The Human Amygdala and Awareness: Interactions Between Emotion and Cognition

Traditional approaches to the study of human cognition considered emotion as a distinct process that could be studied independently. Initial investigations of the neuroscience of emotion supported this distinction by identifying brain structures, such as the amygdala, that appeared to be specialized for emotion. However, recent studies indicate that the amygdala interacts extensively with brain systems linked to cognition and awareness, suggesting a means for the interaction of emotion and cognition. Cognition and awareness can influence the amygdala through the verbal communication of emotion information or the cognitive control of emotional responses. The amygdala can influence cognition and awareness by altering the retention of memory with arousal and facilitating attention and perception. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests that in order to understand the neural systems of cognition, a consideration of its interaction with emotion is necessary.