Thread: Clicking your Amygdala

Care to explain on "Amygdala"? I could google it but...

1. I'm real lazy

2. I think you can get a better definition of something from a person rather then a dictionary.

The amygdala is the part of your brain that is initially responsible for emotions like anger.
As we get older, this shifts to be part of the cortex's responsibility (I think)
ie. a child's emotions are different from an adults. Duh.

As to why you'd want to click it and how, I dunno. I'll have a look around the net about it later to educate myself

Learning to click it is supposed to help overcome stress.

Some things I found from googling (I know you could have done the same, but I was researching it for myself too )

Here's an extract from http://www.quickiesheets.com/blog/20...-techniques-2/

This predicates on the scientific theory that the amygdala controls the flight or fight instincts in mammals. The amygdala is a part of the brain located on both sides of the frontal lobes, a little above the base of the ears. When clicked backwards (scientifically validated), it triggers the body’s “fight or flight” mechanism. When clicked forward (the theory goes), it triggers states of joy and creativity and allows access to untapped resources of the brain.

The technique is pioneered by T.A. Lingo and documented in products from Neil Slade. While I cannot vouch for the validity of the technique (or the history and science behind it, for that matter), I can vouch for the positive things it does for me. I notice now, in times of concentrated efforts and focus, my amygdala clicks fully forward and locks there for a few minutes at least. When I’m feeling ill or down, I consciously do the clicking and my focus usually changes and my mood begins shifting a little.

What is amygdala clicking?
A big article on it by Neil Slade

After looking through all that, I think I know why you can't get solid information on it.
This whole idea is similar to bio-feedback techniques, i.e. you learn to do it just by thinking.
You probably expect something more than just imagination or thinking.

It's like moving your arm. You can't EXPLAIN how to move your arm. You just do it.
You need to learn to manipulate the sensations in your brain by practice and feedback.

A child learns to move his/her arm by trying a few muscle movements and seeing what happens, and working from there.
So you'd have to do a similar thing. Try different things in your head, and see what changes your sensations of fight/flight or creativity/inspiration or positive/negative

Perhaps you can find things that stimulate those sensations and try to 'feel' how it happens in your head (I know.. vague.. just like them)

IMHO anyway

I'm going to double post to put my personal feelings on the matter.

I think that something like this could be possible, but that the way they've interpreted and described it is misleading.
I doubt it has anything to do with moving or clicking anything.
And it also may have nothing to do with the amygdala - they probably just picked on that part of the brain because of it's relation to feeling good.

There's evidence that much of the emotional neurology of the amygdala migrates to other portions of the brain when a human reaches adulthood. This means that the amygdala doesn't even actively control your emotions anymore.

But perhaps I'm wrong, maybe you are altering something with your amygdala. In any event, this is all about biofeedback.

Originally Posted by Placebo

The amygdala is the part of your brain that is initially responsible for emotions like anger.
As we get older, this shifts to be part of the cortex's responsibility (I think)
ie. a child's emotions are different from an adults. Duh.

As to why you'd want to click it and how, I dunno. I'll have a look around the net about it later to educate myself

Thanks =]

No problem. Checked on wikipedia, and it turns out that the emotion shifting neurology has strong evidence for it, but is not conclusively proven yet.

The techniques which allow you to click your amygdala forward can be found in the books Frontal Lobes Supercharge and Brain Magic (through amazon or here). And they can also be found within articles on this site here; however, they aren't collectively grouped into one article. I will post techniques which I have gathered from those articles, but I suggest you read through those articles to expand your knowledge of the subject matter and discover methods to improve them, according to your specific preferences.

Before being able to click your amygdala you must first be able to locate it and this is very easy just go here and read a short article.

Method #1
Quoting from one of the aforementioned articles

"Well, like the brain man said, it's as easy as clicking on a light switch. Of course, you've got to FIND the clicker first. Here's a good simple way to demonstrate it actually exists (as opposed to just reading about it and imagining it via your frontal lobes)."
"Your NOSE is connected DIRECTLY to your amygdala, attached by way of olfactory nerves."
P.S. There is no need to actually participate in step one as I believe we all have the ability to recall a time when we smelled something which we disliked. Just recall, imagine, and be self-aware.

"Very Easy Amygdala Click Demonstration

STEP 1) (Don't do this part too much, it will give you a bad headache.) Go outside and find your neighbor's smelly garbage can. Put your nose right in the bottom of it. GO ON, DON'T JUST SIT THERE!~ Rub your nose around in the lid. ! (You may optionally find something else to smell equally repulsive.) Note the rather unpleasant convulsions your body is experiencing. DON'T COME BACK HERE AND READ ANY MORE TILL YOU DO IT! GO ON....................
Congratulations! YOUR AMYGDALA JUST CLICKED BACKWARDS. (Now go wash your face).

STEP 2) Go get something that smells really good, TO YOU. It might be a rose, or popcorn, or your wife.
Okay, now smell this nice thing..... When you smell this "thing" subtle waves of pleasure permeate your head. It travels from your ears down your neck into your fingers and you drool with delight. Congratulations! Your amygdala has just clicked forward, and you did it ON PURPOSE all by yourself. (This is important, it wasn't an accident.)

STEP 3) See the difference between a frontwards click and a backwards click?
Wait a minute, you say...."This is so obvious!!" OF COURSE IT IS! You've been walking around with this switch in your brain since the day before you were born!
Once you learn a few techniques for DIRECTLY clicking forward, any time, any place YOU WILL BE AMAAAAZED at how your life changes! You will be in CONTROL of your own positive emotions and about a million other fantastic things. You ain't seen nothing yet......(Many more and advanced lessons in The Frontal Lobes Supercharge and other brain books.)"

Method #2
Quoting from one of the aforementioned articles

"A very helpful visualization is to imagine you have a feather, and that you are tickling the front part of each amygdala. Tickle the front part of your right amygdala and the front part of your left amygdala. Or left then right, or both together (it doesn't matter). Whoooosh! Ha ha ha! Click! That's it!"
"Keep tickling until you get the desired results and long lasting positive emotional feedback. The effects are progressive and accumulative."
"Desired results" include "a tingling in the forehead; a giggly light feeling; a cessation of internal noise; an automatic smile. A few see lights and hear sounds. Some feel a wave of euphoria."

Method #3
Quoting from one of the aforementioned articles

Visualize light switches in your brain were your amygdalae are and imagine them clicking forward.
"Now, locate your amygdala. You click it forward using your frontal lobes- IMAGINE that your amygdala is like a click toggle switch- Now "click" the switch forward towards your forehead. There! You did it."
"Imagine your amygdala is a toggle click switch, and click it forward. Click! By clicking on your imagination, you instantly send electro-chemical brain energy to flow forward through your amygdala into your infinite potential frontal lobes. These simple IMAGES of tickling or clicking your amygdala forward turns the ignition key and starts the frontal lobes engine. It primes the pump. It's the match the lights the fireworks fuse."

Tips
Try method one before two or three.
Clicking in a quiet secluded environment helps during the beginning.
Be self-aware (emotionally) and concentrate on the sensations within your body.

All that coke I used to sniff must have touched my clicker

I just thought I should say, ! I found your post to be very helpfull! Thanks!
Edit:
Directed at Wickedjster

Oh...my...God...

I just attempted Method #3 and must I say wow, that was amazing. Maybe because I'm pretty blazed right now too but oh well.

I closed my eyes and almost immediately started seeing faint visuals. I imagined switching the flip forward in my brain. The sensation on my forehead was awesome as well as the visuals I was seeing behind my eyelids. I opened my eyes and saw a few beautiful colors from my peripheral vision. I noticed I had a huge smile and a sense of wellness. Euphoria.

By the way, this happened before I saw that one quote on what happens after clicking.

I think we can safely put this in the 'power of suggestion' category. But I suppose if it works then use it...I guess. But don't be surprised when it stops working.

I've been doing stuff like this my whole life, I just focus on a part of my head and feel the "desired effects". I don't do it to feel euphoria or anything, but the tingling sensation is rather curious.

Originally Posted by hungrymanz

I've been doing stuff like this my whole life, I just focus on a part of my head and feel the "desired effects". I don't do it to feel euphoria or anything, but the tingling sensation is rather curious.

That's different. That's when you trigger your somatosensory cortex. In fact, you can do that with any part of your body, inducing tingling I mean. For example, if you focus 100% of your consciousness on a toe, that toe will start to tingle.

No, it is meant that an area, conceivable surely, whereby my head would occupy, upon concentration by a central consciousness which I possess; after such events it is felt a tingling on my forehead and a slight uplift in spirits.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

I think we can safely put this in the 'power of suggestion' category.

Actually, the physical stimulation of the amygdalae, in humans and other mammals, has proven that the anterior does in fact cause these alleged sensations. It is a medically proven fact that the anterior amygdalae is the reward/pleasure portion of the brain, for example, brain scans concluded that the amygdala is indeed associated with the sensations in orgasm. Scientific research has also concluded that the olfactory nerve within the nose sends nerve impulses directly to the olfactory cortex and the amygdala.

There is copious amounts of research on the amygdala, please don't bash the topic without first doing research.



http://psychology.rutgers.edu/~brk/published051106.pdf
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=19560419
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~xpsy0221/Amygdala-NRN.pdf
ANDREW M. COLMAN. "olfactory bulb." A Dictionary of Psychology. 2001
(Heath, R.G. "Stimulation of the Amygdaloid Nucleus in a Schizophrenic Patient." American Journal of Psychiatry, 1955, 111: 862-863.)
The Science of Orgasm
By Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer, Carlos Beyer-Flores, Beverly Whipple

I'd like to know what are the practical ways of achieving this feat. Meditation? Smelling certain scents? Theories and research are nice, but a practical means to do this would be like. My post is only re-affirming the intentions of the OP.

Originally Posted by Daniel Danciu

I'd like to know what are the practical ways of achieving this feat. Meditation? Smelling certain scents? Theories and research are nice, but a practical means to do this would be like. My post is only re-affirming the intentions of the OP.

The amygdala is stimulated by certain emotion responses throughout the day and smelling something pleasurable is just used to pinpoint that stimulation. As for the other methods, they are used to amplify those electrical responses within the brain. Your brain is like a muscle and if you expect to see results you need to work it out, but instead of weights your using visualization. (And yes meditation has been shown to change brain structure and function)

As I understand it, this is just a means of biofeedback (activating parts of your body that you are generally not consciously controlled)
By smelling something bad/good, you're able to examine the sensation and try to replicate it with disconnected thought alone.

It's like not knowing how to move your arm. But when your arm does suddenly move, you can mull over what you did to cause it to move ... and reproduce it.

Originally Posted by Placebo

As I understand it, this is just a means of biofeedback (activating parts of your body that you are generally not consciously controlled)
By smelling something bad/good, you're able to examine the sensation and try to replicate it with disconnected thought alone.

It's like not knowing how to move your arm. But when your arm does suddenly move, you can mull over what you did to cause it to move ... and reproduce it.

Precisely, I couldn't have said it better myself

Originally Posted by Wickedjster

Actually, the physical stimulation of the amygdalae, in humans and other mammals, has proven that the anterior does in fact cause these alleged sensations. It is a medically proven fact that the anterior amygdalae is the reward/pleasure portion of the brain, for example, brain scans concluded that the amygdala is indeed associated with the sensations in orgasm. Scientific research has also concluded that the olfactory nerve within the nose sends nerve impulses directly to the olfactory cortex and the amygdala.

There is copious amounts of research on the amygdala, please don't bash the topic without first doing research.

Believe it or not, I don't doubt a part of the brain does brain stuff. You're an idiot for thinking I'm that much of an idiot. I was referring to the practice of mentally (without externalities like smell) imagining a 'flipping switch' in the brain and expecting this to literally make you happier, and not only that, but expecting it to work indefinitely.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

Believe it or not, I don't doubt a part of the brain does brain stuff. You're an idiot for thinking I'm that much of an idiot.

I was not insulting your intelligence, merely illustrating that the amygdalae plays a vital role in our functioning and that the amygdala is frequently stimulated throughout our lives, unconsciously of course.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

I was referring to the practice of mentally (without externalities like smell) imagining a 'flipping switch' in the brain and expecting this to literally make you happier, and not only that, but expecting it to work indefinitely.

The amygdala is being stimulated whenever you feel pleasure or pain, so unless you suddenly lose the capacity to feel emotions, or die, you will always be able to stimulate it and experience the sensations which follow.
As for the visualizations, they simply act as anchor to the internal stimuli. It is just another form of neuro-linguistic programing.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

Believe it or not, I don't doubt a part of the brain does brain stuff. You're an idiot for thinking I'm that much of an idiot. I was referring to the practice of mentally (without externalities like smell) imagining a 'flipping switch' in the brain and expecting this to literally make you happier, and not only that, but expecting it to work indefinitely.

Some people have more control over their bodies and minds than others.

Originally Posted by DeathCell

Some people have more control over their bodies and minds than others.

Exactly, I have a very high self-awareness and I can literally feel certain body sensations. After smoking a bowl, I was able to do it in literally seconds and I immediately felt the effects.