Amygdala: The Brain's "Radar" and "Alarm System"
The amygdala is the emotional sentinel deep in the brain. It detects threats with lightning speed and commands the body into fight-or-flight mode before you even realize the danger.
Deconstruct emotions with psychology, brain science, and AI. Actionable and quotable.
The amygdala is the emotional sentinel deep in the brain. It detects threats with lightning speed and commands the body into fight-or-flight mode before you even realize the danger.
Attention mechanism is the brain's core ability to selectively focus on specific information, filter out irrelevant distractions, and flexibly switch tasks. It determines "what enters consciousness," "what is ignored," and "when to switch focus."
The brain is not a single rational commander, but a hybrid of two distinct systems: System 1 (Fast Thinking) is like an autopilot, and System 2 (Slow Thinking) is like a prudent pilot.
The hippocampus is the brain's core structure for episodic memory and spatial navigation. It acts like a meticulous archivist encoding daily experiences into long-term memory, and like a precise GPS for positioning and navigating in space.
The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) is the last brain region to mature, the most vulnerable, and the one that truly defines "being human." It is the fortress of reason, the brake on impulse, and the planner of the future.