amygdala

amyg·da·la | \ ə-ˈmig-də-lə

How to pronounce amygdala (audio)

\

plural amygdalae\ ə-ˈmig-də-ˌlē

How to pronounce amygdalae (audio)

, -ˌlī \

Definition of amygdala

: the one of the four basal ganglia in each cerebral hemisphere that is part of the limbic system and consists of an almond-shaped mass of gray matter in the anterior extremity of the temporal lobe

— called also amygdaloid nucleus

Examples of amygdala in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The experiment also challenged the popular belief that poor decision-making is routed in the amygdala -- sometimes regarded as the primitive part of our brain. — Katie Hunt, CNN, "Why happy endings can lead to bad decisions, even when voting," 19 Oct. 2020 My psychiatrist scribbles all over the page, showing how my amygdala has overtaken my propensity for rational thought, even when no threat is present. — Yasmin Lajoie, refinery29.com, "“Tomorrow I’ll Be Someone Else”: Living With Borderline Personality Disorder," 3 Sep. 2020 Your amygdala — your lizard brain — takes over on social media. — Jacob Calvin Meyer, baltimoresun.com, "Howard County Board of Education candidate announces support for his opponent in race for District 3 seat," 9 Sep. 2020 Prenatal stress is thought to influence the early growth of the amygdala, both in humans and rodents, and its size may influence whether someone develops depression, anxiety, or aggression. — Stav Dimitropoulos, National Geographic, "Will pandemic ‘coronababies’ live with long-term trauma?," 3 Sep. 2020 But not everyone with an overactive amygdala necessarily has BPD. — Yasmin Lajoie, refinery29.com, "“Tomorrow I’ll Be Someone Else”: Living With Borderline Personality Disorder," 3 Sep. 2020 In behavioral studies, the team found that this excitation was in full swing in the posterior amygdala neurons projecting into the MPN during mating. — Emily Willingham, Scientific American, "Neural Switch Flips on Aggression in Male Mice," 3 Aug. 2020 To say that my serotonin levels are doing fab and that my amygdala is firing on all cylinders. — Claire Fitzsimmons, Longreads, "Eating To Save My Mind," 10 Aug. 2020 This will help calm your amygdala and could give you a quick boost of feel-good endorphins, says Pittman. — Jenny Mccoy, Glamour, "If You’re Waking Up With Anxiety, You’re Not Alone," 3 June 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amygdala.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about amygdala

Dictionary Entries near amygdala

Statistics for amygdala

Last Updated

28 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Amygdala.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amygdala. Accessed 24 Nov. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

mogul

Listen to the pronunciation of mogul

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

A Thanksgiving Word Quiz

November comes from a word for which of the following numbers?

9 10
11 12

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.