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The Human Amygdala: An Evolved System for Relevance Detection
Abstract
Evidence from pioneering animal research has suggested that the amygdala is involved in the processing of aversive stimuli, particularly fear-related information. Fear is central in the evolution of the mammalian brain: it is automatically and rapidly elicited by potentially dangerous and deadly events. The view that the amygdala shares the main characteristics of modular systems, e.g. domain specificity, automaticity, and cognitive impenetrability, has become popular in neuroscience. Because of its computational properties, it has been proposed to implement a rapid-response 'fear module'. In this article, we review recent patient and neuroimaging data of the human brain and argue that the fundamental criteria for the amygdala to be a modular system are not met. We propose a different computational view and suggest the notion of a specific involvement of the human amygdala in the appraisal of relevant events that include, but are not restricted to, fear-related stimuli. Considering the amygdala as a 'relevance detector' would integrate the 'fear module' hypothesis with the concept of an evolved neural system devoted to the processing of a broader category of biologically relevant stimuli. In primates, socially relevant events appear to have become, through evolution, the dominant elements of the amygdala's domain of specificity.
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“This brain region is thought to automatically extract biological significance from the environment (Ball et al. 2007; Sander et al. 2003; Bzdok et al. 2011; Müller et al. 2011).”
From Parsing the neural correlates of moral cognition: ALE meta-analysis on morality, theory of mind, and empathy (2012) · cites this paper as Sander et al. 2003
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“…349 | 1 organism, and an event is relevant if it can “significantly influence (positively or negatively) the attainment of his or her goals, the satisfaction of his or her needs, the maintenance of his or her own well-being, and the well-being of his or her species” (Sander et al., 2003, p. 311).”
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“In addition to this, an imaging study with the Ultimatum Game showed that recipients of unfair offers had a higher activation in brain areas related to cognitive control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and emotional processing (anterior insula) (Sanfey et al., 2003) suggesting that both cognitive control and emotion…”
BackgroundInfluentialNonlinear neural representation of emotional feelings elicited by dynamic naturalistic stimulation
Viinikainen, M., Glerean, E., Jääskeläinen, I. P., Kettunen, J., Sams, M. E., & Nummenmaa, L. (2012) · Cited by 13
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Self-citationde Vliet, L. V., Jastorff, J., Huang, Y., Paesschen, W. V., Vandenbulcke, M., & den Stock, J. V. (2018) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0634-18.2018 · Cited by 13
“This is in line with a functional hypothesis of the amygdala as a personal relevance detector and modulator of brain processes underlying adaptive behavior (Sander et al., 2003; Janak and Tye, 2015).”
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Multivariate fMRI pattern analysis of fear perception across modalities
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Relevance is in the eye of the beholder: Attentional bias to relevant stimuli in children.
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Prolonged insula activation during perception of aftertaste
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“, 2014), suggesting that amygdala may also generally respond to information with higher emotional salience (Sander et al., 2003; Ziaei et al., 2017).”
BackgroundTell me why: the missing w in episodic memory’s what, where, and when
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“…the amygdala is often left out when defining the MTL, it is an essential region and plays an important role in shaping the why of memory by signaling biologically relevant events (i.e., it is not simply a “fear center”) (Markowitsch & Stan-iloiu, 2011; Pessoa & Adolphs, 2010; Sander et al., 2003).”
Stiernman, L., Comasco, E., Johansson, M., & Bixo, M. (2025) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-025-03465-6 · Cited by 13
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“…light of our specific interest in the effects of oxytocin on the salience of social stimuli, our analysis focused on the basolateral amygdala, which has been described as the brain’s ‘salience detector’ due to its responsivity to both reward and threat (Sander et al. , 2003; Terburg et al. , 2018).”
Bach, D. R., Nicholas Furl, A., Barnes, G. R., & Dolan, R. J. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134060 · Cited by 13
“A previous literature has primarily linked subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, to evaluation of behavioural relevance [28, 29].”
BackgroundGoal-relevant situations facilitate memory of neutral faces
Montagrin, A., Virginie Sterpenich, A., Brosch, T., Grandjean, D., Armony, J. L., Ceravolo, L., & Sander, D. (2018) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-018-0637-x · Cited by 15
“Indeed, these latter findings are in line with the assumption that the amygdala plays a key role as a relevance detector (Sander, Grafman, & Zalla, 2003).”
Self-citationAltered face scanning and arousal after orbitofrontal cortex lesion in adult rhesus monkeys.
Goursaud, A.-P. S., & Bachevalier, J. (2020) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/bne0000342 · Cited by 12
Laycock, R., Crewther, S. G., & Chouinard, P. A. (2020) · Current Developmental Disorders Reports · doi:10.1007/s40474-020-00220-y · Cited by 13
Neurocognitive dynamics of near-threshold voice signal detection and affective voice evaluation
Swanborough, H., Staib, M., & Frühholz, S. (2020) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abb3884 · Cited by 11
Emotion Perception and Elicitation
Meaux, E., & Vuilleumier, P. O. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397025-1.00159-7 · Cited by 10
Hortensius, R., Terburg, D., Morgan, B., Stein, D. J., van Honk, J., & de Gelder, B. (2017) · Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2016.07.013
Contemporary Theories and Concepts in the Psychology of Emotions
Coppin, G., & Sander, D. (2013) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118601938.ch1 · Cited by 18
Self-citationMansueto, S. P., Romeo, Z., Angrilli, A., & Spironelli, C. (2024) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120986 · Cited by 11
Dynamic threat–reward neural processing under semi‐naturalistic ecologically relevant scenarios
Levitas, D. J., & James, T. W. (2024) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.26648 · Cited by 9
“Earlier work strongly implicated the amygdala (Pourtois et al., 2013; Sander et al., 2003) as an important site for affective processing.”
BackgroundBrain Imaging and Political Behavior
Friend, J. M., & Thayer, B. A. (2011) · Research in biopolitics · doi:10.1108/s2042-9940(2011)0000009012 · Cited by 11
Chien, J., Colloca, L., Korzeniewska, A., Meeker, T. J., Bienvenu, O. J., Saffer, M., & Lenz, F. A. (2020) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s20236751 · Cited by 14
Hartman, M. E., Ladwig, M. A., & Panteleimon Ekkekakis, A. (2021) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-021-01555-z · Cited by 10
Carosella, K. A., Mirza, S. A., Başgöze, Z., Cullen, K. R., & Klimes‐Dougan, B. (2023) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106056 · Cited by 11
“Hyperactivation of the amygdala might be important in NSSI risk due to the central role of the amygdala in detecting salient stimuli, such as threats, in one ’ s environment (Sander et al., 2003).”
BackgroundAlmanza-Conejo, O., Avina‐Cervantes, J. G., García-Pérez, A., & Ibarra-Manzano, M.-A. (2023) · Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.engappai.2023.106971 · Cited by 11
The Voice of Anger: Oscillatory EEG Responses to Emotional Prosody
del Giudice, R., Blume, C., Wisłowska, M., Wielek, T., Heib, D. P. J., & Schabus, M. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159429 · Cited by 11
“which emotional stimuli are represented in a broader brain network and have preferential access to awareness [4, 6, 7].”
BackgroundJames, C. E., Oechslin, M. S., Michel, C. M., & Pretto, M. D. (2017) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2017.00613 · Cited by 15
“In the same vein, the amygdala has received the epithet “relevance detector” (Sander et al., 2003), because it seems implicated in the appraisal of relevant events.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Sander, D., Grafman, J., & Zalla, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Geneva (CH)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives (FR)
- Venue
- Reviews in the Neurosciences
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 303-16
- ISSN
- 0334-1763 (ISSN-L)
- 2191-0200
- OpenAlex
- W2290816323
- Cited by
- 944
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 55 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 69 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 75 · 2012: 81
- FWCI
- 5.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Reviews in the Neurosciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- mediaTUM (Technical University of Munich) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Arizona
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- human amygdala, relevance detection, modularity of mind, domain specificity, automaticity, evolutionary neuroscience, social relevance, fear processing
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Animals, Computers, Emotions, Biological Evolution, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mental Processes, Models, Neurological, Systems Theory, Signal Detection, Psychological
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