Thursday, 1 September 2011

Soldiers’ Amygdalae Show Scars

In NOT A CHIMP I describe work on human brains which links amygdala excitation, and the control of amygdala excitation by the anterior cingulate cortex, to social behaviour. Basically, individuals with poor regulation of the amygdala were more fearful. This exciting study reproduces this effect in a number of soldiers returning from active duty in Afghanistan. Those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) invariably exhibited the same pattern of over-active, poorly regulated amygdalae.

Insightful Problem Solving in an Asian Elephant

A short while ago I posted a note about elephants being apparently capable of that "Eureka" moment of pure invention. Here is the free full paper from PLoS.