The Cerebral Amygdala And Its Relation To Anxiety
The cerebral amygdala is directly related to anxiety disorders. This has been known for a long time. However, another reality is much more striking. Neuroscientists have found that there are people with larger tonsils, which increases the risk of mood disorders.
Is it a coincidence? Can you be born with such a neurological disorder? Research shows us that in reality this peculiarity is due above all to a very specific factor. It is nothing more than suffering from a complicated childhood that is under constant stress, whether from abuse, physical abandonment, or emotional neglect.
In other words, our past experiences and their quality shape the architecture of our brain. Moreover, it intervenes in a very particular way: if we suffer from stress in childhood, it alters all this neurobiology linked to what is called the “web of fear”.
We will explore this topic further below.
What is the relationship between the cerebral amygdala and anxiety?
We all experience anxiety throughout our lives and sometimes with great intensity. Realities, such as being confronted with a job interview, a conflict or speaking in public, test us and place us in this territory where fear, uncertainty or fear emerge. anxiety about what is going to happen and our ability to do it well.
These experiences, as complex as they may seem to us, are quite normal. However, what is no longer normal is to experience constant anxiety.
Sometimes there is no specific trigger, you constantly feel a feeling of inexplicable threat that alters your whole reality, both physically and psychologically. This anxiety is pathological and acts like a poison that cuts off human health and potential.
Phobias, post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety disorder… There are many psychological conditions combined with anxiety that are limiting. This is why neuroscientists have wondered for decades what goes on in our brains and what are the structures that orchestrate these unfavorable situations.
Let’s see what the studies tell us.
The “web of fear” and a small protagonist: the cerebral amygdala
Anxiety is not the result of the activity of a single brain structure; in fact, it is the result of a complex “conversation” of several different brain regions, shaping what is called the web of fear. We know that just his name is scary.
To better understand this, let’s start by explaining something very simple: our brains are both emotional and rational. It has very old domains that articulate and dominate all the processes related to our sensations, emotions and feelings. Likewise, our cerebral cortex and more particularly the frontal areas control cognitive and more reflexive processes.
When a person suffers from an anxiety disorder, their brain is dominated by the fear network, meaning the brain is “hijacked” by a series of structures that limit their more logical and reflective thinking.
In addition, the person responsible for orchestrating this control is the cerebral amygdala. We’ve known this since the 90s, thanks to a study done at Yale University, by Dr Michael Davies:
- We know that the human cerebral amygdala is able to extract information in an ultra-fast way about what surrounds us, to detect risks and threats (without having to be real or not)
- Soon after, she activates the feeling of fear to promote evasion or defense.
- Later, this feeling of fear and vigilance also reaches the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (located in the frontal lobe). This structure amplifies the feeling of fear and blocks the most rational thoughts, because what dominates the brain now is emotion, it is anxiety. And what he wants is for us to react
Alterations due to a stressful childhood
It was in 2013 that Stanford University made a great discovery. Dr. Vinod Menon, professor of psychiatry, found through MRI scans that some people had much larger than average cerebral tonsils. These people also had other correlating factors.
In the first place, many of them suffered from anxiety disorders. Second, they had a traumatic or at least stressful childhood due to factors such as abandonment, emotional neglect, etc.
There is hyperactivity, that is, the cerebral amygdala is more sensitive and the problems of regulating fear, anxiety, anxiety, feeling of threat, etc. are more important. However, Dr Menon insists on one fact: going through a difficult childhood is not a direct cause of the onset of mood disorders in adulthood. There is a risk, however, a greater probability.
Knowing this, science focuses on regulating the activity of the cerebral amygdala. This path could give us new and valuable tools to deal with anxiety, a condition that as we well know is very prevalent these days.
Our thoughts Measuring anxiety is not always easy, given its subjectivity, but certain tests exist and give good results.
