Scientists sought to better understand how humans evolved to become so skilled at thinking about what's happening in other peoples' minds. The findings could have implications for one day treating ...

In 1995, author Daniel Goleman coined the term “amygdala hijack”–an idea that has subsequently appeared in countless blogs, self-help books, and videos. According to this idea, a part of the brain ...

Have you ever wondered why you jump when you’re startled? Maybe you wonder why you have a harder time handling stress and anxiety than your friends and family do. Part of the reason might lie in your ...

The trauma of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is both personal and social. The condition affects approximately 3.5 percent of U.S. adults every year and the prevalence of the condition in ...

Hasegawa et al. first used a fluorescence-based sensor to measure dopamine levels in the amygdala of mice as they naturally cycled between wakefulness and non-REM and REM sleep. Dopamine release in ...

A new study published in Translational Psychiatry provides evidence that posttraumatic stress disorder may be linked to altered communication between specific parts of the amygdala and other brain ...

The amygdala can activate a person’s fight-or-flight response as a reaction to a real or perceived threat of danger. Amygdala hijack describes the perhaps unnecessary triggering of this response and ...