1. By Julia, Hampus and Emil
[uh-mig-duh-luh]
By Julia, Hampus and Emil

2. Location of Amygdala

3. Functions Fear (both emotion & response to it)
Fight – flight - freeze
Formation and storage of emotional memories
Memory consolidation
Involved in settling effects of emotional arousal on strength of a memory
In classical conditioning: e.g. a rat gets a shock (=emotional arousal) everytime it touches some apparatus; learns to associate apparatus with shock (=memory). If amygdala activating drug is injected, memory for task is improved and vice versa.

4. Disfunctions Anxiety Autism Depression PTSD Phobia Epilepsy
Inability to recognize facial expressions
Mood changes
Other psychiatric disorders

5. Study 1
Aim: Investigate what happens in the amygdala during and after phobia treatment
Procedure:
Examined brain activity of 18 people with social phobia as they spoke in front of a group using PET scans
1/3 of the participants received 9 weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy
1/3 received Citalopram and 1/3 received no treatment.
Participants were tested again, using the same public speaking task, at 9 weeks and again after one year.
Results: Activation in the amygdala and related cortical areas at 9 weeks could predict which people's symptoms would improve after one year

6. Study 2: ”S.M” Urbach-Wiethe disease Asked to draw facial expressions
Bilateral calcification and atrophy of the anterior-medial temporal lobes
Damaged Amygdala
No clear symptoms
Cannot recognize fear
Asked to draw facial expressions
Suceeded in all but fear
“She did not know what an afraid face would look like.”
Other individuals with bilateral destruction of the amygdala are consistent with this account

8. Bibliography
Psychology Course Companion (IB Diploma Programme) John Crane & Jette Hannibal
STUDIES