Kristen Lindquist, professor of psychology, shares her research with host David Staley. Lindquist researches what emotions are and how the brain creates them. She challenges the common view that emotions are triggered, instinctive packages generated by dedicated brain centers like the amygdala. Lindquist summarizes neuroimaging evidence that the amygdala is neither consistent nor specific to fear and that emotions involve whole-brain patterns including regions linked to language, memory, and abstract knowledge. She argues emotions are constructed through predictive processes shaped by personal experience, social learning, and cultural narratives, with implications for treatment. Lindquist closes by describing lifespan research using daily-life sampling, physiology, brain scans, and planned longitudinal follow-up.