A unique quick-response pathway in the human brain is reserved for the processing of fear, say British neuroscientists. They have shown that an ancient structure in the midbrain is the key to people's primitive "fight or flight" response to danger. The almond-shaped amygdala is known to play an important part in storing emotional memories, and in the perception of emotional expressions on other people's faces (New Scientist, Science, 3 August 1996, p 18 and 17 December 1994, p 20). But most of the evidence has come from patients whose amygdalas have been damaged by disease or trauma.
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