Titel på undersøgelse:

The Emotional Brain, Fear, and the Amygdala.

Forfattere: LeDoux, Joseph E | År: 2003 | Kapitel:

Forskning de seneste 20 år har tydeligt knyttet specifikke hjernecirkler til følelsesmæssige funktioner, især gennem studier af Pavlovian frygtkonditionering. En central konklusion er, at amygdala spiller en kritisk rolle i at forbinde eksterne stimuli med forsvarsreaktioner.

Hele abstrakt på originalsprog:

1. Considerable progress has been made over the past 20 years in relating specific circuits of the brain to emotional functions. Much of this work has involved studies of Pavlovian or classical fear conditioning, a behavioral procedure that is used to couple meaningless environmental stimuli to emotional (defense) response networks. 2. The major conclusion from studies of fear conditioning is that the amygdala plays critical role in linking external stimuli to defense responses. 3. Before describing research on the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning, though, it will be helpful to briefly examine the historical events that preceded modern research on conditioned fear.