The corpus amygdaloideum is popularly referred to as the brain’s“fear center,”due to the cardinal role it plays in regulating the body ’s fear answer . So polar is this little , almond - determine social organisation ’s involvement , that S.M. ( a cleaning woman whose amygdala has been ravaged by a rare shape get laid as Urbach – Wiethe disease ) , has been say not to suffer touch sensation of terror whatsoever — even in utmost , potentially life - jeopardise situations . But newly published enquiry suggests that the learning ability has more than one way of life to process and experience terror — even in people dispossessed of their supposed fear centers .
How scientists discovered the “ fear centre ” of the mastermind
The strange case of a charwoman who felt no fearfulness
Over atNature News , Mo Costandi analyze the latest findings of neuropsychologist Justin Feinstein ( much of whose employment has involve S.M. ) , which show “ the fear response may occur even in citizenry who do not have a working amygdaloid nucleus ” :
Feinstein and his team had been studying a 44 - year - quondam woman with an super rare genetic shape call up Urbach - Wiethe disease , in which the amygdala hardens and shrivels up2 . The woman , sleep together as S.M. , showed only minimum levels of fright when shown clip from horror films and when exposed to large spiders , Snake and other things that many multitude rule terrorize .
One situation in which the amygdala trigger off fear and terror attack is when it detects outstandingly eminent concentrations of carbon copy dioxide – a preindication of potential suffocation – by sensing increase acidity in the blood . This may pass off even if CO2 is inhale in concentrations that are not deadly . Feinstein and his colleagues therefore predicted that patients with damaged amygdalas would not feel awe after inhaling the gaseous state .
To test this , they ask S.M. , two other patients with Urbach - Wiethe disease , and 12 healthy controls to inhale 35 % carbon paper dioxide through a mask . To their surprise , the researcher establish that the mental capacity - damage patient did have fear immediately after inhalant – and , in fact , became even more frightful and frightened than did the good for you volunteers .
say more about this surprising find over atNature News .
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