The Amygdala

The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped cluster of nuclei located deep within the brain's temporal lobes. It plays a crucial role in processing emotions, particularly those related to survival instincts such as fear and aggression as in the fight, flight, flee, appease we all have heard about.

Three things that matter a great deal when it come to the amygdala are:

Fear Conditioning: It is heavily involved in associative learning, particularly in the formation of fear-related memories. For example, it helps associate certain stimuli with fear responses, such as associating a particular sound with danger.

Emotional Memory: The amygdala plays a role in the formation and storage of emotional memories. It helps to consolidate memories with strong emotional content, making them more vivid and easier to recall.

Regulation of Autonomic Responses: It modulates autonomic responses such as heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating, which are associated with emotional arousal.

Overall, the amygdala plays a central role in the brain's emotional processing network, contributing to both the perception and response to emotionally significant stimuli.

So what?

When the amygdala is activated, it sends cortisol coursing through our body. In some cases, that’s good. You’re walking at night, you hear a strange noise, you flee! A survival instinct.

What if you become emotionally charged in a work meeting/setting with the fight, flight, flee, appease instincts activated? Your ability to stay present, listen, and engage changes.

What if you’re being activated by an emotional memory or fear conditioning – not what is actually currently happening but you’re reacting the way you did in the past to a misperception in the present?

What’s the risk here?

If you’d like to talk about this more, schedule a time.

#neuroscience #emotionalintelligence #leadershipcoaching