EMOTION AND THE BRAIN 177 By way of projections to cortical areas,the amygdala can influence the opera t-term memory proce as well as processes i with the dorsolatera prefronta does communicate with the anterior cingulate and orbital cortex,two other components of the working memory net work.But the amygdala projects to ecific systems involved endocrine).which then ovide feedback tha can inue processing indirecty.Thus,working memory receives a greater number of inputs. than in These extra inputs may just be d thus to turn subiective experiences into emotional experiences CONCLUSION Research on the emotional brain has progressed significantly in recent years. largely as a result of a highly focused approach centered on the study of fea ed out nath the mecn ditioning.Thi animals and humans.and it has begun to shed light on interactions between emotional and cognitive processes in the brain.Although the focus on fear con At the same time the ngthe amy adala as the new center of the emotional brain.It seems unlikely that the amygdala is the of feer to now a emonons or and may hot eve nowsttiv the ev cipates in po of emotion is on the horizon.let it get there by data rather than by faith. Neuroscience meetings these days have numerous papers on the role of the brain in emotion ct,hedonic tone,and the like s thes vague concepts right if we keep in mind the way that emotion became respectable again:by focusing on a psychologically wel ined aspect of emotion,by using a experi approach tha in such a way as to make subjective experience as a roadblock to ex mentation.This is not to sug Visit the Annual Reviews home page at www.AnnualReviews.org EMOTION AND THE BRAIN 177 By way of projections to cortical areas, the amygdala can influence the opera￾tion of perceptual and short-term memory processes, as well as processes in higher-order areas. Although the amygdala does not have extensive connections with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, it does communicate with the anterior cingulate and orbital cortex, two other components of the working memory net￾work. But in addition, the amygdala projects to nonspecific systems involved in the regulation of cortical arousal and it controls bodily responses (behavioral, autonomic, endocrine), which then provide feedback that can influence cortical processing indirectly. Thus, working memory receives a greater number of inputs, and receives inputs of a greater variety, in the presence of an emotional stimulus than in the presence of other stimuli. These extra inputs may just be what is required to add affective charge to working memory representations, and thus to turn subjective experiences into emotional experiences. CONCLUSION Research on the emotional brain has progressed significantly in recent years, largely as a result of a highly focused approach centered on the study of fear mechanisms, and especially the mechanisms underlying fear conditioning. This work has mapped out pathways involved in fear learning in both experimental animals and humans, and it has begun to shed light on interactions between emotional and cognitive processes in the brain. Although the focus on fear con￾ditioning has its limits, it has proven valuable as a research strategy and provides a foundation upon which to build a broader understanding of mind and brain. At the same time, there is a disturbing rush to embrace the amygdala as the new center of the emotional brain. It seems unlikely that the amygdala is the answer to how all emotions work, and it may not even explain how all aspects of fear work. There is some evidence that the amygdala participates in postitive emotional behaviors, but that role is still poorly understood. If an amygdala theory of emotion is on the horizon, let it get there by data rather than by faith. Neuroscience meetings these days have numerous papers on the role of the brain in emotion, affect, hedonic tone, and the like. Unless these vague concepts can be operationalized, as was done in the work on fear, they are likely to impede, if not recede, the progress. The future of emotion research can be bright if we keep in mind the way that emotion became respectable again: by focusing on a psychologically well-defined aspect of emotion, by using an experimental approach that simplified the problem in such a way as to make it tractable, by circumventing vague and poorly defined aspects of emotion, and by removing subjective experience as a roadblock to experimentation. This is not to suggest that the hard problems should not be worked on but instead that they should be worked on in a way that advances the field. Visit the Annual Reviews home page at www.AnnualReviews.org