The amygdala is another essential brain region implicated in memory processing, particularly for encoding the emotional and motivational significance of environmental stimuli as well as initiating innate unconditioned responses to aversive situations. It is a central region for integrating sensory and cognitive information through its extensive connections to other limbic structures, the cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus (LeDoux, 1996). In addition, experimental evidence strongly suggests drugs of abuse act on this system and can modify synaptic events, especially during periods of withdrawal (McCool et al., 2010).
