Angst and the Amygdala

Overview

Journal Dialogues Clin Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2007 Feb 13

PMID 17290799

Citations 16

Authors

Jay Schulkin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Fear is an adaptation to danger, but excessive fear underlies diverse forms of mental anguish and pathology. One neural site linked to a sense of adversity is the amygdala, and one neuropeptide, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), is localized within the central nucleus of the amygdala. Glucocorticoids enhance the production of CRH in this region of the brain, resulting in increased attention to external events and, when sustained for longer periods of time, perhaps contributing to anxious depression.

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