Amygdala News and Research

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Scientists discover key biological mechanism underpinning transition to alcohol dependence

A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has found a key biological mechanism underpinning the transition to alcohol dependence. This finding opens the door to the development of drugs to manage excessive alcohol consumption.

1 Jun 2011

Study examines brain and behavior relationships in response to morally laden scenarios

People's moral responses to similar situations change as they age, according to a new study at the University of Chicago that combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioral measures to understand how the brain responds to morally laden scenarios.

30 May 2011

Amygdala predicts spontaneous behavior: Study

A pianist is playing an unknown melody freely without reading from a musical score. How does the listener's brain recognise if this melody is improvised or if it is memorized? Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig investigated jazz musicians to discover which brain areas are especially sensitive to features of improvised behaviour.

4 May 2011

Penn State launches unique oral hygiene approach for dementia patients

Nurses who care for patients with dementia now have a tailored approach to dental hygiene for their charges, thanks to a pilot study by a team of nurses.

2 May 2011

CTSN focuses on new prairie vole model for autism treatment

Researchers at the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience at Emory University are focusing on prairie voles as a new model to screen the effectiveness of drugs to treat autism.

29 Apr 2011

Scientists discover critical pathway in the brain linked to stress response

A team of neuroscientists at the University of Leicester, UK, in collaboration with researchers from Poland and Japan, has announced a breakthrough in the understanding of the 'brain chemistry' that triggers our response to highly stressful and traumatic events.

21 Apr 2011

New survey: Breastfeeding mothers show greater response to their infant's cry

A new study from The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry finds that mothers who feed their babies breast milk exclusively, as opposed to formula, are more likely to bond emotionally with their child during the first few months after delivery.

21 Apr 2011

Food addicts appear to have high neural activity in brain

Persons with an addictive-like eating behavior appear to have greater neural activity in certain regions of the brain similar to substance dependence, including elevated activation in reward circuitry in response to food cues, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

5 Apr 2011

Study: Amygdala plays a key role in long-term memories

When we suddenly get the answer to a riddle or understand the solution to a problem, we can practically feel the light bulb click on in our head. But what happens after the 'Aha!' moment? Why do the things we learn through sudden insight tend to stick in our memory?

1 Apr 2011

Seat of emotion in the brain critical for creating long-term memories

1 Apr 2011

Researchers develop new virus-based nerve-tracing technique

If, as Shakespeare's Juliet declared, a rose by any other name smells as sweet - to you and to me and to anyone else who sniffs it - then one might assume that our odor-sensing nerve cells are all wired in the same way. Alas, they are not, according to a new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

31 Mar 2011

Brain's pleasure and reward circuitry gets a big boost after a sleepless night

A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

24 Mar 2011

Opinions: Japan nuclear concerns; cash on delivery; G20's role in ensuring global food security

"What we are learning in the age of globalization is that frightening and tragic events in any part of the world can trigger amygdala responses in people thousands of miles away. The amygdala, a tiny almond-shaped body inside the human brain, controls fearfulness and, more importantly, anxiety," Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in a CNN opinion piece.

19 Mar 2011

New study sheds 'light' on intricate brain cell connections responsible for anxiety

A new study sheds light--both literally and figuratively--on the intricate brain cell connections responsible for anxiety.

10 Mar 2011

Sanfilippo syndrome compromises blood-brain barrier, leads to brain damage

A study into the effects of Sanfilippo Syndrome type B (MPS III B) has found that the barrier responsible for protecting the brain from the entry of harmful blood-borne substances is structurally and functionally damaged by the devastating disease. University of South Florida researchers identified damage in specific brain structures involved in the pathology of MPS III B, one of four Sanfilippo syndromes, all of which are inherited diseases of metabolism.

9 Mar 2011

Regional brain structural alterations associated with bipolar disorder

Lithium, introduced in the late 1940's, was the first "wonder drug" in psychiatry. It was the first medication treatment for the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and it remains among one of the most effective treatments for this disorder.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers find 2 neural pathways that play role in developing phobias

Why do some people fret over the most trivial matters while others remain calm in the face of calamity? Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified two different chinks in our brain circuitry that explain why some of us are more prone to anxiety.

11 Feb 2011

Psychological Science journal releases new research findings

The insula has been implicated in evaluative and affective processes. New findings indicate that the insula may be broadly involved in integrating affective and cognitive processes. Participants rated the positivity and negativity of picture stimuli and how emotionally arousing they found the pictures to be.

24 Jan 2011

MGH research sheds light on mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training

Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.

24 Jan 2011

Perceived threat, rather than actual events, predict brain adaptation

A study of soldiers who took part in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010 has found that their brains adapt when they are continuously exposed to stress. The perceived threat appears to be the major predictor of brain adaptation, rather than the actual events. In other words, if a roadside bomb goes off right in front of you, the degree to which you perceive this as threatening is what counts. This is what determines how the brain and the stress system adapt.

21 Jan 2011