Anxiety Part 2: Anxiety and the Amygdala

More Neurobiology Related to Anxiety and Fear

The Limbic System

The Limbic System is made up several parts of the brain and these parts contribute to our emotional and behavioral responses.  The Limbic System includes, the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, and the thalamus. (Yep, they’re really hard to pronounce). The key is to remember what the limbic system does for you.

So, in your brain, you have this area called the amygdala (Ah-mig-dala).  It’s kind of an oval shaped organ which is in the temporal lobe of the brain and sits down toward the brainstem. There is one on each side of your brain. If you need a review of the brain, go back to this post.

We talked about fight, flight and freeze. The amygdala helps to start the process. The Amygdala and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex send signals back and forth. The Amygdala and the Orbitofrontal Cortex also send signals back and forth. When these areas get overloaded, we have the feeling of fear. When this is triggered, the body can go into the fight, flight or freeze that we discussed last time.

It gets pretty complicated but basically, the amygdala communicates with different sections of the brain which contributes to different symptoms of fear or panic.  For example, when the amygdala activates a part of the brain called the parabrachial nucleus, the effect is that our breathing changes in response to fear. We start breathing faster and might feel like we can’t breathe.

More Information about the Limbic System

This is a really informative video about the limbic system and the role it plays. It has some different information than I have already given you.

Stuck in a Loop

Do you sometimes feel like your brain gets stuck in a loop of worry?  Well that’s because physiologically it can.  There is a tract inside the brain called the Cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical Loop. (Say that 5 times fast!)  This tract is supposed to help to control ruminating, obsessive, and delusional thinking.  There can be genetic changes which prevent your body from using the neurotransmitters dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine, and/or glutamate correctly.  This can contribute to perseveration. This can be what causes some of us to be a “born worrier.”

This was a short blog post but I hope it helps a little more to understand that anxiety is not because you are a failure. I do believe that we need God and he can help us with our anxiety. I also believe he gives us tools we can use to help manage our anxiety.  As a person who suffers from anxiety and depression, I think I realize as Abraham said,  “I am nothing but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27) which increases understanding of why I need Him. Thankfully, he sees me as a child who is intensely loved by Him and he makes “beauty for ashes.” (Isaiah 61:3)

References:

The Holy Bible, NIV

Stahl, S. M. (2014). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.