<qa>  What do humans or experimental animals do to indicate that glucocorticoids may influence emotionalA potential mechanism by which glucocorticoids may influence emotional behavior is via their effects on the neurophysiological activity of the amygdala and prefrontal cortical structures known to participate in emotional processing. Human imaging studies indicate that amygdala, ventral medial prefrontal, and other prefrontal cortical areas are activated during tasks requiring processing of affective stimuli. These data converge with lesion analysis and electrophysiological studies performed in humans or experimental animals to indicate that these structures participate in brain circuits that process emotional information. These brain structures contain dense concentrations of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor mRNA, glucocorticoid receptors and mineralocorticoid receptors. Increased glucocorticoids appear to potentiate activation of the amygdala and affect processing of emotionally laden stimuli based on both experimental animal studies and correlational human studies. 