Researchers are closer to understanding fear.
It has long been known that the amygdala, an almond-shaped area located
in the medial temporal lobe, is associated with creating the sensation
of fear when a person faces an external threat, such as being held at
gunpoint. There are people who suffer from a rare genetic disorder
called Urbach-Wiethe disease, in which the disease destroys much of the amygdala.
Without a working amygdala, people with this disease know no fear.
However, researchers just discovered that other areas of the brain can
create the sensation of panic.
Researchers can induce a
momentary sense of panic in participants by having them inhale a gas
mixture of 35% carbon dioxide. This method makes participants feel is if
they are suffocating and they feel panic in response. A recent study on
fear at the University of Iowa looked at 12 normal participants and 3
amygdala-damaged participants. Normal, healthy participants felt fear
before the test was even administered; researchers suspect this is
because the amygdala is sensing upcoming danger in the external
environment and is preparing the body to deal with the danger. When the
test was finally administered, 3 out of the 12 participants panicked.
When the same test was administered to participants with amygdala
damage, the participants felt no fear before the test. However, once the
test was administered, 3 out of the 3 participants panicked. This
sensation was entirely new to them.
Other areas of the brain,
such as the brain stem, may be responsible for generating panic when the
inner signals of the body indicate that the organism’s life is
threatened. These other areas of the brain may have caused the
amygdala-damaged participants to feel panic. Researchers suspect that in
a healthy person, the amygdala helps prepare the person for danger,
thus reducing the occurrence of panic. But in a person without a working
amygdala, there is nothing to help the person prepare for danger, and
so when the body signals that life is threatened, the person panics.
Researchers are excited about this new information, because it can help
them understand what causes panic attacks, ptsd, and other anxiety
disorders, and how to better treat them.
The photo below shows
a normal participant (the comparison), next to three amygdala-damaged
participants (represented by two letters each).
Photo courtesy of:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Researchers are closer to understanding fear.
It has long been known that the amygdala, an almond-shaped area located in the medial temporal lobe, is associated with creating the sensation of fear when a person faces an external threat, such as being held at gunpoint. There are people who suffer from a rare genetic disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease, in which the disease destroys much of the amygdala. Without a working amygdala, people with this disease know no fear. However, researchers just discovered that other areas of the brain can create the sensation of panic.
Researchers can induce a momentary sense of panic in participants by having them inhale a gas mixture of 35% carbon dioxide. This method makes participants feel is if they are suffocating and they feel panic in response. A recent study on fear at the University of Iowa looked at 12 normal participants and 3 amygdala-damaged participants. Normal, healthy participants felt fear before the test was even administered; researchers suspect this is because the amygdala is sensing upcoming danger in the external environment and is preparing the body to deal with the danger. When the test was finally administered, 3 out of the 12 participants panicked. When the same test was administered to participants with amygdala damage, the participants felt no fear before the test. However, once the test was administered, 3 out of the 3 participants panicked. This sensation was entirely new to them.
Other areas of the brain, such as the brain stem, may be responsible for generating panic when the inner signals of the body indicate that the organism’s life is threatened. These other areas of the brain may have caused the amygdala-damaged participants to feel panic. Researchers suspect that in a healthy person, the amygdala helps prepare the person for danger, thus reducing the occurrence of panic. But in a person without a working amygdala, there is nothing to help the person prepare for danger, and so when the body signals that life is threatened, the person panics. Researchers are excited about this new information, because it can help them understand what causes panic attacks, ptsd, and other anxiety disorders, and how to better treat them.
The photo below shows a normal participant (the comparison), next to three amygdala-damaged participants (represented by two letters each).
Photo courtesy of:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
It has long been known that the amygdala, an almond-shaped area located in the medial temporal lobe, is associated with creating the sensation of fear when a person faces an external threat, such as being held at gunpoint. There are people who suffer from a rare genetic disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease, in which the disease destroys much of the amygdala. Without a working amygdala, people with this disease know no fear. However, researchers just discovered that other areas of the brain can create the sensation of panic.
Researchers can induce a momentary sense of panic in participants by having them inhale a gas mixture of 35% carbon dioxide. This method makes participants feel is if they are suffocating and they feel panic in response. A recent study on fear at the University of Iowa looked at 12 normal participants and 3 amygdala-damaged participants. Normal, healthy participants felt fear before the test was even administered; researchers suspect this is because the amygdala is sensing upcoming danger in the external environment and is preparing the body to deal with the danger. When the test was finally administered, 3 out of the 12 participants panicked. When the same test was administered to participants with amygdala damage, the participants felt no fear before the test. However, once the test was administered, 3 out of the 3 participants panicked. This sensation was entirely new to them.
Other areas of the brain, such as the brain stem, may be responsible for generating panic when the inner signals of the body indicate that the organism’s life is threatened. These other areas of the brain may have caused the amygdala-damaged participants to feel panic. Researchers suspect that in a healthy person, the amygdala helps prepare the person for danger, thus reducing the occurrence of panic. But in a person without a working amygdala, there is nothing to help the person prepare for danger, and so when the body signals that life is threatened, the person panics. Researchers are excited about this new information, because it can help them understand what causes panic attacks, ptsd, and other anxiety disorders, and how to better treat them.
The photo below shows a normal participant (the comparison), next to three amygdala-damaged participants (represented by two letters each).
Photo courtesy of:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
http://www.wired.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
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