Located next to the thalamus, the amygdala gets a head start over the prefrontal cortex. Its “jump first, think later” nature drives our immediate reactions. The amygdala also biases the interpretations and analysis of the prefrontal cortex when it starts catching up a second or two or three later. This is the amygdala hijack in action: great for raw survival, but also the source of much needless upset, overheated reactions, and painful conflicts with others.
