Word
amygdala
Phoneticsamyg·dala
US/ˌæmɪɡˈdɑɫə/
UK/ˌæmɪɡdˈɑːlɐ/
Definition
n. a small, almond-shaped part of the brain that helps you feel fear and recognize faces. It is very important for your emotional reactions.
n. a small, almond-shaped structure in the brain's medial temporal lobe, involved in the processing of emotions, particularly fear and anxiety. It plays a central role in the formation of emotional memories and social behavior.
Examples
“The amygdala helps you feel fear when you see a snake.”
“Researchers used functional MRI to observe how the amygdala reacts when subjects are shown images of angry faces.”
“Damage to the amygdala can lead to a significant reduction in the ability to experience fear, a condition that has been studied extensively in patients with certain types of brain injury.”
Examples
simple
“The amygdala helps you feel fear when you see a snake.”
contextual
“Researchers used functional MRI to observe how the amygdala reacts when subjects are shown images of angry faces.”
complex
“Damage to the amygdala can lead to a significant reduction in the ability to experience fear, a condition that has been studied extensively in patients with certain types of brain injury.”
Real-World Examples
“Two of the main brain structures scientists believe are involved in storing traumatic memories are the hippocampus – responsible for memory storage – and the amygdala , which is responsible for processing emotions.” Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē)bor. ▲ Arabic لَوْز (lawz)sl. Medieval Latin amygdalalbor. English amygdala Learned borrowing from Latin amygdala (“almond, amygdala”), from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”), named as such due to its shape. Doublet of almond, amygdale, and mandorla.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/amygdala