1
Aim
To investigate the role of the amygdala in relation to emotion
2
Method
A lab experiment using rats
3
Procedures
- Rats were conditioned to feel fear when they heard the sound of a bell through the use of electric shock
- Used tracers to establish a pathway to the brain
- Ater the rats had been conditioned properly, researchers lesioned specific neural pathways in order to determine the function of damaged neural pathways
4
Results
- Rats with lesions in the thalamus no longer responded to the bell with fear
- Rats with lesions in the sensory cortex still learned to fear tone
- Thus, indicating that the pathways with lesions affected emotional responses
5
Conclusion
- evident that biology interacts with emotions
- provided evidence for different emotional pathways in the brain and supports Theory of the Emotional Brain