University of Iowa Insights May 2011

Researchers in the Department of Neurology at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are gaining valuable insight into how the brain works by studying patients with selective forms of brain damage. This edition of the “Iowa Insights” podcast examines the role of the world-renowned Iowa Neurological Patient Registry in this quest for knowledge about the brain.

By figuring out what goes wrong when a particular region of the brain is damaged, researchers are given a window into how the brain functions. With the help of registry patients, they confirmed that the amygdala is the fear sensor of the human brain – a finding that could improve treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.