ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the neural candidates for repression and discusses what can and cannot be inferred from the relevant findings. One relevant avenue to discussions of neural structures and repression relates to investigation of the amygdala and fear conditioning to aversive stimuli. The amygdala appears a prime candidate for a neurological basis of major aspects of repression and even critics of Freudian theory accept the evidence of unconscious threat detection. The role of the amygdala in fear conditioning appears broadly accepted and the role of the amygdala in inhibitory processes has also long been recognized. The role of neural inhibition potentially provides an important contribution to a modern account of Freudian repression. One approach to understanding repression involves hemispheric specialization and failures in transfer across the brain's hemispheres. Gillett's account proposes a neurological censor, "reacting to and transforming the patterning of brain events".
