Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Eye to Eye
22 February 2016

Eye to Eye

Is this monkey face threatening? Monkeys normally base their conclusions mainly by inspecting the eyes for signs of threat (right, where red indicate sites of longer gaze and blue shorter), whereas a monkey with damage to its amygdala region – the part of the brain that processes emotional reactions including fear and anxiety – will be distracted by the mouth of the potential aggressor (left). This research shows that intact amygdalae are important for directing attention to the eyes, conceivably to reduce the chances of misinterpreting possible social threats. Amygdala damage can affect humans in very diverse ways, including making them more placid, take more risks or, as illustrated by one extreme and famous case, become more aggressive. American student Charles Whitman murdered 16 people over 24 hours in 1966, and his personality change and urge to kill was attributable to a tumour compressing his amygdala.

Written by Katie Panteli

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.