An almond-shaped structure deep in the medial temporal lobe, the amygdala assigns emotional valence to experiences. It modulates memory through its tight coupling with the hippocampus, tagging events with emotional significance to enhance retention. It’s pivotal for processing fear, threat detection, and social emotions like empathy or aggression. While often simplified as the “fear center,” the amygdala is more nuanced — regulating intensity and salience of emotion across both positive and negative spectra.Joseph LeDoux’s work in the 1990s clarified its role in fear conditioning and rapid, subconscious response pathways — a cornerstone of affective neuroscience.