the amygdala, which serves
as a sensory interface between our sense of smell and our brain's library of memories associated with those smells. Certain smells can evoke vivid memories or strong emotions. The amygdala can be quickly activated through smells, either positively or negatively, triggering the sympathetic nervous system or parasympathetic nervous system. This explains why aromatherapy and the use of certain fragrances can consciously influence our mood.
Mastering the amygdala brings Joy
Learning to control the amygdala can lead to a surge in positive emotions such as joy, creativity, and optimized problem-solving. This can result in the release of "feel-good" neurochemicals and the activation of billions of neurons in the frontal lobes, supercharging the mind.
Our reactions are often influenced by our past experiences, rather than the present situation, unless it's a real threat. As we know our fight or flight response is often triggered when we're not in danger, it's crucial to manage our amygdala and perceptions of events to keep the response under control. This will help to prevent the hypothalamus from activating the next stage of the response and enable us to bring the system back to a relaxation response, minimizing the impact of stress.
You can bring the system back to the relaxation response through meditation, EFT, mindfulness, reasoning and other such methods.
Dannyelle specialises in Automatic Nervous System Realignment and Self Healing through the relaxation response. See our services or book a clarity call to have a chat with her
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