Beyond Fear: Amygdala is the Brain’s Strategic Mediator
Neuroscience News • • science
Key Points:
- New research from Dartmouth College reveals that the amygdala functions as a sophisticated mediator between two fundamental learning strategies—action-based (motor movements) and stimulus-based (object identity)—rather than merely serving as the brain’s primitive fear center.
- The study shows that under uncertainty, the amygdala arbitrates between these learning systems to select the most reliable strategy for achieving rewards, promoting cognitive flexibility and adaptive decision-making.
- Damage to the amygdala disrupts this arbitration process, causing the brain to default to rigid, action-based learning and reducing behavioral flexibility.
- Findings suggest that phobias may involve a rigid stimulus-based learning bias, and shifting toward an action-based exploration mode could offer a more effective approach to overcoming fear.
- The research
