A little more about emotions and the brain

We keep learning more about the brain mechanisms that are the basis of our experience of emotions. In a recent report (from the annual meeting of the Neuroscience Society of a few months ago) we get a better glimpse of what parts of the brain are important for recognizing emotions in the facial expressions of others. The structure that plays a staring role is the amygdala. By implanting electrodes in the brains of epileptic patients who were about to undergo brain surgery scientists determined that this brain structure is one of the foundations of our subjective judgment of emotions in facial expressions. They found that a subset of amygdala cells are responsible for distinguishing between what patients thought to be happy and fearful faces.