Joseph LeDoux

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Joseph E. LeDoux (born December 7, 1949 in Eunice (Louisiana) ) is an American psychologist , neuroscientist and professor at the Center for Neural Science at New York University .

Professional background

LeDoux received his PhD from the University of New York at Stony Brook with Michael Gazzaniga .

research

One focus of his research is the neurophysiology of fear .

According to LeDoux, fear-inducing stimuli trigger two processes in the central nervous system , both of which have their origin in the thalamus and then each run along a separate route. The first process is the quick comparison of the stimulus with rough stimulus patterns to categorize it as dangerous or harmless. LeDoux describes it as emotional processing and describes it as "quick and dirty". According to his thesis, it is used to prepare for quick reactions (e.g. escape in dangerous situations) and is prone to errors. According to LeDoux, this first route leads directly from the thalamus to the amygdala , i.e. without a detour via the cerebral cortex . The amygdala habituates through experience, so one can speak of the amygdala as emotional or implicit (non-declarative) memory .

LeDoux calls the second process “cognitive processing”. It is used to control the information obtained during emotional processing and is more time-consuming. According to LeDoux, this process begins at the thalamus (gateway to consciousness) and proceeds via the prefrontal cortex and a secondary route via the hippocampus . The hippocampus selects and coordinates the information and in this way creates the explicit, declarative memory. The amygdala, the hippocampus and its surrounding cortex (called EPPC) share the declarative memory work, whereby the memory content itself is stored in the associated cortex (visual cortex, auditory cortex, ...). The connections between the hippocampus and the cortex are not fully developed until the age of 4. For example, content can be saved "emotionally" before the age of 4, but the declarative context is missing (infantile amnesia).

Awards

Fonts (selection)

  • The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. Simon and Schuster, New York 1996, ISBN 0-684-80382-8 .
    • German: The network of feelings. translated by Friedrich Griese. dtv, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-423-36253-7 .
  • Synaptic Self. How Our Brains Become Who We Are. Viking, New York 2002, ISBN 0-670-03028-7 .
    • German: The network of personality. translated by Christoph Trunk. dtv, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-423-34279-X .

References

  1. ^ Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber, Gerhard Roth, Anna Buchheim : Psychoanalysis - Neurobiology - Trauma. Schattauer-Verlag, Stuttgart et al. 2008, ISBN 978-3-7945-2547-8 .
  2. ↑ cf. U. Dicke, G. Roth: Basic course in neurobiology. LPW 2001.
  3. ↑ Member profile

Web links

personal data
SURNAME LeDoux, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES LeDoux, Joseph E.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Eunice (Louisiana)