Amygdala

The amygdala is a small part of the brain, adjacent to the hippocampus, that is believed to react most directly to emotions. From studies using brain scans, it has been shown that events that stimulate the amygdala are remembered better over time. This may be why emotionally significant events are remembered better than emotionally insignificant events.

Because the amygdala is involved heavily with emotions, it is believed to play a role in conditions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.