A study was recently executed in which individuals were given oxytocin in order to see how a weakened amygdala impacts the ability to be deceived by illusive fears. The results were shocking. When an amygdala is weakened in any form, it can actually increase our susceptibility to falling into a cycle of believing illusions that our brains produce by fear. An intact amygdala has much more protection against these cognitively-induced fears that do not hold any truth.
Key Takeaways:
- When the amygdala is impaired, people tend to have illusory perceptions and this also becomes more pronounced. This was the conclusion from a study of twins with damaged amygdala.
- The study also went on to discover that this brain structure which is well known for fear processing is a good protection against body perception disorders.
- The rubber hand illusion is a classic psychological sensory illusion that was discovered by Matthew Botvinick and Jonathan D. Cohen in 1998.
“The rubber hand illusion experienced by the twin sisters was particularly rapid and very pronounced. One year later, the researchers repeated the experiment on the twins – with the same result.”
Read more: https://neurosciencenews.com/amgydala-temporal-lobe-illusion-10883/