Scientists have discovered that newly evolved brain regions supporting social interactions are in constant communication with the ancient amygdala, known for processing fear and social behaviors. This connection, highlighted in a Northwestern Medicine study published in Science Advances, sheds light on how humans understand others’ thoughts and emotions.
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The findings reveal that the amygdala’s medial nucleus plays a key role in shaping the social cognitive network, which processes emotionally significant content. Since anxiety and depression involve amygdala hyperactivity, this discovery could enhance treatments using non-invasive methods like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).