“The coordinated volley of firing in the amygdala in response to danger is central to the felt experience of fear, as we know from studying patients like S.M. who lack both an amygdala and the ability to experience fear and from studying psychopaths in whom both the amygdala and the experience of fear are stunted. So yes, it’s certainly possible that amygdala responses to fearful expressions represent a learned response that these expressions signal the presence of danger. But there are also problems with this explanation.”