amygdala

American  

[uh-mig-duh-luh] / əˈmɪg də lə /

noun

Anatomy.

amygdalae plural

1. an almond-shaped part, as a tonsil.

2. a ganglion of the limbic system adjoining the temporal lobe of the brain and involved in emotions of fear and aggression.

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amygdala British  

/ əˈmɪɡdələ /

noun

1. anatomy an almond-shaped part, such as a tonsil or a lobe of the cerebellum

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amygdala Scientific  

/ ə-mĭg′də-lə /

amygdalae plural

1. An almond-shaped mass of gray matter in the front part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum that is part of the limbic system and is involved in the processing and expression of emotions, especially anger and fear.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• amygdalae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of amygdala

before 950; < Medieval Latin: almond, tonsil, Latin: almond < Greek amygdálē; replacing Middle English amygdal, Old English amigdal almond < Latin amygdalon < Greek amýgdalon; cf. almond

Explanation

Think of the tiny, almond-shaped amygdala as the brain's alarm system. It sits in the front part of the brain’s temporal lobe and plays a starring role in the limbic system, sparking our emotional and behavioral reactions. The amygdala (pronounced uh-MIG-duh-luh) is crucial for emotional responses and survival instincts. It helps us react to potential threats by triggering fear responses, but it's also involved in recognizing pleasure and rewards. This brain region helps to store memories of emotional events, making it essential for learning from past experiences. Understanding the amygdala can give insights into various psychological conditions, including anxiety disorders, as it is heavily involved in how we perceive and react to the world around us.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

amygdala amygdalae

At the same time, your brain’s amygdala, or fear and emotion center, calms down and its prefrontal cortex, which governs rational thought, amps up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

The study, published in Nature, focused on the amygdala, a key region involved in processing fear.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026

Planning is for weaklings, rational analysis is disdained, the amygdala and the gut replace the cerebral cortex.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

Yes, the amygdala can generate a fear-driven flight response in the face of imminent threat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

“The simulations stimulate the amygdala* which is responsible for processing fear, induce a hallucination based on that fear, and then transmit the data to a computer to be processed and observed.”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

While the democratization of information has been incredible and a net positive thing for society, our minds, our amygdalae have not caught up with the culture that we’ve created.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

Our amygdalae activate as soon as our brains spot deviations from routine, social norms, and in-group tendencies.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2017

One often-­reported finding was that as anxious patients who were undergoing C.B.T. began to feel calmer, activity in their amygdalae — the nutlike structures that are integral to the brain’s fear circuitry — significantly quieted.

From New York Times ● Jun. 24, 2015

Instead, she had a panic attack, just like the other subjects in the experiment, both of whom also had damaged amygdalae.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 31, 2014

These empathy-impaired subjects had amygdalae that fired less when distressed faces were presented.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2014