---
title: "34 Cortex Quotes By Robert M. Sapolsky"
description: "34 Cortex quotes by Robert M. Sapolsky. Plus more from Robert M. Sapolsky and more Cortex sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_age_the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-de_1029293.png"
---

> [The frontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until age 25, which is wild!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-develop-until-age-25-which-is/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_age_the-frontal-cortex-doesn-t-even-fully-de_1029293.png)

> [The frontal cortex is an incredibly interesting part of the brain - ours is proportionately bigger and/or more complex than in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-frontal-cortex-is-an-incredibly-interesting-part-of-the-brain/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_bigger_the-frontal-cortex-is-an-incredibly-inte_2276817.png)

> [“Did destruction of the human amygdala lessen aggression? Pretty clearly so, when violence was a reflexive, inchoate outburst preceding a seizure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/did-destruction-of-the-human-amygdala-lessen-aggression-pretty/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_aggression_did-destruction-of-the-human-amygdala-le_2885539.png)

> [“In other words, the default state is to trust, and what the amygdala does is learn vigilance and distrust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-default-state-is-to-trust-and-what-the-amygdala/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_in-other-words-the-default-state-is-to-t_2515487.png)

> [Brains distinguish between an Us and a Them in a fraction of a second. Subliminal processing of a Them activates the amygdala…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/brains-distinguish-between-an-us-and-a-them-in-a-fraction-of-a-second/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5aa/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_activate_brains-distinguish-between-an-us-and-a-t_206829.jpg)

> [“THE AMYGDALAfn8 IS the archetypal limbic structure, sitting under the cortex in the temporal lobe. It is central to mediating aggression, along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-amygdalafn8-is-the-archetypal-limbic-structure-sitting-under-the/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_the-amygdalafn8-is-the-archetypal-limbic_813192.png)

> [“Moderate, transient stress (i.e., the good, stimulatory stress) promotes hippocampal LTP, while prolonged stress disrupts it and promotes LTD—one reason why cognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/moderate-transient-stress-i-e-the-good-stimulatory-stress-promotes/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_stress_moderate-transient-stress-i-e-the-good-s_280952.png)

> [“you asked amygdala experts what behavior their favorite brain structure brings to mind, “aggression” wouldn’t top their list. It would be fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/you-asked-amygdala-experts-what-behavior-their-favorite-brain/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_aggression_you-asked-amygdala-experts-what-behavior_2755966.png)

> [“Sustained stress has numerous adverse effects. The amygdala becomes overactive and more coupled to pathways of habitual behavior; it is easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/sustained-stress-has-numerous-adverse-effects-the-amygdala-becomes/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_sustained-stress-has-numerous-adverse-ef_1536381.jpg)

> [“Second depressing finding: subliminal signaling of race also affects the fusiform face area, the cortical region that specializes in facial recognition.11 Damaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/second-depressing-finding-subliminal-signaling-of-race-also-affects/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_second-depressing-finding-subliminal-sig_2589278.png)

> [“stress weakens frontal connections with the hippocampus—essential for incorporating the new information that should prompt shifting to a new strategy—while strengthening frontal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/stress-weakens-frontal-connections-with-the-hippocampus-essential-for/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fd/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_stress_stress-weakens-frontal-connections-with_2903169.png)

> [“Stick recording electrodes into numerous species’ amygdalaefn9 and see when neurons there have action potentials; this turns out to be when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/stick-recording-electrodes-into-numerous-species-amygdalaefn9-and-see/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1a/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_stick-recording-electrodes-into-numerous_1867495.jpg)

> [“Powerful support for an amygdaloid role in fear processing comes from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In PTSD sufferers the amygdala is overreactive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/powerful-support-for-an-amygdaloid-role-in-fear-processing-comes-from/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/676/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_powerful-support-for-an-amygdaloid-role_394424.jpg)

> [“Chapter 3 discusses some unsettling research—stick your average person in a brain scanner, and show him a picture of someone of another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/chapter-3-discusses-some-unsettling-research-stick-your-average/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_average-person_chapter-3-discusses-some-unsettling-rese_213059.jpg)

> [“It’s not until the non-NMDA has been stimulated over and over by a long train of glutamate release, allowing enough sodium to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-not-until-the-non-nmda-has-been-stimulated-over-and-over-by-a/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ff/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_fitness_it-s-not-until-the-non-nmda-has-been-sti_238807.png)

> [“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening frontal-hippocampal connections; the result is decision making that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivity-between-the-frontal-cortex/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_how-acute-stress-strengthens-connectivit_1255094.jpg)

> [“Instead, these findings suggest that the amygdala injects implicit distrust and vigilance into social decision making.23 All thanks to learning. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/instead-these-findings-suggest-that-the-amygdala-injects-implicit/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_instead-these-findings-suggest-that-the_3182085.jpg)

> [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-con_146894.jpg)

> [“Moreover, sustained stress and glucocorticoid exposure enhance LTP and suppress LTD in the amygdala, boosting fear conditioning, and suppress LTP in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/moreover-sustained-stress-and-glucocorticoid-exposure-enhance-ltp-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_fear_moreover-sustained-stress-and-glucocorti_3182363.png)

> [“When you get the news that everyone else disagrees with you, there is also activation of the (emotional) vmPFC, the anterior cingulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/when-you-get-the-news-that-everyone-else-disagrees-with-you-there-is/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_when-you-get-the-news-that-everyone-else_3106716.png)

> [“Joseph LeDoux at New York University has shown how the BLA learns fear.fn14,20 Expose a rat to an innate trigger of fear—a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/joseph-ledoux-at-new-york-university-has-shown-how-the-bla-learns/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_fear_joseph-ledoux-at-new-york-university-has_478330.jpg)

> [“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-york-matched-a-description-of/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_diallo-a-west-african-immigrant-in-new-y_3127502.jpg)

> [“in adults the anterior cingulate cortex activates when they see someone hurt. Ditto for the amygdala and insula, especially in instances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-adults-the-anterior-cingulate-cortex-activates-when-they-see/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/079/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_physical-pain_in-adults-the-anterior-cingulate-cortex_963548.png)

> [“This brings up a key concept, namely the inverted U. The complete absence of stress is aversively boring. Moderate, transient stress is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/this-brings-up-a-key-concept-namely-the-inverted-u-the-complete/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/253/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_individual-differenc_this-brings-up-a-key-concept-namely-the_2834303.jpg)

> [“Glutamate signaling works in a fancier way that is essential to learning.2 To simplify considerably, while dendritic spines typically contain only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/glutamate-signaling-works-in-a-fancier-way-that-is-essential-to/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ac/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_glutamate-signaling-works-in-a-fancier-w_3209406.png)

> [“in adults the anterior cingulate cortex activates when they see someone hurt. Ditto for the amygdala and insula, especially in instances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-adults-the-anterior-cingulate-cortex-activates-when-they-see-2/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_empathy_in-adults-the-anterior-cingulate-cortex_2081583.png)

> [“During sustained stress, the amygdala processes emotional sensory information more rapidly and less accurately, dominates hippocampal function, and disrupts frontocortical function; we’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/during-sustained-stress-the-amygdala-processes-emotional-sensory/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_during-sustained-stress-the-amygdala-pro_886372.jpg)

> [“Moving beyond mere correlation, if you lesion the amygdala in an animal, rates of aggression decline. The same occurs transiently when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/moving-beyond-mere-correlation-if-you-lesion-the-amygdala-in-an/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_aggression_moving-beyond-mere-correlation-if-you-le_1074053.jpg)

> [“The most convincing data concern rare humans with damage restricted to the amygdala, either due to a type of encephalitis or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-most-convincing-data-concern-rare-humans-with-damage-restricted/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36e/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_the-most-convincing-data-concern-rare-hu_2401553.jpg)

> [“So if whites see a black face shown at a subliminal speed, the amygdala activates.10 But if the face is shown long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a-subliminal-speed-the/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94b/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_black-face_so-if-whites-see-a-black-face-shown-at-a_1244754.png)

> [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_decision-making_we-process-emotionally-salient-informati_123615.jpg)

> [“someone’s hand being poked with a needle, and subjects have an “isomorphic sensorimotor” response—hands tense in empathy. Among both whites and blacks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/someone-s-hand-being-poked-with-a-needle-and-subjects-have-an/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_empathy_someone-s-hand-being-poked-with-a-needle_1228971.jpg)

> [“Logically, when the amygdala wants to mobilize a behavior—say, fleeing—it talks to the frontal cortex, seeking its executive approval. But if sufficiently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/logically-when-the-amygdala-wants-to-mobilize-a-behavior-say-fleeing/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8a/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_amygdala_logically-when-the-amygdala-wants-to-mob_405859.png)

> [“LeDoux and others have shown how auditory information about the tone stimulates BLA neurons. At first, activation of those neurons is irrelevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/ledoux-and-others-have-shown-how-auditory-information-about-the-tone/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_cortex_ledoux-and-others-have-shown-how-auditor_3160946.jpg)

## Other authors on Cortex

## More by Robert M. Sapolsky

> [“Secure-attachment 7Rs show more generosity than average. Thus 7R has something to do with generosity—but its effect is entirely context dependent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/secure-attachment-7rs-show-more-generosity-than-average-thus-7r-has/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [But if you get chronically, psychosocially stressed, you're going to compromise your health. So, essentially, we've evolved to be smart enough to make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-if-you-get-chronically-psychosocially-stressed-you-re-going-to/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Finally, for the same criminal conviction, the more stereotypically Af-rican a black individual’s facial features, the longer the sentence.15 In contrast, juries view black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/finally-for-the-same-criminal-conviction-the-more-stereotypically-af/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“So testosterone does subtle things to behavior. Nonetheless, this doesn’t tell us much because everything can be interpreted every which way. Testosterone increases anxiety—you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-testosterone-does-subtle-things-to-behavior-nonetheless-this-doesn/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“pain makes aggressive people more aggressive, while doing the opposite to unaggressive individuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/pain-makes-aggressive-people-more-aggressive-while-doing-the-opposite/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Thus, for our purposes, genes aren’t about inevitability. Instead they’re about context-dependent tendencies, propensities, potentials, and vulnerabilities. All embedded in the fabric of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-for-our-purposes-genes-aren-t-about-inevitability-instead-they/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“If we accept that there will always be sides, it’s a nontrivial to-do list item to always be on the side of angels. Distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/if-we-accept-that-there-will-always-be-sides-it-s-a-nontrivial-to-do/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“In other words, the more genomically complex the organism, the larger the percentage of the genome devoted to gene regulation by the environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-more-genomically-complex-the-organism-the-larger/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“The subject of one experiment is a rat that receives mild electric shocks (roughly equivalent to the static shock you might get from scuffing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-subject-of-one-experiment-is-a-rat-that-receives-mild-electric/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“No brain region is an island, and the formation of circuits connecting far-flung brain regions is crucial—how else can the frontal cortex use its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/no-brain-region-is-an-island-and-the-formation-of-circuits-connecting/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“One stretch of the gene is repeated a variable number of times, and the version with seven repeats (the “7R” form) produces a receptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/one-stretch-of-the-gene-is-repeated-a-variable-number-of-times-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“some people always get more than their share of equality than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/some-people-always-get-more-than-their-share-of-equality-than-others/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-probably-even-the-case-that-if-you-stoked-up-some-buddhist-monks/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

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                        "text": "The frontal cortex is an incredibly interesting part of the brain - ours is proportionately bigger and/or more complex than in any other species.",
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                        "text": "“Did destruction of the human amygdala lessen aggression? Pretty clearly so, when violence was a reflexive, inchoate outburst preceding a seizure.”",
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                        "text": "“In other words, the default state is to trust, and what the amygdala does is learn vigilance and distrust.”",
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                        "text": "Brains distinguish between an Us and a Them in a fraction of a second. Subliminal processing of a Them activates the amygdala and insular cortex, brain regions that are all about fear, anxiety, aggression, and disgust.",
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                        "text": "“THE AMYGDALAfn8 IS the archetypal limbic structure, sitting under the cortex in the temporal lobe. It is central to mediating aggression, along with other behaviors that tell us tons about aggression.”",
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                        "text": "“Moderate, transient stress (i.e., the good, stimulatory stress) promotes hippocampal LTP, while prolonged stress disrupts it and promotes LTD—one reason why cognition tanks at such times. This is the inverted-U concept of stress writ synaptic.4”",
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                        "text": "“you asked amygdala experts what behavior their favorite brain structure brings to mind, “aggression” wouldn’t top their list. It would be fear and anxiety.”",
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                        "text": "“Second depressing finding: subliminal signaling of race also affects the fusiform face area, the cortical region that specializes in facial recognition.11 Damaging the fusiform, for example, selectively produces “face blindness” (aka prosopagnosia), an inability to recognize faces.”",
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                        "text": "“stress weakens frontal connections with the hippocampus—essential for incorporating the new information that should prompt shifting to a new strategy—while strengthening frontal connections with more habitual brain circuits.”",
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                        "text": "“Stick recording electrodes into numerous species’ amygdalaefn9 and see when neurons there have action potentials; this turns out to be when the animal is being aggressive.fn10 In a related approach, determine which brain regions consume extra oxygen or glucose, or synthesize certain activity-related proteins, during aggression—the amygdala tops the list.”",
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                        "text": "“Powerful support for an amygdaloid role in fear processing comes from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In PTSD sufferers the amygdala is overreactive to mildly fearful stimuli and is slow in calming down after being activated.13 Moreover, the amygdala expands in size with long-term PTSD.”",
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                        "text": "“Chapter 3 discusses some unsettling research—stick your average person in a brain scanner, and show him a picture of someone of another race for only a tenth of a second. This is too fast for him to be aware of what he saw. But thanks to that anatomical shortcut, the amygdala knows . . . and activates. In contrast, show the picture for a longer time. Again the amygdala activates, but then the cognitive dlPFC does as well, inhibiting the amygdala—the effort to control what is for most people an unpalatable initial response.”",
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                        "text": "“It’s not until the non-NMDA has been stimulated over and over by a long train of glutamate release, allowing enough sodium to flow in, that this activates the NMDA receptor. It suddenly responds to all that glutamate, opening its channels, allowing an explosion of excitation. This is the essence of learning.”",
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                        "text": "“how acute stress strengthens connectivity between the frontal cortex and motoric areas, while weakening frontal-hippocampal connections; the result is decision making that is habitual, rather than incorporating new information. Similarly, chronic stress increases spine number in frontal-motor connections and decreases it in frontal-hippocampal ones.9”",
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                        "text": "“Instead, these findings suggest that the amygdala injects implicit distrust and vigilance into social decision making.23 All thanks to learning. In the words of the authors of the study, “The generosity in the trust game of our BLA-damaged subjects might be considered pathological altruism, in the sense that inborn altruistic behaviors have not, due to BLA damage, been un-learned through negative social experience.” In other words, the default state is to trust, and what the amygdala does is learn vigilance and distrust.”",
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                        "text": "“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not. And often the conflict being resolved is between a decision heavily driven by cognition and one driven by emotions. Once it has decided, the PFC sends orders via projections to the rest of the frontal cortex, sitting just behind it. Those neurons then talk to the “premotor cortex,” sitting just behind it, which then passes it to the “motor cortex,” which talks to your muscles. And a behavior ensues.”",
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                        "text": "“Moreover, sustained stress and glucocorticoid exposure enhance LTP and suppress LTD in the amygdala, boosting fear conditioning, and suppress LTP in the frontal cortex. Combining these effects—more excitable synapses in the amygdala, fewer ones in the frontal cortex—helps explain stress-induced impulsivity and poor emotional regulation.”",
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                        "text": "“When you get the news that everyone else disagrees with you, there is also activation of the (emotional) vmPFC, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the nucleus accumbens. This is a network mobilized during reinforcement learning, where you learn to modify your behavior when there is a mismatch between what you expected to happen and what actually did. Find out that everyone disagrees with you and this network activates. What is it basically telling you? Not just that you’re different from everyone else. That you’re wrong. Being different = being wrong. The greater the activation of this circuit, the greater the likelihood of changing answers to conform.”",
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                        "text": "“Joseph LeDoux at New York University has shown how the BLA learns fear.fn14,20 Expose a rat to an innate trigger of fear—a shock. When this “unconditioned stimulus” occurs, the central amygdala activates, stress hormones are secreted, the sympathetic nervous system mobilizes, and, as a clear end point, the rat freezes in place—“What was that? What do I do?” Now do some conditioning. Before each shock, expose the rat to a stimulus that normally does not evoke fear, such as a tone. And with repeated coupling of the tone (the conditioned stimulus) with the shock (the unconditioned one), fear conditioning occurs—the sound of the tone alone elicits freezing, stress hormone release, and so on.fn15”",
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                        "text": "“Diallo, a West African immigrant in New York, matched a description of a rapist. Four white officers questioned him, and when the unarmed Diallo started to pull out his wallet, they decided it was a gun and fired forty-one shots. The underlying neurobiology concerns “event-related potentials” (ERPs), which are stimulus-induced changes in electrical activity of the brain (as assessed by EEG—electroencephalography). Threatening faces produce a distinctive change (called the P200 component) in the ERP waveform in under two hundred milliseconds. Among white subjects, viewing someone black evokes a stronger P200 waveform than viewing someone white, regardless of whether the person is armed. Then, a few milliseconds later, a second, inhibitory waveform (the N200 component) appears, originating from the frontal cortex—“Let’s think a sec about what we’re seeing before we shoot.” Viewing a black individual evokes less of an N200 waveform than does seeing someone white. The greater the P200/N200 ratio (i.e., the greater the ratio of I’m-feeling-threatened to Hold-on-a-sec), the greater the likelihood of shooting an unarmed black individual.”",
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                        "text": "“in adults the anterior cingulate cortex activates when they see someone hurt. Ditto for the amygdala and insula, especially in instances of intentional harm—there is anger and disgust. PFC regions including the (emotional) vmPFC are on board. Observing physical pain (e.g., a finger being poked with a needle) produces a concrete, vicarious pattern: there is activation of the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a region central to your own pain perception, in parts of the sensory cortex receiving sensation from your own fingers, and in motor neurons that command your own fingers to move.fn3 You clench your fingers.”",
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                        "text": "“This brings up a key concept, namely the inverted U. The complete absence of stress is aversively boring. Moderate, transient stress is wonderful—various aspects of brain function are enhanced; glucocorticoid levels in that range enhance dopamine release; rats work at pressing levers in order to be infused with just the right amount of glucocorticoids. And as stress becomes more severe and prolonged, those good effects disappear (with, of course, dramatic individual differences as to where the transition from stress as stimulatory to overstimulatory occurs; one person’s nightmare is another’s hobby).”",
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                        "text": "“Glutamate signaling works in a fancier way that is essential to learning.2 To simplify considerably, while dendritic spines typically contain only one type of receptor, those responsive to glutamate contain two. The first (the “non-NMDA”) works in a conventional way—for every little smidgen of glutamate binding to these receptors, a smidgen of sodium flows in, causing a smidgen of excitation. The second (the “NMDA”) works in a nonlinear, threshold manner. It is usually unresponsive to glutamate. It’s not until the non-NMDA has been stimulated over and over by a long train of glutamate release, allowing enough sodium to flow in, that this activates the NMDA receptor. It suddenly responds to all that glutamate, opening its channels, allowing an explosion of excitation.”",
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                        "text": "“in adults the anterior cingulate cortex activates when they see someone hurt. Ditto for the amygdala and insula, especially in instances of intentional harm—there is anger and disgust. PFC regions including the (emotional) vmPFC are on board. Observing physical pain (e.g., a finger being poked with a needle) produces a concrete, vicarious pattern: there is activation of the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a region central to your own pain perception, in parts of the sensory cortex receiving sensation from your own fingers, and in motor neurons that command your own fingers to move.fn3 You clench your fingers. Work by Jean Decety of the University of Chicago shows that when seven-year-olds watch someone in pain, activation is greatest in the more concrete regions—the PAG and the sensory and motor cortices—with PAG activity coupled to the minimal vmPFC activation there is. In older kids the vmPFC is coupled to increasingly activated limbic structures.13 And by adolescence the stronger vmPFC activation is coupled to ToM regions. What’s happening? Empathy is shifting from the concrete world of “Her finger must hurt, I’m suddenly conscious of my own finger” to ToM-ish focusing on the pokee’s emotions and experience.”",
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                        "text": "“During sustained stress, the amygdala processes emotional sensory information more rapidly and less accurately, dominates hippocampal function, and disrupts frontocortical function; we’re more fearful, our thinking is muddled, and we assess risks poorly and act impulsively out of habit, rather than incorporating new data.”",
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                        "text": "“Moving beyond mere correlation, if you lesion the amygdala in an animal, rates of aggression decline. The same occurs transiently when you temporarily silence the amygdala by injecting Novocain into it. Conversely, implanting electrodes that stimulate neurons there, or spritzing in excitatory neurotransmitters (stay tuned), triggers aggression.4”",
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                        "text": "“The most convincing data concern rare humans with damage restricted to the amygdala, either due to a type of encephalitis or a congenital disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease, or where the amygdala was surgically destroyed to control severe, drug-resistant seizures originating there.5 Such individuals are impaired in detecting angry facial expressions (while being fine at recognizing other emotional states—stay tuned).”",
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                        "text": "“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and task shifting—is impaired, and the frontal cortex has less control over the amygdala. And we become less empathic and prosocial. Reducing sustained stress is a win-win for us and those stuck around us.”",
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                        "text": "“someone’s hand being poked with a needle, and subjects have an “isomorphic sensorimotor” response—hands tense in empathy. Among both whites and blacks, the response is blunted for other-race hands; the more the implicit racism, the more blunting. Similarly, among subjects of both races, there’s more activation of the (emotional) medial PFC when considering misfortune befalling a member of their own race than of another race.”",
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                        "text": "“Logically, when the amygdala wants to mobilize a behavior—say, fleeing—it talks to the frontal cortex, seeking its executive approval. But if sufficiently aroused, the amygdala talks directly to subcortical, reflexive motor pathways. Again, there’s a trade-off—increased speed by by-passing the cortex, but decreased accuracy. Thus the input shortcut may prompt you to see the cell phone as a gun. And the output shortcut may prompt you to pull a trigger before you consciously mean to.”",
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