Scientists Say: Amygdala

This part of the brain helps us process emotions and form memories

amygdala

This is a slice of brain seen through a scan that looked through a person’s face and into their head. The right amygdala is highlighted in red.

Amber Rieder, Jenna Traynor, Geoffrey B Hall/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)

Amygdala (noun, “ah-MIG-dah-la”, plural “amygdalae”)

This part of the brain plays a role in memory, decision making and emotions, such as fear. Each person has an amygdala on either side of their head. They are located near the center of the brain a little above the ears. The amygdala gets its name from the Greek word “amygdalo.” It means “almond.” Each amygdala is shaped a little like the tasty nut.

In a sentence

Kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have smaller amygdalae than people without ADHD.

Follow Eureka! Lab on Twitter

Bethany Brookshire was a longtime staff writer at Science News Explores and is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She has a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology and likes to write about neuroscience, biology, climate and more. She thinks Porgs are an invasive species.

Use up and down arrow keys to explore.Use right arrow key to move into the list.Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.Use tab key to enter the current list item.Use escape to exit the menu.Use the Shift key with the Tab key to tab back to the search input.