How does telling yourself it is only a film calm a frightened amygdala? · Grey Matter

The amygdala and the prefrontal cortex talk in both directions: the amygdala tells the cortex that something is dangerous, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which projects back onto inhibitory cells of the amygdala, can turn its output down.

How does telling yourself it is only a film calm a frightened amygdala?

The amygdala and the prefrontal cortex talk in both directions: the amygdala tells the cortex that something is dangerous, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which projects back onto inhibitory cells of the amygdala, can turn its output down. Reappraisal (reinterpreting what is seen, such as a scene being fiction) recruits the lateral prefrontal cortex, which works through the ventromedial part to reduce the amygdala's response, and imaging shows amygdala activity falling as the reappraisal succeeds. The same loop runs the other way when a worrying thought feeds the alarm, which is why thinking can either calm or amplify an emotion.