Emotion processing and the amygdala: from a 'low road' to 'many roads' of evaluating biological significance

Abstract

A subcortical pathway is assumed to mediate non-conscious visual processing of emotional stimuli. In this provocative Perspective, Pessoa and Adolphs argue that this pathway does not exist in primates and propose novel roles for the amygdala and the cortex in visual emotion processing. A subcortical pathway through the superior colliculus and pulvinar to the amygdala is commonly assumed to mediate the non-conscious processing of affective visual stimuli. We review anatomical and physiological data that argue against the notion that such a pathway plays a prominent part in processing affective visual stimuli in humans. Instead, we propose that the primary role of the amygdala in visual processing, like that of the pulvinar, is to coordinate the function of cortical networks during evaluation of the biological significance of affective visual stimuli. Under this revised framework, the cortex has a more important role in emotion processing than is traditionally assumed.