amygdala
pronunciation
How to pronounce amygdala in British English:
UK [əˈmɪgdələ]
How to pronounce amygdala in American English:
US [ˌæmɪgˈdɑlə]
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- Noun:
- an almond-shaped neural structure in the anterior part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum; intimately connected with the hypothalamus and the hippocampus and the cingulate gyrus; as part of the limbic system it plays an important role in motivation an
Word Origin
- amygdala (n.)
- "the tonsils," 1540s (amygdal), from Latin, from Greek amygdale "almond" (see almond). The anatomical use is as a direct translation of Arabic al-lauzatani "the two tonsils," literally "the two almonds," so called by Arabic physicians for fancied resemblance. From early 15c. as amygdales "tonsils;" as "almonds" from mid-12c.
Example
- 1. Q. what does an enlarged amygdala tell you ?
- 2. What other features might correlate with the abnormal amygdala growth ?
- 3. Emotions are most closely linked with structures called the amygdala , caudate nucleus and putamen .
- 4. The larger the city in which a student lived , the more active their amygdala .
- 5. Communication between the cingulate cortex and amygdala also seemed to be less efficient in city dwellers .