Pkmzeta In The Amygdala
The amygdala, also known as the corpus amygdaloideum, is located deep and medially in the temporal (side) lobe of the brain. Damage to the amygdala leads to the inability to make memories in relation to the emotional or ‘valence’ of events. In this paper I will review the 1) structure, 2) functional pathways, 3) physiology, 4) development, and 5) the interesting role of PKMzeta in the amygdala. PKMzeta inhibits a critical pathway in the amygdala which appears to block the establishment of painful memories.
Structure:
There are two amygdalae in the human brain - one in the temporal lobe of each hemisphere. The amygdalae are connected by the anterior commissure, one of the three major pathways for information to leave the amygdala. The other …show more content…
The limbic system is responsible for emotions, survival instincts, and memory and includes structures such as the hippocampus. The amygdala is in control of the perception of anger, fear, sadness, aggression, storing memory of events and emotions, and decision making. This allows for organisms to recognize similar events in the future and heighten awareness for such events (William 2013). The different parts of the amygdala include the basolateral complex, the cortical, medial and central nuclei, and the intercalated cell clusters (ITCs). The basolateral complex has three parts: the lateral, basal, and accessory-basal nuclei. Sensory information, which arrives directly from the hippocampus and the primary auditory cortex, goes mainly to the lateral nucleus. The basolateral complex then processes this information and sends it as output to the centromedial nucleus of the amygdala (“Basolateral …show more content…
These processes have been described by Joseph E. Ledoux, who used fear conditioning experiments to explore the functional roles of the pathways of the amygdala. The bottom-up, or the “low-road”, process is used to generate a quick reflexive response; this is used to respond to potentially dangerous stimuli. In this system, the stimulus reaches the thalamus and the information is passed from the cortical and lateral nuclei to the basolateral complex. Immediately afterwards, the information goes to the central nucleus where the response is formed. This system runs within milliseconds, leaving no time for conscious
Structure:
There are two amygdalae in the human brain - one in the temporal lobe of each hemisphere. The amygdalae are connected by the anterior commissure, one of the three major pathways for information to leave the amygdala. The other …show more content…
The limbic system is responsible for emotions, survival instincts, and memory and includes structures such as the hippocampus. The amygdala is in control of the perception of anger, fear, sadness, aggression, storing memory of events and emotions, and decision making. This allows for organisms to recognize similar events in the future and heighten awareness for such events (William 2013). The different parts of the amygdala include the basolateral complex, the cortical, medial and central nuclei, and the intercalated cell clusters (ITCs). The basolateral complex has three parts: the lateral, basal, and accessory-basal nuclei. Sensory information, which arrives directly from the hippocampus and the primary auditory cortex, goes mainly to the lateral nucleus. The basolateral complex then processes this information and sends it as output to the centromedial nucleus of the amygdala (“Basolateral …show more content…
These processes have been described by Joseph E. Ledoux, who used fear conditioning experiments to explore the functional roles of the pathways of the amygdala. The bottom-up, or the “low-road”, process is used to generate a quick reflexive response; this is used to respond to potentially dangerous stimuli. In this system, the stimulus reaches the thalamus and the information is passed from the cortical and lateral nuclei to the basolateral complex. Immediately afterwards, the information goes to the central nucleus where the response is formed. This system runs within milliseconds, leaving no time for conscious