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New parts of brain identified
A team of scientists has uncovered newer parts of the brain, that support social interactions, and are connected to and in constant communication with the ancient amygdala region -- a discovery which can help treat psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression.

How brain evolved

In a new study by Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine in the US and published in the journal Science Advances, scientists sought to better understand how humans evolved to become so skilled at thinking about what’s happening in other peoples’ minds.

“We spend a lot of time wondering, ‘What is that person feeling, thinking? Did I say something to upset them?’” said senior author Rodrigo Braga.

The parts of the brain that allow us to do this are in regions of the human brain that have expanded recently in our evolution, and that implies that it’s a recently developed process.

Amygdala

“In essence, you’re putting yourself in someone else’s mind and making inferences about what that person is thinking when you cannot really know,” Braga added.

The study found the more recently evolved and advanced parts of the human brain that support social interactions — called the social cognitive network — are connected to and in constant communication with an ancient part of the brain called the amygdala. Often referred to as our “lizard brain”, the amygdala is associated with detecting threats and processing fear.

“The amygdala is responsible for social behaviours like parenting, aggression and the navigation of social-dominance hierarchies,” said Braga, adding that their study shows co-activation of the amygdala and social cognitive network is always happening.