Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Attitudes

Attitudes

Attitude is our evaluation of a person, an idea, or an object. We have attitudes for many things ranging from products that we might pick up in the supermarket to people around the world to political policies. Typically, attitudes are favorable or unfavorable: positive or negative (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). And, they have three components: an affective component (feelings), a behavioral component (the effect of the attitude on behavior), and a cognitive component (belief and knowledge;...

Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in...

Self-Awareness and Its Effects

Self-Awareness and Its Effects

Self-awareness is a psychological state in which the individual becomes the focal point of their attention. This inward focus transforms the self into an object of contemplation and assessment, influencing how individuals perceive their actions and their alignment with personal and societal standards.Triggers and Contexts for Self-AwarenessSelf-awareness can be activated by external stimuli that make individuals visually or audibly aware of themselves, such as mirrors, cameras, or recordings.

Introspection

Introspection

Introspection, long upheld as a reliable route to self-knowledge, involves examining one's thoughts, emotions, and mental processes. It underpins many psychological practices, from mindfulness meditation to psychotherapy and self-help strategies. However, empirical evidence challenges the accuracy of introspection as a means of understanding oneself.Limitations of Introspective InsightSeminal work by Nisbett and Wilson demonstrated that individuals are frequently unaware of the true causes...

Emotional Expression

Emotional Expression

Emotional expression encompasses how individuals convey their emotions through verbal communication and non-verbal cues. These non-verbal actions include facial expressions, body language, and physical gestures, such as frowning or smiling. Among these, facial expressions play a crucial role in emotional expression and are understood universally, indicating a biological basis for how humans communicate emotions.
Universal Facial Expressions
Psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic...

Critical Thinking II

Critical Thinking II

Critical thinking is a cognitive process with several attributes. The attributes of critical thinking include the following:

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Item recognition is associated with gut microbiota composition in healthy humans.

Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

The ethical impasse of current consciousness science.

Neuron·2026

Same author

What the functions of consciousness are depends on what one thinks consciousness is.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025

Same author

Item recognition is associated with gut microbiota composition in healthy humans.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

The subjective experience of emotion: a fearful view.

Current opinion in behavioral sciences·2024

Same author

Metacognition as a window into subjective affective experience.

Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 18, 2025

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Thoughtful feelings.

Joseph E LeDoux¹

¹Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 1003, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, NY 1003, USA.

Current Biology : CB

|June 10, 2020

Summary

The amygdala detects danger through non-conscious processes, but the conscious experience of fear is a cognitive interpretation, not directly wired into the amygdala itself. This challenges the popular

More Related Videos

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Exploring the Use of Isolated Expressions and Film Clips to Evaluate Emotion Recognition by People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Exploring the Use of Isolated Expressions and Film Clips to Evaluate Emotion Recognition by People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: May 15, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 18, 2025

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Exploring the Use of Isolated Expressions and Film Clips to Evaluate Emotion Recognition by People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Exploring the Use of Isolated Expressions and Film Clips to Evaluate Emotion Recognition by People with Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: May 15, 2016

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Psychology

Background:

The amygdala has been popularly described as the brain's 'fear center'.
Joseph LeDoux's research spans four decades, focusing on non-conscious threat detection.
This work investigates the role of the amygdala in processing danger signals.

Purpose of the Study:

To clarify the amygdala's role in threat detection versus the conscious experience of fear.
To address and challenge the widespread 'amygdala fear center' meme.
To explain the cognitive processes underlying the subjective experience of fear.

Main Methods:

Review of four decades of research on non-conscious processing and the amygdala.
Analysis of the distinction between threat detection mechanisms and conscious emotional experience.
Integration of concepts from cognitive science, including schemas and mental models.

Main Results:

Non-conscious processes involving the amygdala are crucial for detecting and responding to danger.
The conscious experience of fear is not directly wired into the amygdala.
Fear is a cognitive interpretation of being in harm's way.

Conclusions:

The amygdala's primary role is in non-conscious threat detection, not the conscious experience of fear.
Conscious fear arises from cognitive assembly, integrating memories, schemas, and mental models.
The 'amygdala fear center' concept is an oversimplification not supported by current understanding.