The brain plays an important role in how people control and process their emotions. Scientists have identified a group of interconnected structures within the brain as being responsible for controlling the more common emotions, known as the limbic system. The limbic system is made up of several structures, including the hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, and limbic cortex. These structures work together to process emotions, and different emotions are linked to the activation of different parts of the limbic system.

The amygdala is a region deep inside the brain that helps to detect threats in the environment and takes part in the response to emotional situations. Fear is the main emotion that the amygdala is known to control. The hippocampus is strongly linked with memory and is responsible for determining what memories are stored and at what location in the brain. Its thought that this determination is based on how huge an emotional response an event invokes. The thalamus is linked to sadness, while the prefrontal cortex may play a role in anger and aggression. The hypothalamus controls the molecules that make you feel exhilarated, angry, or unhappy.

The prefrontal cortex is important for many tasks that require a lot of mental effort, including language, planning, and controlling impulses and emotions. As we grow from children to adults, the emotion regulation system involving the prefrontal cortex and amygdala continues to mature. Various parts of the brain develop at different rates, and the prefrontal cortex is one of the last brain regions to finish “growing up” .