Posts Tagged ‘limbic system’
Switching Off Anger with an Electrode
Devonte Washington, 15, was waiting on the platform of a Washington DC Metro subway station with his mother and two sisters headed to a barber shop to get a haircut for Easter Sunday church service. The young man glanced up at a stranger, 17-year-old Maurice Bellamy, who instantly took offence–pulled out a .38 caliber pistol…
Read MoreTrump’s Victory and the Neuroscience of Rage
To understand this election you must understand the brain’s threat detection mechanism Pollsters, politicians, much of the press and public are dismayed by Donald Trump’s surprising victory in the presidential election, but not neuroscientists. The bewilderment arises from an attempt to comprehend the election result rationally, but rage, not reason, is what drove people to…
Read MoreTo Flee or Freeze? Neural Circuits of Threat Detection Identified
Suddenly something streaks into your peripheral vision. Instantly, you jump back and raise your arms defensively. “What was that!” You exclaim in shock. Only then do you realize that the blurred streak you just dodged was a wayward basketball zinging like a missile on a collision course for your face. A rush of adrenaline flushes…
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