Computational principles underlying the functioning of amygdala in the affective regulation of behaviour

This paper presents a short review, compiled with a computational perspective, of the empirical neuroscientific evidence related to amygdala, a brain complex situated at the core of various brain systems underlying motivations and emotions. The functions of amygdala are fundamental for organisms' adaptive behaviour as they allow them to assign subjective saliency and value to experienced world states, so enhancing the adaptive power of their cognitive processes. In this respect, the major goal of the review is outlining the main computational functionalities of amygdala emerging from the neuroscientific investigations on affective processes so as to contribute to highlight the general architectural and functioning mechanisms underlying organisms' emotional processes. This effort is also expected to fertilise the design of robot controllers exhibiting a flexibility and autonomy comparable to that of real organisms.