Menu Close

Articles on Amygdala

Displaying all articles

Children living in low-income neighborhoods with ‘hands-off’ norms about safety showed higher levels of reactivity in a region of the brain associated with emotion processing and threat detection. DenisTangneyJr/E+ via Getty Images

Kids’ neighborhoods can affect their developing brains, a new study finds

The latest findings add to the understanding of how social disadvantage such as poverty and low-quality, unsafe housing can affect early child development.
People can have several thousand thoughts per day, many of which can be classified as spontaneous or involuntary. (Shutterstock)

Where our thoughts come from: How microemotions affect spontaneous thought

Emotions play a key role in many types of spontaneous thoughts. Even microemotions — which are often fleeting and unconscious — can affect thoughts and influence attention.
Officials guide students off a bus and into a recreation center where they were reunited with their parents after a shooting at a suburban Denver middle school Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

What mass shootings do to those not shot: Social consequences of mass gun violence

Mass shootings bring terror in ways that people watching from afar can only imagine. And yet, society at large is also affected, a trauma psychiatrist writes.
What are your in-groups and out-groups? ksenia_bravo/Shutterstock.com

Why our brains see the world as ‘us’ versus ‘them’

Our neural circuits lead us to find comfort in those like us and unease with those who differ, resulting in a battle between reward and distrust. But these brain connections aren’t the end of the story.
Violence in communities may have an additional unseen victim: young peoples’ developing brains. Zoran Karapancev/Shutterstock.com

Living with neighborhood violence may shape teens’ brains

Experiencing and witnessing violence in their communities can lead to emotional, social and cognitive problems for kids. A new study shows it affects how their developing brains grow, as well.
Scary pumpkins are the least of what frightens us at Halloween, a day devoted to being frightened. asife/Shutterstock.com

The science of fright: Why we love to be scared

We may pretend that we do not like fear, but Halloween proves otherwise. Many of us enjoy being scared. But why?
Holiday drinking brings good cheer, but it can also be a sign of problem drinking.

How to know when holiday drinking is hurting your brain

Alcohol contributes to close to 90,000 deaths a year. Because repeated binge drinking damages the brain, it’s hard to know when we’ve developed a problem. Here are some things to consider.
Traumatic events can stop the brain storing the context in which they took place. www.shutterstock.com

The possible cause of flashbacks discovered

Brain imaging study shows that we forget the context in which a traumatic event take place which could be crucial to avoiding negative loops.
Race is one way we categorize ourselves among in-groups and out-groups. Hands image via www.shutterstock.com.

People like us: how our brains view others

Race-related demonstrations, Title IX disputes, affirmative action court cases, same-sex marriage bans. These issues made headlines in all spheres of the media this year. However, thoughtful articles on…

Top contributors

More