All parts of the brain › Emotions

What part of the brain controls emotions?

Several parts, often grouped as the limbic system: the amygdala processes emotional responses such as fear, the hypothalamus drives the body’s side of them, the cingulate gyrus and insula help form and feel them, and the prefrontal cortex helps regulate them. [1][2]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The list of parts still says what each one does for emotions.

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All 5 parts are lit together. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap a part on the brain or a name in the list to focus it; .

Emotions: 5 parts lit

Amygdala, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus, insula and prefrontal cortex. Tap one to see where it is and what it does.

The parts and their roles

Has a primary role in processing emotional responses, memory and decision-making; its clusters are active when a person expresses fear or aggression. [2] Where is the amygdala?
Its medial zone is part of the circuitry for motivated behaviours such as defence, it regulates the autonomic nervous system, and it connects to the amygdala. [3] Where is the hypothalamus?
Lies just above the corpus callosum and is an integral part of the limbic system, involved in forming and processing emotion; its front part detects errors and conflict. [4] Where is the cingulate gyrus?
Is thought to give sensory experience an emotionally relevant context; its front part processes disgust and awareness of inner states such as thirst and fatigue. [5] Where is the insula?
Its ventral (lower) part interconnects with the brain regions involved with emotion, and theories of how it filters information are used to explain emotional regulation. [6] Where is the prefrontal cortex?

How they work together

The limbic system is involved in emotional processing and motivation, and its components also support behaviour, long-term memory and smell. [1]
When the amygdala reacts to a threat it prepares the body to fight or run; the hypothalamus can activate the sympathetic pathway that raises arousal. [2][3]
Greater emotional arousal after a learning event makes a person retain that event better, one place where emotion and memory meet. [2]
Honest limit: the limbic system is no longer seen as an isolated unit responsible for emotion, and which structures belong to it is debated, so read this map as the parts most often named, not a closed list. [1]

Sources

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. A part lit here takes part in emotions; it does not do it alone, and it does other jobs too. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); on it the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla, so lighting the brainstem lights all three.