study at UCLA identified another fascinating phenomenon: Merely labeling the emotion of fear reduced it. In studies using fMRI technology, researchers showed subjects a series of photos with faces displaying different emotions and asked the subjects to verbally identify the emotion. When the subjects named “fear,” the brain scan showed activation of an area in the prefrontal cortex that is thought to exert dampening or inhibiting effects on the amygdala (the fear-generating area) and a reduction of activity in the amygdala!
