ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -The amygdala is known to play an important role in the response to facial expressions that convey fear. However, it remains unclear whether the amygdala’s response to fear reflects its role in the interpretation of danger and threat, or whether it is to some extent activated by all facial expressions of emotion.

Detailed explanation-2: -The amygdalae, a pair of small almond-shaped regions deep in the brain, help regulate emotion and encode memories-especially when it comes to more emotional remembrances.

Detailed explanation-3: -The human amygdala plays a crucial role in processing affective information conveyed by sensory stimuli. Facial expressions of fear and anger, which both signal potential threat to an observer, result in significant increases in amygdala activity, even when the faces are unattended or presented briefly and masked.

Detailed explanation-4: -Fear stimuli engage a subcortical network of structures that is centered on the amygdala and that can activate fear responses via an automatic, subcortical, route. As a result of amygdala activation, the fear response is recruited and attention is drawn to the eliciting stimulus.

Detailed explanation-5: -Face-selective neurons have been found in the amygdala, indicating that this region plays an important role in face recognition (Kosaka et al., 2003).