Acute serotonin 2A receptor blocking alters the processing of fearful faces in the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hornboll, Bettina; Macoveanu, Julian; Rowe, James

2013-01-01

judging the gender of neutral, fearful and angry faces. Methods: 5-HT2A receptors were blocked with ketanserin to a variable degree across subjects by adjusting the time between ketanserin-infusion and onset of the fMRI protocol. Neocortical 5-HT2A receptor binding in terms of the binding potential (BPp...... blockade reduced the neural response to fearful faces in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), independently of 5-HT2A receptor occupancy or neocortical 5-HT2A receptor BPp . The medial OFC also showed increased functional coupling with the left amygdala during processing of fearful faces depending...

The Amygdala Is Involved in Affective Priming Effect for Fearful Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, J.; Cao, Z.; Xu, X.; Chen, G.

2012-01-01

The object of this study was to investigate whether the amygdala is involved in affective priming effect after stimuli are encoded unconsciously and consciously. During the encoding phase, each masked face (fearful or neutral) was presented to participants six times for 17 ms each, using a backward masking paradigm. During the retrieval phase,…

Stimulus fear-relevance and the vicarious learning pathway to childhood fears.

Science.gov (United States)

Askew, Chris; Dunne, Güler; Özdil, Zehra; Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P

2013-10-01

Enhanced fear learning for fear-relevant stimuli has been demonstrated in procedures with adults in the laboratory. Three experiments investigated the effect of stimulus fear-relevance on vicarious fear learning in children (aged 6-11 years). Pictures of stimuli with different levels of fear-relevance (flowers, caterpillars, snakes, worms, and Australian marsupials) were presented alone or together with scared faces. In line with previous studies, children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences increased for stimuli they had seen with scared faces. However, in contrast to evidence with adults, learning was mostly similar for all stimulus types irrespective of fear-relevance. The results support a proposal that stimulus preparedness is bypassed when children observationally learn threat-related information from adults.

Right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy impairs empathy-related brain responses to dynamic fearful faces.

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Toller, Gianina; Adhimoolam, Babu; Grunwald, Thomas; Huppertz, Hans-Jürgen; Kurthen, Martin; Rankin, Katherine P; Jokeit, Hennric

2015-03-01

Unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) has been associated with reduced amygdala responsiveness to fearful faces. However, the effect of unilateral MTLE on empathy-related brain responses in extra-amygdalar regions has not been investigated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured empathy-related brain responses to dynamic fearful faces in 34 patients with unilateral MTLE (18 right sided), in an epilepsy (extra-MTLE; n = 16) and in a healthy control group (n = 30). The primary finding was that right MTLE (RMTLE) was associated with decreased activity predominantly in the right amygdala and also in bilateral periaqueductal gray (PAG) but normal activity in the right anterior insula. The results of the extra-MTLE group demonstrate that these reduced amygdala and PAG responses go beyond the attenuation caused by antiepileptic and antidepressant medication. These findings clearly indicate that RMTLE affects the function of mesial temporal and midbrain structures that mediate basic interoceptive input necessary for the emotional awareness of empathic experiences of fear. Together with the decreased empathic concern found in the RMTLE group, this study provides neurobehavioral evidence that patients with RMTLE are at increased risk for reduced empathy towards others' internal states and sheds new light on the nature of social-cognitive impairments frequently accompanying MTLE.

"Facing Our Fears": Using facilitated film viewings to engage communities in HIV research involving MSM in Kenya

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kombo, Bernadette; Sariola, Salla; Gichuru, Evanson; Molyneux, Sassy; Sanders, Eduard J.; van der Elst, Elise

2017-01-01

Kenya is a generally homophobic country where homosexuality is criminalised and people who engage in same sex sexuality face stigma and discrimination. In 2013, we developed a 16 min documentary entitled "Facing Our Fears" that aimed at sharing information on how and why men who have sex with men

Identifying patient fear-avoidance beliefs by physical therapists managing patients with low back pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Calley, Darren Q; Jackson, Steven; Collins, Heather; George, Steven Z

2010-12-01

Cross-sectional. To evaluate the accuracy with which physical therapists identify fear-avoidance beliefs in patients with low back pain by comparing therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance to the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia 11-item (TSK-11), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). To compare the concurrent validity of therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance and a 2-item questionnaire on fear of physical activity and harm, with clinical measures of fear-avoidance (FABQ, TSK-11, PCS), pain intensity as assessed with a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), and disability as assessed with the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ). The need to consider psychosocial factors for identifying patients at risk for disability and chronic low back pain has been well documented. Yet the ability of physical therapists to identify fear-avoidance beliefs using direct observation has not been studied. Eight physical therapists and 80 patients with low back pain from 3 physical therapy clinics participated in the study. Patients completed the FABQ, TSK-11, PCS, ODQ, NPRS, and a dichotomous 2-item fear-avoidance screening questionnaire. Following the initial evaluation, physical therapists rated perceived patient fear-avoidance on a 0-to-10 scale and recorded 2 influences on their ratings. Spearman correlation and independent t tests determined the level of association of therapist 0-to-10 ratings and 2-item screening with fear-avoidance and clinical measures. Therapist ratings of perceived patient fear-avoidance had fair to moderate interrater reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.663). Therapist ratings did not strongly correlate with FABQ or TSK-11 scores. Instead, they unexpectedly had stronger associations with ODQ and PCS scores. Both 2-item screening questions were associated with FABQ-physical activity scores, while the fear of physical activity question was also associated with FABQ-work, TSK-11, PCS, and ODQ scores

Stimulus fear-relevance and the vicarious learning pathway to childhood fears

OpenAIRE

Askew, C.; Dunne, G.; Ozdil, A.; Reynolds, G.; Field, A.P.

2013-01-01

Enhanced fear learning for fear-relevant stimuli has been demonstrated in procedures with adults in the laboratory. Three experiments investigated the effect of stimulus fear-relevance on vicarious fear learning in children (aged 6-11 years). Pictures of stimuli with different levels of fear-relevance (flowers, caterpillars, snakes, worms, and Australian marsupials) were presented alone or together with scared faces. In line with previous studies, children's fear beliefs and avoidance prefere...

Facing My Fears (Editorial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindsay Glynn

2008-03-01

Full Text Available I’m scared. I’m nervous. In a few short weeks the contractors and electricians will take over my library for several months. They will drill huge gouges in the concrete floor, hammer, saw, scrape,move, wire, etc. No doubt they may have to be asked to keep their voices down once or twice. Half of the print journal collection will be relocated to accommodate a new teaching lab that will also double as an information commons. The planning has been going on for many months. We have consulted with other libraries, reviewed the literature, identified the needs of our various user groups, measured space,tested technical possibilities, and met with architects and engineers. Up until now the new lab was an organic idea on paper, discussed over coffee and in meetings. That’s fairly easy to deal with. But just around the corner it becomes a reality and I’m a bag of nerves. Have we made the right decisions? Will it address all our needs? Is there anything I forgot to consider? What if our users don’t like it? What if it is a complete failure?!Theoretically, it should be ok. I’ve followed the right steps and worked with a creative, talented and dedicated team. This is different from trying out a new instructional technique or reorganizing the information desk. This is big. I talk the evidence based talk regularly, but now I am walking the walk in a bigger way than I had ever imagined. Change can be frightening. Moving out of comfort zones is not easy. Having said that, the challenge can be invigorating and the change, refreshing. I find myself welcoming the change as much as I dread it. I’ll face my fears and see it through to the implementation and evaluations and beyond. And hey, no matter what the outcome, it should make for a good paper. If anyone else out there is going through a similar process, I’d be interested in comparing notes. I invite you to try something new this year in your work environment or in your professional activities

Electrocortical and ocular indices of attention to fearful and neutral faces presented under high and low working memory load.

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MacNamara, Annmarie; Schmidt, Joseph; Zelinsky, Gregory J; Hajcak, Greg

2012-12-01

Working memory load reduces the late positive potential (LPP), consistent with the notion that functional activation of the DLPFC attenuates neural indices of sustained attention. Visual attention also modulates the LPP. In the present study, we sought to determine whether working memory load might exert its influence on ERPs by reducing fixations to arousing picture regions. We simultaneously recorded eye-tracking and EEG while participants performed a working memory task interspersed with the presentation of task-irrelevant fearful and neutral faces. As expected, fearful compared to neutral faces elicited larger N170 and LPP amplitudes; in addition, working memory load reduced the N170 and the LPP. Participants made more fixations to arousing regions of neutral faces and faces presented under high working memory load. Therefore, working memory load did not induce avoidance of arousing picture regions and visual attention cannot explain load effects on the N170 and LPP. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generalization of Conditioned Fear along a Dimension of Increasing Fear Intensity

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Dunsmoor, Joseph E.; Mitroff, Stephen R.; LaBar, Kevin S.

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the extent to which fear generalization in humans is determined by the amount of fear intensity in nonconditioned stimuli relative to a perceptually similar conditioned stimulus. Stimuli consisted of graded emotionally expressive faces of the same identity morphed between neutral and fearful endpoints. Two…

Stimulus fear relevance and the speed, magnitude, and robustness of vicariously learned fear.

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Dunne, Güler; Reynolds, Gemma; Askew, Chris

2017-08-01

Superior learning for fear-relevant stimuli is typically indicated in the laboratory by faster acquisition of fear responses, greater learned fear, and enhanced resistance to extinction. Three experiments investigated the speed, magnitude, and robustness of UK children's (6-10 years; N = 290; 122 boys, 168 girls) vicariously learned fear responses for three types of stimuli. In two experiments, children were presented with pictures of novel animals (Australian marsupials) and flowers (fear-irrelevant stimuli) alone (control) or together with faces expressing fear or happiness. To determine learning speed the number of stimulus-face pairings seen by children was varied (1, 10, or 30 trials). Robustness of learning was examined via repeated extinction procedures over 3 weeks. A third experiment compared the magnitude and robustness of vicarious fear learning for snakes and marsupials. Significant increases in fear responses were found for snakes, marsupials and flowers. There was no indication that vicarious learning for marsupials was faster than for flowers. Moreover, vicariously learned fear was neither greater nor more robust for snakes compared to marsupials, or for marsupials compared to flowers. These findings suggest that for this age group stimulus fear relevance may have little influence on vicarious fear learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of disgust and fear modeling on children's disgust and fear for animals.

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Askew, Chris; Cakır, Kübra; Põldsam, Liine; Reynolds, Gemma

2014-08-01

Disgust is a protective emotion associated with certain types of animal fears. Given that a primary function of disgust is to protect against harm, increasing children's disgust-related beliefs for animals may affect how threatening they think animals are and their avoidance of them. One way that children's disgust beliefs for animals might change is via vicarious learning: by observing others responding to the animal with disgust. In Experiment 1, children (ages 7-10 years) were presented with images of novel animals together with adult faces expressing disgust. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences increased for these disgust-paired animals compared with unpaired control animals. Experiment 2 used the same procedure and compared disgust vicarious learning with vicarious learning with fear faces. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals again increased as a result of disgust vicarious learning, and animals seen with disgust or fear faces were also rated more disgusting than control animals. The relationship between increased fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals was mediated by disgust for the animals. The experiments demonstrate that children can learn to believe that animals are disgusting and threatening after observing an adult responding with disgust toward them. The findings also suggest a bidirectional relationship between fear and disgust with fear-related vicarious learning leading to increased disgust for animals and disgust-related vicarious learning leading to increased fear and avoidance. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The look of fear and anger: facial maturity modulates recognition of fearful and angry expressions.

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Sacco, Donald F; Hugenberg, Kurt

2009-02-01

The current series of studies provide converging evidence that facial expressions of fear and anger may have co-evolved to mimic mature and babyish faces in order to enhance their communicative signal. In Studies 1 and 2, fearful and angry facial expressions were manipulated to have enhanced babyish features (larger eyes) or enhanced mature features (smaller eyes) and in the context of a speeded categorization task in Study 1 and a visual noise paradigm in Study 2, results indicated that larger eyes facilitated the recognition of fearful facial expressions, while smaller eyes facilitated the recognition of angry facial expressions. Study 3 manipulated facial roundness, a stable structure that does not vary systematically with expressions, and found that congruency between maturity and expression (narrow face-anger; round face-fear) facilitated expression recognition accuracy. Results are discussed as representing a broad co-evolutionary relationship between facial maturity and fearful and angry facial expressions. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

The Effect of Disgust and Fear Modeling on Children’s Disgust and Fear for Animals

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Disgust is a protective emotion associated with certain types of animal fears. Given that a primary function of disgust is to protect against harm, increasing children’s disgust-related beliefs for animals may affect how threatening they think animals are and their avoidance of them. One way that children’s disgust beliefs for animals might change is via vicarious learning: by observing others responding to the animal with disgust. In Experiment 1, children (ages 7–10 years) were presented with images of novel animals together with adult faces expressing disgust. Children’s fear beliefs and avoidance preferences increased for these disgust-paired animals compared with unpaired control animals. Experiment 2 used the same procedure and compared disgust vicarious learning with vicarious learning with fear faces. Children’s fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals again increased as a result of disgust vicarious learning, and animals seen with disgust or fear faces were also rated more disgusting than control animals. The relationship between increased fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals was mediated by disgust for the animals. The experiments demonstrate that children can learn to believe that animals are disgusting and threatening after observing an adult responding with disgust toward them. The findings also suggest a bidirectional relationship between fear and disgust with fear-related vicarious learning leading to increased disgust for animals and disgust-related vicarious learning leading to increased fear and avoidance. PMID:24955571

Prefrontal cortical and striatal activity to happy and fear faces in bipolar disorder is associated with comorbid substance abuse and eating disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassel, Stefanie; Almeida, Jorge R; Frank, Ellen; Versace, Amelia; Nau, Sharon A; Klein, Crystal R; Kupfer, David J; Phillips, Mary L

2009-11-01

The spectrum approach was used to examine contributions of comorbid symptom dimensions of substance abuse and eating disorder to abnormal prefrontal-cortical and subcortical-striatal activity to happy and fear faces previously demonstrated in bipolar disorder (BD). Fourteen remitted BD-type I and sixteen healthy individuals viewed neutral, mild and intense happy and fear faces in two event-related fMRI experiments. All individuals completed Substance-Use and Eating-Disorder Spectrum measures. Region-of-Interest analyses for bilateral prefrontal and subcortical-striatal regions were performed. BD individuals scored significantly higher on these spectrum measures than healthy individuals (pright PFC activity to intense happy faces (pright caudate nucleus activity to neutral faces (pright ventral putamen activity to intense happy (pabuse and eating disorder and prefrontal-cortical and subcortical-striatal activity to facial expressions in BD. Our findings suggest that these comorbid features may contribute to observed patterns of functional abnormalities in neural systems underlying mood regulation in BD.

Serotonin transporter genotype modulates subgenual response to fearful faces using an incidental task.

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O'Nions, Elizabeth J P; Dolan, Raymond J; Roiser, Jonathan P

2011-11-01

This study assessed the impact of serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) on regional responses to emotional faces in the amygdala and subgenual cingulate cortex (sgACC), while subjects performed a gender discrimination task. Although we found no evidence for greater amygdala reactivity or reduced amygdala-sgACC coupling in short variant 5-HTTLPR homozygotes (s/s), we observed an interaction between genotype and emotion in sgACC. Only long variant homozygotes (la/la) exhibited subgenual deactivation to fearful versus neutral faces, whereas the effect in s/s subjects was in the other direction. This absence of subgenual deactivation in s/s subjects parallels a recent finding in depressed subjects [Grimm, S., Boesiger, P., Beck, J., Schuepbach, D., Bermpohl, F., Walter, M., et al. Altered negative BOLD responses in the default-mode network during emotion processing in depressed subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34, 932-943, 2009]. Taken together, the findings suggest that subgenual cingulate activity may play an important role in regulating the impact of aversive stimuli, potentially conferring greater resilience to the effects of aversive stimuli in la/la subjects. Using dynamic causal modeling of functional magnetic resonance imaging data, we explored the effects of genotype on effective connectivity and emotion-specific changes in coupling across a network of regions implicated in social processing. Viewing fearful faces enhanced bidirectional excitatory coupling between the amygdala and the fusiform gyrus, and increased the inhibitory influence of the amygdala over the sgACC, although this modulation of coupling did not differ between the genotype groups. The findings are discussed in relation to the role of sgACC and serotonin in moderating responses to aversive stimuli [Dayan, P., & Huys, Q. J., Serotonin, inhibition, and negative mood. PLoS Comput Biol, 4, e4, 2008; Mayberg, H. S., Liotti, M., Brannan, S. K., McGinnis, S., Mahurin, R. K., Jerabek, P. A., et

Is fear in your head? A comparison of instructed and real-life expressions of emotion in the face and body.

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Abramson, Lior; Marom, Inbal; Petranker, Rotem; Aviezer, Hillel

2017-04-01

The majority of emotion perception studies utilize instructed and stereotypical expressions of faces or bodies. While such stimuli are highly standardized and well-recognized, their resemblance to real-life expressions of emotion remains unknown. Here we examined facial and body expressions of fear and anger during real-life situations and compared their recognition to that of instructed expressions of the same emotions. In order to examine the source of the affective signal, expressions of emotion were presented as faces alone, bodies alone, and naturally, as faces with bodies. The results demonstrated striking deviations between recognition of instructed and real-life stimuli, which differed as a function of the emotion expressed. In real-life fearful expressions of emotion, bodies were far better recognized than faces, a pattern not found with instructed expressions of emotion. Anger reactions were better recognized from the body than from the face in both real-life and instructed stimuli. However, the real-life stimuli were overall better recognized than their instructed counterparts. These results indicate that differences between instructed and real-life expressions of emotion are prevalent and raise caution against an overreliance of researchers on instructed affective stimuli. The findings also demonstrate that in real life, facial expression perception may rely heavily on information from the contextualizing body. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Learning to fear a second-order stimulus following vicarious learning.

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Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P; Askew, Chris

2017-04-01

Vicarious fear learning refers to the acquisition of fear via observation of the fearful responses of others. The present study aims to extend current knowledge by exploring whether second-order vicarious fear learning can be demonstrated in children. That is, whether vicariously learnt fear responses for one stimulus can be elicited in a second stimulus associated with that initial stimulus. Results demonstrated that children's (5-11 years) fear responses for marsupials and caterpillars increased when they were seen with fearful faces compared to no faces. Additionally, the results indicated a second-order effect in which fear-related learning occurred for other animals seen together with the fear-paired animal, even though the animals were never observed with fearful faces themselves. Overall, the findings indicate that for children in this age group vicariously learnt fear-related responses for one stimulus can subsequently be observed for a second stimulus without it being experienced in a fear-related vicarious learning event. These findings may help to explain why some individuals do not recall involvement of a traumatic learning episode in the development of their fear of a specific stimulus.

Neurobiology of Fear and Specific Phobias

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Garcia, René

2017-01-01

Fear, which can be expressed innately or after conditioning, is triggered when a danger or a stimulus predicting immediate danger is perceived. Its role is to prepare the body to face this danger. However, dysfunction in fear processing can lead to psychiatric disorders in which fear outweighs the danger or possibility of harm. Although recognized…

Emotion perception accuracy and bias in face-to-face versus cyberbullying.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciucci, Enrica; Baroncelli, Andrea; Nowicki, Stephen

2014-01-01

The authors investigated the association of traditional and cyber forms of bullying and victimization with emotion perception accuracy and emotion perception bias. Four basic emotions were considered (i.e., happiness, sadness, anger, and fear); 526 middle school students (280 females; M age = 12.58 years, SD = 1.16 years) were recruited, and emotionality was controlled. Results indicated no significant findings for girls. Boys with higher levels of traditional bullying did not show any deficit in perception accuracy of emotions, but they were prone to identify happiness and fear in faces when a different emotion was expressed; in addition, male cyberbullying was related to greater accuracy in recognizing fear. In terms of the victims, cyber victims had a global problem in recognizing emotions and a specific problem in processing anger and fear. It was concluded that emotion perception accuracy and bias were associated with bullying and victimization for boys not only in traditional settings but also in the electronic ones. Implications of these findings for possible intervention are discussed.

Unraveling the Determinants of Fear of Crime Among Men and Women in Istanbul: Examining the Impact of Perceived Risk and Fear of Sexual Assault.

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Özaşçılar, Mine; Ziyalar, Neylan

2017-07-01

Studies have examined university students' fear of crime focusing on the relationship between the fear of sexual assault and fear of other crimes, termed the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis; however, no study to date has examined the shadow thesis in a Turkish context. Drawing on the shadow thesis, using a sample of 723 university students in Istanbul, this study focuses on the effect of fear of sexual assault and perceived risk of crime to general fear of crime among university students in Istanbul. Also, the predictors of fear of crime are explored to examine the relationship between lifestyle characteristics, constrained behaviors, and fear. The findings of the study supported the shadow thesis, indicating that fear of sexual assault shaped the nonsexual crimes, especially crimes involving face-to-face confrontations between the victim and offender. Furthermore, lifestyle characteristics are correlated with the men's fear of nonsexual crimes, particularly fear of robbery, aggravated assault, and burglary home.

Fear and Reward Circuit Alterations in Pediatric CRPS.

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Laura E; Erpelding, Nathalie; Hernandez, Jessica M; Serrano, Paul; Zhang, Kunyu; Lebel, Alyssa A; Sethna, Navil F; Berde, Charles B; Prabhu, Sanjay P; Becerra, Lino; Borsook, David

2015-01-01

In chronic pain, a number of brain regions involved in emotion (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex) show significant functional and morphometric changes. One phenotypic manifestation of these changes is pain-related fear (PRF). PRF is associated with profoundly altered behavioral adaptations to chronic pain. For example, patients with a neuropathic pain condition known as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) often avoid use of and may even neglect the affected body area(s), thus maintaining and likely enhancing PRF. These changes form part of an overall maladaptation to chronic pain. To examine fear-related brain circuit alterations in humans, 20 pediatric patients with CRPS and 20 sex- and age-matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in response to a well-established fearful faces paradigm. Despite no significant differences on self-reported emotional valence and arousal between the two groups, CRPS patients displayed a diminished response to fearful faces in regions associated with emotional processing compared to healthy controls. Additionally, increased PRF levels were associated with decreased activity in a number of brain regions including the right amygdala, insula, putamen, and caudate. Blunted activation in patients suggests that (a) individuals with chronic pain may have deficits in cognitive-affective brain circuits that may represent an underlying vulnerability or consequence to the chronic pain state; and (b) fear of pain may contribute and/or maintain these brain alterations. Our results shed new light on altered affective circuits in patients with chronic pain and identify PRF as a potentially important treatment target.

Anxiety symptoms and children's eye gaze during fear learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Michalska, Kalina J; Machlin, Laura; Moroney, Elizabeth; Lowet, Daniel S; Hettema, John M; Roberson-Nay, Roxann; Averbeck, Bruno B; Brotman, Melissa A; Nelson, Eric E; Leibenluft, Ellen; Pine, Daniel S

2017-11-01

The eye region of the face is particularly relevant for decoding threat-related signals, such as fear. However, it is unclear if gaze patterns to the eyes can be influenced by fear learning. Previous studies examining gaze patterns in adults find an association between anxiety and eye gaze avoidance, although no studies to date examine how associations between anxiety symptoms and eye-viewing patterns manifest in children. The current study examined the effects of learning and trait anxiety on eye gaze using a face-based fear conditioning task developed for use in children. Participants were 82 youth from a general population sample of twins (aged 9-13 years), exhibiting a range of anxiety symptoms. Participants underwent a fear conditioning paradigm where the conditioned stimuli (CS+) were two neutral faces, one of which was randomly selected to be paired with an aversive scream. Eye tracking, physiological, and subjective data were acquired. Children and parents reported their child's anxiety using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders. Conditioning influenced eye gaze patterns in that children looked longer and more frequently to the eye region of the CS+ than CS- face; this effect was present only during fear acquisition, not at baseline or extinction. Furthermore, consistent with past work in adults, anxiety symptoms were associated with eye gaze avoidance. Finally, gaze duration to the eye region mediated the effect of anxious traits on self-reported fear during acquisition. Anxiety symptoms in children relate to face-viewing strategies deployed in the context of a fear learning experiment. This relationship may inform attempts to understand the relationship between pediatric anxiety symptoms and learning. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Fear of death.

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Penson, Richard T; Partridge, Rosamund A; Shah, Muhammad A; Giansiracusa, David; Chabner, Bruce A; Lynch, Thomas J

2005-02-01

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) founded The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at MGH. The Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery, which provides hope to the patient and support to caregivers and encourages the healing process. The center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. For many, cancer is synonymous with death. Fearing death is a rational response. For too long, medicine has ignored this primeval fear. Increasingly, clinicians recognize and address end-of-life issues, facing patients' and our own emotional vulnerabilities in order to connect and explore problems and fears. Listening and learning from the patient guides us as we acknowledge much of the mystery that still surrounds the dying process. Rarely is there a simple or right answer. An empathetic response to suffering patients is the best support. Support is vital in fostering the adjustment of patients. A silent presence may prove more helpful than well-meant counsel for many patients. Through an examination of eight caregiver narratives of their patients' experiences, the role of the health care provider in the dying process, particularly in regard to challenging fear, is reviewed.

Early ERP modulation for task-irrelevant subliminal faces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan J Pegna

2011-05-01

Full Text Available A number of investigations have reported that emotional faces can be processed subliminally, and that they give rise to specific patterns of brain activation in the absence of awareness. Recent event-related potential (ERP studies have suggested that electrophysiological differences occur early in time (<200ms in response to backward masked emotional faces. These findings have been taken as evidence of a rapid non-conscious pathway, which would allow threatening stimuli to be processed rapidly and subsequently allow appropriate avoidance action to be taken. However, for this to be the case, subliminal processing should arise even if the threatening stimulus is not attended. This point has in fact not yet been clearly established. In this ERP study, we investigated whether subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs outside the focus of attention. Fourteen healthy participants performed a line judgement task while fearful and non-fearful (happy or neutral faces were presented both subliminally and supraliminally. ERPs were compared across the 4 experimental conditions (i.e., subliminal and supraliminal; fearful and non-fearful. The earliest differences between fearful and non fearful faces appeared as an enhanced posterior negativity for the former at 170ms (the N170 component over right temporo-occipital electrodes. This difference was observed for both subliminal (p<.05 and supraliminal presentations (p<.01. Our results confirm that subliminal processing of fearful faces occurs early in the course of visual processing, and more importantly, that this arises even when the subject’s attention is engaged in an incidental task.

Why do fearful facial expressions elicit behavioral approach? Evidence from a combined approach-avoidance implicit association test.

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Hammer, Jennifer L; Marsh, Abigail A

2015-04-01

Despite communicating a "negative" emotion, fearful facial expressions predominantly elicit behavioral approach from perceivers. It has been hypothesized that this seemingly paradoxical effect may occur due to fearful expressions' resemblance to vulnerable, infantile faces. However, this hypothesis has not yet been tested. We used a combined approach-avoidance/implicit association test (IAT) to test this hypothesis. Participants completed an approach-avoidance lever task during which they responded to fearful and angry facial expressions as well as neutral infant and adult faces presented in an IAT format. Results demonstrated an implicit association between fearful facial expressions and infant faces and showed that both fearful expressions and infant faces primarily elicit behavioral approach. The dominance of approach responses to both fearful expressions and infant faces decreased as a function of psychopathic personality traits. Results suggest that the prosocial responses to fearful expressions observed in most individuals may stem from their associations with infantile faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Incidental fear cues increase monetary loss aversion.

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Schulreich, Stefan; Gerhardt, Holger; Heekeren, Hauke R

2016-04-01

In many everyday decisions, people exhibit loss aversion-a greater sensitivity to losses relative to gains of equal size. Loss aversion is thought to be (at least partly) mediated by emotional--in particular, fear-related--processes. Decision research has shown that even incidental emotions, which are unrelated to the decision at hand, can influence decision making. The effect of incidental fear on loss aversion, however, is thus far unclear. In two studies, we experimentally investigated how incidental fear cues, presented during (Study 1) or before (Study 2) choices to accept or reject mixed gambles over real monetary stakes, influence monetary loss aversion. We find that the presentation of fearful faces, relative to the presentation of neutral faces, increased risk aversion-an effect that could be attributed to increased loss aversion. The size of this effect was moderated by psychopathic personality: Fearless dominance, in particular its interpersonal facet, but not self-centered impulsivity, attenuated the effect of incidental fear cues on loss aversion, consistent with reduced fear reactivity. Together, these results highlight the sensitivity of loss aversion to the affective context. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Fear acquisition and liking of out-group and in-group members: Learning bias or attention?

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Stephan; Nauroth, Peter; Lucke, Sara; Lachnit, Harald; Gollwitzer, Mario; Uengoer, Metin

2017-10-01

The present study explores the notion of an out-group fear learning bias that is characterized by facilitated fear acquisition toward harm-doing out-group members. Participants were conditioned with two in-group and two out-group faces as conditioned stimuli. During acquisition, one in-group and one out-group face was paired with an aversive shock whereas the other in-group and out-group face was presented without shock. Psychophysiological measures of fear conditioning (skin conductance and pupil size) and explicit and implicit liking exhibited increased differential responding to out-group faces compared to in-group faces. However, the results did not clearly indicate that harm-doing out-group members were more readily associated with fear than harm-doing in-group members. In contrast, the out-group face not paired with shock decreased conditioned fear and disliking at least to the same extent that the shock-associated out-group face increased these measures. Based on these results, we suggest an account of the out-group fear learning bias that relates to an attentional bias to process in-group information. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

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C.M. Del-Ben

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Facial expressions of basic emotions have been widely used to investigate the neural substrates of emotion processing, but little is known about the exact meaning of subjective changes provoked by perceiving facial expressions. Our assumption was that fearful faces would be related to the processing of potential threats, whereas angry faces would be related to the processing of proximal threats. Experimental studies have suggested that serotonin modulates the brain processes underlying defensive responses to environmental threats, facilitating risk assessment behavior elicited by potential threats and inhibiting fight or flight responses to proximal threats. In order to test these predictions about the relationship between fearful and angry faces and defensive behaviors, we carried out a review of the literature about the effects of pharmacological probes that affect 5-HT-mediated neurotransmission on the perception of emotional faces. The hypothesis that angry faces would be processed as a proximal threat and that, as a consequence, their recognition would be impaired by an increase in 5-HT function was not supported by the results reviewed. In contrast, most of the studies that evaluated the behavioral effects of serotonin challenges showed that increased 5-HT neurotransmission facilitates the recognition of fearful faces, whereas its decrease impairs the same performance. These results agree with the hypothesis that fearful faces are processed as potential threats and that 5-HT enhances this brain processing.

The relative effectiveness of extinction and counter-conditioning in diminishing children's fear.

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Newall, Carol; Watson, Tiffany; Grant, Kerry-Ann; Richardson, Rick

2017-08-01

Two behavioural strategies for reducing learned fear are extinction and counter-conditioning, and in this study we compared the relative effectiveness of the two procedures at diminishing fear in children. Seventy-three children aged 7-12 years old (M = 9.30, SD = 1.62) were exposed to pictures of two novel animals on a computer screen during the fear acquisition phase. One of these animals was paired with a picture of a scared human face (CS+) while the other was not (CS-). The children were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: counter-conditioning (animal paired with a happy face), extinction (animal without scared face), or control (no fear reduction procedure). Changes in fear beliefs and behavioural avoidance of the animal were measured. Counter-conditioning was more effective at reducing fear to the CS + than extinction. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for behavioural treatments of childhood anxiety disorders. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fear processing and social networking in the absence of a functional amygdala.

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Becker, Benjamin; Mihov, Yoan; Scheele, Dirk; Kendrick, Keith M; Feinstein, Justin S; Matusch, Andreas; Aydin, Merve; Reich, Harald; Urbach, Horst; Oros-Peusquens, Ana-Maria; Shah, Nadim J; Kunz, Wolfram S; Schlaepfer, Thomas E; Zilles, Karl; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

2012-07-01

The human amygdala plays a crucial role in processing social signals, such as face expressions, particularly fearful ones, and facilitates responses to them in face-sensitive cortical regions. This contributes to social competence and individual amygdala size correlates with that of social networks. While rare patients with focal bilateral amygdala lesion typically show impaired recognition of fearful faces, this deficit is variable, and an intriguing possibility is that other brain regions can compensate to support fear and social signal processing. To investigate the brain's functional compensation of selective bilateral amygdala damage, we performed a series of behavioral, psychophysiological, and functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments in two adult female monozygotic twins (patient 1 and patient 2) with equivalent, extensive bilateral amygdala pathology as a sequela of lipoid proteinosis due to Urbach-Wiethe disease. Patient 1, but not patient 2, showed preserved recognition of fearful faces, intact modulation of acoustic startle responses by fear-eliciting scenes, and a normal-sized social network. Functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that patient 1 showed potentiated responses to fearful faces in her left premotor cortex face area and bilaterally in the inferior parietal lobule. The premotor cortex face area and inferior parietal lobule are both implicated in the cortical mirror-neuron system, which mediates learning of observed actions and may thereby promote both imitation and empathy. Taken together, our findings suggest that despite the pre-eminent role of the amygdala in processing social information, the cortical mirror-neuron system may sometimes adaptively compensate for its pathology. Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Categorical Perception of emotional faces is not affected by aging

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Mandy Rossignol

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Effects of normal aging on categorical perception (CP of facial emotional expressions were investigated. One-hundred healthy participants (20 to 70 years old; five age groups had to identify morphed expressions ranging from neutrality to happiness, sadness and fear. We analysed percentages and latencies of correct recognition for nonmorphed emotional expressions, percentages and latencies of emotional recognition for morphed-faces, locus of the boundaries along the different continua and the number of intrusions. The results showed that unmorphed happy and fearful faces were better processed than unmorphed sad and neutral faces. For morphed faces, CP was confirmed, as latencies increased as a function of the distance between the displayed morph and the original unmorphed photograph. The locus of categorical boundaries was not affected by age. Aging did not alter the accuracy of recognition for original pictures, no more than the emotional recognition of morphed faces or the rate of intrusions. However, latencies of responses increased with age, for both unmorphed and morphed pictures. In conclusion, CP of facial expressions appears to be spared in aging.

Matching faces with emotional expressions

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Wenfeng eChen

2011-08-01

Full Text Available There is some evidence that faces with a happy expression are recognized better than faces with other expressions. However, little is known about whether this happy face advantage also applies to perceptual face matching, and whether similar differences exist among other expressions. Using a sequential matching paradigm, we systematically compared the effects of seven basic facial expressions on identity recognition. Identity matching was quickest when a pair of faces had an identical happy/sad/neutral expression, poorer when they had a fearful/surprise/angry expression, and poorest when they had a disgust expression. Faces with a happy/sad/fear/surprise expression were matched faster than those with an anger/disgust expression when the second face in a pair had a neutral expression. These results demonstrate that effects of facial expression on identity recognition are not limited to happy faces when a learned face is immediately tested. The results suggest different influences of expression in perceptual matching and long-term recognition memory.

The Set of Fear Inducing Pictures (SFIP): Development and validation in fearful and nonfearful individuals.

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Michałowski, Jarosław M; Droździel, Dawid; Matuszewski, Jacek; Koziejowski, Wojtek; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur

2017-08-01

Emotionally charged pictorial materials are frequently used in phobia research, but no existing standardized picture database is dedicated to the study of different phobias. The present work describes the results of two independent studies through which we sought to develop and validate this type of database-a Set of Fear Inducing Pictures (SFIP). In Study 1, 270 fear-relevant and 130 neutral stimuli were rated for fear, arousal, and valence by four groups of participants; small-animal (N = 34), blood/injection (N = 26), social-fearful (N = 35), and nonfearful participants (N = 22). The results from Study 1 were employed to develop the final version of the SFIP, which includes fear-relevant images of social exposure (N = 40), blood/injection (N = 80), spiders/bugs (N = 80), and angry faces (N = 30), as well as 726 neutral photographs. In Study 2, we aimed to validate the SFIP in a sample of spider, blood/injection, social-fearful, and control individuals (N = 66). The fear-relevant images were rated as being more unpleasant and led to greater fear and arousal in fearful than in nonfearful individuals. The fear images differentiated between the three fear groups in the expected directions. Overall, the present findings provide evidence for the high validity of the SFIP and confirm that the set may be successfully used in phobia research.

Gradients of fear: How perception influences fear generalization.

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Struyf, Dieter; Zaman, Jonas; Hermans, Dirk; Vervliet, Bram

2017-06-01

The current experiment investigated whether overgeneralization of fear could be due to an inability to perceptually discriminate the initial fear-evoking stimulus from similar stimuli, as fear learning-induced perceptual impairments have been reported but their influence on generalization gradients remain to be elucidated. Three hundred and sixty-eight healthy volunteers participated in a differential fear conditioning paradigm with circles of different sizes as conditioned stimuli (CS), of which one was paired to an aversive IAPS picture. During generalization, each subject was presented with one of 10 different sized circles including the CSs, and were asked to categorize the stimulus as either a CS or as novel after fear responses were recorded. Linear mixed models were used to investigate differences in fear generalization gradients depending on the participant's perception of the test stimulus. We found that the incorrect perception of a novel stimulus as the initial fear-evoking stimulus strongly boosted fear responses. The current findings demonstrate that a significant number of novel stimuli used to assess generalization are incorrectly identified as the initial fear-evoking stimulus, providing a perceptual account for the observed overgeneralization in panic and anxiety disorders. Accordingly, enhancing perceptual processing may be a promising treatment for targeting excessive fear generalization. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Face and emotion recognition deficits in Turner syndrome: a possible role for X-linked genes in amygdala development.

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Lawrence, Kate; Kuntsi, Jonna; Coleman, Michael; Campbell, Ruth; Skuse, David

2003-01-01

Face recognition is thought to rely on configural visual processing. Where face recognition impairments have been identified, qualitatively delayed or anomalous configural processing has also been found. A group of women with Turner syndrome (TS) with monosomy for a single maternal X chromosome (45, Xm) showed an impairment in face recognition skills compared with normally developing women. However, normal configural face-processing abilities were apparent. The ability to recognize facial expressions of emotion, particularly fear, was also impaired in this TS subgroup. Face recognition and fear recognition accuracy were significantly correlated in the female control group but not in women with TS. The authors therefore suggest that anomalies in amygdala function may be a neurological feature of TS of this karyotype.

Vicarious Learning and Reduction of Fear in Children via Adult and Child Models.

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Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

2017-06-01

Children can learn to fear stimuli vicariously, by observing adults' or peers' responses to them. Given that much of school-age children's time is typically spent with their peers, it is important to establish whether fear learning from peers is as effective or robust as learning from adults, and also whether peers can be successful positive models for reducing fear. During a vicarious fear learning procedure, children (6 to 10 years; N = 60) were shown images of novel animals together with images of adult or peer faces expressing fear. Later they saw their fear-paired animal again together with positive emotional adult or peer faces. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance for the animals increased following vicarious fear learning and decreased following positive vicarious counterconditioning. There was little evidence of differences in learning from adults and peers, demonstrating that for this age group peer models are effective models for both fear acquisition and reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Mechanisms to medicines: elucidating neural and molecular substrates of fear extinction to identify novel treatments for anxiety disorders.

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Bukalo, Olena; Pinard, Courtney R; Holmes, Andrew

2014-10-01

The burden of anxiety disorders is growing, but the efficacy of available anxiolytic treatments remains inadequate. Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders focuses on identifying and modifying maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving, and has a testable analogue in rodents in the form of fear extinction. A large preclinical literature has amassed in recent years describing the neural and molecular basis of fear extinction in rodents. In this review, we discuss how this work is being harnessed to foster translational research on anxiety disorders and facilitate the search for new anxiolytic treatments. We begin by summarizing the anatomical and functional connectivity of a medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-amygdala circuit that subserves fear extinction, including new insights from optogenetics. We then cover some of the approaches that have been taken to model impaired fear extinction and associated impairments with mPFC-amygdala dysfunction. The principal goal of the review is to evaluate evidence that various neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems mediate fear extinction by modulating the mPFC-amygdala circuitry. To that end, we describe studies that have tested how fear extinction is impaired or facilitated by pharmacological manipulations of dopamine, noradrenaline, 5-HT, GABA, glutamate, neuropeptides, endocannabinoids and various other systems, which either directly target the mPFC-amygdala circuit, or produce behavioural effects that are coincident with functional changes in the circuit. We conclude that there are good grounds to be optimistic that the progress in defining the molecular substrates of mPFC-amygdala circuit function can be effectively leveraged to identify plausible candidates for extinction-promoting therapies for anxiety disorders. © 2014 The British Pharmacological Society.

Evaluation of treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children: "Fear assessment picture scale" and its association with physiological response

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Nishidha Tiwari

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Dental treatment is usually a poignant phenomenon for children. Projective scales are preferred over psychometric scales to recognize it, and to obtain the self-report from children. Aims: The aims were to evaluate treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children, fear assessment picture scale (FAPS, and anxiety with colored version of modified facial affective scale (MFAS - three faces along with physiologic responses (pulse rate and oxygen saturation obtained by pulse oximeter before and during pulpectomy procedure. Settings and Design: Total, 60 children of age 6-8 years who were visiting the dental hospital for the first time and needed pulpectomy treatment were selected. Children selected were of sound physical, physiological, and mental condition. Two projective scales were used; one to assess fear - FAPS and to assess anxiety - colored version of MFAS - three faces. These were co-related with the physiological responses (oxygen saturation and pulse rate of children obtained by pulse oximeter before and during the pulpectomy procedure. Statistical Analysis Used: Shapiro-Wilk test, McNemar′s test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were applied in the study. Results: The physiological responses showed association with FAPS and MFAS though not significant. However, oxygen saturation with MFAS showed a significant change between "no anxiety" and "some anxiety" as quantified by Kruskal-Wallis test value 6.287, P = 0.043 (<0.05 before pulpectomy procedure. Conclusions: The FAPS can prove to be a pragmatic tool in spotting the fear among young children. This test is easy and fast to apply on children and reduces the chair-side time.

Evaluation of treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children: "Fear assessment picture scale" and its association with physiological response.

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Tiwari, Nishidha; Tiwari, Shilpi; Thakur, Ruchi; Agrawal, Nikita; Shashikiran, N D; Singla, Shilpy

2015-01-01

Dental treatment is usually a poignant phenomenon for children. Projective scales are preferred over psychometric scales to recognize it, and to obtain the self-report from children. The aims were to evaluate treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children, fear assessment picture scale (FAPS), and anxiety with colored version of modified facial affective scale (MFAS) - three faces along with physiologic responses (pulse rate and oxygen saturation) obtained by pulse oximeter before and during pulpectomy procedure. Total, 60 children of age 6-8 years who were visiting the dental hospital for the first time and needed pulpectomy treatment were selected. Children selected were of sound physical, physiological, and mental condition. Two projective scales were used; one to assess fear - FAPS and to assess anxiety - colored version of MFAS - three faces. These were co-related with the physiological responses (oxygen saturation and pulse rate) of children obtained by pulse oximeter before and during the pulpectomy procedure. Shapiro-Wilk test, McNemar's test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were applied in the study. The physiological responses showed association with FAPS and MFAS though not significant. However, oxygen saturation with MFAS showed a significant change between "no anxiety" and "some anxiety" as quantified by Kruskal-Wallis test value 6.287, P = 0.043 (test is easy and fast to apply on children and reduces the chair-side time.

Mechanisms to medicines: elucidating neural and molecular substrates of fear extinction to identify novel treatments for anxiety disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Bukalo, Olena; Pinard, Courtney R; Holmes, Andrew

2014-01-01

The burden of anxiety disorders is growing, but the efficacy of available anxiolytic treatments remains inadequate. Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders focuses on identifying and modifying maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving, and has a testable analogue in rodents in the form of fear extinction. A large preclinical literature has amassed in recent years describing the neural and molecular basis of fear extinction in rodents. In this review, we discuss how this work is being harnessed to foster translational research on anxiety disorders and facilitate the search for new anxiolytic treatments. We begin by summarizing the anatomical and functional connectivity of a medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)–amygdala circuit that subserves fear extinction, including new insights from optogenetics. We then cover some of the approaches that have been taken to model impaired fear extinction and associated impairments with mPFC–amygdala dysfunction. The principal goal of the review is to evaluate evidence that various neurotransmitter and neuromodulator systems mediate fear extinction by modulating the mPFC–amygdala circuitry. To that end, we describe studies that have tested how fear extinction is impaired or facilitated by pharmacological manipulations of dopamine, noradrenaline, 5-HT, GABA, glutamate, neuropeptides, endocannabinoids and various other systems, which either directly target the mPFC–amygdala circuit, or produce behavioural effects that are coincident with functional changes in the circuit. We conclude that there are good grounds to be optimistic that the progress in defining the molecular substrates of mPFC–amygdala circuit function can be effectively leveraged to identify plausible candidates for extinction-promoting therapies for anxiety disorders. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Animal Models in Psychiatry Research. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2014

'Faceness' and affectivity: evidence for genetic contributions to distinct components of electrocortical response to human faces.

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Shannon, Robert W; Patrick, Christopher J; Venables, Noah C; He, Sheng

2013-12-01

The ability to recognize a variety of different human faces is undoubtedly one of the most important and impressive functions of the human perceptual system. Neuroimaging studies have revealed multiple brain regions (including the FFA, STS, OFA) and electrophysiological studies have identified differing brain event-related potential (ERP) components (e.g., N170, P200) possibly related to distinct types of face information processing. To evaluate the heritability of ERP components associated with face processing, including N170, P200, and LPP, we examined ERP responses to fearful and neutral face stimuli in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. Concordance levels for early brain response indices of face processing (N170, P200) were found to be stronger for MZ than DZ twins, providing evidence of a heritable basis to each. These findings support the idea that certain key neural mechanisms for face processing are genetically coded. Implications for understanding individual differences in recognition of facial identity and the emotional content of faces are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using c-Jun to identify fear extinction learning-specific patterns of neural activity that are affected by single prolonged stress.

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Knox, Dayan; Stanfield, Briana R; Staib, Jennifer M; David, Nina P; DePietro, Thomas; Chamness, Marisa; Schneider, Elizabeth K; Keller, Samantha M; Lawless, Caroline

2018-04-02

Neural circuits via which stress leads to disruptions in fear extinction is often explored in animal stress models. Using the single prolonged stress (SPS) model of post traumatic stress disorder and the immediate early gene (IEG) c-Fos as a measure of neural activity, we previously identified patterns of neural activity through which SPS disrupts extinction retention. However, none of these stress effects were specific to fear or extinction learning and memory. C-Jun is another IEG that is sometimes regulated in a different manner to c-Fos and could be used to identify emotional learning/memory specific patterns of neural activity that are sensitive to SPS. Animals were either fear conditioned (CS-fear) or presented with CSs only (CS-only) then subjected to extinction training and testing. C-Jun was then assayed within neural substrates critical for extinction memory. Inhibited c-Jun levels in the hippocampus (Hipp) and enhanced functional connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) during extinction training was disrupted by SPS in the CS-fear group only. As a result, these effects were specific to emotional learning/memory. SPS also disrupted inhibited Hipp c-Jun levels, enhanced BLA c-Jun levels, and altered functional connectivity among the vmPFC, BLA, and Hipp during extinction testing in SPS rats in the CS-fear and CS-only groups. As a result, these effects were not specific to emotional learning/memory. Our findings suggest that SPS disrupts neural activity specific to extinction memory, but may also disrupt the retention of fear extinction by mechanisms that do not involve emotional learning/memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emotional modulation of attention: fear increases but disgust reduces the attentional blink.

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Nicolas Vermeulen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: It is well known that facial expressions represent important social cues. In humans expressing facial emotion, fear may be configured to maximize sensory exposure (e.g., increases visual input whereas disgust can reduce sensory exposure (e.g., decreases visual input. To investigate whether such effects also extend to the attentional system, we used the "attentional blink" (AB paradigm. Many studies have documented that the second target (T2 of a pair is typically missed when presented within a time window of about 200-500 ms from the first to-be-detected target (T1; i.e., the AB effect. It has recently been proposed that the AB effect depends on the efficiency of a gating system which facilitates the entrance of relevant input into working memory, while inhibiting irrelevant input. Following the inhibitory response on post T1 distractors, prolonged inhibition of the subsequent T2 is observed. In the present study, we hypothesized that processing facial expressions of emotion would influence this attentional gating. Fearful faces would increase but disgust faces would decrease inhibition of the second target. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We showed that processing fearful versus disgust faces has different effects on these attentional processes. We found that processing fear faces impaired the detection of T2 to a greater extent than did the processing disgust faces. This finding implies emotion-specific modulation of attention. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Based on the recent literature on attention, our finding suggests that processing fear-related stimuli exerts greater inhibitory responses on distractors relative to processing disgust-related stimuli. This finding is of particular interest for researchers examining the influence of emotional processing on attention and memory in both clinical and normal populations. For example, future research could extend upon the current study to examine whether inhibitory processes invoked by

"Incidental fear cues increase monetary loss aversion": Correction to Schulreich, Gerhardt, and Heekeren (2016).

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2016-12-01

Reports an error in "Incidental fear cues increase monetary loss aversion" by Stefan Schulreich, Holger Gerhardt and Hauke R. Heekeren ( Emotion , 2016[Apr], Vol 16[3], 402-412). In the current article, there was an error in the Study 2 portion of the article. The fourth paragraph of the Results section should read as follows: Performing the same analyses as in Study 1, we found an effect of incidental fear cues on decision behavior. Participants accepted fewer gambles in the fearful-face condition (32.77%) than in the neutral-face condition (33.96%), with Z = -2.187, p = .027, d = -0.998 in the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test and β = 0.012, SE = 0.0053, F(1, 21) = 4.434, p = .047, partial η² = .174 in the linear regression. This suggests increased risk aversion in the fearful-face condition. Concerning personality, however, there were no significant between-subjects effects or between-within interaction effects (all ps = .349). (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2015-52358-001.) In many everyday decisions, people exhibit loss aversion-a greater sensitivity to losses relative to gains of equal size. Loss aversion is thought to be (at least partly) mediated by emotional-in particular, fear-related-processes. Decision research has shown that even incidental emotions, which are unrelated to the decision at hand, can influence decision making. The effect of incidental fear on loss aversion, however, is thus far unclear. In two studies, we experimentally investigated how incidental fear cues, presented during (Study 1) or before (Study 2) choices to accept or reject mixed gambles over real monetary stakes, influence monetary loss aversion. We find that the presentation of fearful faces, relative to the presentation of neutral faces, increased risk aversion-an effect that could be attributed to increased loss aversion. The size of this effect was moderated by psychopathic personality: Fearless dominance, in particular its interpersonal facet

Fear modulates visual awareness similarly for facial and bodily expressions

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Bernard M.C. Stienen

2011-11-01

Full Text Available BackgroundSocial interaction depends on a multitude of signals carrying information about the emotional state of others. Past research has focused on the perception of facial expressions while perception of whole body signals has only been studied recently. The relative importance of facial and bodily signals is still poorly understood. In order to better understand the relative contribution of affective signals from the face only or from the rest of the body we used a binocular rivalry experiment. This method seems to be perfectly suitable to contrast two classes of stimuli to test our processing sensitivity to either stimulus and to address the question how emotion modulates this sensitivity. We report in this paper two behavioral experiments addressing these questions.MethodIn the first experiment we directly contrasted fearful, angry and neutral bodies and faces. We always presented bodies in one eye and faces in the other simultaneously for 60 seconds and asked participants to report what they perceived. In the second experiment we focused specifically on the role of fearful expressions of faces and bodies.ResultsTaken together the two experiments show that there is no clear bias towards either the face or body when the expression of the body and face are neutral or angry. However, the perceptual dominance in favor of either the face of the body is a function of the stimulus class expressing fear.

Callousness and affective face processing in adults: Behavioral and brain-potential indicators.

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Brislin, Sarah J; Yancey, James R; Perkins, Emily R; Palumbo, Isabella M; Drislane, Laura E; Salekin, Randall T; Fanti, Kostas A; Kimonis, Eva R; Frick, Paul J; Blair, R James R; Patrick, Christopher J

2018-03-01

The investigation of callous-unemotional (CU) traits has been central to contemporary research on child behavior problems, and served as the impetus for inclusion of a specifier for conduct disorder in the latest edition of the official psychiatric diagnostic system. Here, we report results from 2 studies that evaluated the construct validity of callousness as assessed in adults, by testing for affiliated deficits in behavioral and neural processing of fearful faces, as have been shown in youthful samples. We hypothesized that scores on an established measure of callousness would predict reduced recognition accuracy and diminished electocortical reactivity for fearful faces in adult participants. In Study 1, 66 undergraduate participants performed an emotion recognition task in which they viewed affective faces of different types and indicated the emotion expressed by each. In Study 2, electrocortical data were collected from 254 adult twins during viewing of fearful and neutral face stimuli, and scored for event-related response components. Analyses of Study 1 data revealed that higher callousness was associated with decreased recognition accuracy for fearful faces specifically. In Study 2, callousness was associated with reduced amplitude of both N170 and P200 responses to fearful faces. Current findings demonstrate for the first time that callousness in adults is associated with both behavioral and physiological deficits in the processing of fearful faces. These findings support the validity of the CU construct with adults and highlight the possibility of a multidomain measurement framework for continued study of this important clinical construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Vicarious learning and the development of fears in childhood.

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Askew, Chris; Field, Andy P

2007-11-01

Vicarious learning has long been assumed to be an indirect pathway to fear; however, there is only retrospective evidence that children acquire fears in this way. In two experiments, children (aged 7-9 years) were exposed to pictures of novel animals paired with pictures of either scared, happy or no facial expressions to see the impact on their fear cognitions and avoidance behavior about the animals. In Experiment 1, directly (self-report) and indirectly measured (affective priming) fear attitudes towards the animals changed congruent with the facial expressions with which these were paired. The indirectly measured fear beliefs persisted up to 3 months. Experiment 2 showed that children took significantly longer to approach a box they believed to contain an animal they had previously seen paired with scared faces. These results support theories of fear acquisition that suppose that vicarious learning affects cognitive and behavioral fear emotion, and suggest possibilities for interventions to weaken fear acquired in this way.

Emotional contagion of dental fear to children: the fathers' mediating role in parental transfer of fear.

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Lara, America; Crego, Antonio; Romero-Maroto, Martin

2012-09-01

Dental fear is considered to be one of the most frequent problems in paediatric dentistry. According to literature, parents' levels of dental fear play a key role in the development of child's dental anxiety. HYPOTHESIS OR AIM: We have tried to identify the presence of emotional transmission of dental fear among family members and to analyse the different roles that mothers and fathers might play concerning the contagion of dental fear to children. We have hypothesized a key role of the father in the transfer of dental fear from mother to child. A questionnaire-based survey (Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale) has been distributed among 183 schoolchildren and their parents in Madrid (Spain). Inferential statistical analyses, i.e. correlation and hierarchical multiple regression, were carried out and possible mediating effects between variables have been tested. Our results support the hypothesis that family members' levels of dental fear are significantly correlated, and they also allow us to affirm that fathers' dental fear is a mediating variable in the relationship between mothers and children's fear scores. Together with the presence of emotional transmission of dental fear among family members, we identified the relevant role that fathers play as regards the transfer of dental fear from parents to children. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry © 2011 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A single administration of cortisol acutely reduces preconscious attention for fear in anxious young men.

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Putman, Peter; Hermans, Erno J; Koppeschaar, Hans; van Schijndel, Alexandra; van Honk, Jack

2007-08-01

Chronically elevated HPA activity has often been associated with fear and anxiety, but there is evidence that single administrations of glucocorticoids may acutely reduce fear. Moreover, peri-traumatic cortisol elevation may protect against development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypervigilant processing of threat information plays a role in anxiety disorders and although relations with HPA functioning have been established, causality of these relations remains unclear. Presently, self-reported anxiety and response time patterns on a masked emotional Stroop task with fearful faces were measured in 20 healthy young men after double-blind, placebo-controlled oral administration of 40 mg cortisol. The masked fearful Stroop task measures vocal colornaming response latencies for pictures of neutral and fearful faces presented below the threshold for conscious perception. Results showed increased response times on trials for fearful compared to neutral faces after placebo, but this emotional Stroop effect was acutely abolished by cortisol administration. This effect was most pronounced in subjects with heightened anxiety levels. This is the first evidence showing that exogenous cortisol acutely reduces anxiety-driven selective attention to threat. These results extend earlier findings of acute fear reduction after glucocorticoid administration. This suggests interactions of HPA functioning and vigilant attention in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Possible neuroendocrine mechanisms of action are discussed.

Randomized Trial of ConquerFear: A Novel, Theoretically Based Psychosocial Intervention for Fear of Cancer Recurrence.

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Butow, Phyllis N; Turner, Jane; Gilchrist, Jemma; Sharpe, Louise; Smith, Allan Ben; Fardell, Joanna E; Tesson, Stephanie; O'Connell, Rachel; Girgis, Afaf; Gebski, Val J; Asher, Rebecca; Mihalopoulos, Cathrine; Bell, Melanie L; Zola, Karina Grunewald; Beith, Jane; Thewes, Belinda

2017-12-20

Purpose Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is prevalent, distressing, and long lasting. This study evaluated the impact of a theoretically/empirically based intervention (ConquerFear) on FCR. Methods Eligible survivors had curable breast or colorectal cancer or melanoma, had completed treatment (not including endocrine therapy) 2 months to 5 years previously, were age > 18 years, and had scores above the clinical cutoff on the FCR Inventory (FCRI) severity subscale at screening. Participants were randomly assigned at a one-to-one ratio to either five face-to-face sessions of ConquerFear (attention training, metacognitions, acceptance/mindfulness, screening behavior, and values-based goal setting) or an attention control (Taking-it-Easy relaxation therapy). Participants completed questionnaires at baseline (T0), immediately post-therapy (T1), and 3 (T2) and 6 months (T3) later. The primary outcome was FCRI total score. Results Of 704 potentially eligible survivors from 17 sites and two online databases, 533 were contactable, of whom 222 (42%) consented; 121 were randomly assigned to intervention and 101 to control. Study arms were equivalent at baseline on all measured characteristics. ConquerFear participants had clinically and statistically greater improvements than control participants from T0 to T1 on FCRI total ( P psychological distress, and triggers) as well as in general anxiety, cancer-specific distress (total), and mental quality of life and metacognitions (total). Differences in FCRI psychological distress and cancer-specific distress (total) remained significantly different at T3. Conclusion This randomized trial demonstrated efficacy of ConquerFear compared with attention control (Taking-it-Easy) in reduction of FCRI total scores immediately post-therapy and 3 and 6 months later and in many secondary outcomes immediately post-therapy. Cancer-specific distress (total) remained more improved at 3- and 6-month follow-up.

Emotional Faces Capture Spatial Attention in 5-Year-Old Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kit K. Elam

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Emotional facial expressions are important social cues that convey salient affective information. Infants, younger children, and adults all appear to orient spatial attention to emotional faces with a particularly strong bias to fearful faces. Yet in young children it is unclear whether or not both happy and fearful faces extract attention. Given that the processing of emotional faces is believed by some to serve an evolutionarily adaptive purpose, attentional biases to both fearful and happy expressions would be expected in younger children. However, the extent to which this ability is present in young children and whether or not this ability is genetically mediated is untested. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to assess the spatial-attentional properties of emotional faces in young children, with a preliminary test of whether this effect was influenced by genetics. Five-year-old twin pairs performed a dot-probe task. The results suggest that children preferentially direct spatial attention to emotional faces, particularly right visual field faces. The results provide support for the notion that the direction of spatial attention to emotional faces serves an evolutionarily adaptive function and may be mediated by genetic mechanisms.

Birth preference in women undergoing treatment for childbirth fear: A randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Birgitta; Karlström, Annika; Rubertsson, Christine; Ternström, Elin; Ekdahl, Johanna; Segebladh, Birgitta; Hildingsson, Ingegerd

2017-12-01

Childbirth fear is the most common underlying reason for requesting a caesarean section without medical reason. The aim of this randomised controlled study was to investigate birth preferences in women undergoing treatment for childbirth fear, and to investigate birth experience and satisfaction with the allocated treatment. Pregnant women classified with childbirth fear (≥60 on the Fear Of Birth Scale) (n=258) were recruited at one university hospital and two regional hospitals over one year. The participants were randomised (1:1) to intervention (Internet-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (ICBT)) (n=127) or standard care (face-to-face counselling) (n=131). Data were collected by questionnaires in pregnancy week 20-25 (baseline), week 36 and two months after birth. Caesarean section preference decreased from 34% to 12% in the ICBT group and from 24% to 20% in the counselling group. Two months after birth, the preference for caesarean increased to 20% in the ICBT group and to 29% in the counselling group, and there was no statistically significant change over time. Women in the ICBT group were less satisfied with the treatment (OR 4.5). The treatment had no impact on or worsened their childbirth fear (OR 5.5). There were no differences between the groups regarding birth experience. Women's birth preferences fluctuated over the course of pregnancy and after birth regardless of treatment method. Women felt their fear was reduced and were more satisfied with face-to-face counselling compared to ICBT. A higher percentage were lost to follow-up in ICBT group suggesting a need for further research. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions through the lens of psychopathy and altruism.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Abigail A

2016-06-01

Because the face is the central focus of human social interactions, emotional facial expressions provide a unique window into the emotional lives of others. They play a particularly important role in fostering empathy, which entails understanding and responding to others' emotions, especially distress-related emotions such as fear. This Review considers how fearful facial as well as vocal and postural expressions are interpreted, with an emphasis on the role of the amygdala. The amygdala may be best known for its role in the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear, but it also supports the perception and recognition of others' fear. Various explanations have been supplied for the amygdala's role in interpreting and responding to fearful expressions. They include theories that amygdala responses to fearful expressions 1) reflect heightened vigilance in response to uncertain danger, 2) promote heightened attention to the eye region of faces, 3) represent a response to an unconditioned aversive stimulus, or 4) reflect the generation of an empathic fear response. Among these, only empathic fear explains why amygdala lesions would impair fear recognition across modalities. Supporting the possibility of a link between fundamental empathic processes and amygdala responses to fear is evidence that impaired fear recognition in psychopathic individuals results from amygdala dysfunction, whereas enhanced fear recognition in altruistic individuals results from enhanced amygdala function. Empathic concern and caring behaviors may be fostered by sensitivity to signs of acute distress in others, which relies on intact functioning of the amygdala. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Thierry De Putter, a geologist faced to the ''irrational'' fear of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Putter, Th. de; Pivot, A.

2004-01-01

The author analyses the origins of the irrational fear the public feels concerning the disposal of radioactive wastes in deep geological layers. This fear seems to be linked to the positive image of the earth that has been built for millenniums in all humane civilizations, according to it the earth appears as a universal, pure and prolific mother. The burial of radioactive wastes might be considered in an unconscious way as a direct and permanent threat to the integrity of the earth. In fact the earth is not so fragile, it has already undergone catastrophes worse than these that are looming like climate changing or extinction of species, but what is true is that humane civilizations settled on its surface are very fragile. Irrational fear might be an acute and unconscious awareness of this fragility. (A.C.)

The Shadow of Physical Harm? Examining the Unique and Gendered Relationship Between Fear of Murder Versus Fear of Sexual Assault on Fear of Violent Crime.

Science.gov (United States)

Riggs, Samantha; Cook, Carrie L

2015-09-01

The shadow hypothesis regarding the impact of fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime suggests that female fear of crime is characterized by concern about sexual assault as a contemporaneous victimization event during a violent crime event. Recent research has found that other types of crime, namely physical assault, may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. We know of no research that has examined the unique impact of fear of murder versus fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime. There is also a lack of research that explores how these two types of fear uniquely affect men and women. In addition to gender, we examine factors that have been suggested in previous research to correlate with fear of crime: race, victimization, vicarious victimization, and perceived risk. Through survey methodology, this research examines the unique relationship between both fear of murder and fear of sexual assault and fear of three types of violent crime for men and women. Results suggest differences in how fear of murder and fear of sexual assault are related to fear of other types of violence for men and women. Specifically, fear of murder is important in estimating male fear of robbery and aggravated assault. However, fear of sexual assault is almost as important as fear of murder for men in estimating fear of home invasion. Similarly, for women, fear of sexual assault and fear of murder both are significant factors associated with fear of violent crime, and differences between the levels of significance are marginal. This study is a first to examine whether murder may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. The results are informative in identifying what drives fear of crime, particularly violent crime, for both men and women. Avenues for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Face-selective regions differ in their ability to classify facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hui; Japee, Shruti; Nolan, Rachel; Chu, Carlton; Liu, Ning; Ungerleider, Leslie G

2016-04-15

Recognition of facial expressions is crucial for effective social interactions. Yet, the extent to which the various face-selective regions in the human brain classify different facial expressions remains unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and support vector machine pattern classification analysis to determine how well face-selective brain regions are able to decode different categories of facial expression. Subjects participated in a slow event-related fMRI experiment in which they were shown 32 face pictures, portraying four different expressions: neutral, fearful, angry, and happy and belonging to eight different identities. Our results showed that only the amygdala and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) were able to accurately discriminate between these expressions, albeit in different ways: the amygdala discriminated fearful faces from non-fearful faces, whereas STS discriminated neutral from emotional (fearful, angry and happy) faces. In contrast to these findings on the classification of emotional expression, only the fusiform face area (FFA) and anterior inferior temporal cortex (aIT) could discriminate among the various facial identities. Further, the amygdala and STS were better than FFA and aIT at classifying expression, while FFA and aIT were better than the amygdala and STS at classifying identity. Taken together, our findings indicate that the decoding of facial emotion and facial identity occurs in different neural substrates: the amygdala and STS for the former and FFA and aIT for the latter. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The effect of emotionally valenced eye region images on visuocortical processing of surprised faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuaixia; Li, Ping; Wang, Wei; Zhu, Xiangru; Luo, Wenbo

2018-05-01

In this study, we presented pictorial representations of happy, neutral, and fearful expressions projected in the eye regions to determine whether the eye region alone is sufficient to produce a context effect. Participants were asked to judge the valence of surprised faces that had been preceded by a picture of an eye region. Behavioral results showed that affective ratings of surprised faces were context dependent. Prime-related ERPs with presentation of happy eyes elicited a larger P1 than those for neutral and fearful eyes, likely due to the recognition advantage provided by a happy expression. Target-related ERPs showed that surprised faces in the context of fearful and happy eyes elicited dramatically larger C1 than those in the neutral context, which reflected the modulation by predictions during the earliest stages of face processing. There were larger N170 with neutral and fearful eye contexts compared to the happy context, suggesting faces were being integrated with contextual threat information. The P3 component exhibited enhanced brain activity in response to faces preceded by happy and fearful eyes compared with neutral eyes, indicating motivated attention processing may be involved at this stage. Altogether, these results indicate for the first time that the influence of isolated eye regions on the perception of surprised faces involves preferential processing at the early stages and elaborate processing at the late stages. Moreover, higher cognitive processes such as predictions and attention can modulate face processing from the earliest stages in a top-down manner. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

The development of fears of compassion scale Japanese version

Science.gov (United States)

Asano, Kenichi; Tsuchiya, Masao; Ishimura, Ikuo; Lin, Shuzhen; Matsumoto, Yuki; Miyata, Haruko; Kotera, Yasuhiro; Shimizu, Eiji; Gilbert, Paul

2017-01-01

Objectives Cultivation of compassion is a useful way to treat mental problems, but some individuals show resistance. Fears of compassion can be an obstacle for clinicians when providing psychotherapy, and for clients when engaging in interpersonal relationships. Despite its importance, a Japanese version of fears of compassion scales (for others, from others, and for self) has not yet been developed. This study developed a Japanese version of the Fears of Compassion Scales and tested its reliability and validity. Design This study used a cross-sectional design, and a self-report procedure for collecting data. Methods A total of 485 students (121 males and 364 females) answered self-report questionnaires, including the draft Fears of Compassion Scales—Japanese version. Results There were distinctive factor structures for fear of compassion from others, and for self. The fear of compassion from others scale consisted of concern about compassion from others and avoidance of compassion from others. All scales had good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, face validity, and construct validity. Discrimination and difficulty were also calculated. Conclusions These results indicate that the Fears of Compassion Scales—Japanese version is a well-constructed and useful measure to assess fears of compassion and the existence of cultural differences in fears of compassion. PMID:29023461

Durable fear memories require PSD-95

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Paul J.; Pinard, Courtney R.; Camp, Marguerite C.; Feyder, Michael; Sah, Anupam; Bergstrom, Hadley; Graybeal, Carolyn; Liu, Yan; Schlüter, Oliver; Grant, Seth G.N.; Singewald, Nicolas; Xu, Weifeng; Holmes, Andrew

2014-01-01

Traumatic fear memories are highly durable but also dynamic, undergoing repeated reactivation and rehearsal over time. While overly persistent fear memories underlie anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, the key neural and molecular mechanisms underlying fear memory durability remain unclear. Post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95) is a synaptic protein regulating glutamate receptor anchoring, synaptic stability and certain types of memory. Employing a loss-of-function mutant mouse lacking the guanylate kinase domain of PSD-95 (PSD-95GK), we analyzed the contribution of PSD-95 to fear memory formation and retrieval, and sought to identify the neural basis of PSD-95-mediated memory maintenance using ex vivo immediate-early gene mapping, in vivo neuronal recordings and viral-mediated knockdown approaches. We show that PSD-95 is dispensable for the formation and expression of recent fear memories, but essential for the formation of precise and flexible fear memories and for the maintenance of memories at remote time points. The failure of PSD-95GK mice to retrieve remote cued fear memories was associated with hypoactivation of the infralimbic cortex (IL) (not anterior cingulate (ACC) or prelimbic cortex), reduced IL single-unit firing and bursting, and attenuated IL gamma and theta oscillations. Adeno-associated PSD-95 virus-mediated knockdown in the IL, not ACC, was sufficient to impair recent fear extinction and remote fear memory, and remodel IL dendritic spines. Collectively, these data identify PSD-95 in the IL as a critical mechanism supporting the durability of fear memories over time. These preclinical findings have implications for developing novel approaches to treating trauma-based anxiety disorders that target the weakening of overly persistent fear memories. PMID:25510511

Erythropoietin reduces neural and cognitive processing of fear in human models of antidepressant drug action

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miskowiak, Kamilla; O'Sullivan, Ursula; Harmer, Catherine J

2007-01-01

with reduced attention to fear. Erythropoietin additionally reduced recognition of fearful facial expressions without affecting recognition of other emotional expressions. These actions occurred in the absence of changes in hematological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that Epo directly......) versus saline on the neural processing of happy and fearful faces in 23 healthy volunteers. Facial expression recognition was assessed outside the scanner. RESULTS: One week after administration, Epo reduced neural response to fearful versus neutral faces in the occipito-parietal cortex consistent...... study aimed to explore the effects of Epo on neural and behavioral measures of emotional processing relevant for depression and the effects of conventional antidepressant medication. METHODS: In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of Epo (40,000 IU...

The electrophysiological effects of the serotonin 1A receptor agonist buspirone in emotional face processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernasconi, Fosco; Kometer, Michael; Pokorny, Thomas; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X

2015-04-01

Emotional face processing is critically modulated by the serotonergic system, and serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists impair emotional face processing. However, the specific contribution of the 5-HT1A receptor remains poorly understood. Here we investigated the spatiotemporal brain mechanisms underpinning the modulation of emotional face processing induced by buspirone, a partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist. In a psychophysical discrimination of emotional faces task, we observed that the discrimination fearful versus neutral faces were reduced, but not happy versus neutral faces. Electrical neuroimaging analyses were applied to visual evoked potentials elicited by emotional face images, after placebo and buspirone administration. Buspirone modulated response strength (i.e., global field power) in the interval 230-248ms after stimulus onset. Distributed source estimation over this time interval revealed that buspirone decreased the neural activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that was evoked by fearful faces. These results indicate temporal and valence-specific effects of buspirone on the neuronal correlates of emotional face processing. Furthermore, the reduced neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in response to fearful faces suggests a reduced attention to fearful faces. Collectively, these findings provide new insights into the role of 5-HT1A receptors in emotional face processing and have implications for affective disorders that are characterized by an increased attention to negative stimuli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

5-HTTLPR differentially predicts brain network responses to emotional faces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fisher, Patrick M; Grady, Cheryl L; Madsen, Martin K

2015-01-01

The effects of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on neural responses to emotionally salient faces have been studied extensively, focusing on amygdala reactivity and amygdala-prefrontal interactions. Despite compelling evidence that emotional face paradigms engage a distributed network of brain regions...... to fearful faces was significantly greater in S' carriers compared to LA LA individuals. These findings provide novel evidence for emotion-specific 5-HTTLPR effects on the response of a distributed set of brain regions including areas responsive to emotionally salient stimuli and critical components...... involved in emotion, cognitive and visual processing, less is known about 5-HTTLPR effects on broader network responses. To address this, we evaluated 5-HTTLPR differences in the whole-brain response to an emotional faces paradigm including neutral, angry and fearful faces using functional magnetic...

Appealing to fear: A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeal Effectiveness and Theories

Science.gov (United States)

Tannenbaum, Melanie B.; Hepler, Justin; Zimmerman, Rick S.; Saul, Lindsey; Jacobs, Samantha; Wilson, Kristina; Albarracin, Dolores

2018-01-01

Fear appeals are a polarizing issue, with proponents confident in their efficacy and opponents confident that they backfire. We present the results of a comprehensive meta-analysis investigating fear appeals’ effectiveness for influencing attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. We tested predictions from a large number of theories, the majority of which have never been tested meta-analytically until now. Studies were included if they contained a treatment group exposed to a fear appeal, a valid comparison group, a manipulation of depicted fear, a measure of attitudes, intentions, or behaviors concerning the targeted risk or recommended solution, and adequate statistics to calculate effect sizes. The meta-analysis included 127 papers (9% unpublished) yielding 248 independent samples (NTotal = 27,372) collected from diverse populations. Results showed a positive effect of fear appeals on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, with the average effect on a composite index being random-effects d¯ = 0.29. Moderation analyses based on prominent fear appeal theories showed that the effectiveness of fear appeals increased when the message included efficacy statements, depicted high susceptibility and severity, recommended one-time only (vs. repeated) behaviors, and targeted audiences that included a larger percentage of female message recipients. Overall, we conclude that (a) fear appeals are effective at positively influencing attitude, intentions, and behaviors, (b) there are very few circumstances under which they are not effective, and (c) there are no identified circumstances under which they backfire and lead to undesirable outcomes. PMID:26501228

Cannabinoid CB1 receptors in distinct circuits of the extended amygdala determine fear responsiveness to unpredictable threat.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, M D; Daldrup, T; Remmers, F; Szkudlarek, H J; Lesting, J; Guggenhuber, S; Ruehle, S; Jüngling, K; Seidenbecher, T; Lutz, B; Pape, H C

2017-10-01

The brain circuits underlying behavioral fear have been extensively studied over the last decades. Although the vast majority of experimental studies assess fear as a transient state of apprehension in response to a discrete threat, such phasic states of fear can shift to a sustained anxious apprehension, particularly in face of diffuse cues with unpredictable environmental contingencies. Unpredictability, in turn, is considered an important variable contributing to anxiety disorders. The networks of the extended amygdala have been suggested keys to the control of phasic and sustained states of fear, although the underlying synaptic pathways and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the endocannabinoid system acting in synaptic circuits of the extended amygdala can explain the fear response profile during exposure to unpredictable threat. Using fear training with predictable or unpredictable cues in mice, combined with local and cell-type-specific deficiency and rescue of cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors, we found that presynaptic CB1 receptors on distinct amygdala projections to bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are both necessary and sufficient for the shift from phasic to sustained fear in response to an unpredictable threat. These results thereby identify the causal role of a defined protein in a distinct brain pathway for the temporal development of a sustained state of anxious apprehension during unpredictability of environmental influences, reminiscent of anxiety symptoms in humans.

Detecting and Categorizing Fleeting Emotions in Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeny, Timothy D.; Suzuki, Satoru; Grabowecky, Marcia; Paller, Ken A.

2013-01-01

Expressions of emotion are often brief, providing only fleeting images from which to base important social judgments. We sought to characterize the sensitivity and mechanisms of emotion detection and expression categorization when exposure to faces is very brief, and to determine whether these processes dissociate. Observers viewed 2 backward-masked facial expressions in quick succession, 1 neutral and the other emotional (happy, fearful, or angry), in a 2-interval forced-choice task. On each trial, observers attempted to detect the emotional expression (emotion detection) and to classify the expression (expression categorization). Above-chance emotion detection was possible with extremely brief exposures of 10 ms and was most accurate for happy expressions. We compared categorization among expressions using a d′ analysis, and found that categorization was usually above chance for angry versus happy and fearful versus happy, but consistently poor for fearful versus angry expressions. Fearful versus angry categorization was poor even when only negative emotions (fearful, angry, or disgusted) were used, suggesting that this categorization is poor independent of decision context. Inverting faces impaired angry versus happy categorization, but not emotion detection, suggesting that information from facial features is used differently for emotion detection and expression categorizations. Emotion detection often occurred without expression categorization, and expression categorization sometimes occurred without emotion detection. These results are consistent with the notion that emotion detection and expression categorization involve separate mechanisms. PMID:22866885

Effects of acute psychosocial stress on neural activity to emotional and neutral faces in a face recognition memory paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shijia; Weerda, Riklef; Milde, Christopher; Wolf, Oliver T; Thiel, Christiane M

2014-12-01

Previous studies have shown that acute psychosocial stress impairs recognition of declarative memory and that emotional material is especially sensitive to this effect. Animal studies suggest a central role of the amygdala which modulates memory processes in hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and other brain areas. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate neural correlates of stress-induced modulation of emotional recognition memory in humans. Twenty-seven healthy, right-handed, non-smoker male volunteers performed an emotional face recognition task. During encoding, participants were presented with 50 fearful and 50 neutral faces. One hour later, they underwent either a stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or a control procedure outside the scanner which was followed immediately by the recognition session inside the scanner, where participants had to discriminate between 100 old and 50 new faces. Stress increased salivary cortisol, blood pressure and pulse, and decreased the mood of participants but did not impact recognition memory. BOLD data during recognition revealed a stress condition by emotion interaction in the left inferior frontal gyrus and right hippocampus which was due to a stress-induced increase of neural activity to fearful and a decrease to neutral faces. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a stress-induced increase in coupling between the right amygdala and the right fusiform gyrus, when processing fearful as compared to neutral faces. Our results provide evidence that acute psychosocial stress affects medial temporal and frontal brain areas differentially for neutral and emotional items, with a stress-induced privileged processing of emotional stimuli.

Childhood dental fear in the Netherlands: prevalence and normative data.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ten Berge, M.; Hoogstraten, J.; Prins, P.J.M.; Veerkamp, J.S.

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to present normative data on dental fear for the Dutch child population, by identifying not only highly fearful children but also children at risk for developing this high dental fear. METHODS: Fear distribution of samples of high and low fearful children was studied,

Fearful, but not angry, expressions diffuse attention to peripheral targets in an attentional blink paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, James M; Whalen, Paul J

2014-06-01

We previously demonstrated that fearful facial expressions implicitly facilitate memory for contextual events whereas angry facial expressions do not. The current study sought to more directly address the implicit effect of fearful expressions on attention for contextual events within a classic attentional paradigm (i.e., the attentional blink) in which memory is tested on a trial-by-trial basis, thereby providing subjects with a clear, explicit attentional strategy. Neutral faces of a single gender were presented via rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) while bordered by four gray pound signs. Participants were told to watch for a gender change within the sequence (T1). It is critical to note that the T1 face displayed a neutral, fearful, or angry expression. Subjects were then told to detect a color change (i.e., gray to green; T2) at one of the four peripheral pound sign locations appearing after T1. This T2 color change could appear at one of six temporal positions. Complementing previous attentional blink paradigms, participants were told to respond via button press immediately when a T2 target was detected. We found that, compared with the neutral T1 faces, fearful faces significantly increased target detection ability at four of the six temporal locations (all ps enhance environmental monitoring above and beyond explicit attentional effects related to task instructions.

[Abnormal processing characteristics to basic emotional faces in the early phase in children with autism spectrum disorder].

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Qiong-Xi; Wu, Gui-Hua; Zhang, Ling; Wang, Zeng-Jian; Pan, Ning; Xu, Cai-Juan; Jing, Jin; Jin, Yu

2018-02-01

To explore the recognition ability and abnormal processing characteristics to basic emotional faces in the early phase in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Photos of Chinese static faces with four basic emotions (fearful, happy, angry and sad) were used as stimulus. Twenty-five ASD children and twenty-two age- and gender-matched typical developed children (normal controls) were asked to match the emotional faces with words. Event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded concurrently. N170 latencies for total emotion and fearful face in the left temporal region were faster than in the right one in normal controls (P<0.05), but the results were not noted in ASD children. Further, N170 latencies in the left temporal region of ASD children were slower than normal controls for total emotion, fearful and happy faces (P<0.05), and their N170 latencies in the right temporal region were prone to slower than normal controls for angry and fearful faces. The holistic perception speed of emotional faces in the early cognitive processing phase in ASD children is slower than normal controls. The lateralized response in the early phase of recognizing emotional faces may be aberrant in children with ASD.

Effects on automatic attention due to exposure to pictures of emotional faces while performing Chinese word judgment tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Junhong, Huang; Renlai, Zhou; Senqi, Hu

2013-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the automatic processing of emotional facial expressions while performing low or high demand cognitive tasks under unattended conditions. In Experiment 1, 35 subjects performed low (judging the structure of Chinese words) and high (judging the tone of Chinese words) cognitive load tasks while exposed to unattended pictures of fearful, neutral, or happy faces. The results revealed that the reaction time was slower and the performance accuracy was higher while performing the low cognitive load task than while performing the high cognitive load task. Exposure to fearful faces resulted in significantly longer reaction times and lower accuracy than exposure to neutral faces on the low cognitive load task. In Experiment 2, 26 subjects performed the same word judgment tasks and their brain event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured for a period of 800 ms after the onset of the task stimulus. The amplitudes of the early component of ERP around 176 ms (P2) elicited by unattended fearful faces over frontal-central-parietal recording sites was significantly larger than those elicited by unattended neutral faces while performing the word structure judgment task. Together, the findings of the two experiments indicated that unattended fearful faces captured significantly more attention resources than unattended neutral faces on a low cognitive load task, but not on a high cognitive load task. It was concluded that fearful faces could automatically capture attention if residues of attention resources were available under the unattended condition.

Testosterone administration in women increases amygdala responses to fearful and happy faces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, P.A.; Honk, J. van; Ramsey, N.F.; Stein, D.J.; Hermans, E.J.

2013-01-01

Data from both rodents and humans show that testosterone reduces fear. This effect is hypothesized to result from testosterone's down regulating effects on the amygdala, a key region in the detection of threat and instigator of fight-or-flight behavior. However, neuroimaging studies employing

Detecting and categorizing fleeting emotions in faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeny, Timothy D; Suzuki, Satoru; Grabowecky, Marcia; Paller, Ken A

2013-02-01

Expressions of emotion are often brief, providing only fleeting images from which to base important social judgments. We sought to characterize the sensitivity and mechanisms of emotion detection and expression categorization when exposure to faces is very brief, and to determine whether these processes dissociate. Observers viewed 2 backward-masked facial expressions in quick succession, 1 neutral and the other emotional (happy, fearful, or angry), in a 2-interval forced-choice task. On each trial, observers attempted to detect the emotional expression (emotion detection) and to classify the expression (expression categorization). Above-chance emotion detection was possible with extremely brief exposures of 10 ms and was most accurate for happy expressions. We compared categorization among expressions using a d' analysis, and found that categorization was usually above chance for angry versus happy and fearful versus happy, but consistently poor for fearful versus angry expressions. Fearful versus angry categorization was poor even when only negative emotions (fearful, angry, or disgusted) were used, suggesting that this categorization is poor independent of decision context. Inverting faces impaired angry versus happy categorization, but not emotion detection, suggesting that information from facial features is used differently for emotion detection and expression categorizations. Emotion detection often occurred without expression categorization, and expression categorization sometimes occurred without emotion detection. These results are consistent with the notion that emotion detection and expression categorization involve separate mechanisms. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Should we fear "flu fear" itself? Effects of H1N1 influenza fear on ED use.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, William M; Nelson, Douglas S; Schunk, Jeff E

2012-02-01

Surges in patient volumes compromise emergency departments' (EDs') ability to deliver care, as shown by the recent H1N1 influenza (flu) epidemic. Media reports are important in informing the public about health threats, but the effects of media-induced anxiety on ED volumes are unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of widespread public concern about flu on ED use. We reviewed ED data from an integrated health system operating 18 hospital EDs. We compared ED visits during three 1-week periods: (a) a period of heightened public concern regarding flu before the disease was present ("Fear Week"), (b) a subsequent period of active disease ("Flu Week"), and (c) a week before widespread concern ("Control Week"). Fear Week was identified from an analysis of statewide Google electronic searches for "swine flu" and from media announcements about flu. Flu Week was identified from statewide epidemiological data. Data were reviewed from 22 608 visits during the study periods. Fear Week (n = 7712) and Flu Week (n = 7687) were compared to Control Week (n = 7209). Fear Week showed a 7.0% increase in visits (95% confidence interval, 6-8). Pediatric visits increased by 19.7%, whereas adult visits increased by 1%. Flu Week showed an increase over Control Week of 6.6% (95% confidence interval, 6-7). Pediatric visits increased by 10.6%, whereas adult visits increased by 4.8%. At a time of heightened public concern regarding flu but little disease prevalence, EDs experienced substantial increases in patient volumes. These increases were significant and comparable to the increases experienced during the subsequent epidemic of actual disease. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying Characters of “Where Angel Fear to Tread Novel” in Teaching Literary Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhaimi Suhaimi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research is to identify some characters in the novel Where Angels Fear to Tread in teaching literary works. In learning of characters, someone will understand about the term of the interests, desires, emotions, and moral those form the individual within a story. Library research was used in thid study. The experts divide characters become two characters; they are central characters and additional characters. Central characters are a character who takes the greatest part in the main character or a figure that is most telling. Volume appearance of the main character more than the other characters. Meanwhile, additional characters or subordinate figures are figures that appear once or several times, figures that support or assist the central figure. In the novel Where Angels Fear To Tread, writer found some figures or characters such as: Mrs. Herriton, Lilia, Philip, Gino, and Carroline Abbot. Each of them had different characters; Mrs Herriton was a selfish and arrogant because she came from a high social status. Lilia was a patient and never denied what was ruled by her mother in-low although sometimes she was often treated her like slaves. Philip was figured as a handsome man, his tolerance and empathy were high. Gino was figured as stupid character. Miss Abbott as a nice, quiet, dull, and friendly.

Effects of Age on the Types and Severity of Excessive Fear or the Absence of Fear in Children and Young Adults with Autism

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Richman, David M.; Dotson, Wesley H.; Rose, Chad A.; Thompson, Samuel; Abby, Layla

2012-01-01

This study identified (a) patterns of fearful stimuli for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (b) the severity of the fear, and (c) whether excessive fear or the absence of fear negatively affected the participant's quality of life. A web-based survey was used to distribute a modified and extended version of the Fear…

Early adversity and brain response to faces in young adulthood.

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Lieslehto, Johannes; Kiviniemi, Vesa; Mäki, Pirjo; Koivukangas, Jenni; Nordström, Tanja; Miettunen, Jouko; Barnett, Jennifer H; Jones, Peter B; Murray, Graham K; Moilanen, Irma; Paus, Tomáš; Veijola, Juha

2017-09-01

Early stressors play a key role in shaping interindividual differences in vulnerability to various psychopathologies, which according to the diathesis-stress model might relate to the elevated glucocorticoid secretion and impaired responsiveness to stress. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that individuals exposed to early adversity have deficits in emotion processing from faces. This study aims to explore whether early adversities associate with brain response to faces and whether this association might associate with the regional variations in mRNA expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1). A total of 104 individuals drawn from the Northern Finland Brith Cohort 1986 participated in a face-task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. A large independent dataset (IMAGEN, N = 1739) was utilized for reducing fMRI data-analytical space in the NFBC 1986 dataset. Early adversities were associated with deviant brain response to fearful faces (MANCOVA, P = 0.006) and with weaker performance in fearful facial expression recognition (P = 0.01). Glucocorticoid receptor gene expression (data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas) correlated with the degree of associations between early adversities and brain response to fearful faces (R 2  = 0.25, P = 0.01) across different brain regions. Our results suggest that early adversities contribute to brain response to faces and that this association is mediated in part by the glucocorticoid system. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4470-4478, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Factors Associated with Fear of Falling among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in the Shih-Pai Study in Taiwan.

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Hsiao-Ting Chang

Full Text Available Fear of falling is an important risk indicator for adverse health related outcomes in older adults. However, factors associated with fear of falling among community-dwelling older adults are not well-explored.To explore the quality of life and associated factors in fear of falling among older people in the Shih-Pai area in Taiwan.This community-based survey recruited three thousand eight hundred and twenty-four older adults aged ≥ 65 years. The measurements included a structured questionnaire, including quality of life by using Short-Form 36, and information of fear of falling, fall history, demographics, medical conditions, insomnia, sleep quality, depression and subjective health through face-to-face interviews.A total of 53.4% of participants reported a fear of falling. The rate of fear of falling was higher in female subjects. Subjects with fear of falling had lower Short Form-36 scores both for men and women. Falls in the previous year, older age, insomnia, depression and worse subjective health were correlates of fear of falling for both sexes. Male-specific associations with fear of falling were the accessibility of medical help in an emergency, diabetes mellitus and stroke. In parallel, cardiovascular diseases were a female-specific correlate for fear of falling.Fear of falling is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults. It is seems that there are gender differences in fear of falling with respect to the prevalence and associated factors in older adults. Gender differences should be considered when planning prevention and intervention strategies for fear of falling among older people.

Unconsciously perceived fear in peripheral vision alerts the limbic system: a MEG study.

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Dimitri J Bayle

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In ecological situations, threatening stimuli often come out from the peripheral vision. Such aggressive messages must trigger rapid attention to the periphery to allow a fast and adapted motor reaction. Several clues converge to hypothesize that peripheral danger presentation can trigger off a fast arousal network potentially independent of the consciousness spot. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present MEG study, spatio-temporal dynamics of the neural processing of danger related stimuli were explored as a function of the stimuli position in the visual field. Fearful and neutral faces were briefly presented in the central or peripheral visual field, and were followed by target faces stimuli. An event-related beamformer source analysis model was applied in three time windows following the first face presentations: 80 to 130 ms, 140 to 190 ms, and 210 to 260 ms. The frontal lobe and the right internal temporal lobe part, including the amygdala, reacted as soon as 80 ms of latency to fear occurring in the peripheral vision. For central presentation, fearful faces evoked the classical neuronal activity along the occipito-temporal visual pathway between 140 and 190 ms. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the high spatio-temporal resolution of MEG allowed disclosing a fast response of a network involving medial temporal and frontal structures in the processing of fear related stimuli occurring unconsciously in the peripheral visual field. Whereas centrally presented stimuli are precisely processed by the ventral occipito-temporal cortex, the related-to-danger stimuli appearing in the peripheral visual field are more efficient to produce a fast automatic alert response possibly conveyed by subcortical structures.

Choosing to Fly: Examining Fear, Risk and Resilience

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Davis, Steph

2017-01-15

Steph Davis was raised as a classical piano student in a traditional, academic family. She ultimately quit music and then law school, making the frightening decision to step off the safe road and follow her passion to become a full-time rock climber. In 25 years of climbing, Steph has applied the principles of discipline and practice she learned as a musician to reach the tops of some of the world\\'s most difficult rock walls and mountains, often climbing solo without a rope or safety equipment. Intrigued by the power of fear and how it affects our ability to succeed and to stay safe, she learned to skydive as a literal way to face her own fears of falling. From skydiving, Steph immersed herself in the pursuit of wingsuit BASE jumping, known as the most advanced and dangerous form of human flight, in order to fly off mountains after climbing up them. Living and surviving in the mountains and the air, Steph has developed a deep understanding of the need to adapt to one\\'s environment, to embrace failure and to come to terms with fear--skills which are also crucial for survival and success in any walk of life. After the loss of her husband on a wingsuit flight in the Dolomites, Steph saw that resilience is a choice. The decision to keep going forward and to embrace life fully in the face of loss is a simple and yet profound decision that we can all make, no matter what challenges we face. Simply by deciding that we want to go somewhere, whether physically or mentally, we\\'ve taken the first step to getting there.

Fear of cultural extinction and psychopathology among Mandaean refugees: an exploratory path analysis.

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Nickerson, Angela; Bryant, Richard A; Brooks, Robert; Steel, Zachary; Silove, Derrick

2009-01-01

The Mandaeans are a small religious community originating from Iraq and Iran who are facing the possibility of cultural extinction within the next few generations. This study aimed to examine the relationships between life experiences, psychopathology and fear of cultural extinction in Mandaean refugees. A survey was conducted of 315 adult Iraqi Mandaean refugees living in Australia. Past traumatic experiences and current resettlement difficulties were assessed. Mental health outcomes were also examined, including measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Fear of cultural extinction was measured by items developed in consultation with the Mandaean community. A path analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between trauma, living difficulties, PTSD, depression, and fear of cultural extinction. Results indicated that trauma and living difficulties impacted indirectly on fear of cultural extinction, while PTSD (and not depression) directly predicted levels of anxiety about the Mandaean culture ceasing to exist. The current findings indicate that past trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress contribute to fear of cultural extinction. Exposure to human rights violations enacted on the basis of religion has significant mental health consequences that extend beyond PTSD. The relationship between perception of threat, PTSD, and fear of cultural extinction is considered in the context of cognitive models of traumatic stress. Government immigration policy must prioritize the reunification of small, endangered groups to sustain cultural traditions. Treatment interventions implemented with cultural groups facing extinction should take into consideration anxiety about loss of culture.

Effects of sleep on memory for conditioned fear and fear extinction

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Pace-Schott, Edward F.; Germain, Anne; Milad, Mohammed R.

2015-01-01

Learning and memory for extinction of conditioned fear is a basic mammalian mechanism for regulating negative emotion. Sleep promotes both the consolidation of memory and the regulation of emotion. Sleep can influence consolidation and modification of memories associated with both fear and its extinction. After brief overviews of the behavior and neural circuitry associated with fear conditioning, extinction learning and extinction memory in the rodent and human, interactions of sleep with these processes will be examined. Animal and human studies suggest that sleep can serve to consolidate both fear and extinction memory. In humans, sleep also promotes generalization of extinction memory. Time-of-day effects on extinction learning and generalization are also seen. REM may be a sleep stage of particular importance for the consolidation of both fear and extinction memory as evidenced by selective REM deprivation experiments. REM sleep is accompanied by selective activation of the same limbic structures implicated in the learning and memory of fear and extinction. Preliminary evidence also suggests extinction learning can take place during slow wave sleep. Study of low-level processes such as conditioning, extinction and habituation may allow sleep effects on emotional memory to be identified and inform study of sleep’s effects on more complex, emotionally salient declarative memories. Anxiety disorders are marked by impairments of both sleep and extinction memory. Improving sleep quality may ameliorate anxiety disorders by strengthening naturally acquired extinction. Strategically timed sleep may be used to enhance treatment of anxiety by strengthening therapeutic extinction learned via exposure therapy. PMID:25894546

Effects of sleep on memory for conditioned fear and fear extinction.

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Pace-Schott, Edward F; Germain, Anne; Milad, Mohammed R

2015-07-01

Learning and memory for extinction of conditioned fear is a basic mammalian mechanism for regulating negative emotion. Sleep promotes both the consolidation of memory and the regulation of emotion. Sleep can influence consolidation and modification of memories associated with both fear and its extinction. After brief overviews of the behavior and neural circuitry associated with fear conditioning, extinction learning, and extinction memory in the rodent and human, interactions of sleep with these processes will be examined. Animal and human studies suggest that sleep can serve to consolidate both fear and extinction memory. In humans, sleep also promotes generalization of extinction memory. Time-of-day effects on extinction learning and generalization are also seen. Rapid eye movement (REM) may be a sleep stage of particular importance for the consolidation of both fear and extinction memory as evidenced by selective REM deprivation experiments. REM sleep is accompanied by selective activation of the same limbic structures implicated in the learning and memory of fear and extinction. Preliminary evidence also suggests extinction learning can take place during slow wave sleep. Study of low-level processes such as conditioning, extinction, and habituation may allow sleep effects on emotional memory to be identified and inform study of sleep's effects on more complex, emotionally salient declarative memories. Anxiety disorders are marked by impairments of both sleep and extinction memory. Improving sleep quality may ameliorate anxiety disorders by strengthening naturally acquired extinction. Strategically timed sleep may be used to enhance treatment of anxiety by strengthening therapeutic extinction learned via exposure therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages: young people's perceptions in northern Tanzania.

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Bastien, Sheri

2011-12-01

The aims of the study were to elicit the perceptions of young people in Tanzania on the role of fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages and to identify important contextual factors that may influence young people's perceptions of HIV-prevention posters. A total of 10 focus groups were conducted to investigate the role of fear appeals using the extended parallel process model (EPPM) as a guide. Young people were shown a series of images (mostly posters) with alternating high and low-threat messages (fear appeals), and then asked questions about their overall beliefs about HIV and AIDS, as well as about their response in terms of perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, the severity of the message, and their perceptions of self-efficacy and response efficacy. The images and messages that specifically targeted young people were highest in inducing perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, while pictorial descriptions of the physical consequences of HIV infection and those messages related to the stigma and discrimination faced by HIV-infected or affected people induced greater perceptions of severity. The information-based posters rated high in inducing response efficacy, while none of the images seemed to convince young people that they had the self-efficacy to perform the recommended health behaviours. The young people expressed a preference for fear-based appeals and a belief that this could work well in HIV-prevention efforts, yet they also stated a desire for more information-based messages about how to protect themselves. Finally, the messages evoking the most emotional responses were those that had been locally conceived rather than ones developed by large-scale donor-funded campaigns. Finding the appropriate balance between fear and efficacy in HIV-prevention messages is imperative. Further research is needed to better understand how and when fear appeals work and do not work in African settings, especially among young people.

Tracking the fear memory engram: discrete populations of neurons within amygdala, hypothalamus, and lateral septum are specifically activated by auditory fear conditioning

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Wilson, Yvette M.; Gunnersen, Jenny M.; Murphy, Mark

2015-01-01

Memory formation is thought to occur via enhanced synaptic connectivity between populations of neurons in the brain. However, it has been difficult to localize and identify the neurons that are directly involved in the formation of any specific memory. We have previously used fos-tau-lacZ (FTL) transgenic mice to identify discrete populations of neurons in amygdala and hypothalamus, which were specifically activated by fear conditioning to a context. Here we have examined neuronal activation due to fear conditioning to a more specific auditory cue. Discrete populations of learning-specific neurons were identified in only a small number of locations in the brain, including those previously found to be activated in amygdala and hypothalamus by context fear conditioning. These populations, each containing only a relatively small number of neurons, may be directly involved in fear learning and memory. PMID:26179231

Selectivity of face distortion aftereffects for differences in expression or gender

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Megan eTillman

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The perceived configuration of a face can be strongly biased by prior adaptation to a face with a distorted configuration. These aftereffects have been found to be weaker when the adapt and test faces differ along a number of dimensions. We asked whether the adaptation shows more transfer between faces that share a common identity, by comparing the strength of aftereffects when the adapt and test faces differed either in expression (a configural change in the same face identity or gender (a configural change between identities. Observers adapted to expanded or contracted images of either male or female faces with either happy or fearful expressions, and then judged the perceived configuration in either the same faces or faces with a different gender and/or expression. The adaptation included exposure to a single face (e.g. expanded happy or to alternated faces where the distortion was contingent on the attribute (e.g. expanded happy vs. contracted fearful. In all cases the aftereffects showed strong transfer and thus only weak selectivity. However, selectivity was equal or stronger for the change in expression than gender. Our results thus suggest that the distortion aftereffects between faces can be weakly modulated by both variant and invariant attributes of the face.

Neural correlates of improved recognition of happy faces after erythropoietin treatment in bipolar disorder

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Miskowiak, K W; Petersen, N A; Harmer, C J

2018-01-01

-group design. Participants underwent whole-brain fMRI at 3T, mood ratings and blood tests at baseline and week 14. During fMRI, participants viewed happy and fearful faces and performed a gender discrimination task. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients had complete pre- and post-treatment fMRI data (EPO: N = 18......, saline: N = 16). Erythropoietin vs. saline increased right superior frontal response to happy vs. fearful faces. This correlated with improved happiness recognition in the EPO group. Erythropoietin also enhanced gender discrimination accuracy for happy faces. These effects were not influenced...

Crossmodal binding of fear in voice and face

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dolan, R.J.; Morris, J.S.; de Gelder, B.

2001-01-01

In social environments, multiple sensory channels are simultaneously engaged in the service of communication. In this experiment, we were concerned with defining the neuronal mechanisms for a perceptual bias in processing simultaneously presented emotional voices and faces. Specifically, we were

Effect of passenger position on fear of danger experienced during sudden bus stops.

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Aoki, Takeo; Uetake, Teruo; Shimoda, Masahiro

2009-06-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of bus passengers' positions on their fear of danger when a bus stopped suddenly. A temporary bus running course with one bus stop was set up on the campus of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). The bus ran the course 14 times with the bus stopping twice during the course, once at the bus stop and again just after re-starting from the bus stop. The driver was asked to brake more strongly than usual when stopping. Sixteen students (15 males and 1 female) between the ages of 18 and 21 years participated. In turn, all participants were asked to take 14 different postures in the bus. Participants were also asked to report their level of fear on a rating scale each time the bus stopped. The study showed that (1) passengers' fear of danger at the first sudden stop was typically higher than that at the second stop, (2) standing passengers who held hand straps experienced more fear than those who held fixed safety devices, (3) bus passengers sitting on the centre of the rear seat had a great risk of injury if the bus stopped suddenly, and (4) when passengers faced the window and stood transversely with respect to from the moving direction of the bus and the bus stopped suddenly, passengers' fear of danger was affected by the side of the bus on which they stood as well as which hand they used to grasp a safety device.

Vicarious learning and unlearning of fear in childhood via mother and stranger models.

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Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

2013-10-01

Evidence shows that anxiety runs in families. One reason may be that children are particularly susceptible to learning fear from their parents. The current study compared children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences for animals following positive or fearful modeling by mothers and strangers in vicarious learning and unlearning procedures. Children aged 6 to 10 years (N = 60) were exposed to pictures of novel animals either alone (control) or together with pictures of their mother or a stranger expressing fear or happiness. During unlearning (counterconditioning), children saw each animal again with their mother or a stranger expressing the opposite facial expression. Following vicarious learning, children's fear beliefs increased for animals seen with scared faces and this effect was the same whether fear was modeled by mothers or strangers. Fear beliefs and avoidance preferences decreased following positive counterconditioning and increased following fear counterconditioning. Again, learning was the same whether the model was the child's mother or a stranger. These findings indicate that children in this age group can vicariously learn and unlearn fear-related cognitions from both strangers and mothers. This has implications for our understanding of fear acquisition and the development of early interventions to prevent and reverse childhood fears and phobias.

Variations in Fearfulness and Worries of Xhosa Children

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Akande, Adebowale

2010-01-01

Xhosa-speaking South African children in school settings face several academic and emotional challenges. These may be due to family obligation, conformity to authority figures and over expectations from parents, teachers and society. This study examines the differences in the number and types of reported fears and worries in 200 South African…

Increased amygdala responses to emotional faces after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

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Roseman, Leor; Demetriou, Lysia; Wall, Matthew B; Nutt, David J; Carhart-Harris, Robin L

2017-12-27

Recent evidence indicates that psilocybin with psychological support may be effective for treating depression. Some studies have found that patients with depression show heightened amygdala responses to fearful faces and there is reliable evidence that treatment with SSRIs attenuates amygdala responses (Ma, 2015). We hypothesised that amygdala responses to emotional faces would be altered post-treatment with psilocybin. In this open-label study, 20 individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe, treatment-resistant depression, underwent two separate dosing sessions with psilocybin. Psychological support was provided before, during and after these sessions and 19 completed fMRI scans one week prior to the first session and one day after the second and last. Neutral, fearful and happy faces were presented in the scanner and analyses focused on the amygdala. Group results revealed rapid and enduring improvements in depressive symptoms post psilocybin. Increased responses to fearful and happy faces were observed in the right amygdala post-treatment, and right amygdala increases to fearful versus neutral faces were predictive of clinical improvements at 1-week. Psilocybin with psychological support was associated with increased amygdala responses to emotional stimuli, an opposite effect to previous findings with SSRIs. This suggests fundamental differences in these treatments' therapeutic actions, with SSRIs mitigating negative emotions and psilocybin allowing patients to confront and work through them. Based on the present results, we propose that psilocybin with psychological support is a treatment approach that potentially revives emotional responsiveness in depression, enabling patients to reconnect with their emotions. ISRCTN, number ISRCTN14426797. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of processing invisible faces in the brain: automatic neural encoding of facial expression information.

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Jiang, Yi; Shannon, Robert W; Vizueta, Nathalie; Bernat, Edward M; Patrick, Christopher J; He, Sheng

2009-02-01

The fusiform face area (FFA) and the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are suggested to process facial identity and facial expression information respectively. We recently demonstrated a functional dissociation between the FFA and the STS as well as correlated sensitivity of the STS and the amygdala to facial expressions using an interocular suppression paradigm [Jiang, Y., He, S., 2006. Cortical responses to invisible faces: dissociating subsystems for facial-information processing. Curr. Biol. 16, 2023-2029.]. In the current event-related brain potential (ERP) study, we investigated the temporal dynamics of facial information processing. Observers viewed neutral, fearful, and scrambled face stimuli, either visibly or rendered invisible through interocular suppression. Relative to scrambled face stimuli, intact visible faces elicited larger positive P1 (110-130 ms) and larger negative N1 or N170 (160-180 ms) potentials at posterior occipital and bilateral occipito-temporal regions respectively, with the N170 amplitude significantly greater for fearful than neutral faces. Invisible intact faces generated a stronger signal than scrambled faces at 140-200 ms over posterior occipital areas whereas invisible fearful faces (compared to neutral and scrambled faces) elicited a significantly larger negative deflection starting at 220 ms along the STS. These results provide further evidence for cortical processing of facial information without awareness and elucidate the temporal sequence of automatic facial expression information extraction.

Fear of Falling in Older Adults: Comprehensive Review

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Dukyoo Jung, PhD, RN

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Fear of falling has been reported in a high percentage of community-dwelling elderly who both do and don't have a history of falling. The aims of this review are to: (a elucidate the definition of fear of falling; (b clarify measurements of fear of falling based on its definition; and (c describe the risk factors for fear of falling. Despite the importance of the percentage and the consequences of fear of falling, its definition is still vague and warrants clarification. Based on a literature review, major fear of falling measurements involve the evaluation of fear of falling and use of a fall efficacy scale. Using a correct definition of fear of falling, nurses working close with older adults need to identify the different definitions of fear of falling and fall efficacy scale. In addition, nurses who work closely with older adults should encourage them to increase or maintain modifiable factors by maximizing their basic health status and enhancing their physical activity to decrease fear of falling.

Selective attention towards painful faces among chronic pain patients: evidence from a modified version of the dot-probe.

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Khatibi, Ali; Dehghani, Mohsen; Sharpe, Louise; Asmundson, Gordon J G; Pouretemad, Hamidreza

2009-03-01

Evidence that patients with chronic pain selectively attend to pain-related stimuli presented in modified Stroop and dot-probe paradigms is mixed. The pain-related stimuli used in these studies have been primarily verbal in nature (i.e., words depicting themes of pain). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether patients with chronic pain, relative to healthy controls, show selective attention for pictures depicting painful faces. To do so, 170 patients with chronic pain and 40 age- and education-matched healthy control participants were tested using a dot-probe task in which painful, happy, and neutral facial expressions were presented. Selective attention was denoted using the mean reaction time and the bias index. Results indicated that, while both groups shifted attention away from happy faces (and towards neutral faces), only the control group shifted attention away from painful faces. Additional analyses were conducted on chronic pain participants after dividing them into groups on the basis of fear of pain/(re)injury. The results of these analyses revealed that while chronic pain patients with high and low levels of fear both shifted attention away from happy faces, those with low fear shifted attention away from painful faces, whereas those with high fear shifted attention towards painful faces. These results suggest that patients with chronic pain selectively attend to facial expressions of pain and, importantly, that the tendency to shift attention towards such stimuli is positively influenced by high fear of pain/(re)injury. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Acute pharmacologically induced shifts in serotonin availability abolish emotion-selective responses to negative face emotions in distinct brain networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grady, Cheryl Lynn; Siebner, Hartwig R; Hornboll, Bettina

2013-01-01

Pharmacological manipulation of serotonin availability can alter the processing of facial expressions of emotion. Using a within-subject design, we measured the effect of serotonin on the brain's response to aversive face emotions with functional MRI while 20 participants judged the gender...... of neutral, fearful and angry faces. In three separate and counterbalanced sessions, participants received citalopram (CIT) to raise serotonin levels, underwent acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) to lower serotonin, or were studied without pharmacological challenge (Control). An analysis designed to identify...

Work-related fear and the threats of fear among emergency department nursing staff and physicians in Finland.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikkola, Riitta; Huhtala, Heini; Paavilainen, Eija

2017-10-01

To describe fear, the threats causing fear and the occurrence of fear among emergency department nursing staff and physicians. The emergency department is a challenging workplace where the staff is often confronted by factors that cause fear. A cross-sectional study. A survey was conducted in 16 hospitals (n = 544). Nurses, practical nurses, orderlies and physicians from those hospitals participated in the survey. The survey questionnaire was based on the analysis of interviews of 30 nurses from one university hospital and one central hospital. The results of the interviews were analysed using the inductive content analysis method. The analysis of the survey was performed using statistical methods, such as frequencies, cross-tabulation and principal component analysis. The results showed that nearly all of the emergency department personnel had experienced work-related fear. Generally, the fear had been momentary. According to the survey results, fear was most often caused by medication errors, the resuscitation of a child, a catastrophic accident, urgent or violent situations or patients armed with weapons. Threats that caused fear included insecurity, danger in the work environment, threat of loss of one's health and threat of the consequences of one's mistakes and actions. The staff of emergency departments often encountered factors or situations that caused fear. The main threats causing fear that were raised by the respondents were insecurity and danger in the work environment. The data obtained from this study can be utilised in identifying and describing work-related fear and threats of fear among emergency department nursing staff and physicians. Based on the information herein, it will be possible to develop methods to prevent situations that cause fear in emergency departments. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reacting to Face Loss in Chinese Business Culture: An Interview Report

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Cardon, Peter W.

2006-01-01

In Chinese culture, the concept of face refers to personal dignity, prestige, and status and serves to maintain harmony in social relationships and hierarchies. The fear of the loss of face permeates Chinese society. In business, face loss may disrupt deals and harm goodwill. However, limited empirical research has addressed the emotional…

Distinguishing Fear Versus Distress Symptomatology in Pediatric OCD.

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Rozenman, Michelle; Peris, Tara; Bergman, R Lindsey; Chang, Susanna; O'Neill, Joseph; McCracken, James T; Piacentini, John

2017-02-01

Prior research has identified OCD subtypes or "clusters" of symptoms that differentially relate to clinical features of the disorder. Given the high comorbidity between OCD and anxiety, OCD symptom clusters may more broadly associate with fear and/or distress internalizing constructs. This study examines fear and distress dimensions, including physical concerns (fear), separation anxiety (fear), perfectionism (distress), and anxious coping (distress), as predictors of previously empirically-derived OCD symptom clusters in a sample of 215 youth diagnosed with primary OCD (ages 7-17, mean age = 12.25). Self-reported separation fears predicted membership in Cluster 1 (aggressive, sexual, religious, somatic obsessions, and checking compulsions) while somatic/autonomic fears predicted membership in Cluster 2 (symmetry obsessions and ordering, counting, repeating compulsions). Results highlight the diversity of pediatric OCD symptoms and their differential association with fear, suggesting the need to carefully assess both OCD and global fear constructs that might be directly targeted in treatment.

Elements of person knowledge: Episodic recollection helps us to identify people but not to recognize their faces.

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MacKenzie, Graham; Donaldson, David I

2016-12-01

Faces automatically draw attention, allowing rapid assessments of personality and likely behaviour. How we respond to people is, however, highly dependent on whether we know who they are. According to face processing models person knowledge comes from an extended neural system that includes structures linked to episodic memory. Here we use scalp recorded brain signals to demonstrate the specific role of episodic memory processes during face processing. In two experiments we recorded Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) while participants made identify, familiar or unknown responses to famous faces. ERPs revealed neural signals previously associated with episodic recollection for identify but not familiar faces. These findings provide novel evidence suggesting that recollection is central to face processing, providing one source of person knowledge that can be used to moderate the initial impressions gleaned from the core neural system that supports face recognition. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel perceptual discrimination training task: Reducing fear overgeneralization in the context of fear learning.

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Ginat-Frolich, Rivkah; Klein, Zohar; Katz, Omer; Shechner, Tomer

2017-06-01

Generalization is an adaptive learning mechanism, but it can be maladaptive when it occurs in excess. A novel perceptual discrimination training task was therefore designed to moderate fear overgeneralization. We hypothesized that improvement in basic perceptual discrimination would translate into lower fear overgeneralization in affective cues. Seventy adults completed a fear-conditioning task prior to being allocated into training or placebo groups. Predesignated geometric shape pairs were constructed for the training task. A target shape from each pair was presented. Thereafter, participants in the training group were shown both shapes and asked to identify the image that differed from the target. Placebo task participants only indicated the location of each shape on the screen. All participants then viewed new geometric pairs and indicated whether they were identical or different. Finally, participants completed a fear generalization test consisting of perceptual morphs ranging from the CS + to the CS-. Fear-conditioning was observed through physiological and behavioural measures. Furthermore, the training group performed better than the placebo group on the assessment task and exhibited decreased fear generalization in response to threat/safety cues. The findings offer evidence for the effectiveness of the novel discrimination training task, setting the stage for future research with clinical populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Are fear memories erasable? –reconsolidation of learned fear with fear relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli

OpenAIRE

Armita eGolkar; Martin eBellander; Andreas eOlsson; Arne eÖhman

2012-01-01

Recent advances in the field of fear learning have demonstrated that a single reminder exposure prior to extinction training can prevent the return of extinguished fear by disrupting the process of reconsolidation. These findings have however proven hard to replicate in humans. Given the significant implications of preventing the return of fear, the purpose of the present study was to further study the prerequisites for the putative effects of disrupting reconsolidation. In two experiments, w...

Identifying cognitive preferences for attractive female faces: an event-related potential experiment using a study-test paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Kong, Fanchang; Chen, Hong; Jackson, Todd; Han, Li; Meng, Jing; Yang, Zhou; Gao, Jianguo; Najam ul Hasan, Abbasi

2011-11-01

In this experiment, sensitivity to female facial attractiveness was examined by comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to attractive and unattractive female faces within a study-test paradigm. Fourteen heterosexual participants (age range 18-24 years, mean age 21.67 years) were required to judge 84 attractive and 84 unattractive face images as either "attractive" or "unattractive." They were then asked whether they had previously viewed each face in a recognition task in which 50% of the images were novel. Analyses indicated that attractive faces elicited more enhanced ERP amplitudes than did unattractive faces in judgment (N300 and P350-550 msec) and recognition (P160 and N250-400 msec and P400-700 msec) tasks on anterior locations. Moreover, longer reaction times and higher accuracy rate were observed in identifying attractive faces than unattractive faces. In sum, this research identified neural and behavioral bases related to cognitive preferences for judging and recognizing attractive female faces. Explanations for the results are that attractive female faces arouse more intense positive emotions in participants than do unattractive faces, and they also represent reproductive fitness and mating value from the evolutionary perspective. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Internet use by the socially fearful: addiction or therapy?

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Campbell, Andrew J; Cumming, Steven R; Hughes, Ian

2006-02-01

The Internet has often been argued to have adverse psychological consequences, such as depression or anxiety symptoms, among "over-users." The present study offers an alternative understanding, suggesting the Internet may be used as a forum for expanding social networks and consequently enhancing the chance of meaningful relationships, self-confidence, social abilities, and social support. An online sample of 188 people was recruited over the Internet, while paper and pencil tests were administered to an offline sample group of 27 undergraduate university students, who were regular Internet users. Subjects completed the Zung Depression Scale (ZDS), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire?Revised Short Scale (EPQ-R Short), Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) scale, Internet Use Questionnaire (IUQ), and an Internet Effects Questionnaire (IEQ). Results suggested that there was no relationship between time spent online and depression, anxiety, or social fearfulness. Those who primarily used the Internet for online chat believed that the Internet is psychologically beneficial to them, but also believed that frequent Internet users are lonely and that the Internet can be addictive. It is argued that "chat" users who are socially fearful may be using the Internet as a form of low-risk social approach and an opportunity to rehearse social behavior and communication skills, which, may help them improve interaction with offline, face-to-face, social environments.

Emotional facial expressions reduce neural adaptation to face identity.

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Gerlicher, Anna M V; van Loon, Anouk M; Scholte, H Steven; Lamme, Victor A F; van der Leij, Andries R

2014-05-01

In human social interactions, facial emotional expressions are a crucial source of information. Repeatedly presented information typically leads to an adaptation of neural responses. However, processing seems sustained with emotional facial expressions. Therefore, we tested whether sustained processing of emotional expressions, especially threat-related expressions, would attenuate neural adaptation. Neutral and emotional expressions (happy, mixed and fearful) of same and different identity were presented at 3 Hz. We used electroencephalography to record the evoked steady-state visual potentials (ssVEP) and tested to what extent the ssVEP amplitude adapts to the same when compared with different face identities. We found adaptation to the identity of a neutral face. However, for emotional faces, adaptation was reduced, decreasing linearly with negative valence, with the least adaptation to fearful expressions. This short and straightforward method may prove to be a valuable new tool in the study of emotional processing.

Running from fear: Exercise modulation of fear extinction.

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Tanner, Margaret K; Hake, Holly S; Bouchet, Courtney A; Greenwood, Benjamin N

2018-03-31

Extinction-based exposure therapy is the most common behavioral therapy for anxiety and trauma-related disorders, but fear tends to resurface even after successful extinction. Identification of novel strategies to enhance fear extinction and reduce fear relapse is of paramount importance to mental health. Exercise can enhance cognitive function, but it is not yet well understood whether exercise can be an effective augmentation strategy for fear extinction. In the current review, we present the current state of knowledge on the effects of exercise on fear extinction. Effects of exercise duration, explanations for conflicting results, and potential mechanisms, focusing on a hypothesized role for dopamine, are all discussed. We also provide new data suggesting that the timing in which acute exercise occurs relative to fear extinction, is a crucial variable in determining whether exercise can enhance fear extinction. Clinical implications and ideas to guide future research endeavors in this area are provided. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Your emotion or mine: Labeling feelings alters emotional face perception- An ERP study on automatic and intentional affect labeling

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Cornelia eHerbert

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Empirical evidence suggests that words are powerful regulators of emotion processing. Although a number of studies have used words as contextual cues for emotion processing, the role of what is being labeled by the words (i.e. one’s own emotion as compared to the emotion expressed by the sender is poorly understood. The present study reports results from two experiments which used ERP methodology to evaluate the impact of emotional faces and self- versus sender-related emotional pronoun-noun pairs (e.g. my fear vs. his fear as cues for emotional face processing. The influence of self- and sender-related cues on the processing of fearful, angry and happy faces was investigated in two contexts: an automatic (experiment 1 and intentional affect labeling task (experiment 2, along with control conditions of passive face processing. ERP patterns varied as a function of the label’s reference (self vs. sender and the intentionality of the labelling task (experiment 1 vs. experiment 2. In experiment 1, self-related labels increased the motivational relevance of the emotional faces in the time-window of the EPN component. Processing of sender-related labels improved emotion recognition specifically for fearful faces in the N170 time-window. Spontaneous processing of affective labels modulated later stages of face processing as well. Amplitudes of the late positive potential (LPP were reduced for fearful, happy, and angry faces relative to the control condition of passive viewing. During intentional regulation (experiment 2 amplitudes of the LPP were enhanced for emotional faces when subjects used the self-related emotion labels to label their own emotion during face processing, and they rated the faces as higher in arousal than the emotional faces that had been presented in the label sender’s emotion condition or the passive viewing condition. The present results argue in favor of a differentiated view of language-as-context for emotion processing.

Can an anger face also be scared? Malleability of facial expressions.

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Widen, Sherri C; Naab, Pamela

2012-10-01

Do people always interpret a facial expression as communicating a single emotion (e.g., the anger face as only angry) or is that interpretation malleable? The current study investigated preschoolers' (N = 60; 3-4 years) and adults' (N = 20) categorization of facial expressions. On each of five trials, participants selected from an array of 10 facial expressions (an open-mouthed, high arousal expression and a closed-mouthed, low arousal expression each for happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust) all those that displayed the target emotion. Children's interpretation of facial expressions was malleable: 48% of children who selected the fear, anger, sadness, and disgust faces for the "correct" category also selected these same faces for another emotion category; 47% of adults did so for the sadness and disgust faces. The emotion children and adults attribute to facial expressions is influenced by the emotion category for which they are looking.

Neural response patterns in spider, blood-injection-injury and social fearful individuals: new insights from a simultaneous EEG/ECG-fMRI study.

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Michałowski, Jarosław M; Matuszewski, Jacek; Droździel, Dawid; Koziejowski, Wojciech; Rynkiewicz, Andrzej; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur

2017-06-01

In the present simultaneous EEG/ECG-fMRI study we compared the temporal and spatial characteristics of the brain responses and the cardiac activity during fear picture processing between spider, blood-injection-injury (BII) and social fearful as well as healthy (non-fearful) volunteers. All participants were presented with two neutral and six fear-related blocks of pictures: two social, two spider and two blood/injection fear blocks. In a social fear block neutral images were occasionally interspersed with photographs of angry faces and social exposure scenes. In spider and blood/injection fear blocks neutral pictures were interspersed with spider fear-relevant and blood/injection pictures, respectively. When compared to healthy controls the social fear group responded with increased activations in the anterior orbital, middle/anterior cingulate and middle/superior temporal areas for pictures depicting angry faces and with a few elevated superior frontal activations for social exposure scenes. In the blood/injection fear group, heart rate was decreased and the activity in the middle/inferior frontal and visual processing regions was increased for blood/injection pictures. The HR decrease for blood/injection pictures correlated with increased frontal responses. In the spider fear group, spider fear-relevant pictures triggered increased activations within a broad subcortical and cortical neural fear network. The HR response for spider fear-relevant stimuli was increased and correlated with an increased insula and hippocampus activity. When compared to healthy controls, all fear groups showed higher LPP amplitudes for their feared cues and an overall greater P1 hypervigilance effect. Contrasts against the fear control groups showed that the increased responses for fear-specific stimuli are mostly related to specific fears and not to general anxiety proneness. The results suggest different engagement of cognitive evaluation and down-regulation strategies and an overall

Facing Your Fears in Adolescence: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders and Anxiety

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Judy Reaven

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASDs are at high risk for developing psychiatric symptoms, with anxiety disorders among the most commonly cooccurring. Cognitive behavior therapies (CBTs are considered the best practice for treating anxiety in the general population. Modified CBT approaches for youth with high-functioning ASD and anxiety have resulted in significant reductions in anxiety following intervention. The purpose of the present study was to develop an intervention for treating anxiety in adolescents with ASD based on a CBT program designed for school-aged children. The Facing Your Fears-Adolescent Version (FYF-A program was developed; feasibility and acceptability data were obtained, along with initial efficacy of the intervention. Twenty-four adolescents, aged 13–18, completed the FYF-A intervention. Results indicated significant reductions in anxiety severity and interference posttreatment, with low rates of anxiety maintained at 3-month follow-up. In addition, nearly 46% of teen participants met criteria for a positive treatment response on primary diagnosis following the intervention. Initial findings from the current study are encouraging and suggest that modified group CBT for adolescents with high-functioning ASD may be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms. Limitations include small sample size and lack of control group. Future directions are discussed.

Different neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in healthy monozygotic twins at risk of depression.

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Miskowiak, K W; Glerup, L; Vestbo, C; Harmer, C J; Reinecke, A; Macoveanu, J; Siebner, H R; Kessing, L V; Vinberg, M

2015-05-01

Negative cognitive bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression. Yet it is unclear whether these changes constitute an endophenotype for depression and are also present in healthy individuals with hereditary risk for depression. Thirty healthy, never-depressed monozygotic (MZ) twins with a co-twin history of depression (high risk group: n = 13) or without co-twin history of depression (low-risk group: n = 17) were enrolled in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. During fMRI, participants viewed fearful and happy faces while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task and questionnaires assessing mood, personality traits and coping strategies. High-risk twins showed increased neural response to happy and fearful faces in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), pre-supplementary motor area and occipito-parietal regions compared to low-risk twins. They also displayed stronger negative coupling between amygdala and pregenual ACC, dmPFC and temporo-parietal regions during emotional face processing. These task-related changes in neural responses in high-risk twins were accompanied by impaired gender discrimination performance during face processing. They also displayed increased attention vigilance for fearful faces and were slower at recognizing facial expressions relative to low-risk controls. These effects occurred in the absence of differences between groups in mood, subjective state or coping. Different neural response and functional connectivity within fronto-limbic and occipito-parietal regions during emotional face processing and enhanced fear vigilance may be key endophenotypes for depression.

FEAR OF FALLING AMONG COMMUNITY DWELLING OLDER ADULTS

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Michaela Dingová

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the study was to describe experience with falls, fear of falling, perceptions of the consequences of falls and how the fear of falling affects daily life in community-dwelling older adults. Design: The study used a qualitative design to describe the lived experiences of community-dwelling older adults with the fear of falling. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with six participants who reported the fear of falling. Results: Five main areas emerged from data analysis: development of the fear of falling, feared consequences of falling, activities curtailment, fall prevention behavior and meaning of social support in daily life. The fear of falling was described as a negative experience, directly linked to fall consequences such as physical injury, incapacitation, loss of autonomy, fear of dependence and experience of humiliating conditions. To maintain a certain level of independence in daily life, the participants chose to avoid falls by activity curtailment, organizing their lives more carefully and getting support from others. Conclusion: All participants identified that they had discovered their fear of falling after experiencing falls. The fear of falling was associated with feared consequences of a potential fall and had an impact on their daily life. The participant also mentioned other contributors to their fear of falling, including ill health and aging. Keywords: Fear of falling, older adults, perceived consequences of falls, daily life.

Teaching Students How To Read Fear Appeals Critically.

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Lively, Malcolm

Fear appeals are persuasive messages that emphasize harmful physical or social consequences of failing to comply with message recommendations. Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) emphasizes cognitive or rational reactions to fear appeals and identifies four message components which initiate corresponding cognitive mediating processes of appraising…

Subjective fear, interference by threat, and fear associations independently predict fear-related behavior in children.

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Klein, Anke M; Kleinherenbrink, Annelies V; Simons, Carlijn; de Gier, Erwin; Klein, Steven; Allart, Esther; Bögels, Susan M; Becker, Eni S; Rinck, Mike

2012-09-01

Several information-processing models highlight the independent roles of controlled and automatic processes in explaining fearful behavior. Therefore, we investigated whether direct measures of controlled processes and indirect measures of automatic processes predict unique variance components of children's spider fear-related behavior. Seventy-seven children between 8 and 13 years performed an Affective Priming Task (APT) measuring associative bias, a pictorial version of the Emotional Stroop Task (EST) measuring attentional bias, filled out the Spider Anxiety and Disgust Screening for Children (SADS-C) in order to assess self-perceived fear, and took part in a Behavioral Assessment Test (BAT) to measure avoidance of spiders. The SADS-C, EST, and APT did not correlate with each other. Spider fear-related behavior was best explained by SADS-C, APT, and EST together; they explained 51% of the variance in BAT behavior. No children with clinical levels of spider phobia were tested. The direct and the different indirect measures did no correlate with each other. These results indicate that both direct and indirect measures are useful for predicting unique variance components of fear-related behavior in children. The lack of relations between direct and indirect measures may explain why some earlier studies did not find stronger color-naming interference or stronger fear associations in children with high levels of self-reported fear. It also suggests that children with high levels of spider-fearful behavior have different fear-related associations and display higher interference by spider stimuli than children with non-fearful behavior. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bihippocampal damage with emotional dysfunction: impaired auditory recognition of fear.

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Ghika-Schmid, F; Ghika, J; Vuilleumier, P; Assal, G; Vuadens, P; Scherer, K; Maeder, P; Uske, A; Bogousslavsky, J

1997-01-01

A right-handed man developed a sudden transient, amnestic syndrome associated with bilateral hemorrhage of the hippocampi, probably due to Urbach-Wiethe disease. In the 3rd month, despite significant hippocampal structural damage on imaging, only a milder degree of retrograde and anterograde amnesia persisted on detailed neuropsychological examination. On systematic testing of recognition of facial and vocal expression of emotion, we found an impairment of the vocal perception of fear, but not that of other emotions, such as joy, sadness and anger. Such selective impairment of fear perception was not present in the recognition of facial expression of emotion. Thus emotional perception varies according to the different aspects of emotions and the different modality of presentation (faces versus voices). This is consistent with the idea that there may be multiple emotion systems. The study of emotional perception in this unique case of bilateral involvement of hippocampus suggests that this structure may play a critical role in the recognition of fear in vocal expression, possibly dissociated from that of other emotions and from that of fear in facial expression. In regard of recent data suggesting that the amygdala is playing a role in the recognition of fear in the auditory as well as in the visual modality this could suggest that the hippocampus may be part of the auditory pathway of fear recognition.

Targeting memory reconsolidation to prevent the return of fear in patients with fear of flying.

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Maples-Keller, Jessica L; Price, Matthew; Jovanovic, Tanja; Norrholm, Seth D; Odenat, Lydia; Post, Loren; Zwiebach, Liza; Breazeale, Kathryn; Gross, Robin; Kim, Sae-Jin; Rothbaum, Barbara Olasov

2017-07-01

When a memory is recalled, it may again exist in a labile state and stored information becomes amenable to change, a psychobiological process known as reconsolidation. Exposure therapy for anxiety disorders involves accessing a fear memory and modifying it with less fearful information. A preclinical study reported that providing a reminder of a fear memory 10 min prior to extinction training in humans decreased fear up to 1 year later (Schiller et al., 2010). For this pilot clinical study, we used virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) for fear of flying (FoF) to determine if using a cue to reactivate the memory of the feared stimulus 10 min prior to exposure sessions leads to fewer anxiety-related behaviors and a more durable response compared to a neutral cue. FoF participants (N = 89) received four sessions of anxiety management training followed by four sessions of VRE. Participants were randomly assigned to receive an FoF cue (reactivation group) or a neutral cue (control group) prior to the VRE sessions. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance levels (SCLs) were collected during posttreatment and 3-month follow-up assessments as objective markers of fear responding. Treatment was effective and all clinical measures improved equally between groups at posttreatment with maintained gains through follow-ups. Significant differences were identified with regard to HR and SCL indices. These results suggest that memory reactivation prior to exposure therapy did not have an impact on clinical measures but may enhance the effect of exposure therapy at the physiological level. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effects of oxytocin on fear recognition in patients with schizophrenia and in healthy controls

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Meytal eFischer-Shofty

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Individuals who suffer from schizophrenia often show a marked deficit in recognition of emotional facial expressions, as part of broader impairment of social cognition. Research has shown that recognition of negative emotions, specifically fear recognition, is particularly impaired among patients with schizophrenia. Recently we reported that intranasal administration of OT (IN OT increased the ability to correctly recognize fear in a group of healthy men. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of IN OT administration on fear recognition among patients with schizophrenia. Based on previous research, we also sought to examine a possible selective effect of OT dependent on baseline performance, hypothesizing that IN OT would have a greater enhancement effect on less proficient individuals. It was thus hypothesized that patients will show more improvement in fear recognition following the administration of IN OT as compared to controls. Sixty six participants (31 schizophrenia patients, 35 healthy controls were enrolled in the current study. All participants received treatment of a single dose of 24 IU IN OT and an equivalent amount of placebo, one week apart. The participants’ ability to accurately recognize fear and happiness was evaluated using a face morphing task. Overall, as a group, both patients and healthy control participants were more accurate in recognizing fearful facial expressions, but not happy faces, following IN OT administration, as compared to their performance following placebo. IN OT did not differentially affect emotion recognition in patients and healthy controls. Yet, the results indicated a selective effect for IN OT, in which the hormone improves fear recognition only among individuals whose baseline performance was below the median, regardless of their psychiatric status.

Different neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in healthy monozygotic twins at risk of depression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miskowiak, K W; Glerup, L; Vestbo, C

2015-01-01

while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task and questionnaires assessing mood, personality traits and coping strategies. RESULTS: High-risk twins showed increased neural response to happy and fearful faces...... processing. These task-related changes in neural responses in high-risk twins were accompanied by impaired gender discrimination performance during face processing. They also displayed increased attention vigilance for fearful faces and were slower at recognizing facial expressions relative to low......BACKGROUND: Negative cognitive bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression. Yet it is unclear whether these changes constitute an endophenotype for depression and are also present in healthy individuals with hereditary risk for depression. METHOD: Thirty...

What Faces Reveal: A Novel Method to Identify Patients at Risk of Deterioration Using Facial Expressions.

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Madrigal-Garcia, Maria Isabel; Rodrigues, Marcos; Shenfield, Alex; Singer, Mervyn; Moreno-Cuesta, Jeronimo

2018-07-01

To identify facial expressions occurring in patients at risk of deterioration in hospital wards. Prospective observational feasibility study. General ward patients in a London Community Hospital, United Kingdom. Thirty-four patients at risk of clinical deterioration. A 5-minute video (25 frames/s; 7,500 images) was recorded, encrypted, and subsequently analyzed for action units by a trained facial action coding system psychologist blinded to outcome. Action units of the upper face, head position, eyes position, lips and jaw position, and lower face were analyzed in conjunction with clinical measures collected within the National Early Warning Score. The most frequently detected action units were action unit 43 (73%) for upper face, action unit 51 (11.7%) for head position, action unit 62 (5.8%) for eyes position, action unit 25 (44.1%) for lips and jaw, and action unit 15 (67.6%) for lower face. The presence of certain combined face displays was increased in patients requiring admission to intensive care, namely, action units 43 + 15 + 25 (face display 1, p facial expressions can be identified in deteriorating general ward patients. This tool may potentially augment risk prediction of current scoring systems.

Detection of emotional faces: salient physical features guide effective visual search.

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Calvo, Manuel G; Nummenmaa, Lauri

2008-08-01

In this study, the authors investigated how salient visual features capture attention and facilitate detection of emotional facial expressions. In a visual search task, a target emotional face (happy, disgusted, fearful, angry, sad, or surprised) was presented in an array of neutral faces. Faster detection of happy and, to a lesser extent, surprised and disgusted faces was found both under upright and inverted display conditions. Inversion slowed down the detection of these faces less than that of others (fearful, angry, and sad). Accordingly, the detection advantage involves processing of featural rather than configural information. The facial features responsible for the detection advantage are located in the mouth rather than the eye region. Computationally modeled visual saliency predicted both attentional orienting and detection. Saliency was greatest for the faces (happy) and regions (mouth) that were fixated earlier and detected faster, and there was close correspondence between the onset of the modeled saliency peak and the time at which observers initially fixated the faces. The authors conclude that visual saliency of specific facial features--especially the smiling mouth--is responsible for facilitated initial orienting, which thus shortens detection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

The Impact of fear on the stock exchange gamblers’ behaviour

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Titus SUCIU

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper creates a link between the five basic fears in humans and their occurrence when we invest in the stock exchange. The author identifies five basic fears in humans: fear of being rejected, abandoned, humiliated, betrayed and the victim of an injustice. The stock market investor is confronted with the following fears: the disposition effect, the hedonistic approach, the effect of the committed expenditure, the snake bite effect, the dismissal of any regret (or the no regret approach, the status quo prejudice and the endowment effect. The author shows that the stock investor’s seven fears are specific cases of the five basic fears. The first step in confronting these fears is to become aware of the mask worn.

Enhanced discriminative fear learning of phobia-irrelevant stimuli in spider-fearful individuals

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Carina eMosig

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Avoidance is considered as a central hallmark of all anxiety disorders. The acquisition and expression of avoidance which leads to the maintenance and exacerbation of pathological fear is closely linked to Pavlovian and operant conditioning processes. Changes in conditionability might represent a key feature of all anxiety disorders but the exact nature of these alterations might vary across different disorders. To date, no information is available on specific changes in conditionability for disorder-irrelevant stimuli in specific phobia (SP. The first aim of this study was to investigate changes in fear acquisition and extinction in spider-fearful individuals as compared to non-fearful participants by using the de novo fear conditioning paradigm. Secondly, we aimed to determine whether differences in the magnitude of context-dependent fear retrieval exist between spider-fearful and non-fearful individuals. Our findings point to an enhanced fear discrimination in spider-fearful individuals as compared to non-fearful individuals at both the physiological and subjective level. The enhanced fear discrimination in spider-fearful individuals was neither mediated by increased state anxiety, depression, nor stress tension. Spider-fearful individuals displayed no changes in extinction learning and/or fear retrieval. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for context-dependent modulation of fear retrieval in either group. Here we provide first evidence that spider-fearful individuals show an enhanced discriminative fear learning of phobia-irrelevant (de novo stimuli. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of fear acquisition and expression for the development and maintenance of maladaptive responses in the course of SP.

Conceptual Relations between Anxiety Disorder and Fearful Temperament

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Rapee, Ronald M.; Coplan, Robert J.

2010-01-01

Fearful temperaments have been identified as a major risk factor for anxiety disorders. However, descriptions of fearful temperament and several forms of anxiety disorder show strong similarities. This raises the question whether these terms may simply refer to different aspects of the same underlying construct. The current review examines…

The cost of fear

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Thomas E.

2011-01-01

What should parents do when they detect indications of more predators nearby that might eat their babies? This scenario is commonly faced by parents in the wild, and the consequences are important. The number of offspring that organisms produce has a major influence on fitness and, when averaged across a population, affects whether this population will increase or decrease. Offspring production thus has critical implications for evolution via fitness, and ecology and conservation via demography. On page 1398 of this issue, Zanette et al. (1) show that the fear of predation can, by itself, strongly affect the number of offspring produced over an annual cycle by song sparrows (see the figure).

Molecular mechanisms of D-cycloserine in facilitating fear extinction: insights from RNAseq.

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Malan-Müller, Stefanie; Fairbairn, Lorren; Daniels, Willie M U; Dashti, Mahjoubeh Jalali Sefid; Oakeley, Edward J; Altorfer, Marc; Kidd, Martin; Seedat, Soraya; Gamieldien, Junaid; Hemmings, Sîan Megan Joanna

2016-02-01

D-cycloserine (DCS) has been shown to be effective in facilitating fear extinction in animal and human studies, however the precise mechanisms whereby the co-administration of DCS and behavioural fear extinction reduce fear are still unclear. This study investigated the molecular mechanisms of intrahippocampally administered D-cycloserine in facilitating fear extinction in a contextual fear conditioning animal model. Male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 120) were grouped into four experimental groups (n = 30) based on fear conditioning and intrahippocampal administration of either DCS or saline. The light/dark avoidance test was used to differentiate maladapted (MA) (anxious) from well-adapted (WA) (not anxious) subgroups. RNA extracted from the left dorsal hippocampus was used for RNA sequencing and gene expression data was compared between six fear-conditioned + saline MA (FEAR + SALINE MA) and six fear-conditioned + DCS WA (FEAR + DCS WA) animals. Of the 424 significantly downregulated and 25 significantly upregulated genes identified in the FEAR + DCS WA group compared to the FEAR + SALINE MA group, 121 downregulated and nine upregulated genes were predicted to be relevant to fear conditioning and anxiety and stress-related disorders. The majority of downregulated genes transcribed immune, proinflammatory and oxidative stress systems molecules. These molecules mediate neuroinflammation and cause neuronal damage. DCS also regulated genes involved in learning and memory processes, and genes associated with anxiety, stress-related disorders and co-occurring diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, digestive system diseases and nervous system diseases). Identifying the molecular underpinnings of DCS-mediated fear extinction brings us closer to understanding the process of fear extinction.

Fear across the senses: brain responses to music, vocalizations and facial expressions.

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Aubé, William; Angulo-Perkins, Arafat; Peretz, Isabelle; Concha, Luis; Armony, Jorge L

2015-03-01

Intrinsic emotional expressions such as those communicated by faces and vocalizations have been shown to engage specific brain regions, such as the amygdala. Although music constitutes another powerful means to express emotions, the neural substrates involved in its processing remain poorly understood. In particular, it is unknown whether brain regions typically associated with processing 'biologically relevant' emotional expressions are also recruited by emotional music. To address this question, we conducted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study in 47 healthy volunteers in which we directly compared responses to basic emotions (fear, sadness and happiness, as well as neutral) expressed through faces, non-linguistic vocalizations and short novel musical excerpts. Our results confirmed the importance of fear in emotional communication, as revealed by significant blood oxygen level-dependent signal increased in a cluster within the posterior amygdala and anterior hippocampus, as well as in the posterior insula across all three domains. Moreover, subject-specific amygdala responses to fearful music and vocalizations were correlated, consistent with the proposal that the brain circuitry involved in the processing of musical emotions might be shared with the one that have evolved for vocalizations. Overall, our results show that processing of fear expressed through music, engages some of the same brain areas known to be crucial for detecting and evaluating threat-related information. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The fMRI analysis of brain activation in response to face image affected by background images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimada, Takamasa; Fukami, Tadanori; Saito, Yoichi

2011-01-01

The stimuli of a face images expressing fear induce the activation in the medial temporal lobe was reported in previous studies. In particular, it was reported that face image expressing fear activated the amygdala and hippo-campus area of brain. In these studies, no background images were used with facial stimuli. However, normal day-to-day images always have a background. We investigated the effect of combining face images expressing fear and different background images. As a result, strong activation was detected in the amygdala and hippocampus area when the lightning background image was used. But strong activation was not detected when the fire background image was used. From the results of questionnaire rating the impression of possibility of experiencing the situation of shown images, it is thought that this difference of impression of possibility made the difference of empathy and caused the difference of brain activation. (author)

Flavones from Erythrina falcata are modulators of fear memory.

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de Oliveira, Daniela Rodrigues; Zamberlam, Cláudia R; Gaiardo, Renan Barreta; Rêgo, Gizelda Maia; Cerutti, Janete M; Cavalheiro, Alberto J; Cerutti, Suzete M

2014-08-05

Flavonoids, which have been identified in a variety of plants, have been demonstrated to elicit beneficial effects on memory. Some studies have reported that flavonoids derived from Erythrina plants can provide such beneficial effects on memory. The aim of this study was to identify the flavonoids present in the stem bark crude extract of Erythrina falcata (CE) and to perform a bioactivity-guided study on conditioned fear memory. The secondary metabolites of CE were identified by high performance liquid chromatography combined with a diode array detector, electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The buthanolic fraction (BuF) was obtained by partitioning. Subfractions from BuF (BuF1 - BuF6) and fraction flavonoidic (FfA and FfB) were obtained by flash chromatography. The BuF3 and BuF4 fractions were used for the isolation of flavonoids, which was performed using HPLC-PAD. The isolated substances were quantified by HPLC-DAD and their structures were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The activities of CE and the subfractions were monitored using a one-trial, step-down inhibitory avoidance (IA) task to identify the effects of these substances on the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear in rats. Six subclasses of flavonoids were identified for the first time in CE. According to our behavioral data, CE, BuF, BuF3 and BuF4, the flavonoidic fractions, vitexin, isovitexin and 6-C-glycoside-diosmetin improved the acquisition of fear memory. Rats treated with BuF, BuF3 and BuF4 were particularly resistant to extinction. Nevertheless, rats treated with FfA and FfB, vitexin, isovitexin and 6-C-glycoside-diosmetin exhibited gradual reduction in conditioned fear response during the extinction retest session, which was measured at 48 to 480 h after conditioning. Our results demonstrate that vitexin, isovitexin and diosmetin-6-C-glucoside and flavonoidic fractions resulted in a significant

THE FEAR OF FEAR CONCEPT - EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF MULTIDIMENSIONALITY

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ARRINDELL, WA

In recent years, questions have been raised regarding the dimensionality of existing measures of fear of fear. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed if the dimensions(s) of any scale purporting to assess fear of fear are to guide theory and research. One of the most widely used

School-age children's fears, anxiety, and human figure drawings.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, M K; Ryan-Wenger, N A

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the fears of school-age children and determine the relationship between fear and anxiety. A descriptive, correlational, secondary analysis study was conducted using a convenience sample of 90 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years. Each child was instructed to complete the Revised Children's Anxiety Scale and then answer questions from a structured interview. On completion, each child was instructed to draw a human figure drawing. Frequency charts and correlational statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that the most significant fears of the boys were in the categories of animals, safety, school, and supernatural phenomena, whereas girls were more fearful of natural phenomena. High correlations existed between anxiety scores and the number of fears and emotional indicators on human figure drawings. Because human figure drawings are reliable tools for assessing anxiety and fears in children, practitioners should incorporate these drawings as part of their routine assessments of fearful children.

Facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Amelia K; Porter, Melanie A; Williams, Tracey A; Bzishvili, Samantha; North, Kathryn N; Payne, Jonathan M

2017-05-01

This study aimed to investigate face scan paths and face perception abilities in children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) and how these might relate to emotion recognition abilities in this population. The authors investigated facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in 29 children with NF1 compared to 29 chronological age-matched typically developing controls. Correlations between facial emotion recognition, face scan paths, and face perception in children with NF1 were examined. Children with NF1 displayed significantly poorer recognition of fearful expressions compared to controls, as well as a nonsignificant trend toward poorer recognition of anger. Although there was no significant difference between groups in time spent viewing individual core facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, and nonfeature regions), children with NF1 spent significantly less time than controls viewing the face as a whole. Children with NF1 also displayed significantly poorer face perception abilities than typically developing controls. Facial emotion recognition deficits were not significantly associated with aberrant face scan paths or face perception abilities in the NF1 group. These results suggest that impairments in the perception, identification, and interpretation of information from faces are important aspects of the social-cognitive phenotype of NF1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Medial prefrontal cortex stimulation modulates the processing of conditioned fear

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Anne eGuhn

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The extinction of conditioned fear is dependent on an efficient interplay between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC. In rats, high-frequency electrical mPFC stimulation was shown to improve extinction by a reduction of amygdala activity. However, so far it is unclear whether stimulation of homologues regions in humans might have similar beneficial effects.Healthy volunteers received one-session of either active or sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS covering the mPFC while undergoing a two-day fear conditioning and extinction paradigm. rTMS was applied offline after fear acquisition in which one of two faces (CS+ but not CS- was associated with an aversive scream (UCS. Immediate extinction learning (day 1 and extinction recall (day 2 were conducted without UCS delivery. Conditioned responses were assessed in a multimodal approach using fear-potentiated startle (FPS, skin conductance responses (SCR, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS and self-report scales. Consistent with the hypothesis of a modulated processing of conditioned fear after high-frequency rTMS, the active group showed a reduced CS+/CS- discrimination during extinction learning as evident in FPS as well as in SCR and arousal ratings. FPS responses to CS+ further showed a linear decrement throughout both extinction sessions. This study describes the first experimental approach of influencing conditioned fear by using rTMS which can be a basis for future studies investigating a complementation of mPFC stimulation to cognitive behavioral therapy.

Contextual Influences on Concordance between Maternal Report and Laboratory Observation of Toddler Fear

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Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Hummel, Alexandra C.

2016-01-01

Emotion and temperament researchers have faced an enduring issue of how to best measure children’s tendencies to express specific emotions. Inconsistencies between laboratory observation and parental report have made it challenging for researchers to determine the utility of these different forms of measurement. The current study examined the effect of laboratory episode characteristics (i.e., threat-level of the episode, maternal involvement) on concordance between maternal report and laboratory observation of toddler fear. The sample included 111 mother-toddler dyads who participated in a laboratory assessment when toddlers were approximately 24-months-old. Toddler fear was assessed both via maternal report and observation from a number of laboratory episodes that varied in their level of threat and whether mothers were free or constrained in their involvement in the task. Results indicated that maternal report related to the observed fear composites for low-threat, but not high-threat episodes. On the other hand, maternal involvement in the laboratory episodes did not moderate the relation between maternal report and laboratory observation of fear. These results suggest that the threat-level of laboratory episodes designed to elicit fear, but not maternal involvement in these episodes, may be important to take into consideration when assessing their relation to maternal report of fear and fearful temperament. PMID:27606826

Detection of Emotional Faces: Salient Physical Features Guide Effective Visual Search

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Manuel G.; Nummenmaa, Lauri

2008-01-01

In this study, the authors investigated how salient visual features capture attention and facilitate detection of emotional facial expressions. In a visual search task, a target emotional face (happy, disgusted, fearful, angry, sad, or surprised) was presented in an array of neutral faces. Faster detection of happy and, to a lesser extent,…

[Reducing fear in preschool children receiving intravenous injections].

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Yi-Chuan; Liu, Hui-Tzu; Cho, Yen-Hua

2012-06-01

Our pediatric medical ward administers an average of 80 intravenous injections to preschool children. We found that 91.1% exhibit behavior indicative of fear and anxiety. Over three-quarters (77.8%) of this number suffer severe fear and actively resist receiving injections. Such behavior places a greater than normal burden on human and material resources and often gives family members negative impressions that lower their trust in the healthcare service while raising nurse-patient tensions. Using observation and interviews, we found primary factors in injection fear to be: Past negative experiences, lack of adequate prior communication, measures taken to preemptively control child resistance, and default cognitive behavioral strategies from nursing staff. This project worked to develop a strategy to reduce cases of severe injection fear in preschool children from 77.8% to 38.9% and achieve a capacity improvement target for members of 50%. Our team identified several potential strategy solutions from research papers and books between August 1st, 2009 and April 30th, 2010. Our proposed method included therapeutic games, self-selection of injection position, and cognitive behavioral strategies to divert attention. Other measures were also specified as standard operating procedures for administering pediatric intravenous injections. We applied the strategy on 45 preschool children and identified a post-injection "severe fear" level of 37.8%. This project was designed to reduce fear in children to make them more accepting of vaccinations and to enhance children's positive treatment experience in order to raise nursing care quality.

Cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma is associated with reduced cortical differentiation between threat and non-threat faces in posttraumatic stress disorder adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Denise A; Bryant, Richard A; Gatt, Justine M; Harris, Anthony Wf

2018-03-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder and childhood trauma frequently co-occur. Both are associated with abnormal neural responses to salient emotion stimuli. As childhood trauma is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder, differentiating between their neurophysiological effects is necessary to elucidate the neural pathways by which childhood trauma exposure contributes to increased posttraumatic stress disorder risks. Face-specific N170 evoked response potentials for backward-masked (non-conscious) and conscious threat (fear, angry) and non-threat (happy) faces were measured in 77 adults (18-64 years old, 64% women, 78% right-handed) symptomatic for posttraumatic stress disorder. Differences in N170 peak amplitudes for fear-versus-happy and angry-versus-happy faces at bilateral temporo-occipital (T5, T6) sites were computed. The effect of cumulative exposure to childhood interpersonal trauma, other childhood trauma, adult trauma, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity on the N170 response was assessed using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. T5 N170 peak amplitudes for non-conscious fear-versus-happy faces were inversely related to cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma after accounting for socio-demographic, clinical symptom and other trauma factors. Posttraumatic stress disorder Avoidance was positively associated with N170 peak amplitudes for non-conscious fear-versus-happy faces, primarily due to reduced N170 responsivity to happy faces. Childhood interpersonal trauma exposure is associated with reduced discrimination between fear and happy faces, while avoidance symptom severity is associated with dampened responsivity to automatically processed happy faces in posttraumatic stress disorder adults. Results are discussed in terms of the likely contributions of impaired threat discrimination and deficient reward processing during neural processing of salient emotion stimuli, to increased risks of posttraumatic stress disorder

Face recognition system and method using face pattern words and face pattern bytes

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yufeng

2014-12-23

The present invention provides a novel system and method for identifying individuals and for face recognition utilizing facial features for face identification. The system and method of the invention comprise creating facial features or face patterns called face pattern words and face pattern bytes for face identification. The invention also provides for pattern recognitions for identification other than face recognition. The invention further provides a means for identifying individuals based on visible and/or thermal images of those individuals by utilizing computer software implemented by instructions on a computer or computer system and a computer readable medium containing instructions on a computer system for face recognition and identification.

Memory suppression trades prolonged fear and sleep-dependent fear plasticity for the avoidance of current fear

Science.gov (United States)

Kuriyama, Kenichi; Honma, Motoyasu; Yoshiike, Takuya; Kim, Yoshiharu

2013-07-01

Sleep deprivation immediately following an aversive event reduces fear by preventing memory consolidation during homeostatic sleep. This suggests that acute insomnia might act prophylactically against the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) even though it is also a possible risk factor for PTSD. We examined total sleep deprivation and memory suppression to evaluate the effects of these interventions on subsequent aversive memory formation and fear conditioning. Active suppression of aversive memory impaired retention of event memory. However, although the remembered fear was more reduced in sleep-deprived than sleep-control subjects, suppressed fear increased, and seemed to abandon the sleep-dependent plasticity of fear. Active memory suppression, which provides a psychological model for Freud's ego defense mechanism, enhances fear and casts doubt on the potential of acute insomnia as a prophylactic measure against PTSD. Our findings bring into question the role of sleep in aversive-memory consolidation in clinical PTSD pathophysiology.

When the mind forms fear: embodied fear knowledge potentiates bodily reactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterwijk, S.; Topper, M.; Rotteveel, M.; Fischer, A.H.

2010-01-01

In the present study, the authors tested whether conceptual fear knowledge can (a) evoke bodily reactions and (b) enhance subsequent bodily reactions to fearful stimuli. Participants unscrambled neutral or fear sentences and subsequently viewed fearful and neutral pictures in combination with

The role of fear in delusions of the paranormal.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, R; Houran, J

1999-03-01

Based on an extended process model derived from attribution theory, we hypothesized that pervasive and persistent delusions of the paranormal are characterized by the existence of a positive (self-reinforcing), rather than a negative (self-correcting), feedback loop involving paranormal beliefs, fears, and experiences, as moderated by gender and tolerance of ambiguity. A cross-cultural sample of "international" students who reported poltergeist-like experiences showing high fear of the paranormal was identified. As in earlier research, path analysis showed statistically significant and positive effects of belief on experience and/or fear on belief. However, paranormal experience now had a positive effect on fear as well. Thus, as predicted, increased fear removes the option of neutralizing ambiguous events by labeling them as "paranormal." Although female subjects showed significantly greater fear of the paranormal than male subjects, there is no evidence that the nature of the delusional process is gender specific.

Threatening faces and social anxiety: A literature review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staugaard, Søren Risløv

2010-01-01

A threatening facial expression is a potent social sign of hostility or dominance. During the past 20 years, photographs of threatening faces have been increasingly included as stimuli in studies with socially anxious participants, based on the hypothesis that a threatening face is especially...... salient to people with fears of social interaction or negative evaluation. The purpose of this literature review is to systematically evaluate the accumulated research and suggest possible avenues for further research. The main conclusion is that photographs of threatening faces engage a broad range...... of perceptual processes in socially anxious participants, particularly when exposure times are very short...

Amygdala, Pulvinar & Inferior Parietal Cortex Contribute to Early Processing of Faces without Awareness

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Vanessa eTroiani

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The goals of the present study were twofold. First, we wished to investigate the neural correlates of stimulus-driven processing of stimuli strongly suppressed from awareness and in the absence of top-down influences. We accomplished this using a novel approach in which participants performed an orthogonal task atop a flash suppression noise image to prevent top-down search. Second, we wished to investigate the extent to which amygdala responses differentiate between suppressed stimuli (fearful faces and houses based on their motivational relevance. Using continuous flash suppression in conjunction with fMRI, we presented fearful faces, houses, and a no stimulus control to one eye while participants performed an orthogonal task that appeared atop the flashing Mondrian image presented to the opposite eye. In 29 adolescents, we show activation in subcortical regions, including the superior colliculus, amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus for suppressed objects (fearful faces and houses compared to a no stimulus control. Suppressed stimuli showed less activation compared to a no stimulus control in early visual cortex, indicating that object information was being suppressed from this region. Additionally, we find no activation in regions associated with conscious processing of these percepts (fusiform gyrus and/or parahippocampal cortex as assessed by mean activations and multi-voxel patterns. A psychophysiological interaction analysis that seeded the amygdala showed task-specific (fearful faces greater than houses modulation of right pulvinar and left inferior parietal cortex. Taken together, our results support a role for the amygdala in stimulus-driven attentional guidance towards objects of relevance and a potential mechanism for successful suppression of rivalrous stimuli.

Entrepreneurial Women in Brazil: What Are Their Fears?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Adriano Momm Maciel de Camargo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose – This article aims to investigate the fears of entrepreneurial women in consolidated businesses, in view of the current volatile political and economic situation in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – We chose a qualitative and interpretative approach, using in-depth interviews with expert entrepreneurs with already consolidated businesses as the data collection technique. We did not define the categories a priori, but instead they emerged inductively from what the interviewees said. Findings – The findings indicate that the fears present in entrepreneurial activities go beyond those related to opening a business and its continuity, such as fear of bankruptcy. We noticed that during the entrepreneurial trajectory, fears alter and can be grouped into the following categories: fears related to the future of the enterprise and the entrepreneur; specific fears concerning the business sector; fears related to financial aspects. The economic instability in Brazil seems to be an aggravating factor and was present at all times in the women’s statements. Originality/value – The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the finding that there are fears that can change as the woman and the enterprise mature. This finding goes beyond the fears commonly found in the literature, which are the fear of opening a new business and that of failure or bankruptcy. This study is aligned with those that address the emotions that permeate entrepreneurial activities. By identifying that women have different types of fears over time, the study could, as a practical contribution, lead to business training programs that, in addition to technical aspects, also include emotional dimensions to better prepare entrepreneurial women.

Relations of Distinct Psychopathic Personality Traits with Anxiety and Fear: Findings from Offenders and Non-Offenders.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven M Gillespie

Full Text Available Early descriptions of psychopathy emphasise fearlessness and a lack of nervousness or anxiety as key characteristics of the disorder. However, conflicting evidence suggests that anxiety may be positively correlated with some aspects of the psychopathy construct. This position may seem somewhat paradoxical when considered alongside impaired processing of fear related stimuli in psychopathic personality. The aim of the current paper was to examine the distinct relations of callous, egocentric, and antisocial psychopathic traits with measures of anxiety and social anxiety in samples of non-offenders (Study 1 and violent offenders (Study 2. In Study 2 we also used an emotion recognition task to examine fearful face recognition. In Studies 1 and 2 we showed distinct and opposite significant relationships of egocentric and antisocial psychopathic traits with trait anxiety. Thus, while trait anxiety was negatively predicted by egocentric traits, it was predicted in a positive direction by antisocial traits in both samples. In Study 2 we found that callous traits were predictive of greater impairments in fearful face recognition. These findings suggest that anxiety and fear are distinguishable constructs in relation to psychopathic personality traits, and are discussed in terms of potentially separable mechanisms for these two constructs.

Neural activation to emotional faces in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Shih-Jen; Carrasco, Melisa; Swartz, Johnna R; Wiggins, Jillian Lee; Kurapati, Nikhil; Liberzon, Israel; Risi, Susan; Lord, Catherine; Monk, Christopher S

2011-03-01

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) involve a core deficit in social functioning and impairments in the ability to recognize face emotions. In an emotional faces task designed to constrain group differences in attention, the present study used functional MRI to characterize activation in the amygdala, ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC), and striatum, three structures involved in socio-emotional processing in adolescents with ASD. Twenty-two adolescents with ASD and 20 healthy adolescents viewed facial expressions (happy, fearful, sad and neutral) that were briefly presented (250 ms) during functional MRI acquisition. To monitor attention, subjects pressed a button to identify the gender of each face. The ASD group showed greater activation to the faces relative to the control group in the amygdala, vPFC and striatum. Follow-up analyses indicated that the ASD relative to control group showed greater activation in the amygdala, vPFC and striatum (p gender identification task. When group differences in attention to facial expressions were limited, adolescents with ASD showed greater activation in structures involved in socio-emotional processing. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2010 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

State anxiety and emotional face recognition in healthy volunteers

OpenAIRE

Attwood, Angela S.; Easey, Kayleigh E.; Dalili, Michael N.; Skinner, Andrew L.; Woods, Andy; Crick, Lana; Ilett, Elizabeth; Penton-Voak, Ian S.; Munafò, Marcus R.

2017-01-01

High trait anxiety has been associated with detriments in emotional face processing. By contrast, relatively little is known about the effects of state anxiety on emotional face processing. We investigated the effects of state anxiety on recognition of emotional expressions (anger, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear and happiness) experimentally, using the 7.5% carbon dioxide (CO2) model to induce state anxiety, and in a large observational study. The experimental studies indicated reduced glob...

Characteristics of dental fear among Arabic-speaking children: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Housseiny, Azza A; Alamoudi, Najlaa M; Farsi, Najat M; El Derwi, Douaa A

2014-09-22

Dental fear has not only been linked to poor dental health in children but also persists across the lifespan, if unaddressed, and can continue to affect oral, systemic, and psychological health. The aim of this study was to assess the factor structure of the Arabic version of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS), and to assess the difference in factor structure between boys and girls. Participants were 220 consecutive paediatric dental patients 6-12 years old seeking dental care at the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed the 15-item Arabic version of the CFSS-DS questionnaire at the end of the visit. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Factor analysis (principal components, varimax rotation) was employed to assess the factor structure of the scale. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.86. Four factors with eigenvalues above 1.00 were identified, which collectively explained 64.45% of the variance. These factors were as follows: Factor 1, 'fear of usual dental procedures' consisted of 8 items such as 'drilling' and 'having to open the mouth', Factor 2, 'fear of health care personnel and injections' consisted of three items, Factor 3, 'fear of strangers', consisted of 2 items. Factor 4, 'fear of general medical aspects of treatment', consisted of 2 items. Notably, four factors of dental fear were found in girls, while five were found in boys. Four factors of different strength pertaining to dental fear were identified in Arabic-speaking children, indicating a simple structure. Most items loaded high on the factor related to fear of usual dental procedures. The fear-provoking aspects of dental procedures differed in boys and girls. Use of the scale may enable dentists to determine the item/s of dental treatment that a given child finds most fear-provoking and guide the child's behaviour accordingly.

Pattern Analyses Reveal Separate Experience-Based Fear Memories in the Human Right Amygdala.

Science.gov (United States)

Braem, Senne; De Houwer, Jan; Demanet, Jelle; Yuen, Kenneth S L; Kalisch, Raffael; Brass, Marcel

2017-08-23

Learning fear via the experience of contingencies between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) is often assumed to be fundamentally different from learning fear via instructions. An open question is whether fear-related brain areas respond differently to experienced CS-US contingencies than to merely instructed CS-US contingencies. Here, we contrasted two experimental conditions where subjects were instructed to expect the same CS-US contingencies while only one condition was characterized by prior experience with the CS-US contingency. Using multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data, we found CS-related neural activation patterns in the right amygdala (but not in other fear-related regions) that dissociated between whether a CS-US contingency had been instructed and experienced versus merely instructed. A second experiment further corroborated this finding by showing a category-independent neural response to instructed and experienced, but not merely instructed, CS presentations in the human right amygdala. Together, these findings are in line with previous studies showing that verbal fear instructions have a strong impact on both brain and behavior. However, even in the face of fear instructions, the human right amygdala still shows a separable neural pattern response to experience-based fear contingencies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In our study, we addressed a fundamental problem of the science of human fear learning and memory, namely whether fear learning via experience in humans relies on a neural pathway that can be separated from fear learning via verbal information. Using two new procedures and recent advances in the analysis of brain imaging data, we localized purely experience-based fear processing and memory in the right amygdala, thereby making a direct link between human and animal research. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378116-15$15.00/0.

Eye Contact and Fear of Being Laughed at in a Gaze Discrimination Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Torres-Marín

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Current approaches conceptualize gelotophobia as a personality trait characterized by a disproportionate fear of being laughed at by others. Consistently with this perspective, gelotophobes are also described as neurotic and introverted and as having a paranoid tendency to anticipate derision and mockery situations. Although research on gelotophobia has significantly progressed over the past two decades, no evidence exists concerning the potential effects of gelotophobia in reaction to eye contact. Previous research has pointed to difficulties in discriminating gaze direction as the basis of possible misinterpretations of others’ intentions or mental states. The aim of the present research was to examine whether gelotophobia predisposition modulates the effects of eye contact (i.e., gaze discrimination when processing faces portraying several emotional expressions. In two different experiments, participants performed an experimental gaze discrimination task in which they responded, as quickly and accurately as possible, to the eyes’ directions on faces displaying either a happy, angry, fear, neutral, or sad emotional expression. In particular, we expected trait-gelotophobia to modulate the eye contact effect, showing specific group differences in the happiness condition. The results of Study 1 (N = 40 indicated that gelotophobes made more errors than non-gelotophobes did in the gaze discrimination task. In contrast to our initial hypothesis, the happiness expression did not have any special role in the observed differences between individuals with high vs. low trait-gelotophobia. In Study 2 (N = 40, we replicated the pattern of data concerning gaze discrimination ability, even after controlling for individuals’ scores on social anxiety. Furthermore, in our second experiment, we found that gelotophobes did not exhibit any problem with identifying others’ emotions, or a general incorrect attribution of affective features, such as valence

Fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and fear of other illness in suicide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aro, A R; Jallinoja, P T; Henriksson, M M

1994-01-01

Suicide victims with fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or other somatic illness were compared for psychosocial and health-related characteristics, triggers and content of fear. Fear of AIDS cases (n = 28), 2% of the 1-year Finnish suicide population (n = 1397), were younger...... and fewer had serious somatic disease (32% vs 64%) compared with cases of fear of other somatic illness. Both groups had more depression, especially major depression (54% and 61% vs 26%), more psychotic disorders (50% and 32% vs 24%) and health care contacts during their final week (61% and 64% vs 36%) than...... other suicides. Suicidal fear of AIDS calls for evaluation of sexual and other risk behaviour, but fear of AIDS was largely generated by the extensive media coverage. Fear of other somatic illness was more diverse in origin and related to illness experiences. Suicidal fear of illness calls...

Fear conditioning induced by interpersonal conflicts in healthy individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Mitsuhiro; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Maeda, Takaki; Konishi, Mika; Umeda, Satoshi; Terasawa, Yuri; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mimura, Masaru; Miyazaki, Tomoyuki; Takahashi, Takuya

2015-01-01

Psychophysiological markers have been focused to investigate the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders and personality subtypes. In order to understand neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, fear-conditioning model has been widely used. However, simple aversive stimuli are too simplistic to understand mechanisms because most patients with psychiatric disorders are affected by social stressors. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a newly-designed conditioning experiment using a stimulus to cause interpersonal conflicts and examine associations between personality traits and response to that stimulus. Twenty-nine healthy individuals underwent the fear conditioning and extinction experiments in response to three types of stimuli: a simple aversive sound, disgusting pictures, and pictures of an actors' face with unpleasant verbal messages that were designed to cause interpersonal conflicts. Conditioned response was quantified by the skin conductance response (SCR). Correlations between the SCR changes, and personality traits measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) and Revised NEO Personality Inventory were explored. The interpersonal conflict stimulus resulted in successful conditioning, which was subsequently extinguished, in a similar manner as the other two stimuli. Moreover, a greater degree of conditioned response to the interpersonal conflict stimulus correlated with a higher ZAN-BPD total score. Fear conditioning and extinction can be successfully achieved, using interpersonal conflicts as a stimulus. Given that conditioned fear caused by the interpersonal conflicts is likely associated with borderline personality traits, this paradigm could contribute to further understanding of underlying mechanisms of interpersonal fear implicated in borderline personality disorder.

Fear Conditioning Induced by Interpersonal Conflicts in Healthy Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Mitsuhiro; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Maeda, Takaki; Konishi, Mika; Umeda, Satoshi; Terasawa, Yuri; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mimura, Masaru; Miyazaki, Tomoyuki; Takahashi, Takuya

2015-01-01

Psychophysiological markers have been focused to investigate the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders and personality subtypes. In order to understand neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, fear-conditioning model has been widely used. However, simple aversive stimuli are too simplistic to understand mechanisms because most patients with psychiatric disorders are affected by social stressors. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a newly-designed conditioning experiment using a stimulus to cause interpersonal conflicts and examine associations between personality traits and response to that stimulus. Twenty-nine healthy individuals underwent the fear conditioning and extinction experiments in response to three types of stimuli: a simple aversive sound, disgusting pictures, and pictures of an actors’ face with unpleasant verbal messages that were designed to cause interpersonal conflicts. Conditioned response was quantified by the skin conductance response (SCR). Correlations between the SCR changes, and personality traits measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) and Revised NEO Personality Inventory were explored. The interpersonal conflict stimulus resulted in successful conditioning, which was subsequently extinguished, in a similar manner as the other two stimuli. Moreover, a greater degree of conditioned response to the interpersonal conflict stimulus correlated with a higher ZAN-BPD total score. Fear conditioning and extinction can be successfully achieved, using interpersonal conflicts as a stimulus. Given that conditioned fear caused by the interpersonal conflicts is likely associated with borderline personality traits, this paradigm could contribute to further understanding of underlying mechanisms of interpersonal fear implicated in borderline personality disorder. PMID:25978817

Occupational Possible Selves: Fears and Aspirations of College Women

Science.gov (United States)

Chalk, Linda M.; Meara, Naomi M.; Day, Jeanne D.; Davis, Kathleen L.

2005-01-01

Using possible selves as a theoretical basis, this study examined self-perceptions of occupational futures by asking 98 undergraduate women to rate feminine, masculine, and neutral jobs as to how expected, feared, and ideal (or hoped for) they were. Participants also identified their most feared job, rated the salience of 10 reasons for this…

Between being and acting. The thousand faces of fear in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenza Di Francesco

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is a semiotic analysis of the Nolan's Batman series (Batman Begins/2005, The Dark Knight/2008, The Dark Knight Rises/2012. It goes over dimension of figural, space and passion in order to highlight fear as a complex, primitive and moving passion that guides characters transformation, actions and narrative construction of these three movies.

Self-esteem Modulates the P3 Component in Response to the Self-face Processing after Priming with Emotional Faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Lili; Zhao, Yufang; Wang, Yige; Chen, Yujie; Yang, Juan

2017-01-01

The self-face processing advantage (SPA) refers to the research finding that individuals generally recognize their own face faster than another's face; self-face also elicits an enhanced P3 amplitude compared to another's face. It has been suggested that social evaluation threats could weaken the SPA and that self-esteem could be regarded as a threat buffer. However, little research has directly investigated the neural evidence of how self-esteem modulates the social evaluation threat to the SPA. In the current event-related potential study, 27 healthy Chinese undergraduate students were primed with emotional faces (angry, happy, or neutral) and were asked to judge whether the target face (self, friend, and stranger) was familiar or unfamiliar. Electrophysiological results showed that after priming with emotional faces (angry and happy), self-face elicited similar P3 amplitudes to friend-face in individuals with low self-esteem, but not in individuals with high self-esteem. The results suggest that as low self-esteem raises fears of social rejection and exclusion, priming with emotional faces (angry and happy) can weaken the SPA in low self-esteem individuals but not in high self-esteem individuals.

Self-esteem Modulates the P3 Component in Response to the Self-face Processing after Priming with Emotional Faces

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Lili Guan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The self-face processing advantage (SPA refers to the research finding that individuals generally recognize their own face faster than another’s face; self-face also elicits an enhanced P3 amplitude compared to another’s face. It has been suggested that social evaluation threats could weaken the SPA and that self-esteem could be regarded as a threat buffer. However, little research has directly investigated the neural evidence of how self-esteem modulates the social evaluation threat to the SPA. In the current event-related potential study, 27 healthy Chinese undergraduate students were primed with emotional faces (angry, happy, or neutral and were asked to judge whether the target face (self, friend, and stranger was familiar or unfamiliar. Electrophysiological results showed that after priming with emotional faces (angry and happy, self-face elicited similar P3 amplitudes to friend-face in individuals with low self-esteem, but not in individuals with high self-esteem. The results suggest that as low self-esteem raises fears of social rejection and exclusion, priming with emotional faces (angry and happy can weaken the SPA in low self-esteem individuals but not in high self-esteem individuals.

Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2006

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Lake, Robin J., Ed.; Hill, Paul T., Ed.

2006-01-01

This is the second annual report from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education. Like last year's debut edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, the 2006 volume explores some of the most current and controversial issues facing the charter school movement. This…

Memory for faces and voices varies as a function of sex and expressed emotion.

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S Cortes, Diana; Laukka, Petri; Lindahl, Christina; Fischer, Håkan

2017-01-01

We investigated how memory for faces and voices (presented separately and in combination) varies as a function of sex and emotional expression (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral). At encoding, participants judged the expressed emotion of items in forced-choice tasks, followed by incidental Remember/Know recognition tasks. Results from 600 participants showed that accuracy (hits minus false alarms) was consistently higher for neutral compared to emotional items, whereas accuracy for specific emotions varied across the presentation modalities (i.e., faces, voices, and face-voice combinations). For the subjective sense of recollection ("remember" hits), neutral items received the highest hit rates only for faces, whereas for voices and face-voice combinations anger and fear expressions instead received the highest recollection rates. We also observed better accuracy for items by female expressers, and own-sex bias where female participants displayed memory advantage for female faces and face-voice combinations. Results further suggest that own-sex bias can be explained by recollection, rather than familiarity, rates. Overall, results show that memory for faces and voices may be influenced by the expressions that they carry, as well as by the sex of both items and participants. Emotion expressions may also enhance the subjective sense of recollection without enhancing memory accuracy.

Memory for faces and voices varies as a function of sex and expressed emotion.

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Diana S Cortes

Full Text Available We investigated how memory for faces and voices (presented separately and in combination varies as a function of sex and emotional expression (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral. At encoding, participants judged the expressed emotion of items in forced-choice tasks, followed by incidental Remember/Know recognition tasks. Results from 600 participants showed that accuracy (hits minus false alarms was consistently higher for neutral compared to emotional items, whereas accuracy for specific emotions varied across the presentation modalities (i.e., faces, voices, and face-voice combinations. For the subjective sense of recollection ("remember" hits, neutral items received the highest hit rates only for faces, whereas for voices and face-voice combinations anger and fear expressions instead received the highest recollection rates. We also observed better accuracy for items by female expressers, and own-sex bias where female participants displayed memory advantage for female faces and face-voice combinations. Results further suggest that own-sex bias can be explained by recollection, rather than familiarity, rates. Overall, results show that memory for faces and voices may be influenced by the expressions that they carry, as well as by the sex of both items and participants. Emotion expressions may also enhance the subjective sense of recollection without enhancing memory accuracy.

Fear of AIDS and suicide in Finland: a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aro, A R; Henriksson, M; Leinikki, P

1995-01-01

health care contacts than the others. Suicidal fear and underlying depression were not being properly identified and treated. Despite recent improvement in media reporting, health education and identification of depression, clinical experience, help line calls and population surveys indicate that AIDS......This review presents data on HIV epidemiology and suicide mortality, and summarizes studies on fear of AIDS in completed suicides in Finland. Finland has a low prevalence of HIV and a high suicide mortality. A 12-month nationwide suicide population, 1987-88 (n = 1397, all HIV negative) at the time...... of a sensational media campaign against HIV included 28 (2%) cases with fear of AIDS as a contributing factor. Triggers of fear could be classified in 20 cases: persistent symptoms in 10, casual sex contacts in eight, and a TV programme in two. The AIDS fear cases were younger, had more major depression and more...

Attentional Control and Fear Extinction in Subclinical Fear: An Exploratory Study

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Eduard Forcadell

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Attentional control (AC and fear extinction learning are known to be involved in pathological anxiety. In this study we explored whether individual differences in non-emotional AC were associated with individual differences in the magnitude and gradient of fear extinction (learning and recall. In 50 individuals with fear of spiders, we collected measures of non-emotional AC by means of self-report and by assessing the functioning of the major attention networks (executive control, orienting, and alerting. The participants then underwent a paradigm assessing fear extinction learning and extinction recall. The two components of the orienting network functioning (costs and benefits were significantly associated with fear extinction gradient over and above the effects of trait anxiety. Specifically, participants with enhanced orienting costs (i.e., difficulties in disengaging attention from cues not relevant for the task showed faster extinction learning, while those with enhanced orienting benefits (i.e., attention facilitated by valid cues exhibited faster extinction recall as measured by fear-potentiated startle and Unconditioned Stimulus expectancies, respectively. Our findings suggest that, in non-emotional conditions, the orienting component of attention may be predictive of fear extinction. They also show that the use of fear extinction gradients and the exploration of individual differences in non-emotional AC (using performance-based measures of attentional network functioning can provide a better understanding of individual differences in fear learning. Our findings also may help to understand differences in exposure therapy outcomes.

Uplifting Fear Appeals: Considering the Role of Hope in Fear-Based Persuasive Messages.

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Nabi, Robin L; Myrick, Jessica Gall

2018-01-09

Fear appeal research has focused, understandably, on fear as the primary emotion motivating attitude and behavior change. However, while the threat component of fear appeals associates with fear responses, a fear appeals' efficacy component likely associates with a different emotional experience: hope. Drawing from appraisal theories of emotion in particular, this article theorizes about the role of hope in fear appeals, testing hypotheses with two existing data sets collected within the context of sun safety messages. In both studies, significant interactions between hope and self-efficacy emerged to predict behavioral intentions. Notable main effects for hope also emerged, though with less consistency. Further, these effects persisted despite controlling for the four cognitions typically considered central to fear appeal effectiveness. These results, consistent across two samples, support the claim that feelings of hope in response to fear appeals contribute to their persuasive success. Implications for developing a recursive model of fear appeal processing are discussed.

Watch out! Magnetoencephalographic evidence for early modulation of attention orienting by fearful gaze cueing.

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Fanny Lachat

Full Text Available Others' gaze and emotional facial expression are important cues for the process of attention orienting. Here, we investigated with magnetoencephalography (MEG whether the combination of averted gaze and fearful expression may elicit a selectively early effect of attention orienting on the brain responses to targets. We used the direction of gaze of centrally presented fearful and happy faces as the spatial attention orienting cue in a Posner-like paradigm where the subjects had to detect a target checkerboard presented at gazed-at (valid trials or non gazed-at (invalid trials locations of the screen. We showed that the combination of averted gaze and fearful expression resulted in a very early attention orienting effect in the form of additional parietal activity between 55 and 70 ms for the valid versus invalid targets following fearful gaze cues. No such effect was obtained for the targets following happy gaze cues. This early cue-target validity effect selective of fearful gaze cues involved the left superior parietal region and the left lateral middle occipital region. These findings provide the first evidence for an effect of attention orienting induced by fearful gaze in the time range of C1. In doing so, they demonstrate the selective impact of combined gaze and fearful expression cues in the process of attention orienting.

Anger fosters action. Fast responses in a motor task involving approach movements towards angry faces and bodies.

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Josje eDe Valk

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Efficiently responding to others’ emotions, especially threatening expressions such as anger and fear, can have great survival value. Previous research has shown that humans have a bias towards threatening stimuli. Most of these studies focused on facial expressions, yet emotions are expressed by the whole body. Body language contains a direct action component, and activates action preparation areas in the brain more than facial expressions. Hence, biases towards threat may be larger following threatening bodily expressions as compared to facial expressions. The current study investigated reaction times of movements directed towards emotional bodies and faces. For this purpose, a task was developed where participants were standing in front of a computer screen on which angry, fearful and neutral faces and bodies were presented which they had to touch as quickly as possible. Results show that participants responded faster to angry than to neutral stimuli, regardless of the source (face or body. No significant difference was observed between fearful and neutral stimuli, demonstrating that the threat bias was not related to the negativity of the stimulus, but likely to the directness of the threat. Whereas fearful stimuli might signal an environmental threat that requires further exploration before action, angry expressions signal

Serotonergic Modulation of Conditioned Fear

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Judith R. Homberg

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Conditioned fear plays a key role in anxiety disorders as well as depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Understanding how neuromodulators drive the associated learning and memory processes, including memory consolidation, retrieval/expression, and extinction (recall, is essential in the understanding of (individual differences in vulnerability to these disorders and their treatment. The human and rodent studies I review here together reveal, amongst others, that acute selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI treatment facilitates fear conditioning, reduces contextual fear, and increases cued fear, chronic SSRI treatment reduces both contextual and cued fear, 5-HT1A receptors inhibit the acquisition and expression of contextual fear, 5-HT2A receptors facilitates the consolidation of cued and contextual fear, inactivation of 5-HT2C receptors facilitate the retrieval of cued fear memory, the 5-HT3 receptor mediates contextual fear, genetically induced increases in serotonin levels are associated with increased fear conditioning, impaired cued fear extinction, or impaired extinction recall, and that genetically induced 5-HT depletion increases fear conditioning and contextual fear. Several explanations are presented to reconcile seemingly paradoxical relationships between serotonin levels and conditioned fear.

[Evaluation of psychological fear in children undergoing head-up tilt test].

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Chu, Wei-Hong; Wu, Li-Jia; Wang, Cheng; Lin, Ping; Li, Fang; Zhu, Li-Ping; Ran, Jing; Zou, Run-Mei; Liu, De-Yu

2014-03-01

To investigate the effects of different tilt angles of head-up tilt test (HUTT) and different responses to HUTT on the psychological fear in children undergoing the test. HUTT was performed on children with unexplained syncope or pre-syncope (107 cases: 52 males and 55 females), aged 5.5-17.8 years (mean 12.0±2.8 years). All subjects were randomly assigned to undergo HUTT at an angle of 60°, 70° or 80°; the negative cases underwent sublingual nitroglycerin-provocation HUTT at the same tilt angle. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used for self-assessment of psychological fear in subjects during HUTT at the end point of the test. The positive rate, hemodynamic changes and distribution of response types showed no significant differences between children at tilt angles of 60°, 70° and 80° (P>0.05). The greater the tilt angle, the higher the degree of psychological fear in children undergoing the test, but there were no significant differences between them (P>0.05). The degree of psychological fear in children who showed a positive response to HUTT (n=76) was significantly higher than that in children who showed a negative response (n=31) (Pfear in children undergoing the test, and the degree of psychological fear increases in children tested at tilt angles from 60° to 80°, but the differences have no statistical significance. A positive response to HUTT can significantly increase the psychological fear in children.

Comparison of inbred mouse substrains reveals segregation of maladaptive fear phenotypes

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Stephanie J Temme

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Maladaptive fear, such as fear that is persistent or easily generalized to a nonthreatening stimuli, is associated with anxiety-related disorders in humans. In the laboratory, maladaptive fear can be modeled in rodents using Pavlovian fear conditioning. Recently, an inbred mouse strain known as 129S1/SvImJ, or 129S1 have been reported as exhibiting impairments in fear extinction and enhanced fear generalization. With a long-term goal of identifying segregating genetic markers of maladaptive fear, we used Pavlovian fear conditioning to characterize a closely related substrain designated as 129S6/SvEvTac, or 129S6. Here we report that, like 129S1 animals, 129S6 mice exhibit appropriate levels of fear upon conditioning, but are unable to extinguish fear memories once they are consolidated. Importantly, the maladaptive fear phenotype in this inbred stain can be segregated by sub-strain when probed using conditioning protocols designed to assess generalized fear. We find that unlike the 129S1 substrain, mice from the 129S6 sub-strain do not generalize conditioned fear to previously novel contexts and can learn to discriminate between two similar contexts when trained using a discrimination protocol. These results suggest that at least two forms of maladaptive fear (deficits in fear extinction and fear generalization can be can be functionally segregated, further suggesting that the underlying neurobiology is heritable. Given the observation that two closely related sub-strains can exhibit different constellations of maladaptive fear suggests that these findings could be exploited to facilitate the identification of candidate genes for anxiety-related disorders.

Fear and Anger have Opposite Effects on Risk Seeking in the Gain Frame

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Marianne eHabib

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Emotions strongly influence our decisions, particularly those made under risk. A classic example of the effect of emotion on decision making under risk is the framing effect, which involves predictable shifts in preferences when the same problem is formulated in different ways. According to dual process theories, this bias could stem from an affective heuristic belonging to an intuitive type of reasoning. In this study, we examined whether specific incidental negative emotions (i.e., fear and anger influence framing susceptibility and risk-taking identically. In each trial, participants received an initial amount of money, and pictures of angry or fearful faces were presented to them. Finally, participants chose between a sure option and a gamble option of equally expected value in a gain or loss frame. Risk-taking was modulated by emotional context: fear and anger influenced risk-taking specifically in the gain frame and had opposite effects. Fear increased risk-averse choices, whereas anger decreased risk-averse choices, leading to a suppression of the framing effect. These results confirm that emotions play a key role in framing susceptibility.

Fear and anger have opposite effects on risk seeking in the gain frame.

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Habib, Marianne; Cassotti, Mathieu; Moutier, Sylvain; Houdé, Olivier; Borst, Grégoire

2015-01-01

Emotions strongly influence our decisions, particularly those made under risk. A classic example of the effect of emotion on decision making under risk is the "framing effect," which involves predictable shifts in preferences when the same problem is formulated in different ways. According to dual process theories, this bias could stem from an affective heuristic belonging to an intuitive type of reasoning. In this study, we examined whether specific incidental negative emotions (i.e., fear and anger) influence framing susceptibility and risk-taking identically. In each trial, participants received an initial amount of money, and pictures of angry or fearful faces were presented to them. Finally, participants chose between a sure option and a gamble option of equally expected value in a gain or loss frame. Risk-taking was modulated by emotional context: fear and anger influenced risk-taking specifically in the gain frame and had opposite effects. Fear increased risk-averse choices, whereas anger decreased risk-averse choices, leading to a suppression of the framing effect. These results confirm that emotions play a key role in framing susceptibility.

A Preliminary study on the Biased Attention and Interpretation in the Recognition of Face-body Compound of the Individuals with Social Anxiety

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Dong-Hyun eKim

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed to investigate the processes through which individuals with social anxiety attend to and interpret compound emotional expressions of the face and body. Incongruent face-body compound images that combined an angry face (or body with a fearful, sad, or happy body (or face were presented to a social anxiety group (SA; n=22 and a healthy control group (HC; n=22. The participants were instructed to interpret the emotional state of the image, and their eye-movements and behavioral responses were measured. The results revealed that both group showed longer scanpath length during the recognition of compound images which combined angry face with angry, fearful, sadness, or happy body. The SA group also showed longer scanpath length in congruent face-body compound images of fear and sad. Additionally, the SA group fixated for a shorter period of time on the face and longer on the body than the HC group. Regarding emotion interpretation, the SA group was more likely to interpret the emotional state of incongruent face-body compound images based on the body than the HC group. These findings provide a preliminary observation that individuals with social anxiety showed different attentional bias pattern by congruency of face-body compound images and that it might have biased their interpretations of the emotional states.

Finding theory- and evidence-based alternatives to fear appeals: Intervention Mapping

OpenAIRE

Kok, Gerjo; Bartholomew, L Kay; Parcel, Guy S; Gottlieb, Nell H; Fernández, María E

2013-01-01

Fear arousal—vividly showing people the negative health consequences of life-endangering behaviors—is popular as a method to raise awareness of risk behaviors and to change them into health-promoting behaviors. However, most data suggest that, under conditions of low efficacy, the resulting reaction will be defensive. Instead of applying fear appeals, health promoters should identify effective alternatives to fear arousal by carefully developing theory- and evidence-based programs. The Interv...

A Preliminary Genome-Wide Association Study of Pain-Related Fear: Implications for Orofacial Pain.

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Randall, Cameron L; Wright, Casey D; Chernus, Jonathan M; McNeil, Daniel W; Feingold, Eleanor; Crout, Richard J; Neiswanger, Katherine; Weyant, Robert J; Shaffer, John R; Marazita, Mary L

2017-01-01

Acute and chronic orofacial pain can significantly impact overall health and functioning. Associations between fear of pain and the experience of orofacial pain are well-documented, and environmental, behavioral, and cognitive components of fear of pain have been elucidated. Little is known, however, regarding the specific genes contributing to fear of pain. A genome-wide association study (GWAS; N = 990) was performed to identify plausible genes that may predispose individuals to various levels of fear of pain. The total score and three subscales (fear of minor, severe, and medical/dental pain) of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 (FPQ-9) were modeled in a variance components modeling framework to test for genetic association with 8.5 M genetic variants across the genome, while adjusting for sex, age, education, and income. Three genetic loci were significantly associated with fear of minor pain (8q24.13, 8p21.2, and 6q26; p pain total score and each of the FPQ-9 subscales. Multiple genes were identified as possible candidates contributing to fear of pain. The findings may have implications for understanding and treating chronic orofacial pain.

Fearing shades of grey: individual differences in fear responding towards generalisation stimuli.

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Arnaudova, Inna; Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Effting, Marieke; Kindt, Merel; Beckers, Tom

2017-09-01

Individual differences in fear generalisation have been proposed to play a role in the aetiology and/or maintenance of anxiety disorders, but few data are available to directly support that claim. The research that is available has focused mostly on generalisation of peripheral and central physiological fear responses. Far less is known about the generalisation of avoidance, the behavioural component of fear. In two experiments, we evaluated how neuroticism, a known vulnerability factor for anxiety, modulates an array of fear responses, including avoidance tendencies, towards generalisation stimuli (GS). Participants underwent differential fear conditioning, in which one conditioned stimulus (CS+) was repeatedly paired with an aversive outcome (shock; unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas another was not (CS-). Fear generalisation was observed across measures in Experiment 1 (US expectancy and evaluative ratings) and Experiment 2 (US expectancy, evaluative ratings, skin conductance, startle responses, safety behaviours), with overall highest responding to the CS+, lowest to the CS- and intermediate responding to the GSs. Neuroticism had very little impact on fear generalisation (but did affect GS recognition rates in Experiment 1), in line with the idea that fear generalisation is largely an adaptive process.

Unconscious fearful priming followed by a psychosocial stress test results in higher cortisol levels.

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Hänsel, Alexander; von Känel, Roland

2013-10-01

Human perception of stress includes an automatic pathway that processes subliminal presented stimuli below the threshold of conscious awareness. Subliminal stimuli can therefore activate the physiologic stress system. Unconscious emotional signals were shown to significantly moderate reactions and responses to subsequent stimuli, an effect called 'priming'. We hypothesized that subliminal presentation of a fearful signal during the Stroop task compared with an emotionally neutral one will prime stress reactivity in a subsequently applied psychosocial stress task, thereby yielding a significant increase in salivary cortisol. Half of 36 participants were repeatedly presented either a fearful face or a neutral one. After this, all underwent a psychosocial stress task. The fearful group showed a significant increase in cortisol levels (p = 0.022). This change was not affected by sex, age and body mass index, and it also did not change when taking resting cortisol levels into account. Post-hoc analyses showed that the increase in cortisol in the fearful group started immediately after the psychosocial stress test. Hence, subliminal exposure to a fearful signal in combination with the Stroop and followed by a psychosocial stress test leads to an increase in stress reactivity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fear, an unpleasant experience among undergraduate midwifery students: A qualitative study.

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Ahmadi, Golnoosh; Shahriari, Mohsen; Kohan, Shahnaz; Keyvanara, Mahmood

2018-03-01

Fear is a normal emotion that can evoke an appropriate response when facing threat. However, sometimes the consequences of fear can lead to responses that are maladaptive. Fear can have negative effects on learning. Research has focused on the experience of fear and its consequences among midwifery students during their undergraduate program. A qualitative analysis was conducted of interviews with ten midwifery students in different years of an undergraduate program. The data was analyzed through a content analysis approach. Two main categories and five subcategories emerged. The first category, areas of fear in midwifery students, consisted of the following subcategories: fear of doing harm, fear of encountering their first childbirth, and fear of penalties. The second category, consequences of fear, consisted of the following subcategories: general physical and psychological consequences and interference in adopting the professional role. In this study, fear not only raised the students' stress levels thereby, leading to physical and psychological issues but also hindered their adoption of their professional role. These findings will potentially inform support and retention strategies within midwifery undergraduate programs in the future. Maternity care in Iran is provided mainly within a medical model of care. The majority of women give birth in hospital, where care is provided by midwives who work under the direction and supervision of an obstetrician. Midwives within the medically dominated system lack autonomy and have very little opportunity to gain experience in providing continuity of care for women as midwife-led models of care are rare. This practice context means that midwifery students have very little opportunity to gain experience in autonomous midwifery practice. Midwifery undergraduate program in Iran is for four years. Admission to the undergraduate program is implemented via a direct entry route. Nearly all of the midwifery students are school

Current Welfare Problems Facing Horses in Great Britain as Identified by Equine Stakeholders

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Horseman, Susan V.; Buller, Henry

2016-01-01

Despite growing concerns about the welfare of horses in Great Britain (GB) there has been little surveillance of the welfare status of the horse population. Consequently we have limited knowledge of the range of welfare problems experienced by horses in GB and the situations in which poor welfare occurs. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with a cross -section of equine stakeholders, in order to explore their perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in GB. Welfare problems relating to health, management and riding and training were identified, including horses being under or over weight, stabling 24 hours a day and the inappropriate use of training aids. The interviewees also discussed broader contexts in which they perceived that welfare was compromised. The most commonly discussed context was where horses are kept in unsuitable environments, for example environments with poor grazing. The racing industry and travellers horses were identified as areas of the industry where horse welfare was particularly vulnerable to compromise. Lack of knowledge and financial constraints were perceived to be the root cause of poor welfare by many interviewees. The findings give insight into the range of welfare problems that may be faced by horses in GB, the contexts in which these may occur and their possible causes. Many of the problems identified by the interviewees have undergone limited scientific investigation pointing to areas where further research is likely to be necessary for welfare improvement. The large number of issues identified suggests that some form of prioritisation may be necessary to target research and resources effectively. PMID:27501387

Current Welfare Problems Facing Horses in Great Britain as Identified by Equine Stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Horseman, Susan V; Buller, Henry; Mullan, Siobhan; Whay, Helen R

2016-01-01

Despite growing concerns about the welfare of horses in Great Britain (GB) there has been little surveillance of the welfare status of the horse population. Consequently we have limited knowledge of the range of welfare problems experienced by horses in GB and the situations in which poor welfare occurs. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with a cross -section of equine stakeholders, in order to explore their perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in GB. Welfare problems relating to health, management and riding and training were identified, including horses being under or over weight, stabling 24 hours a day and the inappropriate use of training aids. The interviewees also discussed broader contexts in which they perceived that welfare was compromised. The most commonly discussed context was where horses are kept in unsuitable environments, for example environments with poor grazing. The racing industry and travellers horses were identified as areas of the industry where horse welfare was particularly vulnerable to compromise. Lack of knowledge and financial constraints were perceived to be the root cause of poor welfare by many interviewees. The findings give insight into the range of welfare problems that may be faced by horses in GB, the contexts in which these may occur and their possible causes. Many of the problems identified by the interviewees have undergone limited scientific investigation pointing to areas where further research is likely to be necessary for welfare improvement. The large number of issues identified suggests that some form of prioritisation may be necessary to target research and resources effectively.

Preventing long-lasting fear recovery using bilateral alternating sensory stimulation: A translational study.

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Wurtz, H; El-Khoury-Malhame, M; Wilhelm, F H; Michael, T; Beetz, E M; Roques, J; Reynaud, E; Courtin, J; Khalfa, S; Herry, C

2016-05-03

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly debilitating and prevalent psychological disorder. It is characterized by highly distressing intrusive trauma memories that are partly explained by fear conditioning. Despite efficient therapeutic approaches, a subset of PTSD patients displays spontaneous recurrence of traumatic memories after successful treatment. The development of animal behavioral models mimicking the individual variability in treatment outcome for PTSD patients represent therefore an important challenge as it allows for the identification of predicting factors of resilience or susceptibility to relapse. However, to date, only few animal behavioral models of long-lasting fear recovery have been developed and their predictive validity has not been tested directly. The objectives of this study were twofold. First we aimed to develop a simple animal behavioral model of long-lasting fear recovery based on auditory cued fear conditioning and extinction learning, which recapitulates the heterogeneity of fear responses observed in PTSD patients after successful treatment. Second we aimed at testing the predictive validity of our behavioral model and used to this purpose a translational approach based (i) on the demonstration of the efficiency of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy to reduce conditioned fear responses in PTSD patients and (ii) on the implementation in our behavioral model of an electrical bilateral alternating stimulation of the eyelid which mimics the core feature of EMDR. Our data indicate that electrical bilateral alternating stimulation of the eyelid during extinction learning alleviates long-lasting fear recovery of conditioned fear responses and dramatically reduces inter-individual variability. These results demonstrate the face and predictive validity of our animal behavioral model and provide an interesting tool to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of long-lasting fear recovery. Copyright �

More than just noise: Inter-individual differences in fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear in humans - Biological, experiential, temperamental factors, and methodological pitfalls.

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Lonsdorf, Tina B; Merz, Christian J

2017-09-01

Why do only some individuals develop pathological anxiety following adverse events? Fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear paradigms serve as experimental learning models for the development, treatment and relapse of anxiety. Individual differences in experimental performance were however mostly regarded as 'noise' by researchers interested in basic associative learning principles. Our work for the first time presents a comprehensive literature overview and methodological discussion on inter-individual differences in fear acquisition, extinction and return of fear. We tell a story from noise that steadily develops into a meaningful tune and converges to a model of mechanisms contributing to individual risk/resilience with respect to fear and anxiety-related behavior. Furthermore, in light of the present 'replicability crisis' we identify methodological pitfalls and provide suggestions for study design and analyses tailored to individual difference research in fear conditioning. Ultimately, synergistic transdisciplinary and collaborative efforts hold promise to not only improve our mechanistic understanding but can also be expected to contribute to the development of specifically tailored ('individualized') intervention and targeted prevention programs in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preferential amygdala reactivity to the negative assessment of neutral faces.

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Blasi, Giuseppe; Hariri, Ahmad R; Alce, Guilna; Taurisano, Paolo; Sambataro, Fabio; Das, Saumitra; Bertolino, Alessandro; Weinberger, Daniel R; Mattay, Venkata S

2009-11-01

Prior studies suggest that the amygdala shapes complex behavioral responses to socially ambiguous cues. We explored human amygdala function during explicit behavioral decision making about discrete emotional facial expressions that can represent socially unambiguous and ambiguous cues. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, 43 healthy adults were required to make complex social decisions (i.e., approach or avoid) about either relatively unambiguous (i.e., angry, fearful, happy) or ambiguous (i.e., neutral) facial expressions. Amygdala activation during this task was compared with that elicited by simple, perceptual decisions (sex discrimination) about the identical facial stimuli. Angry and fearful expressions were more frequently judged as avoidable and happy expressions most often as approachable. Neutral expressions were equally judged as avoidable and approachable. Reaction times to neutral expressions were longer than those to angry, fearful, and happy expressions during social judgment only. Imaging data on stimuli judged to be avoided revealed a significant task by emotion interaction in the amygdala. Here, only neutral facial expressions elicited greater activity during social judgment than during sex discrimination. Furthermore, during social judgment only, neutral faces judged to be avoided were associated with greater amygdala activity relative to neutral faces that were judged as approachable. Moreover, functional coupling between the amygdala and both dorsolateral prefrontal (social judgment > sex discrimination) and cingulate (sex discrimination > social judgment) cortices was differentially modulated by task during processing of neutral faces. Our results suggest that increased amygdala reactivity and differential functional coupling with prefrontal circuitries may shape complex decisions and behavioral responses to socially ambiguous cues.

Distinct roles of prelimbic and infralimbic proBDNF in extinction of conditioned fear.

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Sun, Wei; Li, Xiaoliang; An, Lei

2018-03-15

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been investigated for its positive role in regulation of fear acquisition and memory. The precursor of BDNF, proBDNF, has been identified as different protein from its mature form. The prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) sub-regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are functionally distinct in fear behavior. However, the role of PL and IL proBDNF in fear memory is unclear. Here, through the infusion of cleavage-resistant proBDNF and its antibody, we identified the dissociable roles of PL and IL proBDNF in fear expression and extinction memory as well as explored proBDNF's potential mechanism of action. The results suggest that the infusion of proBDNF in the IL facilitates induction of fear extinction, while infusion in the PL depresses fear expression. Blocking proBDNF by using its antibody disrupted the acquisition of fear extinction in the IL, but not the PL. Furthermore, proBDNF-induced extinction was sufficient for extinguishing new and older memories, and required NR2B, but not NR2A, -containing NMDA receptors. We also observed extinction-related proBDNF expression increased in the PL and IL during successful fear expression and extinction, respectively. Importantly, enhanced proBDNF was required for maintaining an extinguished behavior. The extinction effects of proBDNF did not involve degrading the original fear memory. Therefore, proBDNF in the IL and PL differentially contribute to the inhibitory control of fear extinction behavior. Our findings provide a strong link between proBDNF activity and deficits in fear extinction, a hallmark of several psychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emotion in the wilds of nature: The coherence and contagion of fear during threatening group-based outdoors experiences.

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Anderson, Craig L; Monroy, Maria; Keltner, Dacher

2018-04-01

Emotional expressions communicate information about the individual's internal state and evoke responses in others that enable coordinated action. The current work investigated the informative and evocative properties of fear vocalizations in a sample of youth from underserved communities and military veterans while white-water rafting. Video-taped footage of participants rafting through white-water rapids was coded for vocal and facial expressions of fear, amusement, pride, and awe, yielding more than 1,300 coded expressions, which were then related to measures of subjective emotion and cortisol response. Consistent with informative properties of emotional expressions, fear vocalizations were positively and significantly related to facial expressions of fear, subjective reports of fear, and individuals' cortisol levels measured after the rafting trip. It is important to note that this coherent pattern was unique to fear vocalizations; vocalizations of amusement, pride, and awe were not significantly related to fear expressions in the face, subjective reports of fear, or cortisol levels. Demonstrating the evocative properties of emotional expression, fear vocalizations of individuals appeared to evoke fear vocalizations in other people in their raft, and cortisol levels of individuals within rafts similarly converged at the end of the trip. We discuss how the study of spontaneous emotion expressions in naturalistic settings can help address basic yet controversial questions about emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Sad or fearful? The influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion.

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Mondloch, Catherine J

2012-02-01

The current research investigated the influence of body posture on adults' and children's perception of facial displays of emotion. In each of two experiments, participants categorized facial expressions that were presented on a body posture that was congruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing sadness) or incongruent (e.g., a sad face on a body posing fear). Adults and 8-year-olds made more errors and had longer reaction times on incongruent trials than on congruent trials when judging sad versus fearful facial expressions, an effect that was larger in 8-year-olds. The congruency effect was reduced when faces and bodies were misaligned, providing some evidence for holistic processing. Neither adults nor 8-year-olds were affected by congruency when judging sad versus happy expressions. Evidence that congruency effects vary with age and with similarity of emotional expressions is consistent with dimensional theories and "emotional seed" models of emotion perception. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Equal pain – Unequal fear response: Enhanced susceptibility of tooth pain to fear conditioning

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Michael Lukas Meier

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Experimental fear conditioning in humans is widely used as a model to investigate the neural basis of fear learning and to unravel the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. It has been observed that fear conditioning depends on stimulus salience and subject vulnerability to fear. It is further known that the prevalence of dental-related fear and phobia is exceedingly high in the population. Dental phobia is unique as no other body part is associated with a specific phobia. Therefore, we hypothesized that painful dental stimuli exhibit an enhanced susceptibility to fear conditioning when comparing to equal perceived stimuli applied to other body sites. Differential susceptibility to pain-related fear was investigated by analyzing responses to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS applied to the right maxillary canine (UCS-c versus the right tibia (UCS-t. For fear conditioning, UCS-c and USC-t consisted of painful electric stimuli, carefully matched at both application sites for equal intensity and quality perception. UCSs were paired to simple geometrical forms which served as conditioned stimuli (CS+. Unpaired CS+ were presented for eliciting and analyzing conditioned fear responses. Outcome parameter were 1 skin conductance changes and 2 time-dependent brain activity (BOLD responses in fear-related brain regions such as the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex.A preferential susceptibility of dental pain to fear conditioning was observed, reflected by heightened skin conductance responses and enhanced time-dependent brain activity (BOLD responses in the fear network. For the first time, this study demonstrates fear-related neurobiological mechanisms that point towards a superior conditionability of tooth pain. Beside traumatic dental experiences our results offer novel evidence that might explain the high prevalence of dental-related fears in the population.

A new mode of fear expression: perceptual bias in height fear.

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Teachman, Bethany A; Stefanucci, Jeanine K; Clerkin, Elise M; Cody, Meghan W; Proffitt, Dennis R

2008-04-01

Emotion and psychopathology researchers have described the fear response as consisting of four main components--subjective affect, physiology, cognition, and behavior. The current study provides evidence for an additional component in the domain of height fear (perception) and shows that it is distinct from measures of cognitive processing. Individuals High (N = 35) and Low (N = 36) in acrophobic symptoms looked over a two-story balcony ledge and estimated its vertical extent using a direct height estimation task (visual matching), and an indirect task (size estimation); the latter task seems to exhibit little influence from cognitive factors. In addition, implicit and explicit measures of cognitive processing were obtained. Results indicated that, as expected, the High Fear group showed greater relative, implicit height fear associations and explicit threat cognitions. Of primary interest, the High (compared to Low) Fear group estimated the vertical extent to be higher, and judged target sizes to be greater, even when controlling for the cognitive bias measures. These results suggest that emotional factors such as fear are related to perception. (Copyright) 2008 APA.

Fear of Crime in the Sanctuary: Comparing American and Ghanaian University Students' Fearfulness.

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Boateng, Francis D

2018-02-01

While much is known about fear of crime in the West, little is known about how fearfulness of crime develops in non-Western societies, especially among university students. Representing the first attempt to empirically compare levels of fear of crime between Ghanaian and U.S. college students, this article examined students' levels of fear of crime on campus, and tested the applicability of two evolving models of fear of crime-the vulnerability and reassurance models-using comparative data. The general finding is that Ghanaian and U.S. college students differ in terms of their rates of fearfulness on campus. This significant difference adds to the already existing differences between the two countries.

A Preliminary Genome-Wide Association Study of Pain-Related Fear: Implications for Orofacial Pain

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Cameron L. Randall

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Acute and chronic orofacial pain can significantly impact overall health and functioning. Associations between fear of pain and the experience of orofacial pain are well-documented, and environmental, behavioral, and cognitive components of fear of pain have been elucidated. Little is known, however, regarding the specific genes contributing to fear of pain. Methods. A genome-wide association study (GWAS; N=990 was performed to identify plausible genes that may predispose individuals to various levels of fear of pain. The total score and three subscales (fear of minor, severe, and medical/dental pain of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 (FPQ-9 were modeled in a variance components modeling framework to test for genetic association with 8.5 M genetic variants across the genome, while adjusting for sex, age, education, and income. Results. Three genetic loci were significantly associated with fear of minor pain (8q24.13, 8p21.2, and 6q26; p<5×10-8 for all near the genes TMEM65, NEFM, NEFL, AGPAT4, and PARK2. Other suggestive loci were found for the fear of pain total score and each of the FPQ-9 subscales. Conclusions. Multiple genes were identified as possible candidates contributing to fear of pain. The findings may have implications for understanding and treating chronic orofacial pain.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias.

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Laporte, Paola P; Pan, Pedro M; Hoffmann, Mauricio S; Wakschlag, Lauren S; Rohde, Luis A; Miguel, Euripedes C; Pine, Daniel S; Manfro, Gisele G; Salum, Giovanni A

2017-01-01

To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)/item response theory (IRT) and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

Dealing with fear - from the perspective of adolescent girls with cancer.

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Anderzén-Carlsson, Agneta; Sörlie, Venke; Kihlgren, Annica

2012-07-01

Previously fears in adolescents with cancer has been identified in relation to medical procedures, death, altered appearance and as having an overall influence on life, but to our knowledge young people's perspectives on dealing with fear have not been previously investigated. To examine adolescents' perspectives on dealing with cancer related fear. Six girls participated in qualitative interviews focussing on their fear and and how they dealt with it. Data were analysed by means of qualitative content analysis. The results revealed two perspectives. First, the adolescents' own personal battle with fear. Second, they reported that they were not alone with their fear, as they shared it with significant others. An environment characterized by emotional presence helped them to deal with their fear, as well as prevented it from occurring. There is a need for staff and parents to be vigilant to the adolescents' need to feel cared for and allow them the opportunity to deal with their own fear, as at times they want to manage in their own way. Young patients have resources to cope with their fears and therefore should not be viewed as victims, but as young people with a great amount of competence, who benefit from a supportive environment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hippocampal structural plasticity accompanies the resulting contextual fear memory following stress and fear conditioning.

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Giachero, Marcelo; Calfa, Gaston D; Molina, Victor A

2013-10-15

The present research investigated the resulting contextual fear memory and structural plasticity changes in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) following stress and fear conditioning. This combination enhanced fear retention and increased the number of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. Intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) infusion of midazolam prior to stress prevented both the enhancement of fear retention and an increase in the density of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. These findings emphasize the role of the stress-induced attenuation of GABAergic neurotransmission in BLA in the promoting influence of stress on fear memory and on synaptic remodeling in DH. In conclusion, the structural remodeling in DH accompanied the facilitated fear memory following a combination of fear conditioning and stressful stimulation.

Data-driven criteria to assess fear remission and phenotypic variability of extinction in rats.

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Shumake, Jason; Jones, Carolyn; Auchter, Allison; Monfils, Marie-Hélène

2018-03-19

Fear conditioning is widely employed to examine the mechanisms that underlie dysregulations of the fear system. Various manipulations are often used following fear acquisition to attenuate fear memories. In rodent studies, freezing is often the main output measure to quantify 'fear'. Here, we developed data-driven criteria for defining a standard benchmark that indicates remission from conditioned fear and for identifying subgroups with differential treatment responses. These analyses will enable a better understanding of individual differences in treatment responding.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Fear of going under general anesthesia: A cross-sectional study.

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Ruhaiyem, M E; Alshehri, A A; Saade, M; Shoabi, T A; Zahoor, H; Tawfeeq, N A

2016-01-01

Fears related to anesthesia have affected a considerable number of patients going for surgery. The purpose of this survey was to identify the most common concerns about general anesthesia during the preoperative anesthetic clinic in different healthcare settings, and whether they are affected by patients' sex, age, education, or previous experience of anesthesia or not. Structured questionnaires with consent forms were distributed to patients in their preanesthesia clinic visit in three tertiary hospitals (King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, and King Khalid University Hospital) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients' demographics and questions related to their fears regarding general anesthesia were included in the questionnaires. All categorical and interval variables were compared statically using a Chi-square test for independence and a t-test, respectively. All statistical tests were declared significant at α level of 0.05 or less. Among 450 questionnaires that were disturbed, 400 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Eighty-eight percent experienced preoperative fear. The top three causes of their fears were fear of postoperative pain (77.3%), fear of intraoperative awareness (73.7%), and fear of being sleepy postoperatively (69.5%). Patients are less fearful of drains and needles in the operative theater (48%), of revealing personal issues under general anesthesia (55.2%), and of not waking up after surgery (56.4%). Age and gender were significant predictors of the overall fear among preanesthetic patients. Females are 5 times more likely to experience fear before surgery (P = 0.0009). Patients aged more than 40 years old are also at 75% higher risk of being afraid (P = 0.008). The majority of the patients going for surgery experienced a fear of anesthesia. Mostly females, especially those over 40, were at a higher risk of being afraid. Fear can bring anxiety which, in turn, might affect the patient's surgery.

Sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in Australian women: a qualitative investigation.

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Fenwick, J; Toohill, J; Creedy, D K; Smith, J; Gamble, J

2015-01-01

around 20% of women suffer childbirth fear causing them significant distress and often leading to requests for caesarean section. In Sweden, fearful pregnant women are offered counselling; however, in Australia, no dedicated service caters for the specific needs of these women. Indeed scant research has been conducted in Australia and little is known about women's concerns and if these align to those reported in the international literature. to describe the sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in a group of pregnant women assessed as having high levels of childbirth fear. comparative analysis was used to identify common concepts and generate themes that represented women's perspectives of childbirth fear. Data consisted of 43 tape recorded telephone conversations with highly fearful pregnant women who were participating in a large randomised controlled trial known as BELIEF (Birth Emotions, Looking to Improve Expectant Fear). women's fears were conceptualised into three themes: fear stimuli; fear responses; and fear moderators. Lack of confidence to birth, fear of the unknown, internalising other women's negative stories, perineal tearing and labour pain were common concerns for first time mothers. For multiparous women, not having had personal feelings resolved following their previous birth and negative experiences of last birth influenced current expectations for their upcoming birth. Themes common to both groups were: unmet information and support needs, feelings of loss of control and lack of input in to decision-making. Some women however, chose to avoid birth planning in order to cope during pregnancy. Australian women had similar childbirth concerns to those reported in the international literature. However unique to this study was finding two opposing discourses; one of preoccupation with negative events and the other; avoidance of planning for labour and birth. Provision of woman centred maternity models that minimise obstetric

Identifying effective components of alcohol abuse prevention programs: effects of fear appeals, message style, and source expertise.

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Stainback, R D; Rogers, R W

1983-04-01

Despite the importance of alcohol abuse prevention programs, the effectiveness of many components of these programs has not been demonstrated empirically. An experiment tested the efficacy of three components of many prevention programs: fear appeals, one- versus two-sided message style, and the expertise of the source. The persuasive impact of this information was examined on 113 ninth-grade students' intentions to abstain from drinking alcohol while they are teenagers. The results reveal that fear appeals are successful in strengthening students' intentions to refrain from drinking. Implications are discussed for implementing these principles and for designing future investigations of alcohol abuse prevention programs.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola P. Laporte

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. Methods: We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA/item response theory (IRT and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve. Results: According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

Fear conditioned responses and PTSD symptoms in children: Sex differences in fear-related symptoms.

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Gamwell, Kaitlyn; Nylocks, Maria; Cross, Dorthie; Bradley, Bekh; Norrholm, Seth D; Jovanovic, Tanja

2015-11-01

Fear conditioning studies in adults have found that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with heightened fear responses and impaired discrimination. The objective of the current study was to examine the association between PTSD symptoms and fear conditioned responses in children from a highly traumatized urban population. Children between 8 and 13 years old participated in a fear conditioning study in addition to providing information about their trauma history and PTSD symptoms. Results showed that females showed less discrimination between danger and safety signals during conditioning compared to age-matched males. In boys, intrusive symptoms were predictive of fear responses, even after controlling for trauma exposure. However, in girls, conditioned fear to the danger cue was predictive of self-blame and fear of repeated trauma. This study suggests there are early sex differences in the patterns of fear conditioning and that these sex differences may translate to differential risk for trauma-related psychopathology. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Perceiving control over aversive and fearful events can alter how we experience those events: an investigation of time perception in spider-fearful individuals

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Simona eBuetti

2012-09-01

Full Text Available We used a time perception task to study the effects of the subjective experience of control on emotion and cognitive processing. This task is uniquely sensitive to the emotionality of the stimuli: high-arousing negative stimuli are perceived as lasting longer than high-arousing positive events, while the opposite pattern is observed for low-arousing stimuli. We evaluated the temporal distortions of emotionally-charged events in non-anxious (Experiments 1 and 5 and spider-fearful individuals (Experiments 2-4. Participants were shown images of varying durations between 400 and 1600 ms and were asked to report if the perceived duration of the image seemed closer to a short (400 ms or to a long (1600 ms standard duration. Our results replicate previous findings showing that the emotional content of the image modulated the perceived duration of that image. More importantly, we studied whether giving participants the illusion that they have some control over the emotional content of the images could eliminate this temporal distortion. Results confirmed this hypothesis, even though our participant population was composed of highly-reactive emotional individuals (spider fearful facing fear-related images (spiders. Further, we also showed that under conditions of little-to-no control, spider-fearful individuals perceive temporal distortions in a distinct manner from non-anxious participants: the duration of events was entirely determined by the valence of the events, rather than by the typical valence x arousal interaction. That is, spider-fearful participants perceived negative events as lasting longer than positive events, regardless of their level of arousal. Finally, we also showed that under conditions of cognitive dissonance, control can eliminate temporal distortions of low arousal events, but not of high-arousing events, providing an important boundary condition to the otherwise positive effects of control on time estimation.

Changes in women's fear of success and fear of appearing incompetent in business.

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Tomkiewicz, J; Bass, K

1999-12-01

The primary purpose of this research was to examine whether fear of success and of appearing incompetent among women have changed recently. Another purpose was to examine whether such fears differed among women who hold Traditional views and those who hold Progressive views about the roles of women in the workplace. The Fear of Success Scale, the Fear of Appearing Incompetent Scale, and the Attitude Toward Women Scale were completed by 61 male and 52 female graduating seniors. Significant differences were found between the groups for scores on the Attitude Toward Women Scale, but none between the sexes for scores on the Fear of Success Scale or the Fear of Appearing Incompetent Scale. Significant differences were found, however, on the latter two scales when women were separated into Traditional and Progressive groups.

Ambivalência e medo: faces dos riscos na modernidade Ambivalence and fear: facets of the risks in modernity

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Daniel Chaves de Brito

2008-12-01

Full Text Available No diagnóstico da modernidade, incerteza e insegurança - e portanto o medo - são elementos presentes. Partindo dessa constatação, este trabalho tem por objetivo descrever os efeitos ambivalentes do medo sobre a sociedade contemporânea. Nesta tentativa, busca-se o apoio de diversas teorias sociais que, embora não enfoquem o medo, mostram de certa forma os riscos constantes do processo de modernização. Por outro lado, isso permite separar a crítica social que ainda tenta continuar pensando a modernidade com base nas premissas conceituais da razão ocidental, de uma outra, que por sua própria fadiga proclama sua autodestruição. Entende-se aqui que se despedir da razão e considerar o movimento autônomo da modernidade é fazer surgir um processo que apenas garante a modernização do medo.In the diagnosis of the modernity, uncertainty and insecurity - and therefore the fear - they are present elements. Leaving of that verification, this work has for objective to describe the ambivalent effects of the fear on the contemporary society. In that attempt, the support of several social theories is looked for that, although they don't focus the fear, they show the constant risks of the modernization process in a certain way. On the other hand, that allows to separate the social critic, that it still tries to continue thinking the modernity with base about the conceptual premises of the western reason, of another one, that for your own fatigue proclaims your self-destruction. Understands each other here that to say good-bye of the reason and to consider the autonomous movement of the modernity is to do a process that just guarantees the modernization of the fear to appear.

Epidemiological Survey of Dental Fear and Anxiety in Children Living in Transylvania

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Gyergyay Réka

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Aims The objectives of the present survey were: 1 a systematic epidemiological investigation of dental fear and anxiety among children living in the central part of Romania and 2 to identify the most fearful aspects of dental care perceived by these children.

Where There is Smoke There is Fear-Impaired Contextual Inhibition of Conditioned Fear in Smokers.

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Haaker, Jan; Lonsdorf, Tina B; Schümann, Dirk; Bunzeck, Nico; Peters, Jan; Sommer, Tobias; Kalisch, Raffael

2017-07-01

The odds-ratio of smoking is elevated in populations with neuropsychiatric diseases, in particular in the highly prevalent diagnoses of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders. Yet, the association between smoking and a key dimensional phenotype of these disorders-maladaptive deficits in fear learning and fear inhibition-is unclear. We therefore investigated acquisition and memory of fear and fear inhibition in healthy smoking and non-smoking participants (N=349, 22% smokers). We employed a well validated paradigm of context-dependent fear and safety learning (day 1) including a memory retrieval on day 2. During fear learning, a geometrical shape was associated with an aversive electrical stimulation (classical fear conditioning, in danger context) and fear responses were extinguished within another context (extinction learning, in safe context). On day 2, the conditioned stimuli were presented again in both contexts, without any aversive stimulation. Autonomic physiological measurements of skin conductance responses as well as subjective evaluations of fear and expectancy of the aversive stimulation were acquired. We found that impairment of fear inhibition (extinction) in the safe context during learning (day 1) was associated with the amount of pack-years in smokers. During retrieval of fear memories (day 2), smokers showed an impairment of contextual (safety context-related) fear inhibition as compared with non-smokers. These effects were found in physiological as well as subjective measures of fear. We provide initial evidence that smokers as compared with non-smokers show an impairment of fear inhibition. We propose that smokers have a deficit in integrating contextual signs of safety, which is a hallmark of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders.

33 CFR 165.530 - Safety Zone: Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear Rivers, NC.

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2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Safety Zone: Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear Rivers, NC. 165.530 Section 165.530 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... § 165.530 Safety Zone: Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear Rivers, NC. (a) Location. The following area is...

Nuclear fear and children: the impact of parental nuclear activism, responsivity, and fear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

LaGuardia, M.R.

1986-01-01

This study examines the extent to which parental nuclear fear, parental activism, and parental responsivity is associated with children's (age 10) nuclear fear. Other associated variables investigated include: nuclear denial, general anxiety and fear, and the personal characteristics of sex, socio-economic status, and academic aptitude. Findings indicate that children attend to nuclear issues when their parents attend to a significant degree. Children's hopelessness about the arms race is increased as parents' worry about nuclear war increases. Children's fear about not surviving a nuclear war increases as parents' worry about survivability decreases. Children who have more general fears also indicated that they have a high level of hopelessness, pervasive worry, and much concern about being able to survive a nuclear war. Children with a high degree of general anxiety did not indicate high degrees of nuclear fears. Children with high academic aptitude were more knowledgeable about nuclear issues and expressed more fears about the nuclear threat. Boys demonstrated more knowledge about nuclear issues than girls, and girls expressed much more frequent fear and worry about the nuclear threat than boys. Parents of lower socio-economic statues (SES) expressed more denial about the nuclear threat and were more pro-military than the higher SES parents.

Differences in neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in middle-aged dizygotic twins at familial risk of depression

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Miskowiak, K W; Svendsen, A M B; Harmer, C J

2017-01-01

-twin history of depression (high-risk) and 20 were without co-twin history of depression (low-risk). During fMRI, participants viewed fearful and happy faces while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task......BACKGROUND: Negative bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression but findings in healthy high-risk groups are conflicting. METHODS: Healthy middle-aged dizygotic twins (N = 42) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): 22 twins had a co...... the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex and pregenual anterior cingulate. This was accompanied by greater fear-specific fronto-temporal response and reduced fronto-occipital response to all emotional faces relative to baseline. The risk groups showed no differences in mood, subjective state or coping...

A climate of fear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garner, Tom Alexander; Grimshaw, Mark Nicholas

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a framework that incorporates fear, acoustics, thought processing and digital game sound theory; with the potential to not only improve understanding of our relationship with fear, but also generate a foundation for reliable and significant manipulation of the fear experience....

Remembering the object you fear: brain potentials during recognition of spiders in spider-fearful individuals.

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Michalowski, Jaroslaw M; Weymar, Mathias; Hamm, Alfons O

2014-01-01

In the present study we investigated long-term memory for unpleasant, neutral and spider pictures in 15 spider-fearful and 15 non-fearful control individuals using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. During the initial (incidental) encoding, pictures were passively viewed in three separate blocks and were subsequently rated for valence and arousal. A recognition memory task was performed one week later in which old and new unpleasant, neutral and spider pictures were presented. Replicating previous results, we found enhanced memory performance and higher confidence ratings for unpleasant when compared to neutral materials in both animal fearful individuals and controls. When compared to controls high animal fearful individuals also showed a tendency towards better memory accuracy and significantly higher confidence during recognition of spider pictures, suggesting that memory of objects prompting specific fear is also facilitated in fearful individuals. In line, spider-fearful but not control participants responded with larger ERP positivity for correctly recognized old when compared to correctly rejected new spider pictures, thus showing the same effects in the neural signature of emotional memory for feared objects that were already discovered for other emotional materials. The increased fear memory for phobic materials observed in the present study in spider-fearful individuals might result in an enhanced fear response and reinforce negative beliefs aggravating anxiety symptomatology and hindering recovery.

Do Learners Fear More than Fear Itself: The Role of Fear in Law Students Educational Experiences

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Perrin, Jeffrey; O'Neil, Jennifer; Grimes, Ashley; Bryson, Laura

2014-01-01

While previous research has examined the various relationships between fear and learning in K-12 academic settings, the relationship is surprisingly unexplored amongst law students. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, we examine the role fear plays in law students' learning experiences. Through a series of semi-structured interviews a few…

Mindfulness and fear of hypoglycaemia in parents of children with Type 1 diabetes

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Aalders, J.; Hartman, E.; Nefs, G.

2018-01-01

Aims: To identify the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of fear of hypoglycaemia among parents of children (aged 4-18 years) with Type 1 diabetes and to examine the relationships between parental fear of hypoglycaemia, mindfulness and mindful parenting. Methods: Sociodemographic, self......-reported clinical and psychological data were extracted from the cross-sectional Diabetes MILES Youth - The Netherlands dataset. Questionnaires included the Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey - Parent Worry (parental fear of hypoglycaemia), the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory - Short version (mindfulness......) and the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (mindful parenting). Results: A total of 421 parents (359 mothers) participated. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that greater parental fear of hypoglycaemia was related to younger parental age, low educational level, non-Dutch nationality, more...

Factors of Child Dental Fear : A Literature Review of Dental Fear in Children

OpenAIRE

Nakata, Ayumi; Sato, Yoko

2011-01-01

Objectives. To provide an overview of the literature investigating dental fear in children during the past ten years and to review factors of child dental fear. Methods. The literature was systematically retrieved from an electronic database. The thirty four literatures which were written about the fear of dentistry, psychology and behavior during dental treatment were chosen. Results. The terms of fear being used were “Shika-kyoufu”, “Dental fear”, etc. However, the terms were not defined in...

Effects of sleep on memory for conditioned fear and fear extinction

OpenAIRE

Pace-Schott, Edward F.; Germain, Anne; Milad, Mohammed R.

2015-01-01

Learning and memory for extinction of conditioned fear is a basic mammalian mechanism for regulating negative emotion. Sleep promotes both the consolidation of memory and the regulation of emotion. Sleep can influence consolidation and modification of memories associated with both fear and its extinction. After brief overviews of the behavior and neural circuitry associated with fear conditioning, extinction learning and extinction memory in the rodent and human, interactions of sleep with th...

Infralimbic Neurotrophin-3 Infusion Rescues Fear Extinction Impairment in a Mouse Model of Pathological Fear.

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D'Amico, Davide; Gener, Thomas; de Lagrán, Maria Martínez; Sanchez-Vives, Maria V; Santos, Mónica; Dierssen, Mara

2017-01-01

The inability to properly extinguish fear memories constitutes the foundation of several anxiety disorders, including panic disorder. Recent findings show that boosting prefrontal cortex synaptic plasticity potentiates fear extinction, suggesting that therapies that augment synaptic plasticity could prove useful in rescue of fear extinction impairments in this group of disorders. Previously, we reported that mice with selective deregulation of neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor, type 3 expression (TgNTRK3) exhibit increased fear memories accompanied by impaired extinction, congruent with an altered activation pattern of the amygdala-hippocampus-medial prefrontal cortex fear circuit. Here we explore the specific role of neurotrophin 3 and its cognate receptor in the medial prefrontal cortex, and its involvement in fear extinction in a pathological context. In this study we combined molecular, behavioral, in vivo pharmacology and ex vivo electrophysiological recordings in TgNTRK3 animals during contextual fear extinction processes. We show that neurotrophin 3 protein levels are increased upon contextual fear extinction in wild-type animals but not in TgNTRK3 mice, which present deficits in infralimbic long-term potentiation. Importantly, infusion of neurotrophin 3 to the medial prefrontal cortex of TgNTRK3 mice rescues contextual fear extinction and ex vivo local application improves medial prefrontal cortex synaptic plasticity. This effect is blocked by inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation through peripheral administration of SL327, suggesting that rescue occurs via this pathway. Our results suggest that stimulating neurotrophin 3-dependent medial prefrontal cortex plasticity could restore contextual fear extinction deficit in pathological fear and could constitute an effective treatment for fear-related disorders.

Dreaming Your Fear Away: A Computational Model for Fear Extinction Learning During Dreaming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Treur, J.; Lu et al., B.L.

2011-01-01

In this paper a computational model is presented that models how dreaming is used to learn fear extinction. The approach addresses dreaming as internal simulation incorporating memory elements in the form of sensory representations and their associated fear. During dream episodes regulation of fear

Personality and fear of childbirth.

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Ryding, Elsa Lena; Wirfelt, Eva; Wängborg, Ing-Britt; Sjögren, Berit; Edman, Gunnar

2007-01-01

Socioeconomic factors and previous experiences of delivery are known to influence pregnant women's fear of childbirth. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between stable personality traits, fear of childbirth during late pregnancy, and experience of the delivery. Self-report questionnaires were completed twice, during gestation week 34-37, and at 1-week postpartum. Comparisons were made between 85 women who had sought help from a fear-of-childbirth team, and a group (n=177) from routine antenatal care. Correlations between fear of childbirth, personality variables and experience of childbirth were calculated. The women who had sought help tended to be more anxiety-prone, more short-tempered, and lower in socialisation, although within the normal range. In spite of counselling, they reported more intense fear of delivery and fear of pain compared with the comparison group. Women with intense fear of childbirth, who were low in socialisation and high in psychasthenia, had a more negative experience of their current childbirth. Women with intense fear of childbirth differ from other pregnant women also in personality. Methods for treating fear of childbirth should be further developed in order to diminish the risk of a negative birth experience.

Growing up to be fearful? Social evaluative fears during adolescence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sumter, Sindy Resita

2010-01-01

This thesis studies the normal developmental pattern of social evaluative fears from childhood to adolescence. We have investigated age differences in self-reported social fears and physical responses during a public speaking task. In addition, youth's perceptions of speaking in public were studied

Fears related to pregnancy and childbirth among primigravidae who requested caesarean versus vaginal delivery in Iran.

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Matinnia, Nasrin; Faisal, Ibrahim; Hanafiah Juni, Muhamad; Herjar, Abdul Rahman; Moeini, Babak; Osman, Zubaidah Jamil

2015-05-01

Pregnancy- and childbirth-related fears are common psychological concerns and the primary reasons for requesting caesarean section (CS). We aimed to examine the content of maternal fear and the associated demographic factors in a sample of Iranian primigravidae. A randomly selected sample of primigravidae (n = 342) was recruited in four health care centres in Iran. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire. Principal components factor analysis was applied to identify the main factors of pregnancy- and childbirth-related fears. All primigravidae reported some degree of fear, 48.2 % presented severe fear, and 62.6 % requested a CS because of childbirth-related fear. Most of the employed primigravidae with higher education level, higher family income, and unplanned pregnancy requested CS. The items constructed to measure maternal fear were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Six categories were identified, including 'process of labour and childbirth', 'life and well-being of the baby', 'competence and behaviour of maternity ward personnel', 'own capabilities and reactions', 'becoming a parent and family life after delivery' and 'general fear in pregnancy' that cumulatively explained 55.3 % of the variance. The most common factor was 'life and well-being of the baby'. Severe fear was found in 70.6 % of those who chose CS, while 10.9 % of those who chose vaginal delivery reported severe fear. The between-group differences for mean scores and levels of fear were statistically significant. Pregnancy- and childbirth-related fears were frequently experienced by all low-risk primigravidae. Better strategies to address women's psychological needs during pregnancy are necessary.

Fear of childbirth in nulliparous and multiparous women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Räisänen, S; Lehto, S M; Nielsen, H S

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for fear of childbirth (FOC) according to parity and socioeconomic status, and to evaluate associations between FOC and adverse perinatal outcomes. DESIGN: A cohort study. SETTING: The Finnish Medical Birth Register. POPULATION: All 788 317 singleton births...... during 1997-2010 in Finland. METHODS: Fear of childbirth was defined according to the International Classification of Diseases code O99.80, and its associations with several risk factors and perinatal outcomes were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of, risk...... factors for and outcomes of FOC. RESULTS: Fear of childbirth was experienced by 2.5% of nulliparous women and 4.5% of multiparous women. The strongest risk factors for FOC in nulliparous women were depression [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 6.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 5.25-7.68], advanced maternal age...

Fears of Children in the United States: An Examination of the American Fear Survey Schedule with 20 New Contemporary Fear Items

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Burnham, Joy J.

2005-01-01

Twenty contemporary fears (e.g., terrorist attacks, drive-by shootings, having to fight in a war) were added to E. Gullone and N. J. King's (1992) Australian Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II for use in the United States. The revised survey, the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (J. J. Burnham, 1995), was investigated. The component…

Don't fear 'fear conditioning': Methodological considerations for the design and analysis of studies on human fear acquisition, extinction, and return of fear.

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Lonsdorf, Tina B; Menz, Mareike M; Andreatta, Marta; Fullana, Miguel A; Golkar, Armita; Haaker, Jan; Heitland, Ivo; Hermann, Andrea; Kuhn, Manuel; Kruse, Onno; Meir Drexler, Shira; Meulders, Ann; Nees, Frauke; Pittig, Andre; Richter, Jan; Römer, Sonja; Shiban, Youssef; Schmitz, Anja; Straube, Benjamin; Vervliet, Bram; Wendt, Julia; Baas, Johanna M P; Merz, Christian J

2017-06-01

The so-called 'replicability crisis' has sparked methodological discussions in many areas of science in general, and in psychology in particular. This has led to recent endeavours to promote the transparency, rigour, and ultimately, replicability of research. Originating from this zeitgeist, the challenge to discuss critical issues on terminology, design, methods, and analysis considerations in fear conditioning research is taken up by this work, which involved representatives from fourteen of the major human fear conditioning laboratories in Europe. This compendium is intended to provide a basis for the development of a common procedural and terminology framework for the field of human fear conditioning. Whenever possible, we give general recommendations. When this is not feasible, we provide evidence-based guidance for methodological decisions on study design, outcome measures, and analyses. Importantly, this work is also intended to raise awareness and initiate discussions on crucial questions with respect to data collection, processing, statistical analyses, the impact of subtle procedural changes, and data reporting specifically tailored to the research on fear conditioning. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Coming to terms with fear

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LeDoux, Joseph E.

2014-01-01

The brain mechanisms of fear have been studied extensively using Pavlovian fear conditioning, a procedure that allows exploration of how the brain learns about and later detects and responds to threats. However, mechanisms that detect and respond to threats are not the same as those that give rise to conscious fear. This is an important distinction because symptoms based on conscious and nonconscious processes may be vulnerable to different predisposing factors and may also be treatable with different approaches in people who suffer from uncontrolled fear or anxiety. A conception of so-called fear conditioning in terms of circuits that operate nonconsciously, but that indirectly contribute to conscious fear, is proposed as way forward. PMID:24501122

Fears of institutionalized mentally retarded adults.

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Sternlicht, M

1979-01-01

The patterns of fears of institutionalized mentally retarded adults were studied in a sample of i2 moderately retarded men and women between the ages of 21-49. The direct questioning method was employed. Two interviews were held, two weeks apart; the first interview elicited the Ss' fears, while the second concerned the fears of their friends. A total of 146 responses were obtained, and these were categorized according to the types of fears: supernatural-natural events, animals, physical injury, psychological stress, egocentric responses, and no fears. The Ss displayed a higher percentage of fears in the preoperational stage than in the concrete operational stage. In a comparison of male to female fears, only one category, that of fears of animals, reached significance. The study suggested that the same developmental trend of fears that appears in normal children appears in the retarded as well, and these fears follow Piaget's level of cognitive development, proceeding from egocentric perceptions of causality to realistic cause and effect thinking.

Mediating Potency and Fear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Steen Ledet

2018-01-01

Action movies participate in the administration of fear [Virilio, P., 2012. The administration of fear. Translated by Ames Hodges. Los Angeles, CA: Semiotext(e)], and the networked affects of contemporary warfare [Anderson, B., 2013. Targeting affective life from above: morale and airpower. In: P......’ [Shaviro, S., 2010. Post-cinematic affect. Winchester: Zero Books]. These intensity effects mediate between the age of terror's ecology of fear [Massumi, Brian, 2002. Parables for the virtual: movement, affect, sensation. Durham: Duke University Press] and our bodies. Rather than producing fear, action...... movies work to dispel fear by producing potency and bolstering resolve. We can thus understand action movies as participating in the biopolitical effects of contemporary warfare. Affect is globalized and intensified through action movies’ aesthetics, with the aim of producing a kind of drone subject...

Resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex following fear reminder predicts fear extinction

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Feng, Pan; Zheng, Yong

2016-01-01

Investigations of fear conditioning have elucidated the neural mechanisms of fear acquisition, consolidation and extinction, but it is not clear how the neural activation following fear reminder influence the following extinction. To address this question, we measured human brain activity following fear reminder using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and investigated whether the extinction effect can be predicted by resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Behaviorally, we found no significant differences of fear ratings between the reminder group and the no reminder group at the fear acquisition and extinction stages, but spontaneous recovery during re-extinction stage appeared only in the no reminder group. Imaging data showed that functional connectivity between ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala in the reminder group was greater than that in the no reminder group after fear memory reactivation. More importantly, the functional connectivity between amygdala and vmPFC of the reminder group after fear memory reactivation was positively correlated with extinction effect. These results suggest RSFC between amygdala and the vmPFC following fear reminder can predict fear extinction, which provide important insight into the neural mechanisms of fear memory after fear memory reactivation. PMID:27013104

The advances of fear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farouki, N.

2001-01-01

This book treats of four sensible topics of the last decade - the nuclear industry, the cloning, Internet and the greenhouse effect - in order to analyze the irrational or organized fears among the public: what do we fear and why? How this fear is shown? Which questions need to be answered and how? (J.S.)

Fear of failure among a sample of Jordanian undergraduate students

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Alkhazaleh ZM

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Ziad M Alkhazaleh, Ahmad M Mahasneh Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan Background: Fear of failure (FoF is the motivation to avoid failure in achievement tests, and involves cognitive, behavioral, and emotional experiences. Aims: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the level of FoF among students at The Hashemite University, Jordan. We were also interested in identifying the difference in the level of FoF between the sexes, the academic level, and grade-point average (GPA. Method: A total of 548 students participated in the study by completing the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory. Descriptive statistics (mean and SD, independent sample t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data collected. Results: The results indicated the overall mean FoF to be –0.34. There were also significant differences between male and female students' level of fear in experiencing shame and embarrassment. Significant differences were found between the four academic level groups in the following fear categories: experiencing shame and embarrassment, important others losing interest, and fear of upsetting important others. The results also showed significant differences between the GPA level groups in the following fear categories: experiencing shame and embarrassment, diminishing of one's self-esteem, having an uncertain future, fear of important others losing interest, and fear of upsetting important others. Conclusion: FoF may be an important consideration when trying to understand student behavior in the university. Moreover, the level of FoF differs between sexes, academic levels, and GPA levels. Keywords: fear, fear of failure, Jordanian students

Do fears of malpractice litigation influence teaching behaviors?

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Reed, Darcy A; Windish, Donna M; Levine, Rachel B; Kravet, Steven J; Wolfe, Leah; Wright, Scott M

2008-01-01

Medical malpractice is prominently positioned in the consciousness of American physicians, and the perceived threat of malpractice litigation may push physicians to practice defensively and alter their teaching behaviors. The purposes of this study were to characterize the attitudes of academic medical faculty toward malpractice litigation and to identify teaching behaviors associated with fear of malpractice litigation. We surveyed 270 full-time clinically active physicians in the Department of Medicine at a large academic medical center. The survey assessed physicians' attitudes toward malpractice issues, fear of malpractice litigation, and self-reported teaching behaviors associated with concerns about litigation. Two hundred and fifteen physicians responded (80%). Faculty scored an average of 25.5 +/- 6.9 (range = 6-42, higher scores indicate greater fear) on a reliable malpractice fear scale. Younger age (Spearman's rho = 0.19, p = .02) and greater time spent in clinical activities (rho = 0.26, p Fear Scale. Faculty reported that because of the perceived prevalence of lawsuits and claims made against physicians, they spend more time writing clinical notes for patients seen by learners (74%), give learners less autonomy in patient care (44%), and limit opportunities for learners to perform clinical procedures (32%) and deliver bad news to patients (33%). Faculty with higher levels of fear on the Malpractice Fear Scale were more likely to report changing their teaching behaviors because of this perceived threat (rho = 0.38, p < .001). Physicians report changes in teaching behaviors because of concerns about malpractice litigation. Although concerns about malpractice may promote increased supervision and positive role modeling, they may also limit important educational opportunities for learners. These results may serve to heighten awareness to the fact that teaching behaviors and decisions may be influenced by the malpractice climate.

Assessing fears of preschool children with nighttime fears by a parent version of the fear survey schedule for preschool children.

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Kushnir, Jonathan; Gothelf, Doron; Sadeh, Avi

2015-01-01

Although excessive fears are common in preschool children, validated assessment tools for this age are lacking. Our aim was to modify and provide preliminary evidence of the utility of a preschoolers' fear screening tool, a parent-reported Fear Survey Schedule for Preschool Children (FSS-PC). 109 Israeli preschool children (aged 4-6 years) with chronic night time fears (NF) and 30 healthy children (controls) participated. The FSS-PC analysis included: 1) internal reliability, 2) correlations between FSS-PC scores and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) measures, 3) differences between NF and a comparison sample of FSS-PC scores, and 4) FSS-PC sensitivity in detecting change in NF following an intervention for NF. There were low-to-medium positive correlations between the FSS-PC scores and several internalizing scales of the CBCL measures. FSS-PC scores in the NF group were significantly higher than the control children's score. FSS-PC scores had adequate internal reliability and were also sensitive for detecting significant changes in fear levels following behavioral interventions. Unique cultural and environmental circumstances and specific study group. This new version of the FSS-PC may provide clinicians with a novel and useful screening tool for early assessment of fear- and anxiety-related phenomena of preschool children.

Fear of childbirth in pregnant women: External and internal factors.

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Kashshapova, E. V.

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Fear of childbirth (FOC is an important psychological problem that is studied worldwide because it affects the well-being of pregnant women. However, in Russia, this problem does not receive adequate attention among researchers. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the conditionality of fear of childbirth (FOC in pregnant women by external and internal factors, which we assumed were the reasons for this fear. As external factors, we considered socio-demographic indicators (e.g., age, marital status, level of education, housing, and the attitude of relatives towards pregnancy as well as indicators of gynecological history (e.g., the term of pregnancy, the outcome of previous pregnancies, and pregnancy complications. As internal (psychological factors of the fear of childbirth, we considered personal anxiety as well as general inclination towards and negative consequences of different fears (20 types of fears and phobias were examined. The study was conducted with a Russian sample of 76 women at different stages of pregnancy and with different socio-demographic indicators and gynecological histories. The analysis of the results showed the absence of significant differences between women who were pregnant with FOC and those without this fear in terms of the external factors considered in this study. According to the study’s data, a general inclination of women to fear is associated with fear of childbirth. However, the findings for the women with FOC did not indicate significant positive correlations between the level of this fear and exposure to any of the 20 types of fear and phobias measured in the study. Furthermore, the results did not detect relationships between the FOC level and women’s personal anxiety. The results allow us to conclude that FOC is a separate phenomenon that is not dependent on other phobias and fears. Fear of childbirth has a subjective and highly individual genesis. It is not a direct consequence of

Encoding of contextual fear memory requires de novo proteins in the prelimbic cortex

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Rizzo, Valerio; Touzani, Khalid; Raveendra, Bindu L.; Swarnkar, Supriya; Lora, Joan; Kadakkuzha, Beena M.; Liu, Xin-An; Zhang, Chao; Betel, Doron; Stackman, Robert W.; Puthanveettil, Sathyanarayanan V.

2016-01-01

Background Despite our understanding of the significance of the prefrontal cortex in the consolidation of long-term memories (LTM), its role in the encoding of LTM remains elusive. Here we investigated the role of new protein synthesis in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in encoding contextual fear memory. Methods Because a change in the association of mRNAs to polyribosomes is an indicator of new protein synthesis, we assessed the changes in polyribosome-associated mRNAs in the mPFC following contextual fear conditioning (CFC) in the mouse. Differential gene expression in mPFC was identified by polyribosome profiling (n = 18). The role of new protein synthesis in mPFC was determined by focal inhibition of protein synthesis (n = 131) and by intra-prelimbic cortex manipulation (n = 56) of Homer 3, a candidate identified from polyribosome profiling. Results We identified several mRNAs that are differentially and temporally recruited to polyribosomes in the mPFC following CFC. Inhibition of protein synthesis in the prelimbic (PL), but not in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) region of the mPFC immediately after CFC disrupted encoding of contextual fear memory. Intriguingly, inhibition of new protein synthesis in the PL 6 hours after CFC did not impair encoding. Furthermore, expression of Homer 3, an mRNA enriched in polyribosomes following CFC, in the PL constrained encoding of contextual fear memory. Conclusions Our studies identify several molecular substrates of new protein synthesis in the mPFC and establish that encoding of contextual fear memories require new protein synthesis in PL subregion of mPFC. PMID:28503670

Fear of hypoglycemia in parents of children with type 1 diabetes.

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Hawkes, Colin Patrick; McDarby, Vincent; Cody, Declan

2014-08-01

The aim of this study is to determine if parental hypoglycaemia fear is associated with worse glycaemic control and increased resource utilisation and to identify risk factors for increased hypoglycaemia fear. Parents of children with diabetes completed a modified Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey. Demographic data, phone contacts and mean glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were also recorded over a 1 year study period. A total of 106 parents participated. Mean patient age was 11.1 years, and duration of diabetes was 4.8 years. Fifty-two per cent were male, and 48% were on insulin pump therapy. Fear of hypoglycaemia was highest among parents of 6- to 11-year-olds. Parents of children with HbA1c less than 7.5% had less hypoglycaemia fear. Previous seizures and increased frequency of phone calls to the diabetes team were not associated with increased fear. Fear of hypoglycaemia is associated with worse glycaemic control. It is highest among parents of 6- to 11-year-olds but is not affected by previous severe hypoglycaemia or associated with increased contact with the diabetes team. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2014 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Distinct Contributions of Median Raphe Nucleus to Contextual Fear Conditioning and Fear-Potentiated Startle

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Silva, R. C. B.; Cruz, A. P. M.; Avanzi, V.; Landeira-Fernandez, J.; Brandão, M. L.

2002-01-01

Ascending 5-HT projections from the median raphe nucleus (MRN), probably to the hippocampus, are implicated in the acquisition of contextual fear (background stimuli), as assessed by freezing behavior. Foreground cues like light, used as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in classical fear conditioning, also cause freezing through thalamic transmission to the amygdala. As the MRN projects to the hippocampus and amygdala, the role of this raphe nucleus in fear conditioning to explicit cues remains to be explained. Here we analyzed the behavior of rats with MRN electrolytic lesions in a contextual conditioning situation and in a fear-potentiated startle procedure. The animals received MRN electrolytic lesions either before or on the day after two consecutive training sessions in which they were submitted to 10 conditioning trials, each in an experimental chamber (same context) where they. received foot-shocks (0.6 mA, 1 sec) paired to a 4-sec light CS. Seven to ten days later, the animals were submitted to testing sessions for assessing conditioned fear when they were placed for five shocks, and the duration of contextual freezing was recorded. The animals were then submitted to a fear-potentiated startle in response to a 4-sec light-CS, followed by white noise (100 dB, 50 ms). Control rats (sham) tested in the same context showed more freezing than did rats with pre- or post-training MRN lesions. Startle was clearly potentiated in the presence of light CS in the sham-lesioned animals. Whereas pretraining lesions reduced both freezing and fear-potentiated startle, the post-training lesions reduced only freezing to context, without changing the fear-potentiated startle. In a second experiment, neurotoxic lesions of the MRN with local injections of N-methyl-D-aspartate or the activation of 5-HT1A somatodendritic auto-receptors of the MRN by microinjections of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy- 2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) before the training sessions also

Effects of Face and Background Color on Facial Expression Perception

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Tetsuto Minami

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Detecting others’ emotional states from their faces is an essential component of successful social interaction. However, the ability to perceive emotional expressions is reported to be modulated by a number of factors. We have previously found that facial color modulates the judgment of facial expression, while another study has shown that background color plays a modulatory role. Therefore, in this study, we directly compared the effects of face and background color on facial expression judgment within a single experiment. Fear-to-anger morphed faces were presented in face and background color conditions. Our results showed that judgments of facial expressions was influenced by both face and background color. However, facial color effects were significantly greater than background color effects, although the color saturation of faces was lower compared to background colors. These results suggest that facial color is intimately related to the judgment of facial expression, over and above the influence of simple color.

Instructed fear learning, extinction, and recall: additive effects of cognitive information on emotional learning of fear.

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Javanbakht, Arash; Duval, Elizabeth R; Cisneros, Maria E; Taylor, Stephan F; Kessler, Daniel; Liberzon, Israel

2017-08-01

The effects of instruction on learning of fear and safety are rarely studied. We aimed to examine the effects of cognitive information and experience on fear learning. Fourty healthy participants, randomly assigned to three groups, went through fear conditioning, extinction learning, and extinction recall with two conditioned stimuli (CS+). Information was presented about the presence or absence of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) contingency at different stages of the experiment. Information about the CS-US contingency prior to fear conditioning enhanced fear response and reduced extinction recall. Information about the absence of CS-US contingency promoted extinction learning and recall, while omission of this information prior to recall resulted in fear renewal. These findings indicate that contingency information can facilitate fear expression during fear learning, and can facilitate extinction learning and recall. Information seems to function as an element of the larger context in which conditioning occurs.

Face-to-Face Activities in Blended Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Annemette

While blended learning combines online and face-to-face teaching, research on blended learning has primarily focused on the role of technology and the opportunities it creates for engaging students. Less focus has been put on face-to-face activities in blended learning. This paper argues...... that it is not only the online activities in blended learning that provide new opportunities for rethinking pedagogy in higher education, it is also imperative to reconsider the face-to-face activities when part of the learning is provided online. Based on a review of blended learning in business and management...... education, we identify what forms of teaching and learning are suggested to take place face-to-face when other activities are moved online. We draw from the Community of Inquiry framework to analyze how face-to-face activities contribute to a blended learning pedagogy and discuss the implications...

Context counts! Social anxiety modulates the processing of fearful faces in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals

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Dirk eAdolph

2013-06-01

Full Text Available During emotion perception, context is an important source of information. Whether contextual cues from modalities other than vision or audition influence the perception of social emotional information has not been investigated.Thus, the present study aimed at testing emotion perception and regulation in response to fearful facial expressions presented in the context of chemosensory stimuli derived from sweat of anxious individuals. In groups of high (HSA and low socially anxious (LSA participants we recorded the startle reflex (Experiment I, and analysed event-related potentials (ERPs; Experiment II while they viewed anxious facial expressions in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals and chemosensory control stimuli. Results revealed that N1/P1 and N170 amplitudes were larger while Late Positive Potential (LPP activity was smaller for facial expressions presented in the context of the anxiety and the chemosensory control stimulus as compared to facial expressions without a chemosensory context. Furthermore, HSA participants were highly sensitive to the contextual anxiety signals. They showed enhanced motivated attention allocation (LPP, Study II, as well as larger startle responses towards faces in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals than did LSA participants (Study I. Chemosensory context had no effect on emotion regulation, and both LSA and HSA participants showed effective emotion regulation (Study I and II. In conclusion, both anxiety and chemosensory sport context stimuli enhanced early attention allocation and structural encoding, but diminished motivated attention allocation to the facial expressions. The current results show that visual and chemosensory information is integrated on virtually all levels of stimulus processing and that socially anxious individuals might be especially sensitive to chemosensory contextual social information.

How fear appeals work: Motivational biases in the processing of fear-arousing health communications.

OpenAIRE

Das, E.H.H.J.

2001-01-01

This dissertation deals with the study of fear appeals, i.e. messages in which people are presented with fear-arousing health information, in order to convince them they should alter unhealthy habits and adopt healthy lifestyles. Fear appeals typically start with the presentation of the negative consequences of a certain behavior, followed by a recommendation in which a solution to the health risk is offered. The majority of empirical studies examining the effects of fear appeals on persuasio...

Coping with Fear of Recurrence

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... What Comes Next After Finishing Treatment Coping With Fear of Recurrence Having a Baby After Cancer: Pregnancy ... treatment and preparing for the future. Coping With Fear of Recurrence Learn ways to manage the fear ...

Fear activation and distraction during the emotional processing of claustrophobic fear

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Telch, M.J.; Valentiner, D.P.; Ilai, D.; Young, P.R.; Powers, M.B.; Smits, J.A.J.

2012-01-01

We tested several hypotheses derived from the emotional processing theory of fear reduction by manipulating claustrophobic participants' focus of attention during in vivo exposure. Sixty participants displaying marked claustrophobic fear were randomized to one of four exposure conditions. Each

Face time: educating face transplant candidates.

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Lamparello, Brooke M; Bueno, Ericka M; Diaz-Siso, Jesus Rodrigo; Sisk, Geoffroy C; Pomahac, Bohdan

2013-01-01

Face transplantation is the innovative application of microsurgery and immunology to restore appearance and function to those with severe facial disfigurements. Our group aims to establish a multidisciplinary education program that can facilitate informed consent and build a strong knowledge base in patients to enhance adherence to medication regimes, recovery, and quality of life. We analyzed handbooks from our institution's solid organ transplant programs to identify topics applicable to face transplant patients. The team identified unique features of face transplantation that warrant comprehensive patient education. We created a 181-page handbook to provide subjects interested in pursuing transplantation with a written source of information on the process and team members and to address concerns they may have. While the handbook covers a wide range of topics, it is easy to understand and visually appealing. Face transplantation has many unique aspects that must be relayed to the patients pursuing this novel therapy. Since candidates lack third-party support groups and programs, the transplant team must provide an extensive educational component to enhance this complex process. As face transplantation continues to develop, programs must create sound education programs that address patients' needs and concerns to facilitate optimal care.

THE FEAR OF FEAR CONCEPT - STABILITY, RETEST ARTIFACT AND PREDICTIVE POWER

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ARRINDELL, WA

Three related issues concerning the theory, measurement and clinical utility of the fear of fear construct as operationalized by the Agoraphobic Cognitions and Bodily Sensations Questionnaires (Chambless, Caputo, Bright & Gallagher, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 1090-1097, 1984)

The Physiology of Fear: Reconceptualizing the Role of the Central Amygdala in Fear Learning

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Keifer, Orion P.; Hurt, Robert C.; Ressler, Kerry J.

2015-01-01

The historically understood role of the central amygdala (CeA) in fear learning is to serve as a passive output station for processing and plasticity that occurs elsewhere in the brain. However, recent research has suggested that the CeA may play a more dynamic role in fear learning. In particular, there is growing evidence that the CeA is a site of plasticity and memory formation, and that its activity is subject to tight regulation. The following review examines the evidence for these three main roles of the CeA as they relate to fear learning. The classical role of the CeA as a routing station to fear effector brain structures like the periaqueductal gray, the lateral hypothalamus, and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus will be briefly reviewed, but specific emphasis is placed on recent literature suggesting that the CeA 1) has an important role in the plasticity underlying fear learning, 2) is involved in regulation of other amygdala subnuclei, and 3) is itself regulated by intra- and extra-amygdalar input. Finally, we discuss the parallels of human and mouse CeA involvement in fear disorders and fear conditioning, respectively. PMID:26328883

Consciousness and arousal effects on emotional face processing as revealed by brain oscillations. A gamma band analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Balconi, Michela; Lucchiari, Claudio

2008-01-01

It remains an open question whether it is possible to assign a single brain operation or psychological function for facial emotion decoding to a certain type of oscillatory activity. Gamma band activity (GBA) offers an adequate tool for studying cortical activation patterns during emotional face information processing. In the present study brain oscillations were analyzed in response to facial expression of emotions. Specifically, GBA modulation was measured when twenty subjects looked at emotional (angry, fearful, happy, and sad faces) or neutral faces in two different conditions: supraliminal (10 ms) vs subliminal (150 ms) stimulation (100 target-mask pairs for each condition). The results showed that both consciousness and significance of the stimulus in terms of arousal can modulate the power synchronization (ERD decrease) during 150-350 time range: an early oscillatory event showed its peak at about 200 ms post-stimulus. GBA was enhanced by supraliminal more than subliminal elaboration, as well as more by high arousal (anger and fear) than low arousal (happiness and sadness) emotions. Finally a left-posterior dominance for conscious elaboration was found, whereas right hemisphere was discriminant in emotional processing of face in comparison with neutral face.

How fear appeals work : motivational biases in the processing of fear-arousing health communications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Das, E.H.H.J.

2001-01-01

This dissertation deals with the study of fear appeals, i.e. messages in which people are presented with fear-arousing health information, in order to convince them they should alter unhealthy habits and adopt healthy lifestyles. Fear appeals typically start with the presentation of the negative

The fragrant power of collective fear.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roa Harb

Full Text Available Fear is a well-characterized biological response to threatening or stressful situations in humans and other social animals. Importantly, fearful stimuli in the natural environment are likely to be encountered concurrently by a group of animals. The modulation of fear acquisition and fear memory by a group as opposed to an individual experience, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate a robust reduction in fear memory to an aversive event undertaken in a group despite similar fear learning between individually- and group-conditioned rats. This reduction persists outside the group confines, appears to be a direct outcome of group cognizance and is counteracted by loss of olfactory signaling among the group members. These results show that a group experience of fear can be protective and suggest that distinct neural pathways from those classically studied in individuals modulate collective fear memories.

Effect of face-to-face interview versus computer-assisted self-interview on disclosure of intimate partner violence among African American women in WIC clinics.

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Fincher, Danielle; VanderEnde, Kristin; Colbert, Kia; Houry, Debra; Smith, L Shakiyla; Yount, Kathryn M

2015-03-01

African American women in the United States report intimate partner violence (IPV) more often than the general population of women. Overall, women underreport IPV because of shame, embarrassment, fear of retribution, or low expectation of legal support. African American women may be especially unlikely to report IPV because of poverty, low social support, and past experiences of discrimination. The purpose of this article is to determine the context in which low-income African American women disclose IPV. Consenting African American women receiving Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) services in WIC clinics were randomized to complete an IPV screening (Revised Conflict Tactics Scales-Short Form) via computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) or face-to-face interview (FTFI). Women (n = 368) reported high rates of lifetime and prior-year verbal (48%, 34%), physical (12%, 7%), sexual (10%, 7%), and any (49%, 36%) IPV, as well as IPV-related injury (13%, 7%). Mode of screening, but not interviewer race, affected disclosure. Women screened via FTFI reported significantly more lifetime and prior-year negotiation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 10.54, 3.97) and more prior-year verbal (aOR = 2.10), sexual (aOR = 4.31), and any (aOR = 2.02) IPV than CASI-screened women. African American women in a WIC setting disclosed IPV more often in face-to-face than computer screening, and race-matching of client and interviewer did not affect disclosure. Findings highlight the potential value of face-to-face screening to identify women at risk of IPV. Programs should weigh the costs and benefits of training staff versus using computer-based technologies to screen for IPV in WIC settings. © The Author(s) 2014.

Stability and Bifurcation Analysis of a Three-Species Food Chain Model with Fear

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Panday, Pijush; Pal, Nikhil; Samanta, Sudip; Chattopadhyay, Joydev

In the present paper, we investigate the impact of fear in a tri-trophic food chain model. We propose a three-species food chain model, where the growth rate of middle predator is reduced due to the cost of fear of top predator, and the growth rate of prey is suppressed due to the cost of fear of middle predator. Mathematical properties such as equilibrium analysis, stability analysis, bifurcation analysis and persistence have been investigated. We also describe the global stability analysis of the equilibrium points. Our numerical simulations reveal that cost of fear in basal prey may exhibit bistability by producing unstable limit cycles, however, fear in middle predator can replace unstable limit cycles by a stable limit cycle or a stable interior equilibrium. We observe that fear can stabilize the system from chaos to stable focus through the period-halving phenomenon. We conclude that chaotic dynamics can be controlled by the fear factors. We apply basic tools of nonlinear dynamics such as Poincaré section and maximum Lyapunov exponent to identify the chaotic behavior of the system.

Development of fear acquisition and extinction in children: effects of age and anxiety.

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Jovanovic, Tanja; Nylocks, Karin Maria; Gamwell, Kaitlyn L; Smith, Ami; Davis, Telsie A; Norrholm, Seth Davin; Bradley, Bekh

2014-09-01

Development of anxiety disorders is associated with neurobiological changes in areas that are a critical part of the fear neurocircuitry. Fear conditioning paradigms can offer insight into the mechanisms underlying the neurobiological ontogeny of anxiety. A small number of studies have focused on the effects of age and anxiety separately in school age children. The present study aimed to investigate these effects in 8-13 year old children with higher and lower trait anxiety. We examined differential fear conditioning and extinction using skin conductance responses and fear-potentiated startle in 60 children recruited from a low-income urban population. The results indicated that children under 10 years of age show poor discrimination of conditioned stimuli, and that anxiety increases fear responses during fear acquisition. After controlling for age and trauma exposure, fear-potentiated startle to the safety cue predicted child anxiety levels suggesting that impaired safety signal learning may be a risk factor for anxiety disorders in adulthood. Identifying risk phenotypes in children may provide opportunities for early intervention and prevention of illness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear of Death in Gulliver’s Travels

OpenAIRE

Chunhong Yang

2015-01-01

Critics pay little attention to fear of death in Gulliver’s Travels. This paper aims to deal with the issue with Freud’s theory. According to Freud, fear of death results in death drive. In Gulliver’s Travels, the episodes of the Struldbruggs and the Houyhnhnms reveal fear of death. In the episode of Struldbruggs, fear of death is illustrated through fear of abandonment and fear of loss. Fear of abandonment and fear of loss cause the Struldbruggs to long for physical death to end emotional de...

Hippocampal Structural Plasticity Accompanies the Resulting Contextual Fear Memory Following Stress and Fear Conditioning

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Giachero, Marcelo; Calfa, Gaston D.; Molina, Victor A.

2013-01-01

The present research investigated the resulting contextual fear memory and structural plasticity changes in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) following stress and fear conditioning. This combination enhanced fear retention and increased the number of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. Intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) infusion of midazolam prior to…

Fears, Uncertainties, and Hopes: Patient-Initiated Actions and Doctors’ Responses During Oncology Interviews*

Science.gov (United States)

Beach, Wayne A.; Dozier, David M.

2015-01-01

New cancer patients frequently raise concerns about fears, uncertainties, and hopes during oncology interviews. This study sought to understand when and how patients raise their concerns, how doctors responded to these patient-initiated actions, and implications for communication satisfaction. A sub-sampling of video recorded and transcribed encounters was investigated involving 44 new patients and 14 oncologists. Patients completed pre-post self-report measures about fears, uncertainties, and hopes as well as post-evaluations of interview satisfaction. Conversation Analysis (CA) was employed to initially identify pairs of patient-initiated and doctor-responsive actions. A coding scheme was subsequently developed, and two independent coding teams, comprised of two coders each, reliably identified patient-initiated and doctor-responsive social actions. Interactional findings reveal that new cancer patients initiate actions much more frequently than previous research had identified, concerns are usually raised indirectly, and with minimal emotion. Doctors tend to respond to these concerns immediately, but with even less affect, and rarely partner with patients. From pre-post results it was determined that the higher patients’ reported fears, the higher their post-visit fears and lower their satisfaction. Patients with high uncertainty were highly proactive (e.g., asked more questions), yet reported even greater uncertainties following encounters. Hopeful patients also exited interviews with high hopes. Overall, new patients were very satisfied: Oncology interviews significantly decreased patients’ fears and uncertainties, while increasing hopes. Discussion raises key issues for improving communication and managing quality cancer care. PMID:26134261

Does a single session of electroconvulsive therapy alter the neural response to emotional faces in depression? A randomised sham-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Miskowiak, Kamilla W; Kessing, Lars V; Ott, Caroline V; Macoveanu, Julian; Harmer, Catherine J; Jørgensen, Anders; Revsbech, Rasmus; Jensen, Hans M; Paulson, Olaf B; Siebner, Hartwig R; Jørgensen, Martin B

2017-09-01

Negative neurocognitive bias is a core feature of major depressive disorder that is reversed by pharmacological and psychological treatments. This double-blind functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated for the first time whether electroconvulsive therapy modulates negative neurocognitive bias in major depressive disorder. Patients with major depressive disorder were randomised to one active ( n=15) or sham electroconvulsive therapy ( n=12). The following day they underwent whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T while viewing emotional faces and performed facial expression recognition and dot-probe tasks. A single electroconvulsive therapy session had no effect on amygdala response to emotional faces. Whole-brain analysis revealed no effects of electroconvulsive therapy versus sham therapy after family-wise error correction at the cluster level, using a cluster-forming threshold of Z>3.1 ( p2.3; pelectroconvulsive therapy-induced changes in parahippocampal and superior frontal responses to fearful versus happy faces as well as in fear-specific functional connectivity between amygdala and occipito-temporal regions. Across all patients, greater fear-specific amygdala - occipital coupling correlated with lower fear vigilance. Despite no statistically significant shift in neural response to faces after a single electroconvulsive therapy session, the observed trend changes after a single electroconvulsive therapy session point to an early shift in emotional processing that may contribute to antidepressant effects of electroconvulsive therapy.

What is the comparative effectiveness of current standard treatment, against an individually tailored behavioural programme delivered either on the Internet or face-to-face for people with acute whiplash associated disorder? A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Bring, Annika; Åsenlöf, Pernilla; Söderlund, Anne

2016-05-01

To investigate the comparative effectiveness of current standard treatment, against an individually tailored behavioural programme delivered via the Internet or face-to-face for people with acute whiplash associated disorders. A multicentre, randomized, three-group design, with concealed allocation. A total of 55 participants (37 female), age 18-65, with acute Whiplash Associated Disorder (Grade I-II), recruited at two emergency clinics in Sweden. Before randomization all participants received standard self-care instructions. The Internet and face-to-face groups followed a seven-week behavioural programme involving individual tailoring, via email (Internet group), or in sessions at a physical therapy unit (face-to-face group). The control group only received the self-care instructions. Pain-related disability, pain intensity, self-efficacy in daily activities, catastrophizing and fear of movement/(re)injury. Assessments were performed at baseline (2-4 weeks postinjury) and at three, six and 12 months postintervention. Both the Internet (n = 16) and face-to-face (n = 14) group showed a larger decrease in pain-related disability than the control group (n = 16); -12 and -11, respectively, compared with -5 in the control group at 12-months follow-up. Significant differences between the groups in overall treatment effect were shown in all outcomes except pain intensity. All groups improved significantly over time in all outcomes, except for fear of movement/(re)injury and catastrophizing in the control group. An individually tailored behavioural programme improved biopsychosocial factors in patients with whiplash associated disorders up to 12 months after treatment. Internet-delivered intervention was as effective as clinic-based face-to-face therapy sessions. © The Author(s) 2015.

Emotion recognition through static faces and moving bodies: a comparison between typically developed adults and individuals with high level of autistic traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Actis-Grosso, Rossana; Bossi, Francesco; Ricciardelli, Paola

2015-01-01

We investigated whether the type of stimulus (pictures of static faces vs. body motion) contributes differently to the recognition of emotions. The performance (accuracy and response times) of 25 Low Autistic Traits (LAT group) young adults (21 males) and 20 young adults (16 males) with either High Autistic Traits or with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HAT group) was compared in the recognition of four emotions (Happiness, Anger, Fear, and Sadness) either shown in static faces or conveyed by moving body patch-light displays (PLDs). Overall, HAT individuals were as accurate as LAT ones in perceiving emotions both with faces and with PLDs. Moreover, they correctly described non-emotional actions depicted by PLDs, indicating that they perceived the motion conveyed by the PLDs per se. For LAT participants, happiness proved to be the easiest emotion to be recognized: in line with previous studies we found a happy face advantage for faces, which for the first time was also found for bodies (happy body advantage). Furthermore, LAT participants recognized sadness better by static faces and fear by PLDs. This advantage for motion kinematics in the recognition of fear was not present in HAT participants, suggesting that (i) emotion recognition is not generally impaired in HAT individuals, (ii) the cues exploited for emotion recognition by LAT and HAT groups are not always the same. These findings are discussed against the background of emotional processing in typically and atypically developed individuals.

Emotion recognition through static faces and moving bodies: a comparison between typically-developed adults and individuals with high level of autistic traits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rossana eActis-Grosso

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We investigated whether the type of stimulus (pictures of static faces vs. body motion contributes differently to the recognition of emotions. The performance (accuracy and response times of 25 Low Autistic Traits (LAT group young adults (21 males and 20 young adults (16 males with either High Autistic Traits (HAT group or with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder was compared in the recognition of four emotions (Happiness, Anger, Fear and Sadness either shown in static faces or conveyed by moving bodies (patch-light displays, PLDs. Overall, HAT individuals were as accurate as LAT ones in perceiving emotions both with faces and with PLDs. Moreover, they correctly described non-emotional actions depicted by PLDs, indicating that they perceived the motion conveyed by the PLDs per se. For LAT participants, happiness proved to be the easiest emotion to be recognized: in line with previous studies we found a happy face advantage for faces, which for the first time was also found for bodies (happy body advantage. Furthermore, LAT participants recognized sadness better by static faces and fear by PLDs. This advantage for motion kinematics in the recognition of fear was not present in HAT participants, suggesting that i emotion recognition is not generally impaired in HAT individuals, ii the cues exploited for emotion recognition by LAT and HAT groups are not always the same. These findings are discussed against the background of emotional processing in typically and atypically developed individuals.

The recognition of emotional expression in prosopagnosia: decoding whole and part faces.

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Stephan, Blossom Christa Maree; Breen, Nora; Caine, Diana

2006-11-01

Prosopagnosia is currently viewed within the constraints of two competing theories of face recognition, one highlighting the analysis of features, the other focusing on configural processing of the whole face. This study investigated the role of feature analysis versus whole face configural processing in the recognition of facial expression. A prosopagnosic patient, SC made expression decisions from whole and incomplete (eyes-only and mouth-only) faces where features had been obscured. SC was impaired at recognizing some (e.g., anger, sadness, and fear), but not all (e.g., happiness) emotional expressions from the whole face. Analyses of his performance on incomplete faces indicated that his recognition of some expressions actually improved relative to his performance on the whole face condition. We argue that in SC interference from damaged configural processes seem to override an intact ability to utilize part-based or local feature cues.

Effects of attention manipulations on motivated attention to feared and nonfeared negative distracters in spider fear.

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Norberg, Joakim; Wiens, Stefan

2013-11-09

When people view emotional and neutral pictures, the emotional pictures capture more attention than do neutral pictures. In support, studies with event-related potentials have shown that the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive potential (LPP) to emotional versus neutral pictures are enhanced when pictures are attended. However, this motivated attention decreases when voluntary attention is directed away from the pictures. Most previous studies included only generally emotional pictures of either negative or positive valence. Because people with spider fear report intense fear of spiders, we examined whether directing attention away from emotional pictures at fixation decreases motivated attention less strongly for spiders than for generally negative distracters. We recorded event-related potentials from 128 channels to study whether manipulations of attention (i.e., spatial attention and perceptual load) decrease the EPN and the LPP to emotional distracters less strongly for spiders than for fear-irrelevant negative pictures in people with spider fear. Results confirmed that the EPN and the LPP to spiders (vs. neutral pictures) were particularly enhanced in participants with spider fear compared to participants without spider fear. When attention was directed away from the pictures, the EPN and the LPP to spiders (vs. neutral pictures) decreased similarly in fearful and nonfearful participants. Further, in fearful participants, the decrease in the EPN and the LPP was similar for spiders and for fear-irrelevant negative pictures. Our findings suggest that for people with spider fear, directing attention away from emotional pictures at fixation decreases motivated attention to these distracters similarly for spiders as for fear-irrelevant negative pictures. These findings imply that attention to spiders in spider fear does not exceed the level of attention expected from the spider pictures' high arousal and negative valence (i.e., their intrinsic

Fear Conditioning Downregulates Rac1 Activity in the Basolateral Amygdala Astrocytes to Facilitate the Formation of Fear Memory.

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Liao, Zhaohui; Tao, Yezheng; Guo, Xiaomu; Cheng, Deqin; Wang, Feifei; Liu, Xing; Ma, Lan

2017-01-01

Astrocytes are well known to scale synaptic structural and functional plasticity, while the role in learning and memory, such as conditioned fear memory, is poorly elucidated. Here, using pharmacological approach, we find that fluorocitrate (FC) significantly inhibits the acquisition of fear memory, suggesting that astrocyte activity is required for fear memory formation. We further demonstrate that fear conditioning downregulates astrocytic Rac1 activity in basolateral amygdala (BLA) in mice and promotes astrocyte structural plasticity. Ablation of astrocytic Rac1 in BLA promotes fear memory acquisition, while overexpression or constitutive activation of astrocytic Rac1 attenuates fear memory acquisition. Furthermore, temporal activation of Rac1 by photoactivatable Rac1 (Rac1-PA) induces structural alterations in astrocytes and in vivo activation of Rac1 in BLA astrocytes during fear conditioning attenuates the formation of fear memory. Taken together, our study demonstrates that fear conditioning-induced suppression of BLA astrocytic Rac1 activity, associated with astrocyte structural plasticity, is required for the formation of conditioned fear memory.

Fearing religious satire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brink, Dennis Meyhoff

2015-01-01

The article examines the history of the fear of religious satire in modern Europe. The article argues that this fear primarily concerns the potential dissolution of 'the social bond of society' or 'the moral and social order'. From the 17th Century until today, censorship measures and blasphemy l...

Forming Competing Fear Learning and Extinction Memories in Adolescence Makes Fear Difficult to Inhibit

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Baker, Kathryn D.; Richardson, Rick

2015-01-01

Fear inhibition is markedly impaired in adolescent rodents and humans. The present experiments investigated whether this impairment is critically determined by the animal's age at the time of fear learning or their age at fear extinction. Male rats (n = 170) were tested for extinction retention after conditioning and extinction at different ages.…

No Differences in Emotion Recognition Strategies in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Hybrid Faces

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Kris Evers

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emotion recognition problems are frequently reported in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD. However, this research area is characterized by inconsistent findings, with atypical emotion processing strategies possibly contributing to existing contradictions. In addition, an attenuated saliency of the eyes region is often demonstrated in ASD during face identity processing. We wanted to compare reliance on mouth versus eyes information in children with and without ASD, using hybrid facial expressions. A group of six-to-eight-year-old boys with ASD and an age- and intelligence-matched typically developing (TD group without intellectual disability performed an emotion labelling task with hybrid facial expressions. Five static expressions were used: one neutral expression and four emotional expressions, namely, anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. Hybrid faces were created, consisting of an emotional face half (upper or lower face region with the other face half showing a neutral expression. Results showed no emotion recognition problem in ASD. Moreover, we provided evidence for the existence of top- and bottom-emotions in children: correct identification of expressions mainly depends on information in the eyes (so-called top-emotions: happiness or in the mouth region (so-called bottom-emotions: sadness, anger, and fear. No stronger reliance on mouth information was found in children with ASD.

No differences in emotion recognition strategies in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence from hybrid faces.

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Evers, Kris; Kerkhof, Inneke; Steyaert, Jean; Noens, Ilse; Wagemans, Johan

2014-01-01

Emotion recognition problems are frequently reported in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, this research area is characterized by inconsistent findings, with atypical emotion processing strategies possibly contributing to existing contradictions. In addition, an attenuated saliency of the eyes region is often demonstrated in ASD during face identity processing. We wanted to compare reliance on mouth versus eyes information in children with and without ASD, using hybrid facial expressions. A group of six-to-eight-year-old boys with ASD and an age- and intelligence-matched typically developing (TD) group without intellectual disability performed an emotion labelling task with hybrid facial expressions. Five static expressions were used: one neutral expression and four emotional expressions, namely, anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. Hybrid faces were created, consisting of an emotional face half (upper or lower face region) with the other face half showing a neutral expression. Results showed no emotion recognition problem in ASD. Moreover, we provided evidence for the existence of top- and bottom-emotions in children: correct identification of expressions mainly depends on information in the eyes (so-called top-emotions: happiness) or in the mouth region (so-called bottom-emotions: sadness, anger, and fear). No stronger reliance on mouth information was found in children with ASD.

Identifying Intertextual Relations in Salinger's Story "Franny and Zooey", Mehrjui's "Hamoon" and Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling"

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Amiri, Atefeh; Zarei, Maryam

2014-01-01

This article aims at studying intertextuality in three different texts. These texts are: 1) Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" 2) Salinger's "Franny and Zooey" and 3) Mehrjui's "Hamoon". To this end, Genette's (1997) concepts and ideas have been adapted. The main concepts are intertextuality and its three types:…

Fear of Life, Fear of Death, and Fear of Causing Death: How Legislative Changes on Assisted Dying Are Doomed to Fail.

Science.gov (United States)

Häyry, Matti

2018-01-01

Fear of life, fear of death, and fear of causing death form a combination that prevents reasoned changes in laws concerning end-of-life situations. This is shown systematically in this article using the methods of conceptual analysis. Prevalent fears are explicated and interpreted to see how their meanings differ depending on the chosen normative stance. When the meanings have been clarified, the impact of the fears on the motivations and justifications of potential legislative reforms are assessed. Two main normative stances are evoked. The first makes an appeal to individual self-determination, or autonomy, and the second to the traditional professional ethics of physicians. These views partly share qualifying elements, including incurability and irreversibility of the patient's medical condition, proximity of death, the unbearable nature of suffering, and issues of voluntariness further shade the matter. The conclusion is that although many motives to change end-of-life laws are admirable, they are partly contradictory, as are calls for autonomy and appeals to professional ethics; to a degree that good, principled legislative solutions remain improbable in the foreseeable future.

Fear but not fright: re-evaluating traumatic experience attenuates anxiety-like behaviors after fear conditioning

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Marco eCostanzi

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Fear allows organisms to cope with dangerous situations and remembering these situations has an adaptive role preserving individuals from injury and death. However, recalling traumatic memories can induce re-experiencing the trauma, thus resulting in a maladaptive fear. A failure to properly regulate fear responses has been associated with anxiety disorders, like Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD. Thus, re-establishing the capability to regulate fear has an important role for its adaptive and clinical relevance. Strategies aimed at erasing fear memories have been proposed, although there are limits about their efficiency in treating anxiety disorders. To re-establish fear regulation, here we propose a new approach, based on the re-evaluation of the aversive value of traumatic experience. Mice were submitted to a contextual-fear-conditioning paradigm in which a neutral context was paired with an intense electric footshock. Three weeks after acquisition, conditioned mice were treated with a less intense footshock (pain threshold. The effectiveness of this procedure in reducing fear expression was assessed in terms of behavioral outcomes related to PTSD (e.g. hyper-reactivity to a neutral tone, anxiety levels in a plus maze task, social avoidance, and learning deficits in a spatial water maze and of amygdala activity by evaluating c-fos expression. Furthermore, a possible role of lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC in mediating the behavioral effects induced by the re-evaluation procedure was investigated. We observed that this treatment (i significantly mitigates the abnormal behavioral outcomes induced by trauma, (ii persistently attenuates fear expression without erasing contextual memory, (iii prevents fear reinstatement, (iv reduces amygdala activity and (v requires an intact lOFC to be effective.The results suggest that an effective strategy to treat pathological anxiety should address cognitive re-evaluation of traumatic experiences

Falls and Fear of Falling After Stroke: A Case-Control Study.

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Goh, Hui-Ting; Nadarajah, Mohanasuntharaam; Hamzah, Norhamizan Binti; Varadan, Parimalaganthi; Tan, Maw Pin

2016-12-01

Falls are common after stroke, with potentially serious consequences. Few investigations have included age-matched control participants to directly compare fall characteristics between older adults with and without stroke. Further, fear of falling, a significant psychological consequence of falls, has only been examined to a limited degree as a risk factor for future falls in a stroke population. To compare the fall history between older adults with and without a previous stroke and to identify the determinants of falls and fear of falling in older stroke survivors. Case-control observational study. Primary teaching hospital. Seventy-five patients with stroke (mean age ± standard deviation, 66 ± 7 years) and 50 age-matched control participants with no previous stroke were tested. Fall history, fear of falling, and physical, cognitive, and psychological function were assessed. A χ 2 test was performed to compare characteristics between groups, and logistic regression was performed to determine the risk factors for falls and fear of falling. Fall events in the past 12 months, Fall Efficacy Scale-International, Berg Balance Scale, Functional Ambulation Category, Fatigue Severity Scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Patient Healthy Questionnaire-9 were measured for all participants. Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment was used to quantify severity of stroke motor impairments. Twenty-three patients and 13 control participants reported at least one fall in the past 12 months (P = .58). Nine participants with stroke had recurrent falls (≥2 falls) compared with none of the control participants (P falling than did nonstroke control participants (P falls in the nonstroke group, whereas falls in the stroke group were not significantly associated with any measured outcomes. Fear of falling in the stroke group was associated with functional ambulation level and balance. Functional ambulation level alone explained 22% of variance in fear of falling in the stroke group

Developmental aspects of fear: Comparing the acquisition and generalization of conditioned fear in children and adults.

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Schiele, Miriam A; Reinhard, Julia; Reif, Andreas; Domschke, Katharina; Romanos, Marcel; Deckert, Jürgen; Pauli, Paul

2016-05-01

Most research on human fear conditioning and its generalization has focused on adults whereas only little is known about these processes in children. Direct comparisons between child and adult populations are needed to determine developmental risk markers of fear and anxiety. We compared 267 children and 285 adults in a differential fear conditioning paradigm and generalization test. Skin conductance responses (SCR) and ratings of valence and arousal were obtained to indicate fear learning. Both groups displayed robust and similar differential conditioning on subjective and physiological levels. However, children showed heightened fear generalization compared to adults as indexed by higher arousal ratings and SCR to the generalization stimuli. Results indicate overgeneralization of conditioned fear as a developmental correlate of fear learning. The developmental change from a shallow to a steeper generalization gradient is likely related to the maturation of brain structures that modulate efficient discrimination between danger and (ambiguous) safety cues. © 2016 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fear, anger, and risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Lerner, J S; Keltner, D

2001-07-01

Drawing on an appraisal-tendency framework (J. S. Lerner & D. Keltner, 2000), the authors predicted and found that fear and anger have opposite effects on risk perception. Whereas fearful people expressed pessimistic risk estimates and risk-averse choices, angry people expressed optimistic risk estimates and risk-seeking choices. These opposing patterns emerged for naturally occurring and experimentally induced fear and anger. Moreover, estimates of angry people more closely resembled those of happy people than those of fearful people. Consistent with predictions, appraisal tendencies accounted for these effects: Appraisals of certainty and control moderated and (in the case of control) mediated the emotion effects. As a complement to studies that link affective valence to judgment outcomes, the present studies highlight multiple benefits of studying specific emotions.

Enhanced fear expression in a psychopathological mouse model of trait anxiety: pharmacological interventions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone B Sartori

Full Text Available The propensity to develop an anxiety disorder is thought to be determined by genetic and environmental factors. Here we investigated the relationship between a genetic predisposition to trait anxiety and experience-based learned fear in a psychopathological mouse model. Male CD-1 mice selectively bred for either high (HAB, or normal (NAB anxiety-related behaviour on the elevated plus maze were subjected to classical fear conditioning. During conditioning both mouse lines showed increased fear responses as assessed by freezing behaviour. However, 24 h later, HAB mice displayed more pronounced conditioned responses to both a contextual or cued stimulus when compared with NAB mice. Interestingly, 6 h and already 1 h after fear conditioning, freezing levels were high in HAB mice but not in NAB mice. These results suggest that trait anxiety determines stronger fear memory and/or a weaker ability to inhibit fear responses in the HAB line. The enhanced fear response of HAB mice was attenuated by treatment with either the α(2,3,5-subunit selective benzodiazepine partial agonist L-838,417, corticosterone or the selective neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist L-822,429. Overall, the HAB mouse line may represent an interesting model (i for identifying biological factors underlying misguided conditioned fear responses and (ii for studying novel anxiolytic pharmacotherapies for patients with fear-associated disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.

Heritability of fear: Ukrainian experience

African Journals Online (AJOL)

O.V. Filiptsova

2014-08-04

Aug 4, 2014 ... Results: As a result of the research, correlation coefficients of fears q ... Conclusions: The conducted research demonstrated genetic ... of fear – psychic disorder development, complications in personal life ... Nonetheless, in spite of many studies done on fear, many ..... aspects of quality) in women and men.

Fear-related pictures deteriorate the performance of university students with high fear of snakes or spiders.

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Okon-Singer, Hadas; Alyagon, Uri; Kofman, Ora; Tzelgov, Joseph; Henik, Avishai

2011-03-01

Despite research regarding emotional processing, it is still unclear whether fear-evoking stimuli are processed when they are irrelevant and when attention is oriented elsewhere. In this study, 63 healthy university students with high fear from snakes or spiders participated in two different experiments. In an emotional modification of the spatial cueing task, 31 subjects (5 males) were asked to detect a target letter while ignoring a neutral or fear-related distracting picture. The distribution of attention was independently manipulated by a spatial cue that preceded the appearance of the picture and the target letter. In an emotional modification of the cognitive load paradigm, 32 subjects (4 males) were asked to discriminate between two target letters, while ignoring a central neutral or fear-related picture, and additional 1, 3, or 5 distracting letters that created a varied attentional load. Fear-related pictures interfered with the performance of highly fearful participants, even when the pictures were presented outside the focus of attention and when the task taxed attentional resources. We suggest that highly fearful individuals process fear-related information automatically, either inattentively or with prioritized attention capture over competing items, leading to deteriorated cognitive performance. Different results were shown in healthy individuals while processing negative--but not phobic--pictures, suggesting that emotional processing depends on the fear value of the stimulus for a specific observer.

Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety.

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Hjeltnes, Aslak; Binder, Per-Einar; Moltu, Christian; Dundas, Ingrid

2015-01-01

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the subjective experiences of 29 university students who participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for academic evaluation anxiety. Participants who self-referred to the Student Counseling Service underwent individual semi-structured interviews about how they experienced the personal relevance and practical usefulness of taking the MBSR program. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a team-based explorative-reflective thematic approach based on a hermeneutic-phenomenological epistemology. Five salient patterns of meaning (themes) were found: (1) finding an inner source of calm, (2) sharing a human struggle, (3) staying focused in learning situations, (4) moving from fear to curiosity in academic learning, and (5) feeling more self-acceptance when facing difficult situations. We contextualize these findings in relation to existing research, discuss our own process of reflexivity, highlight important limitations of this study, and suggest possible implications for future research.

Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety

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Aslak Hjeltnes

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the subjective experiences of 29 university students who participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR program for academic evaluation anxiety. Participants who self-referred to the Student Counseling Service underwent individual semi-structured interviews about how they experienced the personal relevance and practical usefulness of taking the MBSR program. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a team-based explorative–reflective thematic approach based on a hermeneutic-phenomenological epistemology. Five salient patterns of meaning (themes were found: (1 finding an inner source of calm, (2 sharing a human struggle, (3 staying focused in learning situations, (4 moving from fear to curiosity in academic learning, and (5 feeling more self-acceptance when facing difficult situations. We contextualize these findings in relation to existing research, discuss our own process of reflexivity, highlight important limitations of this study, and suggest possible implications for future research.

The vicious cycle of dental fear: exploring the interplay between oral health, service utilization and dental fear

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Spencer A John

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Based on the hypothesis that a vicious cycle of dental fear exists, whereby the consequences of fear tend to maintain that fear, the relationship between dental fear, self-reported oral health status and the use of dental services was explored. Methods The study used a telephone interview survey with interviews predominantly conducted in 2002. A random sample of 6,112 Australian residents aged 16 years and over was selected from 13 strata across all States and Territories. Data were weighted across strata and by age and sex to obtain unbiased population estimates. Results People with higher dental fear visited the dentist less often and indicated a longer expected time before visiting a dentist in the future. Higher dental fear was associated with greater perceived need for dental treatment, increased social impact of oral ill-health and worse self-rated oral health. Visiting patterns associated with higher dental fear were more likely to be symptom driven with dental visits more likely to be for a problem or for the relief of pain. All the relationships assumed by a vicious cycle of dental fear were significant. In all, 29.2% of people who were very afraid of going to the dentist had delayed dental visiting, poor oral health and symptom-driven treatment seeking compared to 11.6% of people with no dental fear. Conclusion Results are consistent with a hypothesised vicious cycle of dental fear whereby people with high dental fear are more likely to delay treatment, leading to more extensive dental problems and symptomatic visiting patterns which feed back into the maintenance or exacerbation of existing dental fear.

Developing a model for measuring fear of pain in Norwegian samples: The Fear of Pain Questionnaire Norway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vambheim, Sara M; Lyby, Peter Solvoll; Aslaksen, Per M

2017-01-01

Fear of pain is highly correlated with pain report and physiological measures of arousal when pain is inflicted. The Fear of Pain Questionnaire III (FPQ-III) and The Fear of Pain Questionnaire Short Form (FPQ-SF) are self-report inventories developed for assessment of fear of pain (FOP). A previous...

Inhibiting corticosterone synthesis during fear memory formation exacerbates cued fear extinction memory deficits within the single prolonged stress model.

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Keller, Samantha M; Schreiber, William B; Stanfield, Briana R; Knox, Dayan

2015-01-01

Using the single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), previous studies suggest that enhanced glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits. However, it is unknown how the endogenous ligand of GRs, corticosterone (CORT), may contribute to extinction retention deficits in the SPS model. Given that CORT synthesis during fear learning is critical for fear memory consolidation and SPS enhances GR expression, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation could strengthen fear memory in SPS rats by enhancing GR activation during fear learning. In turn, this could lead to cued fear extinction retention deficits. We tested the hypothesis that CORT synthesis during fear learning leads to cued fear extinction retention deficits in SPS rats by administering the CORT synthesis inhibitor metyrapone to SPS and control rats prior to fear conditioning, and observed the effect this had on extinction memory. Inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation in control rats tended to decrease cued freezing, though this effect never reached statistical significance. Contrary to our hypothesis, inhibiting CORT synthesis during fear memory formation disrupted extinction retention in SPS rats. This finding suggests that even though SPS exposure leads to cued fear extinction memory deficits, CORT synthesis during fear memory formation enhances extinction retention in SPS rats. This suggests that stress-induced CORT synthesis in previously stressed rats can be beneficial. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unusual Fears in Children with Autism

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Mayes, Susan Dickerson; Calhoun, Susan L.; Aggarwal, Richa; Baker, Courtney; Mathapati, Santosh; Molitoris, Sarah; Mayes, Rebecca D.

2013-01-01

Unusual fears have long been recognized as common in autism, but little research exists. In our sample of 1033 children with autism, unusual fears were reported by parents of 421 (41%) of the children, representing 92 different fears. Many additional children had common childhood fears (e.g., dogs, bugs, and the dark). More than half of children…

Examining the Fears of Gifted Children

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Tippey, Jacalyn G.; Burnham, Joy J.

2009-01-01

Few studies have considered the fears of gifted children. Using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; Burnham, 1995), a modified version of the Australian Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II (Gullone & King, 1992, 1993), this study focused on the fears of 287 gifted children ages 7-10. This study is a first step in…

A Real Fear

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Ruffins, Paul

2007-01-01

For years, mainstream thinking about math anxiety assumed that people fear math because they are bad at it. However, a growing body of research shows a much more complicated relationship between math ability and anxiety. It is true that people who fear math have a tendency to avoid math-related classes, which decreases their math competence.…

Growth hormone biases amygdala network activation after fear learning.

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Gisabella, B; Farah, S; Peng, X; Burgos-Robles, A; Lim, S H; Goosens, K A

2016-11-29

Prolonged stress exposure is a risk factor for developing posttraumatic stress disorder, a disorder characterized by the 'over-encoding' of a traumatic experience. A potential mechanism by which this occurs is through upregulation of growth hormone (GH) in the amygdala. Here we test the hypotheses that GH promotes the over-encoding of fearful memories by increasing the number of neurons activated during memory encoding and biasing the allocation of neuronal activation, one aspect of the process by which neurons compete to encode memories, to favor neurons that have stronger inputs. Viral overexpression of GH in the amygdala increased the number of amygdala cells activated by fear memory formation. GH-overexpressing cells were especially biased to express the immediate early gene c-Fos after fear conditioning, revealing strong autocrine actions of GH in the amygdala. In addition, we observed dramatically enhanced dendritic spine density in GH-overexpressing neurons. These data elucidate a previously unrecognized autocrine role for GH in the regulation of amygdala neuron function and identify specific mechanisms by which chronic stress, by enhancing GH in the amygdala, may predispose an individual to excessive fear memory formation.

Children can discriminate the authenticity of happy but not sad or fearful facial expressions, and use an immature intensity-only strategy

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Amy eDawel

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Much is known about development of the ability to label facial expressions of emotion (e.g., as happy or sad, but rather less is known about the emergence of more complex emotional face processing skills. The present study investigates one such advanced skill: the ability to tell if someone is genuinely feeling an emotion or just pretending (i.e., authenticity discrimination. Previous studies have shown that children can discriminate authenticity of happy faces, using expression intensity of the happy expressions as an important cue, but have not tested the negative emotions of sadness or fear. Here, children aged 8-12 years (n = 85 and adults (n = 57 viewed pairs of faces in which one face showed a genuinely-felt emotional expression (happy, sad, or scared and the other face showed a pretend version. For happy faces, children discriminated authenticity above chance, although they performed more poorly than adults. For sad faces, for which our pretend and genuine images were equal in intensity, adults could discriminate authenticity, but children could not. Neither age group could discriminate authenticity of the fear faces. Results also showed that children judged authenticity based on intensity information alone for all three expressions tested, while adults used a combination of intensity and other factor/s. In addition, novel results show that individual differences in empathy (both cognitive and affective correlated with authenticity discrimination for happy faces in adults, but not children. Overall, our results indicate late maturity of skills needed to accurately determine the authenticity of emotions from facial information alone, and raise questions about how this might affect social interactions in late childhood and the teenage years.

Children can discriminate the authenticity of happy but not sad or fearful facial expressions, and use an immature intensity-only strategy.

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Dawel, Amy; Palermo, Romina; O'Kearney, Richard; McKone, Elinor

2015-01-01

Much is known about development of the ability to label facial expressions of emotion (e.g., as happy or sad), but rather less is known about the emergence of more complex emotional face processing skills. The present study investigates one such advanced skill: the ability to tell if someone is genuinely feeling an emotion or just pretending (i.e., authenticity discrimination). Previous studies have shown that children can discriminate authenticity of happy faces, using expression intensity as an important cue, but have not tested the negative emotions of sadness or fear. Here, children aged 8-12 years (n = 85) and adults (n = 57) viewed pairs of faces in which one face showed a genuinely-felt emotional expression (happy, sad, or scared) and the other face showed a pretend version. For happy faces, children discriminated authenticity above chance, although they performed more poorly than adults. For sad faces, for which our pretend and genuine images were equal in intensity, adults could discriminate authenticity, but children could not. Neither age group could discriminate authenticity of the fear faces. Results also showed that children judged authenticity based on intensity information alone for all three expressions tested, while adults used a combination of intensity and other factor/s. In addition, novel results show that individual differences in empathy (both cognitive and affective) correlated with authenticity discrimination for happy faces in adults, but not children. Overall, our results indicate late maturity of skills needed to accurately determine the authenticity of emotions from facial information alone, and raise questions about how this might affect social interactions in late childhood and the teenage years.

State-dependent alteration in face emotion recognition in depression.

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Anderson, Ian M; Shippen, Clare; Juhasz, Gabriella; Chase, Diana; Thomas, Emma; Downey, Darragh; Toth, Zoltan G; Lloyd-Williams, Kathryn; Elliott, Rebecca; Deakin, J F William

2011-04-01

Negative biases in emotional processing are well recognised in people who are currently depressed but are less well described in those with a history of depression, where such biases may contribute to vulnerability to relapse. To compare accuracy, discrimination and bias in face emotion recognition in those with current and remitted depression. The sample comprised a control group (n = 101), a currently depressed group (n = 30) and a remitted depression group (n = 99). Participants provided valid data after receiving a computerised face emotion recognition task following standardised assessment of diagnosis and mood symptoms. In the control group women were more accurate in recognising emotions than men owing to greater discrimination. Among participants with depression, those in remission correctly identified more emotions than controls owing to increased response bias, whereas those currently depressed recognised fewer emotions owing to decreased discrimination. These effects were most marked for anger, fear and sadness but there was no significant emotion × group interaction, and a similar pattern tended to be seen for happiness although not for surprise or disgust. These differences were confined to participants who were antidepressant-free, with those taking antidepressants having similar results to the control group. Abnormalities in face emotion recognition differ between people with current depression and those in remission. Reduced discrimination in depressed participants may reflect withdrawal from the emotions of others, whereas the increased bias in those with a history of depression could contribute to vulnerability to relapse. The normal face emotion recognition seen in those taking medication may relate to the known effects of antidepressants on emotional processing and could contribute to their ability to protect against depressive relapse.

Mapping the emotional face. How individual face parts contribute to successful emotion recognition.

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Martin Wegrzyn

Full Text Available Which facial features allow human observers to successfully recognize expressions of emotion? While the eyes and mouth have been frequently shown to be of high importance, research on facial action units has made more precise predictions about the areas involved in displaying each emotion. The present research investigated on a fine-grained level, which physical features are most relied on when decoding facial expressions. In the experiment, individual faces expressing the basic emotions according to Ekman were hidden behind a mask of 48 tiles, which was sequentially uncovered. Participants were instructed to stop the sequence as soon as they recognized the facial expression and assign it the correct label. For each part of the face, its contribution to successful recognition was computed, allowing to visualize the importance of different face areas for each expression. Overall, observers were mostly relying on the eye and mouth regions when successfully recognizing an emotion. Furthermore, the difference in the importance of eyes and mouth allowed to group the expressions in a continuous space, ranging from sadness and fear (reliance on the eyes to disgust and happiness (mouth. The face parts with highest diagnostic value for expression identification were typically located in areas corresponding to action units from the facial action coding system. A similarity analysis of the usefulness of different face parts for expression recognition demonstrated that faces cluster according to the emotion they express, rather than by low-level physical features. Also, expressions relying more on the eyes or mouth region were in close proximity in the constructed similarity space. These analyses help to better understand how human observers process expressions of emotion, by delineating the mapping from facial features to psychological representation.

Mapping the emotional face. How individual face parts contribute to successful emotion recognition

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Wegrzyn, Martin; Vogt, Maria; Kireclioglu, Berna; Schneider, Julia; Kissler, Johanna

2017-01-01

Which facial features allow human observers to successfully recognize expressions of emotion? While the eyes and mouth have been frequently shown to be of high importance, research on facial action units has made more precise predictions about the areas involved in displaying each emotion. The present research investigated on a fine-grained level, which physical features are most relied on when decoding facial expressions. In the experiment, individual faces expressing the basic emotions according to Ekman were hidden behind a mask of 48 tiles, which was sequentially uncovered. Participants were instructed to stop the sequence as soon as they recognized the facial expression and assign it the correct label. For each part of the face, its contribution to successful recognition was computed, allowing to visualize the importance of different face areas for each expression. Overall, observers were mostly relying on the eye and mouth regions when successfully recognizing an emotion. Furthermore, the difference in the importance of eyes and mouth allowed to group the expressions in a continuous space, ranging from sadness and fear (reliance on the eyes) to disgust and happiness (mouth). The face parts with highest diagnostic value for expression identification were typically located in areas corresponding to action units from the facial action coding system. A similarity analysis of the usefulness of different face parts for expression recognition demonstrated that faces cluster according to the emotion they express, rather than by low-level physical features. Also, expressions relying more on the eyes or mouth region were in close proximity in the constructed similarity space. These analyses help to better understand how human observers process expressions of emotion, by delineating the mapping from facial features to psychological representation. PMID:28493921

Neuroimaging of Fear-Associated Learning

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Greco, John A; Liberzon, Israel

2016-01-01

Fear conditioning has been commonly used as a model of emotional learning in animals and, with the introduction of functional neuroimaging techniques, has proven useful in establishing the neurocircuitry of emotional learning in humans. Studies of fear acquisition suggest that regions such as amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus play an important role in acquisition of fear, whereas studies of fear extinction suggest that the amygdala is also crucial for safety learning. Extinction retention testing points to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex as an essential region in the recall of the safety trace, and explicit learning of fear and safety associations recruits additional cortical and subcortical regions. Importantly, many of these findings have implications in our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychiatric disease. Recent studies using clinical populations have lent insight into the changes in regional activity in specific disorders, and treatment studies have shown how pharmaceutical and other therapeutic interventions modulate brain activation during emotional learning. Finally, research investigating individual differences in neurotransmitter receptor genotypes has highlighted the contribution of these systems in fear-associated learning. PMID:26294108

Specific biases for identifying facial expression of emotion in children and adolescents with conversion disorders.

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Kozlowska, Kasia; Brown, Kerri J; Palmer, Donna M; Williams, Lea M

2013-04-01

This study aimed to assess how children and adolescents with conversion disorders identify universal facial expressions of emotion and to determine whether identification of emotion in faces relates to subjective emotional distress. Fifty-seven participants (41 girls and 16 boys) aged 8.5 to 18 years with conversion disorders and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed a computerized task in which their accuracy and reaction times for identifying facial expressions were recorded. To isolate the effect of individual emotional expressions, participants' reaction times for each emotion (fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and happiness) were subtracted from their reaction times for the neutral control face. Participants also completed self-report measures of subjective emotional distress. Children/Adolescents with conversion disorders showed faster reaction times for identifying expressions of sadness (t(112) = -2.2, p = .03; 444 [609] versus 713 [695], p = .03) and slower reactions times for happy expressions (t(99.3) = 2.28, p ≤ .024; -33 [35] versus 174 [51], p = .024), compared with controls (F(33.75, 419.81) = 3.76, p .018). There were also no differences in identification accuracy for any emotion (p > .82). The observation of faster reaction times to sad faces in children and adolescents with conversion disorders suggests increased vigilance and motor readiness to emotional signals that are potential threats to self or to close others. These effects may occur before conscious processing.

Beyond extinction: erasing human fear responses and preventing the return of fear

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kindt, M.; Soeter, M.; Vervliet, B.

2009-01-01

Animal studies have shown that fear memories can change when recalled, a process referred to as reconsolidation. We found that oral administration of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol before memory reactivation in humans erased the behavioral expression of the fear memory 24 h

Students’ voice: The hopes and fears of student-teacher candidates

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Shirli Shoyer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available It is widely claimed that learners interpret new information and experiences through their existing network of knowledge, experience, and beliefs. Research on professional identities of teachers highlight the impact of biographical factors such as teachers schooling experiences, motivations for entering teacher education programs, their initial teacher education experiences and contexts of professional practice, as influential of “construction, deconstruction and reconstruction” of teachers’ professional identities and the kind of teachers they become. The study investigates teacher education candidates’ hopes and fears concerning their future career as teachers. An open-ended questionnaire was distributed to 90 candidates in a teacher education college. The qualitative analysis identifies the domains of candidates’ hope and fears. The findings reveal that candidates expressed more hopes then fears. Their hopes and fears correspond with qualities of the “good teacher” and effective teaching. The study can support the development of prospective teachers towards expertise in teaching and assist program designers and educators in strengthening education programs by catering for students’ needs, taking into consideration their hopes and concerns.

Fear of hypoglycemia and its clinical significance: a case-control study

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Elena Georgievna Starostina

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Aim. To assess the prevalence of fear of hypoglycemia, its clinical features and influence on diabetes compensation. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 200 sequentially enrolled participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; n=139 and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM; n=61. Patients were screened for psychiatric disorders with appropriate inventory and examined by a psychiatrist. Subjects identified as those with fear of hypoglycemia (n=12 formed the study group, while control group was assembled of individuals without phobic signs, matched for gender, age, type and duration of diabetes and concomitant psychiatric disorders. Results. Prevalence of fear of hypoglycemia was estimated at 6%, being consistently higher in patients with T1DM (16.1% vs. T2DM (1%; p=0.0002. Fear of hypoglycemia was associated with higher median HbA1c (9.4% [8.6 ; 9.9] vs. 8.2% [6.8 ; 9.3], p

Hippocampal Processing of Ambiguity Enhances Fear Memory.

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Amadi, Ugwechi; Lim, Seh Hong; Liu, Elizabeth; Baratta, Michael V; Goosens, Ki A

2017-02-01

Despite the ubiquitous use of Pavlovian fear conditioning as a model for fear learning, the highly predictable conditions used in the laboratory do not resemble real-world conditions, in which dangerous situations can lead to unpleasant outcomes in unpredictable ways. In the current experiments, we varied the timing of aversive events after predictive cues in rodents and discovered that temporal ambiguity of aversive events greatly enhances fear. During fear conditioning with unpredictably timed aversive events, pharmacological inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus or optogenetic silencing of cornu ammonis 1 cells during aversive negative prediction errors prevented this enhancement of fear without affecting fear learning for predictable events. Dorsal hippocampal inactivation also prevented ambiguity-related enhancement of fear during auditory fear conditioning under a partial-reinforcement schedule. These results reveal that information about the timing and occurrence of aversive events is rapidly acquired and that unexpectedly timed or omitted aversive events generate hippocampal signals to enhance fear learning.

Forming competing fear learning and extinction memories in adolescence makes fear difficult to inhibit

OpenAIRE

Baker, Kathryn D.; Richardson, Rick

2015-01-01

Fear inhibition is markedly impaired in adolescent rodents and humans. The present experiments investigated whether this impairment is critically determined by the animal's age at the time of fear learning or their age at fear extinction. Male rats (n = 170) were tested for extinction retention after conditioning and extinction at different ages. We examined neural correlates of impaired extinction retention by detection of phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase immunoreactivity (pMA...

Assessing Students Perceptions on Intensive Face to Face in Open ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Therefore, this study assessed students‟ perception on Intensive Face to Face sessions. The study specifically aimed at identifying students‟ perception on quality of interaction between tutors and students and between students on the other hand. It also explored the nature of challenges students meet in attending face to ...

I can see, hear, and smell your fear : Comparing olfactory and audiovisual media in fear communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Groot, Jasper H B; Semin, Gün R.; Smeets, Monique A M

2014-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that humans can become fearful after exposure to olfactory fear signals, yet these studies have reported the effects of fear chemosignals without examining emotion-relevant input from traditional communication modalities (i.e., vision, audition). The question that we pursued

What you fear will appear: detection of schematic spiders in spider fear.

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Peira, Nathalie; Golkar, Armita; Larsson, Maria; Wiens, Stefan

2010-01-01

Various experimental tasks suggest that fear guides attention. However, because these tasks often lack ecological validity, it is unclear to what extent results from these tasks can be generalized to real-life situations. In change detection tasks, a brief interruption of the visual input (i.e., a blank interval or a scene cut) often results in undetected changes in the scene. This setup resembles real-life viewing behavior and is used here to increase ecological validity of the attentional task without compromising control over the stimuli presented. Spider-fearful and nonfearful women detected schematic spiders and flowers that were added to one of two identical background pictures that alternated with a brief blank in between them (i.e., flicker paradigm). Results showed that spider-fearful women detected spiders (but not flowers) faster than did nonfearful women. Because spiders and flowers had similar low-level features, these findings suggest that fear guides attention on the basis of object features rather than simple low-level features.

Fearfulness moderates the link between childhood social withdrawal and adolescent reward response.

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Morgan, Judith K; Shaw, Daniel S; Forbes, Erika E

2015-06-01

Withdrawal from peers during childhood may reflect disruptions in reward functioning that heighten vulnerability to affective disorders during adolescence. The association between socially withdrawn behavior and reward functioning may depend on traits that influence this withdrawal, such as fearfulness or unsociability. In a study of 129 boys, we evaluated how boys' fearfulness and sociability at age 5 and social withdrawal at school at ages 6 to 10 and during a summer camp at age 9/10 were associated with their neural response to reward at age 20. Greater social withdrawal during childhood was associated with heightened striatal and mPFC activation when anticipating rewards at age 20. Fearfulness moderated this effect to indicate that social withdrawal was associated with heightened reward-related response in the striatum for boys high on fearfulness. Altered striatal response associated with social withdrawal and fearfulness predicted greater likelihood to have a lifetime history of depression and social phobia at age 20. These findings add greater specificity to previous findings that children high in traits related to fear of novelty show altered reward responses, by identifying fearfulness (but not low levels of sociability) as a potential underlying mechanism that contributes to reward alterations in withdrawn children. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Methodology for Knowledge Synthesis of the Management of Vaccination Pain and Needle Fear.

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Taddio, Anna; McMurtry, C Meghan; Shah, Vibhuti; Yoon, Eugene W; Uleryk, Elizabeth; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca; Lang, Eddy; Chambers, Christine T; Noel, Melanie; MacDonald, Noni E

2015-10-01

A knowledge synthesis was undertaken to inform the development of a revised and expanded clinical practice guideline about managing vaccination pain in children to include the management of pain across the lifespan and the management of fear in individuals with high levels of needle fear. This manuscript describes the methodological details of the knowledge synthesis and presents the list of included clinical questions, critical and important outcomes, search strategy, and search strategy results. The Grading of Assessments, Recommendations, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and Cochrane methodologies provided the general framework. The project team voted on clinical questions for inclusion and critically important and important outcomes. A broad search strategy was used to identify relevant randomized-controlled trials and quasi-randomized-controlled trials. Quality of research evidence was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and quality across studies was assessed using GRADE. Multiple measures of the same construct within studies (eg, observer-rated and parent-rated infant distress) were combined before pooling. The standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals (CI) or relative risk and 95% CI was used to express the effects of an intervention. Altogether, 55 clinical questions were selected for inclusion in the knowledge synthesis; 49 pertained to pain management during vaccine injections and 6 pertained to fear management in individuals with high levels of needle fear. Pain, fear, and distress were typically prioritized as critically important outcomes across clinical questions. The search strategy identified 136 relevant studies. This manuscript describes the methodological details of a knowledge synthesis about pain management during vaccination and fear management in individuals with high levels of needle fear. Subsequent manuscripts in this series will present the results for the included questions.

Higher threat avoidance costs reduce avoidance behaviour which in turn promotes fear extinction in humans.

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Rattel, Julina A; Miedl, Stephan F; Blechert, Jens; Wilhelm, Frank H

2017-09-01

Theoretical models specifying the underlying mechanisms of the development and maintenance of anxiety and related disorders state that fear responses acquired through classical Pavlovian conditioning are maintained by repeated avoidance behaviour; thus, it is assumed that avoidance prevents fear extinction. The present study investigated behavioural avoidance decisions as a function of avoidance costs in a naturalistic fear conditioning paradigm. Ecologically valid avoidance costs - manipulated between participant groups - were represented via time-delays during a detour in a gamified computer task. After differential acquisitions of shock-expectancy to a predictive conditioned stimulus (CS+), participants underwent extinction where they could either take a risky shortcut, while anticipating shock signaled by the CS+, or choose a costly avoidance option (lengthy detour); thus, they were faced with an approach-avoidance conflict. Groups with higher avoidance costs (longer detours) showed lower proportions of avoiders. Avoiders gave heightened shock-expectancy ratings post-extinction, demonstrating 'protecting from extinction', i.e. failure to extinguish. Moreover, there was an indirect effect of avoidance costs on protection from extinction through avoidance behaviour. No moderating role of trait-anxiety was found. Theoretical implications of avoidance behaviour are discussed, considering the involvement of instrumental learning in the maintenance of fear responses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Associations among Context-Specific Maternal Protective Behavior, Toddlers' Fearful Temperament, and Maternal Accuracy and Goals

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Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2012-01-01

Maternal protective responses to temperamentally fearful toddlers have previously been found to relate to increased risk for children's development of anxiety-spectrum problems. Not all protective behavior is "overprotective", and not all mothers respond to toddlers' fear with protection. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify conditions…

Thierry De Putter, a geologist faced to the ''irrational'' fear of radioactive wastes; Thierry De Putter, un geologue face a la peur ''irrationnelle'' des dechets radioactifs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Putter, Th. de [Musee Royal de l' Afrique Centrale, Geologie Isotopique, Tervuren (Belgium); Pivot, A. [Paris-10 Univ., Sociologue, Ladyss/NSS, Maison Max Weber, 92 - Nanterre (France)

2004-06-01

The author analyses the origins of the irrational fear the public feels concerning the disposal of radioactive wastes in deep geological layers. This fear seems to be linked to the positive image of the earth that has been built for millenniums in all humane civilizations, according to it the earth appears as a universal, pure and prolific mother. The burial of radioactive wastes might be considered in an unconscious way as a direct and permanent threat to the integrity of the earth. In fact the earth is not so fragile, it has already undergone catastrophes worse than these that are looming like climate changing or extinction of species, but what is true is that humane civilizations settled on its surface are very fragile. Irrational fear might be an acute and unconscious awareness of this fragility. (A.C.)

Seeing emotion with your ears: emotional prosody implicitly guides visual attention to faces.

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Simon Rigoulot

Full Text Available Interpersonal communication involves the processing of multimodal emotional cues, particularly facial expressions (visual modality and emotional speech prosody (auditory modality which can interact during information processing. Here, we investigated whether the implicit processing of emotional prosody systematically influences gaze behavior to facial expressions of emotion. We analyzed the eye movements of 31 participants as they scanned a visual array of four emotional faces portraying fear, anger, happiness, and neutrality, while listening to an emotionally-inflected pseudo-utterance (Someone migged the pazing uttered in a congruent or incongruent tone. Participants heard the emotional utterance during the first 1250 milliseconds of a five-second visual array and then performed an immediate recall decision about the face they had just seen. The frequency and duration of first saccades and of total looks in three temporal windows ([0-1250 ms], [1250-2500 ms], [2500-5000 ms] were analyzed according to the emotional content of faces and voices. Results showed that participants looked longer and more frequently at faces that matched the prosody in all three time windows (emotion congruency effect, although this effect was often emotion-specific (with greatest effects for fear. Effects of prosody on visual attention to faces persisted over time and could be detected long after the auditory information was no longer present. These data imply that emotional prosody is processed automatically during communication and that these cues play a critical role in how humans respond to related visual cues in the environment, such as facial expressions.

Seeing Emotion with Your Ears: Emotional Prosody Implicitly Guides Visual Attention to Faces

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Rigoulot, Simon; Pell, Marc D.

2012-01-01

Interpersonal communication involves the processing of multimodal emotional cues, particularly facial expressions (visual modality) and emotional speech prosody (auditory modality) which can interact during information processing. Here, we investigated whether the implicit processing of emotional prosody systematically influences gaze behavior to facial expressions of emotion. We analyzed the eye movements of 31 participants as they scanned a visual array of four emotional faces portraying fear, anger, happiness, and neutrality, while listening to an emotionally-inflected pseudo-utterance (Someone migged the pazing) uttered in a congruent or incongruent tone. Participants heard the emotional utterance during the first 1250 milliseconds of a five-second visual array and then performed an immediate recall decision about the face they had just seen. The frequency and duration of first saccades and of total looks in three temporal windows ([0–1250 ms], [1250–2500 ms], [2500–5000 ms]) were analyzed according to the emotional content of faces and voices. Results showed that participants looked longer and more frequently at faces that matched the prosody in all three time windows (emotion congruency effect), although this effect was often emotion-specific (with greatest effects for fear). Effects of prosody on visual attention to faces persisted over time and could be detected long after the auditory information was no longer present. These data imply that emotional prosody is processed automatically during communication and that these cues play a critical role in how humans respond to related visual cues in the environment, such as facial expressions. PMID:22303454

Face Age and Eye Gaze Influence Older Adults' Emotion Recognition.

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Campbell, Anna; Murray, Janice E; Atkinson, Lianne; Ruffman, Ted

2017-07-01

Eye gaze has been shown to influence emotion recognition. In addition, older adults (over 65 years) are not as influenced by gaze direction cues as young adults (18-30 years). Nevertheless, these differences might stem from the use of young to middle-aged faces in emotion recognition research because older adults have an attention bias toward old-age faces. Therefore, using older face stimuli might allow older adults to process gaze direction cues to influence emotion recognition. To investigate this idea, young and older adults completed an emotion recognition task with young and older face stimuli displaying direct and averted gaze, assessing labeling accuracy for angry, disgusted, fearful, happy, and sad faces. Direct gaze rather than averted gaze improved young adults' recognition of emotions in young and older faces, but for older adults this was true only for older faces. The current study highlights the impact of stimulus face age and gaze direction on emotion recognition in young and older adults. The use of young face stimuli with direct gaze in most research might contribute to age-related emotion recognition differences. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dissociating response systems: erasing fear from memory.

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Soeter, Marieke; Kindt, Merel

2010-07-01

In addition to the extensive evidence in animals, we previously showed that disrupting reconsolidation by noradrenergic blockade produced amnesia for the original fear response in humans. Interestingly, the declarative memory for the fear association remained intact. These results asked for a solid replication. Moreover, given the constructive nature of memories, the intact recollection of the fear association could eventually 'rebuild' the fear memory, resulting in the spontaneous recovery of the fear response. Yet, perseverance of the amnesic effects would have substantial clinical implications, as even the most effective treatments for psychiatric disorders display high percentages of relapse. Using a differential fear conditioning procedure in humans, we replicated our previous findings by showing that administering propranolol (40mg) prior to memory reactivation eliminated the startle fear response 24h later. But most importantly, this effect persisted at one month follow-up. Notably, the propranolol manipulation not only left the declarative memory for the acquired contingency untouched, but also skin conductance discrimination. In addition, a close association between declarative knowledge and skin conductance responses was found. These findings are in line with the supposed double dissociation of fear conditioning and declarative knowledge relative to the amygdala and hippocampus in humans. They support the view that skin conductance conditioning primarily reflects contingency learning, whereas the startle response is a rather specific measure of fear. Furthermore, the results indicate the absence of a causal link between the actual knowledge of a fear association and its fear response, even though they often operate in parallel. Interventions targeting the amygdalar fear memory may be essential in specifically and persistently dampening the emotional impact of fear. From a clinical and ethical perspective, disrupting reconsolidation points to promising

Fear affects parental care, which predicts juvenile survival and exacerbates the total cost of fear on demography.

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Dudeck, Blair P; Clinchy, Michael; Allen, Marek C; Zanette, Liana Y

2018-01-01

Fear itself (perceived predation risk) can affect wildlife demography, but the cumulative impact of fear on population dynamics is not well understood. Parental care is arguably what most distinguishes birds and mammals from other taxa, yet only one experiment on wildlife has tested fear effects on parental food provisioning and the repercussions this has for the survival of dependent offspring, and only during early-stage care. We tested the effect of fear on late-stage parental care of mobile dependent offspring, by locating radio-tagged Song Sparrow fledglings and broadcasting predator or non-predator playbacks in their vicinity, measuring their parent's behavior and their own, and tracking the offspring's survival to independence. Fear significantly reduced late-stage parental care, and parental fearfulness (as indexed by their reduction in provisioning when hearing predators) significantly predicted their offspring's condition and survival. Combining results from this experiment with that on early-stage care, we project that fear itself is powerful enough to reduce late-stage survival by 24%, and cumulatively reduce the number of young reaching independence by more than half, 53%. Experiments in invertebrate and aquatic systems demonstrate that fear is commonly as important as direct killing in affecting prey demography, and we suggest focusing more on fear effects and on offspring survival will reveal the same for wildlife. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Fear and Leadership in Union Organizing Campaigns

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Caroline Murphy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article adopts a mobilization framework to examine the crucial actions of workplace activists in overcoming fear of employer reprisal during union organizing campaigns in hostile environments. The article explores fear as part of the organizing process in two ways; first, we examine how fear can act as a stimulus for workplace activists to take action in an attempt to overcome the source of that fear. Second, we examine fear as an inhibiting factor in organizing, whereby the presence of fear hinders individuals from taking action. Using qualitative data from interviews conducted with workplace activists across a variety of campaigns in Ireland, this article examines the process through which workplace activists conquer their own sense of fear and undertake the task of mobilizing colleagues toward collective action in pursuit of union representation amid fear of employer reprisal.

A Fear Management Approach to Counter-Terrorism

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Tinka Veldhuis

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Spreading fear is the essence of terrorism. Terrorists exploit fear by terrorising the target audience into concessions. Understanding how feelings of fear influence the way people feel, think and act is therefore an important starting point to explore how individuals and societies can learn how to cope with fear of terrorism. In this Policy Brief, Research Fellows Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Dr. Tinka Veldhuis explore the dynamics of fear in response to terrorism, and emphasise the importance of integrating initiatives to manage fear of terrorism and reduce its negative consequences into overarching counter-terrorism strategies. It argues that societies can benefit greatly from promoting resilience and a fear management approach to counter-terrorism.

Reliability and validity of the Fear of Intimacy Scale in China.

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Ingersoll, Travis S; Norvilitis, Jill M; Zhang, Jie; Jia, Shuhua; Tetewsky, Sheldon

2008-05-01

Participants in China (n = 343) and the United States (n = 283) completed measures to assess the reliability and validity of the Fear of Intimacy Scale (Descutner & Thelen, 1991) with a Chinese population. Internal consistency was strong in both cultures, and the factor structure was also similar between cultures, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) identifying three-factor models in both samples. As evidence of convergent validity, the scale was positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with social support and self-esteem. There were gender differences between cultures, but low levels of femininity were predictive of fear of intimacy in both cultures. The influence of individualism and collectivism varied, with high levels of individualism more predictive of a fear of intimacy in China than in the United States.

Social transmission of Pavlovian fear: fear-conditioning by-proxy in related female rats.

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Jones, Carolyn E; Riha, Penny D; Gore, Andrea C; Monfils, Marie-H

2014-05-01

Pairing a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., a tone) to an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g., a foot-shock) leads to associative learning such that the tone alone will elicit a conditioned response (e.g., freezing). Individuals can also acquire fear from a social context, such as through observing the fear expression of a conspecific. In the current study, we examined the influence of kinship/familiarity on social transmission of fear in female rats. Rats were housed in triads with either sisters or non-related females. One rat from each cage was fear conditioned to a tone CS+ shock US. On day two, the conditioned rat was returned to the chamber accompanied by one of her cage mates. Both rats were allowed to behave freely, while the tone was played in the absence of the foot-shock. The previously untrained rat is referred to as the fear-conditioned by-proxy (FCbP) animal, as she would freeze based on observations of her cage-mate's response rather than due to direct personal experience with the foot-shock. The third rat served as a cage-mate control. The third day, long-term memory tests to the CS were performed. Consistent with our previous application of this paradigm in male rats (Bruchey et al. in Behav Brain Res 214(1):80-84, 2010), our results revealed that social interactions between the fear conditioned and FCbP rats on day two contribute to freezing displayed by the FCbP rats on day three. In this experiment, prosocial behavior occurring at the termination of the cue on day two was significantly greater between sisters than their non-sister counterparts, and this behavior resulted in increased freezing on day three. Our results suggest that familiarity and/or kinship influences the social transmission of fear in female rats.

Fear of Death, Mortality Communication, and Psychological Distress among Secular and Religiously Observant Family Caregivers of Terminal Cancer Patients

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Bachner, Yaacov G.; O'Rourke, Norm; Carmel, Sara

2011-01-01

Previous research suggests that caregivers and terminally ill patients face substantial difficulties discussing illness and death. Existing research, however, has focused primarily on the experience of patients. The current study compared responses as well as the relative strength of association between mortality communication, fear of death, and…

Spatiotemporal brain dynamics of emotional face processing modulations induced by the serotonin 1A/2A receptor agonist psilocybin.

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Bernasconi, Fosco; Schmidt, André; Pokorny, Thomas; Kometer, Michael; Seifritz, Erich; Vollenweider, Franz X

2014-12-01

Emotional face processing is critically modulated by the serotonergic system. For instance, emotional face processing is impaired by acute psilocybin administration, a serotonin (5-HT) 1A and 2A receptor agonist. However, the spatiotemporal brain mechanisms underlying these modulations are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal brain dynamics underlying psilocybin-induced modulations during emotional face processing. Electrical neuroimaging analyses were applied to visual evoked potentials in response to emotional faces, following psilocybin and placebo administration. Our results indicate a first time period of strength (i.e., Global Field Power) modulation over the 168-189 ms poststimulus interval, induced by psilocybin. A second time period of strength modulation was identified over the 211-242 ms poststimulus interval. Source estimations over these 2 time periods further revealed decreased activity in response to both neutral and fearful faces within limbic areas, including amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus, and the right temporal cortex over the 168-189 ms interval, and reduced activity in response to happy faces within limbic and right temporo-occipital brain areas over the 211-242 ms interval. Our results indicate a selective and temporally dissociable effect of psilocybin on the neuronal correlates of emotional face processing, consistent with a modulation of the top-down control. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias (For Parents)

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... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias KidsHealth / For Parents / Anxiety, Fears, ... unsettling experiences and challenging situations of life. Many Anxieties and Fears Are Normal Anxiety is defined as " ...

Dissociation between Emotional Remapping of Fear and Disgust in Alexithymia.

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Cristina Scarpazza

Full Text Available There is growing evidence that individuals are able to understand others' emotions because they "embody" them, i.e., re-experience them by activating a representation of the observed emotion within their own body. One way to study emotion embodiment is provided by a multisensory stimulation paradigm called emotional visual remapping of touch (eVRT, in which the degree of embodiment/remapping of emotions is measured as enhanced detection of near-threshold tactile stimuli on one's own face while viewing different emotional facial expressions. Here, we measured remapping of fear and disgust in participants with low (LA and high (HA levels of alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by a difficulty in recognizing emotions. The results showed that fear is remapped in LA but not in HA participants, while disgust is remapped in HA but not in LA participants. To investigate the hypothesis that HA might exhibit increased responses to emotional stimuli producing a heightened physical and visceral sensations, i.e., disgust, in a second experiment we investigated participants' interoceptive abilities and the link between interoception and emotional modulations of VRT. The results showed that participants' disgust modulations of VRT correlated with their ability to perceive bodily signals. We suggest that the emotional profile of HA individuals on the eVRT task could be related to their abnormal tendency to be focalized on their internal bodily signals, and to experience emotions in a "physical" way. Finally, we speculated that these results in HA could be due to a enhancement of insular activity during the perception of disgusted faces.

Immunization against social fear learning.

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Golkar, Armita; Olsson, Andreas

2016-06-01

Social fear learning offers an efficient way to transmit information about potential threats; little is known, however, about the learning processes that counteract the social transmission of fear. In three separate experiments, we found that safety information transmitted from another individual (i.e., demonstrator) during preexposure prevented subsequent observational fear learning (Experiments 1-3), and this effect was maintained in a new context involving direct threat confrontation (Experiment 3). This protection from observational fear learning was specific to conditions in which information about both safety and danger was transmitted from the same demonstrator (Experiments 2-3) and was unaffected by increasing the number of the safety demonstrators (Experiment 3). Collectively, these findings demonstrate that observational preexposure can limit social transmission of fear. Future research is needed to better understand the conditions under which such effects generalize across individual demonstrators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Sex-related differences in behavioral and amygdalar responses to compound facial threat cues.

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Im, Hee Yeon; Adams, Reginald B; Cushing, Cody A; Boshyan, Jasmine; Ward, Noreen; Kveraga, Kestutis

2018-03-08

During face perception, we integrate facial expression and eye gaze to take advantage of their shared signals. For example, fear with averted gaze provides a congruent avoidance cue, signaling both threat presence and its location, whereas fear with direct gaze sends an incongruent cue, leaving threat location ambiguous. It has been proposed that the processing of different combinations of threat cues is mediated by dual processing routes: reflexive processing via magnocellular (M) pathway and reflective processing via parvocellular (P) pathway. Because growing evidence has identified a variety of sex differences in emotional perception, here we also investigated how M and P processing of fear and eye gaze might be modulated by observer's sex, focusing on the amygdala, a structure important to threat perception and affective appraisal. We adjusted luminance and color of face stimuli to selectively engage M or P processing and asked observers to identify emotion of the face. Female observers showed more accurate behavioral responses to faces with averted gaze and greater left amygdala reactivity both to fearful and neutral faces. Conversely, males showed greater right amygdala activation only for M-biased averted-gaze fear faces. In addition to functional reactivity differences, females had proportionately greater bilateral amygdala volumes, which positively correlated with behavioral accuracy for M-biased fear. Conversely, in males only the right amygdala volume was positively correlated with accuracy for M-biased fear faces. Our findings suggest that M and P processing of facial threat cues is modulated by functional and structural differences in the amygdalae associated with observer's sex. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fear of hypoglycemia and its clinical significance: a case-control study

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Elena Georgievna Starostina; Elena Nikolaevna Moshnyaga

2013-01-01

Aim. To assess the prevalence of fear of hypoglycemia, its clinical features and influence on diabetes compensation.Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 200 sequentially enrolled participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM; n=139) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM; n=61). Patients were screened for psychiatric disorders with appropriate inventory and examined by a psychiatrist. Subjects identified as those with fear of hypoglycemia (n=12) formed the study gr...

Fear inhibition in high trait anxiety.

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Merel Kindt

Full Text Available Trait anxiety is recognized as an individual risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders but the neurobiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here we test whether trait anxiety is associated with impaired fear inhibition utilizing the AX+/BX- conditional discrimination procedure that allows for the independent evaluation of startle fear potentiation and inhibition of fear. Sixty undergraduate students participated in the study--High Trait Anxious: n = 28 and Low Trait Anxious: n = 32. We replicated earlier findings that a transfer of conditioned inhibition for startle responses requires contingency awareness. However, contrary to the fear inhibition hypothesis, our data suggest that high trait anxious individuals show a normal fear inhibition of conditioned startle responding. Only at the cognitive level the high trait anxious individuals showed evidence for impaired inhibitory learning of the threat cue. Together with other findings where impaired fear inhibition was only observed in those PTSD patients who were either high on hyperarousal symptoms or with current anxiety symptoms, we question whether impaired fear inhibition is a biomarker for the development of anxiety disorders.

“Laugh or I’ll Die”: Facing Death on the Stand-up Comedy Stage

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Keisalo, Marianna Päivikki

may be at odds with the idea that humor is supposed to be enjoyable, but stand-up comedy comes with risks for both performer and audience. What draws the comedian to keep trying, to face annihilation time after time? I suggest these high emotional stakes are part of the value of comedy, which may...... be at its most enjoyable when it provides a way to engage with fear and pain. Death is also a fairly common topic in comedy routines – death of a loved one, fear of death, etc. Thus, I present a view of stand-up comedy as facing death in both its off-stage and on-stage forms, in relation to the digressions...... on semiotic excess. Comedic digression allows – even requires – us to find new perspectives on the imperatives of life, and a well-timed improvised digression can save a show going badly. The research is based on 20 months of field work in Finland, including becoming an amateur comedian myself....

Human sex differences in emotional processing of own-race and other-race faces.

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Ran, Guangming; Chen, Xu; Pan, Yangu

2014-06-18

There is evidence that women and men show differences in the perception of affective facial expressions. However, none of the previous studies directly investigated sex differences in emotional processing of own-race and other-race faces. The current study addressed this issue using high time resolution event-related potential techniques. In total, data from 25 participants (13 women and 12 men) were analyzed. It was found that women showed increased N170 amplitudes to negative White faces compared with negative Chinese faces over the right hemisphere electrodes. This result suggests that women show enhanced sensitivity to other-race faces showing negative emotions (fear or disgust), which may contribute toward evolution. However, the current data showed that men had increased N170 amplitudes to happy Chinese versus happy White faces over the left hemisphere electrodes, indicating that men show enhanced sensitivity to own-race faces showing positive emotions (happiness). In this respect, men might use past pleasant emotional experiences to boost recognition of own-race faces.

Recognizing Student Fear: The Elephant in the Classroom

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Bledsoe, T. Scott; Baskin, Janice J.

2014-01-01

Understanding fear, its causes, and its impact on students can be important for educators who seek ways to help students manage their fears. This paper explores common types of student fears such as performance-based anxiety, fear of failure, fear of being laughed at, and cultural components of fear that impact learning. The cognitive, emotional,…

Olfactory systems and neural circuits that modulate predator odor fear

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Lorey K. Takahashi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available When prey animals detect the odor of a predator a constellation of fear-related autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral responses rapidly occur to facilitate survival. How olfactory sensory systems process predator odor and channel that information to specific brain circuits is a fundamental issue that is not clearly understood. However, research in the last 15 years has begun to identify some of the essential features of the sensory detection systems and brain structures that underlie predator odor fear. For instance, the main (MOS and accessory olfactory systems (AOS detect predator odors and different types of predator odors are sensed by specific receptors located in either the MOS or AOS. However, complex predator chemosignals may be processed by both the MOS and AOS, which complicate our understanding of the specific neural circuits connected directly and indirectly from the MOS and AOS to activate the physiological and behavioral components of unconditioned and conditioned fear. Studies indicate that brain structures including the dorsal periaqueductal gray, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, and the medial amygdala appear to be broadly involved in predator odor induced autonomic activity and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress hormone secretion. The medial amygdala also plays a key role in predator odor unconditioned fear behavior and retrieval of contextual fear memory associated with prior predator odor experiences. Other neural structures including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the ventral hippocampus appear prominently involve in predator odor fear behavior. The basolateral amygdala, medial hypothalamic nuclei, and medial prefrontal cortex are also activated by some but not all predator odors. Future research that characterizes how distinct predator odors are uniquely processed in olfactory systems and neural circuits will provide significant insights into the differences of how diverse predator odors activate

Olfactory systems and neural circuits that modulate predator odor fear

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Takahashi, Lorey K.

2014-01-01

When prey animals detect the odor of a predator a constellation of fear-related autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral responses rapidly occur to facilitate survival. How olfactory sensory systems process predator odor and channel that information to specific brain circuits is a fundamental issue that is not clearly understood. However, research in the last 15 years has begun to identify some of the essential features of the sensory detection systems and brain structures that underlie predator odor fear. For instance, the main (MOS) and accessory olfactory systems (AOS) detect predator odors and different types of predator odors are sensed by specific receptors located in either the MOS or AOS. However, complex predator chemosignals may be processed by both the MOS and AOS, which complicate our understanding of the specific neural circuits connected directly and indirectly from the MOS and AOS to activate the physiological and behavioral components of unconditioned and conditioned fear. Studies indicate that brain structures including the dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG), paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, and the medial amygdala (MeA) appear to be broadly involved in predator odor induced autonomic activity and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress hormone secretion. The MeA also plays a key role in predator odor unconditioned fear behavior and retrieval of contextual fear memory associated with prior predator odor experiences. Other neural structures including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the ventral hippocampus (VHC) appear prominently involved in predator odor fear behavior. The basolateral amygdala (BLA), medial hypothalamic nuclei, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are also activated by some but not all predator odors. Future research that characterizes how distinct predator odors are uniquely processed in olfactory systems and neural circuits will provide significant insights into the differences of how diverse predator

Neural correlates of fear: insights from neuroimaging

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Garfinkel SN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sarah N Garfinkel,1,2 Hugo D Critchley1,2 1Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, 2Department of Psychiatry, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Abstract: Fear anticipates a challenge to one's well-being and is a reaction to the risk of harm. The expression of fear in the individual is a constellation of physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and experiential responses. Fear indicates risk and will guide adaptive behavior, yet fear is also fundamental to the symptomatology of most psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging studies of normal and abnormal fear in humans extend knowledge gained from animal experiments. Neuroimaging permits the empirical evaluation of theory (emotions as response tendencies, mental states, and valence and arousal dimensions, and improves our understanding of the mechanisms of how fear is controlled by both cognitive processes and bodily states. Within the human brain, fear engages a set of regions that include insula and anterior cingulate cortices, the amygdala, and dorsal brain-stem centers, such as periaqueductal gray matter. This same fear matrix is also implicated in attentional orienting, mental planning, interoceptive mapping, bodily feelings, novelty and motivational learning, behavioral prioritization, and the control of autonomic arousal. The stereotyped expression of fear can thus be viewed as a special construction from combinations of these processes. An important motivator for understanding neural fear mechanisms is the debilitating clinical expression of anxiety. Neuroimaging studies of anxiety patients highlight the role of learning and memory in pathological fear. Posttraumatic stress disorder is further distinguished by impairment in cognitive control and contextual memory. These processes ultimately need to be targeted for symptomatic recovery. Neuroscientific knowledge of fear has broader relevance to understanding human and societal behavior. As yet, only some of

Faces and bodies: perception and mimicry of emotionally congruent and incongruent facial and bodily expressions

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Mariska eKret

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Traditional emotion theories stress the importance of the face in the expression of emotions but bodily expressions are becoming increasingly important. Here we tested the hypothesis that similar physiological responses can be evoked by observing emotional face and body signals and that the reaction to angry signals is amplified in anxious individuals. We designed three experiments in which participants categorized emotional expressions from isolated facial and bodily expressions and from emotionally congruent and incongruent face-body compounds. Participants’ fixations were measured and their pupil size recorded with eye-tracking equipment, and their facial reactions measured with electromyography (EMG. The behavioral results support our prediction that the recognition of a facial expression is improved in the context of a matching posture and importantly, also vice versa. From their facial expression, it appeared that observers acted with signs of negative emotionality (increased corrugator activity to angry and fearful facial expressions and with positive emotionality (increased zygomaticus to happy facial expressions. What we predicted and found, was that angry and fearful cues from the face or the body, attracted more attention than happy cues. We further observed that responses evoked by angry cues were amplified in individuals with high anxiety scores. In sum, we show that people process bodily expressions of emotion in a similar fashion as facial expressions and that the congruency between the emotional signals from the face and body ameliorates the recognition of the emotion.

The Concepts of Hope and Fear in the Islamic Thought: Implications for Spiritual Health.

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Bahmani, Fatemeh; Amini, Mitra; Tabei, Seyed Ziaeddin; Abbasi, Mohamad Bagher

2018-02-01

The Holy Qur'ān and medieval Islamic writings have many references to "hope" (rajā) and "fear" (khawf) as both single and paired concepts. However, a comprehensive analytical study on these two notions from an Islamic point of view still seems lacking. Both paper and electronic documents related to Islamic and Qur'ānic literature are being used in this study. Also Web resources are searched for keywords of fear, hope and Islam in three languages of Arabic, English and Persian, including Tanzil.net, Almaany.com, Tebyan.net, Holyquran.net, Noorlib.ir, Hawzah.net and Google Scholar. Findings indicate that hope and fear are comprised of three conceptual elements: emotional, cognitive and behavioral, and are identified as "praiseworthy" hope or fear, when associated with God as the ultimate object. Nonetheless, this praiseworthy hope or fear is only distinguishable as "true," when both are in equilibrium, a necessary condition for spiritual health, which results to perfection. Islam rejects excessive hope or excessive fear, describing both as a "pseudo"-type, which would respectively contribute to self-deceit and despair, and end in spiritual decline.

Instructed fear stimuli bias visual attention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deltomme, Berre; Mertens, G.; Tibboel, Helen; Braem, Senne

We investigated whether stimuli merely instructed to be fear-relevant can bias visual attention, even when the fear relation was never experienced before. Participants performed a dot-probe task with pictures of naturally fear-relevant (snake or spider) or -irrelevant (bird or butterfly) stimuli.

Natural amyloid-β oligomers acutely impair the formation of a contextual fear memory in mice.

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Kittelberger, Kara A; Piazza, Fabrizio; Tesco, Giuseppina; Reijmers, Leon G

2012-01-01

Memory loss is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been proposed that soluble amyloid-beta (Abeta) oligomers acutely impair neuronal function and thereby memory. We here report that natural Abeta oligomers acutely impair contextual fear memory in mice. A natural Abeta oligomer solution containing Abeta monomers, dimers, trimers, and tetramers was derived from the conditioned medium of 7PA2 cells, a cell line that expresses human amyloid precursor protein containing the Val717Phe familial AD mutation. As a control we used 7PA2 conditioned medium from which Abeta oligomers were removed through immunodepletion. Separate groups of mice were injected with Abeta and control solutions through a cannula into the lateral brain ventricle, and subjected to fear conditioning using two tone-shock pairings. One day after fear conditioning, mice were tested for contextual fear memory and tone fear memory in separate retrieval trials. Three experiments were performed. For experiment 1, mice were injected three times: 1 hour before and 3 hours after fear conditioning, and 1 hour before context retrieval. For experiments 2 and 3, mice were injected a single time at 1 hour and 2 hours before fear conditioning respectively. In all three experiments there was no effect on tone fear memory. Injection of Abeta 1 hour before fear conditioning, but not 2 hours before fear conditioning, impaired the formation of a contextual fear memory. In future studies, the acute effect of natural Abeta oligomers on contextual fear memory can be used to identify potential mechanisms and treatments of AD associated memory loss.

Natural Amyloid-Beta Oligomers Acutely Impair the Formation of a Contextual Fear Memory in Mice

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Kittelberger, Kara A.; Piazza, Fabrizio; Tesco, Giuseppina; Reijmers, Leon G.

2012-01-01

Memory loss is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been proposed that soluble amyloid-beta (Abeta) oligomers acutely impair neuronal function and thereby memory. We here report that natural Abeta oligomers acutely impair contextual fear memory in mice. A natural Abeta oligomer solution containing Abeta monomers, dimers, trimers, and tetramers was derived from the conditioned medium of 7PA2 cells, a cell line that expresses human amyloid precursor protein containing the Val717Phe familial AD mutation. As a control we used 7PA2 conditioned medium from which Abeta oligomers were removed through immunodepletion. Separate groups of mice were injected with Abeta and control solutions through a cannula into the lateral brain ventricle, and subjected to fear conditioning using two tone-shock pairings. One day after fear conditioning, mice were tested for contextual fear memory and tone fear memory in separate retrieval trials. Three experiments were performed. For experiment 1, mice were injected three times: 1 hour before and 3 hours after fear conditioning, and 1 hour before context retrieval. For experiments 2 and 3, mice were injected a single time at 1 hour and 2 hours before fear conditioning respectively. In all three experiments there was no effect on tone fear memory. Injection of Abeta 1 hour before fear conditioning, but not 2 hours before fear conditioning, impaired the formation of a contextual fear memory. In future studies, the acute effect of natural Abeta oligomers on contextual fear memory can be used to identify potential mechanisms and treatments of AD associated memory loss. PMID:22238679

Functional imaging of stimulus convergence in amygdalar neurons during Pavlovian fear conditioning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabiha K Barot

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Associative conditioning is a ubiquitous form of learning throughout the animal kingdom and fear conditioning is one of the most widely researched models for studying its neurobiological basis. Fear conditioning is also considered a model system for understanding phobias and anxiety disorders. A fundamental issue in fear conditioning regards the existence and location of neurons in the brain that receive convergent information about the conditioned stimulus (CS and unconditioned stimulus (US during the acquisition of conditioned fear memory. Convergent activation of neurons is generally viewed as a key event for fear learning, yet there has been almost no direct evidence of this critical event in the mammalian brain.Here, we used Arc cellular compartmental analysis of temporal gene transcription by fluorescence in situ hybridization (catFISH to identify neurons activated during single trial contextual fear conditioning in rats. To conform to temporal requirements of catFISH analysis we used a novel delayed contextual fear conditioning protocol which yields significant single- trial fear conditioning with temporal parameters amenable to catFISH analysis. Analysis yielded clear evidence that a population of BLA neurons receives convergent CS and US information at the time of the learning, that this only occurs when the CS-US arrangement is supportive of the learning, and that this process requires N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation. In contrast, CS-US convergence was not observed in dorsal hippocampus.Based on the pattern of Arc activation seen in conditioning and control groups, we propose that a key requirement for CS-US convergence onto BLA neurons is the potentiation of US responding by prior exposure to a novel CS. Our results also support the view that contextual fear memories are encoded in the amygdala and that the role of dorsal hippocampus is to process and transmit contextual CS information.

[To finish with fear of dental care].

Science.gov (United States)

Bohl, J B; Bracconi, M; Herve, C; Pirnay, P

2015-06-01

The patient facing the dentist knows fear, anxiety. The symbolism of the mouth and teeth from childhood is an entirely specific nature of the human body. The terrifying image of dental treatment and dentist that has long been stigmatized through painting, literature, theater and cinema can change today. Many therapeutic options to the management of anxiety in dental phobia; anesthesia, conscious sedation, combined with a soothing cabinet, a caring dentist, targeted use of medications or milder alternative methods; homeopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture, psychotherapy, places the patient's interests at the center of the caregiving relationship. But this treatment panel is also offered him the difficulty of the choice. This exercise without systematization, according to the patient with competence and kindness. Some patients may be sent or processed in collaboration with other health professionals.

Prevention of stress-impaired fear extinction through neuropeptide s action in the lateral amygdala.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauveau, Frédéric; Lange, Maren Denise; Jüngling, Kay; Lesting, Jörg; Seidenbecher, Thomas; Pape, Hans-Christian

2012-06-01

Stressful and traumatic events can create aversive memories, which are a predisposing factor for anxiety disorders. The amygdala is critical for transforming such stressful events into anxiety, and the recently discovered neuropeptide S transmitter system represents a promising candidate apt to control these interactions. Here we test the hypothesis that neuropeptide S can regulate stress-induced hyperexcitability in the amygdala, and thereby can interact with stress-induced alterations of fear memory. Mice underwent acute immobilization stress (IS), and neuropeptide S and a receptor antagonist were locally injected into the lateral amygdala (LA) during stress exposure. Ten days later, anxiety-like behavior, fear acquisition, fear memory retrieval, and extinction were tested. Furthermore, patch-clamp recordings were performed in amygdala slices prepared ex vivo to identify synaptic substrates of stress-induced alterations in fear responsiveness. (1) IS increased anxiety-like behavior, and enhanced conditioned fear responses during extinction 10 days after stress, (2) neuropeptide S in the amygdala prevented, while an antagonist aggravated, these stress-induced changes of aversive behaviors, (3) excitatory synaptic activity in LA projection neurons was increased on fear conditioning and returned to pre-conditioning values on fear extinction, and (4) stress resulted in sustained high levels of excitatory synaptic activity during fear extinction, whereas neuropeptide S supported the return of synaptic activity during fear extinction to levels typical of non-stressed animals. Together these results suggest that the neuropeptide S system is capable of interfering with mechanisms in the amygdala that transform stressful events into anxiety and impaired fear extinction.

The central amygdala circuits in fear regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bo

The amygdala is essential for fear learning and expression. The central amygdala (CeA), once viewed as a passive relay between the amygdala complex and downstream fear effectors, has emerged as an active participant in fear conditioning. However, how the CeA contributes to the learning and expression of fear remains unclear. Our recent studies in mice indicate that fear conditioning induces robust plasticity of excitatory synapses onto inhibitory neurons in the lateral subdivision of CeA (CeL). In particular, this plasticity is cell-type specific and is required for the formation of fear memory. In addition, sensory cues that predict threat can cause activation of the somatostatin-positive CeL neurons, which is sufficient to drive freezing behavior. Here I will report our recent findings regarding the circuit and cellular mechanisms underlying CeL function in fear processing.

Dysregulation in cortical reactivity to emotional faces in PTSD patients with high dissociation symptoms

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Aleksandra Klimova

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Predominant dissociation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD is characterized by restricted affective responses to positive stimuli. To date, no studies have examined neural responses to a range of emotional expressions in PTSD with high dissociative symptoms. Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that PTSD patients with high dissociative symptoms will display increased event-related potential (ERP amplitudes in early components (N1, P1 to threatening faces (angry, fearful, and reduced later ERP amplitudes (Vertex Positive Potential (VPP, P3 to happy faces compared to PTSD patients with low dissociative symptoms. Methods: Thirty-nine civilians with PTSD were classified as high dissociative (n=16 or low dissociative (n=23 according to their responses on the Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale. ERPs were recorded, whilst participants viewed emotional (happy, angry, fear and neutral facial expressions in a passive viewing task. Results: High dissociative PTSD patients displayed significantly increased N120 amplitude to the majority of facial expressions (neutral, happy, and angry compared to low dissociative PTSD patients under conscious and preconscious conditions. The high dissociative PTSD group had significantly reduced VPP amplitude to happy faces in the conscious condition. Conclusion: High dissociative PTSD patients displayed increased early (preconscious cortical responses to emotional stimuli, and specific reductions to happy facial expressions in later (conscious, face-specific components compared to low dissociative PTSD patients. Dissociation in PTSD may act to increase initial pre-attentive processing of affective stimuli, and specifically reduce cortical reactivity to happy faces when consciously processing these stimuli.

LMFAO! Humor as a Response to Fear: Decomposing Fear Control within the Extended Parallel Process Model

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Abril, Eulàlia P.; Szczypka, Glen; Emery, Sherry L.

2017-01-01

This study seeks to analyze fear control responses to the 2012 Tips from Former Smokers campaign using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). The goal is to examine the occurrence of ancillary fear control responses, like humor. In order to explore individuals’ responses in an organic setting, we use Twitter data—tweets—collected via the Firehose. Content analysis of relevant fear control tweets (N = 14,281) validated the existence of boomerang responses within the EPPM: denial, defensive avoidance, and reactance. More importantly, results showed that humor tweets were not only a significant occurrence but constituted the majority of fear control responses. PMID:29527092

Stressor controllability modulates fear extinction in humans

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Hartley, Catherine A.; Gorun, Alyson; Reddan, Marianne C.; Ramirez, Franchesca; Phelps, Elizabeth A.

2014-01-01

Traumatic events are proposed to play a role in the development of anxiety disorders, however not all individuals exposed to extreme stress experience a pathological increase in fear. Recent studies in animal models suggest that the degree to which one is able to control an aversive experience is a critical factor determining its behavioral consequences. In this study, we examined whether stressor controllability modulates subsequent conditioned fear expression in humans. Participants were randomly assigned to an escapable stressor condition, a yoked inescapable stressor condition, or a control condition involving no stress exposure. One week later, all participants underwent fear conditioning, fear extinction, and a test of extinction retrieval the following day. Participants exposed to inescapable stress showed impaired fear extinction learning and increased fear expression the following day. In contrast, escapable stress improved fear extinction and prevented the spontaneous recovery of fear. Consistent with the bidirectional controllability effects previously reported in animal models, these results suggest that one's degree of control over aversive experiences may be an important factor influencing the development of psychological resilience or vulnerability in humans. PMID:24333646

Enhanced visuomotor processing of phobic images in blood-injury-injection fear.

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Haberkamp, Anke; Schmidt, Thomas

2014-04-01

Numerous studies have identified attentional biases and processing enhancements for fear-relevant stimuli in individuals with specific phobias. However, this has not been conclusively shown in blood-injury-injection (BII) phobia, which has rarely been investigated even though it has features distinct from all other specific phobias. The present study aims to fill that gap and compares the time-course of visuomotor processing of phobic stimuli (i.e., pictures of small injuries) in BII-fearful (n=19) and non-anxious control participants (n=23) by using a response priming paradigm. In BII-fearful participants, phobic stimuli produced larger priming effects and lower response times compared to neutral stimuli, whereas non-anxious control participants showed no such differences. Because these effects are fully present in the fastest responses, they indicate an enhancement in early visuomotor processing of injury pictures in BII-fearful participants. These results are comparable to the enhanced processing of phobic stimuli in other specific phobias (i.e., spider phobia). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fear of heights and visual height intolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Thomas; Huppert, Doreen

2014-02-01

The aim of this review is, first, to cover the different aspects of visual height intolerance such as historical descriptions, definition of terms, phenomenology of the condition, neurophysiological control of gaze, stance and locomotion, and therapy, and, second, to identify warranted epidemiological and experimental studies. Vivid descriptions of fear of heights can be found in ancient texts from the Greek, Roman, and Chinese classics. The life-time prevalence of visual height intolerance is as high as 28% in the general population, and about 50% of those who are susceptible report an impact on quality of life. When exposed to heights, visual exploration by eye and head movements is restricted, and the velocity of locomotion is reduced. Therapy for fear of heights is dominated by the behavioral techniques applied during real or virtual reality exposure. Their efficacy might be facilitated by the administration of D-cycloserine or glucocorticoids. Visual height intolerance has a considerable impact on daily life and interpersonal interactions. It is much more frequent than fear of heights, which is defined as an environmental subtype of a specific phobia. There is certainly a continuum stretching from acrophobia to a less-pronounced visual height intolerance, to which the categorical distinction of a specific phobia does not apply.

High fear of intra-oral injections: prevalence and relationship to dental fear and dental avoidance among 10- to 16-yr-old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Berge, Karin G; Agdal, Maren L; Vika, Margrethe; Skeie, Marit S

2016-12-01

The present study aimed to: (i) estimate the prevalence of self-reported high fear of intra-oral injections, high blood-injury fear, and injection fear; (ii) explore the overlap between high fear of intra-oral injections and high fear of dental treatment; and (iii) evaluate the possible consequence of high fear of intra-oral injections in terms of avoidance of dental care. The sample included 1,441 subjects, 10- to 16-yr of age, attending elementary schools in a county of Norway. Data were collected using questionnaires that were completed in classrooms. The survey instruments used were the Intra-Oral Injection Fear-scale, the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale, the Injection Phobia scale for children, and the Mutilation Questionnaire for children. In total, 13.9% of the children reported high intra-oral injection fear. A strong association was found between fear of intra-oral injections and dental fear. When an intra-oral injection was needed, 10.6% would avoid dental treatment. In multiple regression analysis, high intra-oral injection fear was found to be associated with avoidance of dental treatment (OR = 6.52; 95% CI: 3.99-10.67). It was concluded that high fear of intra-oral injections was prevalent and might lead to avoidance of necessary dental treatment. Hence, intra-oral injection fear should be addressed before treatment of dental fear. © 2016 Eur J Oral Sci.

AMYGDALA MICROCIRCUITS CONTROLLING LEARNED FEAR

Science.gov (United States)

Duvarci, Sevil; Pare, Denis

2014-01-01

We review recent work on the role of intrinsic amygdala networks in the regulation of classically conditioned defensive behaviors, commonly known as conditioned fear. These new developments highlight how conditioned fear depends on far more complex networks than initially envisioned. Indeed, multiple parallel inhibitory and excitatory circuits are differentially recruited during the expression versus extinction of conditioned fear. Moreover, shifts between expression and extinction circuits involve coordinated interactions with different regions of the medial prefrontal cortex. However, key areas of uncertainty remain, particularly with respect to the connectivity of the different cell types. Filling these gaps in our knowledge is important because much evidence indicates that human anxiety disorders results from an abnormal regulation of the networks supporting fear learning. PMID:24908482

Prevalence of dental fear and phobia relative to other fear and phobia subtypes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterink, F.M.D.; de Jongh, A.; Hoogstraten, J.

2009-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to estimate the point prevalence of dental fear and dental phobia relative to 10 other common fears and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV-TR subtypes of specific phobia. Data were also analysed to examine differences with regard to

Immediate extinction promotes the return of fear.

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Merz, Christian J; Hamacher-Dang, Tanja C; Wolf, Oliver T

2016-05-01

Accumulating evidence indicates that immediate extinction is less effective than delayed extinction in attenuating the return of fear. This line of fear conditioning research impacts the proposed onset of psychological interventions after threatening situations. In the present study, forty healthy men were investigated in a differential fear conditioning paradigm with fear acquisition in context A, extinction in context B, followed by retrieval testing in both contexts 24h later to test fear renewal. Differently coloured lights served as conditioned stimuli (CS): two CS (CS+) were paired with an electrical stimulation that served as unconditioned stimulus, the third CS was never paired (CS-). Extinction took place immediately after fear acquisition or 24h later. One CS+ was extinguished whereas the second CS+ remained unextinguished to control for different time intervals between fear acquisition and retrieval testing. Immediate extinction led to larger skin conductance responses during fear retrieval to both the extinguished and unextinguished CS relative to the CS-, indicating a stronger return of fear compared to delayed extinction. Taken together, immediate extinction is less potent than delayed extinction and is associated with a stronger renewal effect. Thus, the time-point of psychological interventions relative to the offset of threatening situations needs to be carefully considered to prevent relapses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear and decision-making in narcissistic personality disorder-a link between psychoanalysis and neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronningstam, Elsa; Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R

2013-06-01

Linking psychoanalytic studies with neuroscience has proven increasingly productive for identifying and understanding personality functioning. This article focuses on pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), with the aim of exploring two clinically relevant aspects of narcissistic functioning also recognized in psychoanalysis: fear and decision-making. Evidence from neuroscientific studies of related conditions, such as psychopathy, suggests links between affective and cognitive functioning that can influence the sense of self-agency and narcissistic self-regulation. Attention can play a crucial role in moderating fear and self-regulatory deficits, and the interaction between experience and emotion can be central for decision-making. In this review we will explore fear as a motivating factor in narcissistic personality functioning, and the impact fear may have on decision-making in people with pathological narcissism and NPD. Understanding the processes and neurological underpinnings of fear and decision-making can potentially influence both the diagnosis and treatment of NPD.

The Role of Feared Possible Selves on the Relationship Between Peer Influence and Delinquency

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Jennifer; Schmidt, Carissa; Stoddard, Sarah

2014-01-01

This study explores the impact of a feared delinquent possible self on the relationship between exposure to negative peer behaviors and violent and non-violent self-reported delinquency. Previous research strongly supports that deviant peers influence adolescents’ delinquent behavior. Yet, few studies have explored intrapersonal factors that may moderate this influence. Possible selves include what one hopes, expects and fears becoming and are believed to motivate behavior. Thus, it was hypothesized that adolescents who were exposed to deviant peers and also feared engaging in delinquency would be more likely to self-report delinquency. Seventh grade students (n = 176) identified feared possible selves in the future, their exposure to negative peer behavior and self-reported violent and non-violent delinquent behavior. Findings suggest that exposure to negative peer behavior is associated with self-reported delinquent behavior. For violent behavior, possessing a feared delinquent possible self moderates this relationship. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. PMID:25460676

Fear and decision-making in narcissistic personality disorder—a link between psychoanalysis and neuroscience

Science.gov (United States)

Ronningstam, Elsa; Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R.

2013-01-01

Linking psychoanalytic studies with neuroscience has proven increasingly productive for identifying and understanding personality functioning. This article focuses on pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), with the aim of exploring two clinically relevant aspects of narcissistic functioning also recognized in psychoanalysis: fear and decision-making. Evidence from neuroscientific studies of related conditions, such as psychopathy, suggests links between affective and cognitive functioning that can influence the sense of self-agency and narcissistic self-regulation. Attention can play a crucial role in moderating fear and self-regulatory deficits, and the interaction between experience and emotion can be central for decision-making. In this review we will explore fear as a motivating factor in narcissistic personality functioning, and the impact fear may have on decision-making in people with pathological narcissism and NPD. Understanding the processes and neurological underpinnings of fear and decision-making can potentially influence both the diagnosis and treatment of NPD. PMID:24174893

Deficient fear conditioning in psychopathy as a function of interpersonal and affective disturbances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralf eVeit

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The diminished fear reactivity is one of the most valid physiological findings in psychopathy research. In a fear conditioning paradigm, with faces as conditioned stimulus (CS and electric shock as unconditioned stimulus (US, we investigated a sample of 14 high psychopathic violent offenders. Event related potentials, skin conductance responses (SCR as well as subjective ratings of the CSs were collected. This study assessed to which extent the different facets of the psychopathy construct contribute to the fear conditioning deficits observed in psychopaths. Participants with high scores on the affective facet subscale of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R showed weaker conditioned fear responses and lower N100 amplitudes compared to low scorers. In contrast, high scorers on the affective facet rated the CS+ (paired more negatively than low scorers regarding the CS- (unpaired. Regarding the P300, high scores on the interpersonal facet were associated with increased amplitudes to the CS+ compared to the CS-, while the opposed pattern was found with the antisocial facet. Both, the initial and terminal contingent negative variation indicated a divergent pattern: participants with pronounced interpersonal deficits, showed increased cortical negativity to the CS+ compared to the CS-, whereas a reversed CS+/CS- differentiation was found in offenders scoring high on the antisocial facet. The present study revealed that deficient fear conditioning in psychopathy was most pronounced in offenders with high scores on the affective facet. Event related potentials suggest that participants with distinct interpersonal deficits showed increased information processing, whereas the antisocial facet was linked to decreased attention and interest to the CS+. These data indicate that an approach to the facets of psychopathy can help to resolve ambiguous findings in psychopathy research and enables a more precise and useful description of this disorder.

Regulating Critical Period Plasticity: Insight from the Visual System to Fear Circuitry for Therapeutic Interventions

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Elisa M. Nabel

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Early temporary windows of heightened brain plasticity called critical periods developmentally sculpt neural circuits and contribute to adult behavior. Regulatory mechanisms of visual cortex development –the preeminent model of experience-dependent critical period plasticity- actively limit adult plasticity and have proved fruitful therapeutic targets to reopen plasticity and rewire faulty visual system connections later in life. Interestingly, these molecular mechanisms have been implicated in the regulation of plasticity in other functions beyond vision. Applying mechanistic understandings of critical period plasticity in the visual cortex to fear circuitry may provide a conceptual framework for developing novel therapeutic tools to mitigate aberrant fear responses in post traumatic stress disorder. In this review, we turn to the model of experience-dependent visual plasticity to provide novel insights for the mechanisms regulating plasticity in the fear system. Fear circuitry, particularly fear memory erasure, also undergoes age-related changes in experience-dependent plasticity. We consider the contributions of molecular brakes that halt visual critical period plasticity to circuitry underlying fear memory erasure. A major molecular brake in the visual cortex, perineuronal net formation, recently has been identified in the development of fear systems that are resilient to fear memory erasure. The roles of other molecular brakes, myelin-related Nogo receptor signaling and Lynx family proteins– endogenous inhibitors for nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, are explored in the context of fear memory plasticity. Such fear plasticity regulators, including epigenetic effects, provide promising targets for therapeutic interventions.

The Pleasure of Fear

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjøllund, Niels-Peder Osmundsen

I plan to take departure in the Freudian concept of the uncanny and unfold how this also plays on aesthetics of pleasure. The way we cope with fear is often related to pleasure, for example how children often laugh when frightened. This will lead me to a discussion of how fear and pleasure...

Natural amyloid-β oligomers acutely impair the formation of a contextual fear memory in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kara A Kittelberger

Full Text Available Memory loss is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD. It has been proposed that soluble amyloid-beta (Abeta oligomers acutely impair neuronal function and thereby memory. We here report that natural Abeta oligomers acutely impair contextual fear memory in mice. A natural Abeta oligomer solution containing Abeta monomers, dimers, trimers, and tetramers was derived from the conditioned medium of 7PA2 cells, a cell line that expresses human amyloid precursor protein containing the Val717Phe familial AD mutation. As a control we used 7PA2 conditioned medium from which Abeta oligomers were removed through immunodepletion. Separate groups of mice were injected with Abeta and control solutions through a cannula into the lateral brain ventricle, and subjected to fear conditioning using two tone-shock pairings. One day after fear conditioning, mice were tested for contextual fear memory and tone fear memory in separate retrieval trials. Three experiments were performed. For experiment 1, mice were injected three times: 1 hour before and 3 hours after fear conditioning, and 1 hour before context retrieval. For experiments 2 and 3, mice were injected a single time at 1 hour and 2 hours before fear conditioning respectively. In all three experiments there was no effect on tone fear memory. Injection of Abeta 1 hour before fear conditioning, but not 2 hours before fear conditioning, impaired the formation of a contextual fear memory. In future studies, the acute effect of natural Abeta oligomers on contextual fear memory can be used to identify potential mechanisms and treatments of AD associated memory loss.

Emotion elicitor or emotion messenger? Subliminal priming reveals two faces of facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruys, Kirsten I; Stapel, Diederik A

2008-06-01

Facial emotional expressions can serve both as emotional stimuli and as communicative signals. The research reported here was conducted to illustrate how responses to both roles of facial emotional expressions unfold over time. As an emotion elicitor, a facial emotional expression (e.g., a disgusted face) activates a response that is similar to responses to other emotional stimuli of the same valence (e.g., a dirty, nonflushed toilet). As an emotion messenger, the same facial expression (e.g., a disgusted face) serves as a communicative signal by also activating the knowledge that the sender is experiencing a specific emotion (e.g., the sender feels disgusted). By varying the duration of exposure to disgusted, fearful, angry, and neutral faces in two subliminal-priming studies, we demonstrated that responses to faces as emotion elicitors occur prior to responses to faces as emotion messengers, and that both types of responses may unfold unconsciously.

Looking at My Own Face: Visual Processing Strategies in Self–Other Face Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anya Chakraborty

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We live in an age of ‘selfies.’ Yet, how we look at our own faces has seldom been systematically investigated. In this study we test if the visual processing of the highly familiar self-face is different from other faces, using psychophysics and eye-tracking. This paradigm also enabled us to test the association between the psychophysical properties of self-face representation and visual processing strategies involved in self-face recognition. Thirty-three adults performed a self-face recognition task from a series of self-other face morphs with simultaneous eye-tracking. Participants were found to look longer at the lower part of the face for self-face compared to other-face. Participants with a more distinct self-face representation, as indexed by a steeper slope of the psychometric response curve for self-face recognition, were found to look longer at upper part of the faces identified as ‘self’ vs. those identified as ‘other’. This result indicates that self-face representation can influence where we look when we process our own vs. others’ faces. We also investigated the association of autism-related traits with self-face processing metrics since autism has previously been associated with atypical self-processing. The study did not find any self-face specific association with autistic traits, suggesting that autism-related features may be related to self-processing in a domain specific manner.

An experimental demonstration that fear, but not disgust, is associated with return of fear in phobias.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Sarah; Salkovskis, Paul M

2006-01-01

It has been suggested that disgust, rather than anxiety, may be important in some phobias. Correlational studies have been ambiguous, indicating either that disgust increases phobic anxiety or that phobic anxiety potentiates disgust. In the experimental study reported here, disgust and phobic anxiety were manipulated in the context of habituation to phobic stimuli. Spider fearful participants were randomly allocated to conditions in which neutral, disgusting, and phobic anxiety provoking stimuli were introduced into a video-based spider phobic habituation sequence. Exposure to the phobic stimulus resulted in a return of self-reported fear and disgust levels. However, exposure to disgusting stimulus increased disgust levels, but not anxiety levels. Results are most consistent with the hypothesis that fear enhances the disgust response in phobias, but that disgust alone does not enhance the fear response. Previously observed links between disgust and spider phobia may be a consequence of fear enhancing disgust.

In the vicious circle of fear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zischka, A.

1980-01-01

Fear is the great driving force, the basic effect, without which there would be no adaption to new living conditions, and no provision for the future. But fear has a positive influence only as long as it does not gain the upper hand, for then it makes human beings blind and stifles activity. What is important, and will remain so, is the equilibrium between fear and courage, caution and the desire for action, optimism und pessimism. This equilibrium has now been disturbed in the western countries - and only here. Our present fears give rise to hardly any positive measures, but prevent provision for the future. We are threatened with failure due to the manipulated conversion of fear from the maintenance of life to an effect which destroys life. In this way we got into a vicious circle of fear: we must try to weaken the imagined dangers by emphasising the true conditions. The author discusses how the viscious circle can be broken. (orig.) 891 UA/orig. 892 MKO [de

Fear patterns: a new approach to designing road safety advertisements.

Science.gov (United States)

Algie, Jennifer; Rossiter, John R

2010-01-01

This research studies fear patterns within fear appeal anti-speeding television commercials. A pattern of fear is the sequence of fear arousal and fear reduction, if any, that is felt by the viewing audience when exposed to a fear appeal advertisement. Many road safety advertisers use fear appeals, such as "shock" advertising, that result in fear arousal, leaving the viewer feeling extremely tense. The moment-to-moment reactions of young drivers to 12 road safety commercials are gauged using a dynamic, temporal measure of fear. The fear patterns generated from each ad are analyzed and a new perspective on creating fear appeal road safety advertisements, with an emphasis on fear-relief, fear-partial relief, and fear-only patterns, is discussed.

Face processing regions are sensitive to distinct aspects of temporal sequence in facial dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinl, Maren; Bartels, Andreas

2014-11-15

Facial movement conveys important information for social interactions, yet its neural processing is poorly understood. Computational models propose that shape- and temporal sequence sensitive mechanisms interact in processing dynamic faces. While face processing regions are known to respond to facial movement, their sensitivity to particular temporal sequences has barely been studied. Here we used fMRI to examine the sensitivity of human face-processing regions to two aspects of directionality in facial movement trajectories. We presented genuine movie recordings of increasing and decreasing fear expressions, each of which were played in natural or reversed frame order. This two-by-two factorial design matched low-level visual properties, static content and motion energy within each factor, emotion-direction (increasing or decreasing emotion) and timeline (natural versus artificial). The results showed sensitivity for emotion-direction in FFA, which was timeline-dependent as it only occurred within the natural frame order, and sensitivity to timeline in the STS, which was emotion-direction-dependent as it only occurred for decreased fear. The occipital face area (OFA) was sensitive to the factor timeline. These findings reveal interacting temporal sequence sensitive mechanisms that are responsive to both ecological meaning and to prototypical unfolding of facial dynamics. These mechanisms are temporally directional, provide socially relevant information regarding emotional state or naturalness of behavior, and agree with predictions from modeling and predictive coding theory. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear appeals and confronting information campaigns. [Previously: Fear-based information campaigns.

OpenAIRE

2007-01-01

Fear appeals or confronting information campaigns confront people in an often hard and sometimes even shocking way with the consequences of risky behaviour. This can have a positive impact on the attitudes and behavioural intentions of the target group, but only if key conditions are met. Those conditions are that the information does not only evoke fear, but also informs the target group individuals of their personal risk and provides them with feasible and effective behavioural alternatives...

The Influences of Face Inversion and Facial Expression on Sensitivity to Eye Contact in High-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Vida, Mark D.; Maurer, Daphne; Calder, Andrew J.; Rhodes, Gillian; Walsh, Jennifer A.; Pachai, Matthew V.; Rutherford, M. D.

2013-01-01

We examined the influences of face inversion and facial expression on sensitivity to eye contact in high-functioning adults with and without an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants judged the direction of gaze of angry, fearful, and neutral faces. In the typical group only, the range of directions of gaze leading to the perception of eye…

A rating instrument for fear of hospitalisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jankovic, Slobodan M; Antonijevic, Gordana V; Vasic, Ivana R; Zivkovic-Radojevic, Marija N; Mirkovic, Snjezana N; Nikolic, Bosko V; Opancina, Valentina D; Putnik, Srdjan S; Radoicic, Ljiljana R; Raspopovic, Katarina M; Stanojevic, Dragan R; Teofilov, Sladjana D; Tomasevic, Katarina V; Radonjic, Vesela

2018-04-01

To develop and validate a reliable instrument that can measure fear of hospitalisation experienced by outpatients. After having a diagnosis established, some patients experience sense of fear, unpleasantness and embarrassment due to the possibility to be admitted to a hospital. Currently, there is no available instrument for measuring fear of hospitalisation. Cross-sectional study for assessing reliability and validity of a questionnaire. The questionnaire with 17 items and answers according to the Likert scale was developed during two brainstorming sessions of the research team. Its reliability, validity and temporal stability were tested on the sample of 330 outpatients. The study was multicentric, involving patients from seven cities and three countries. Fear of hospitalisation scale showed satisfactory reliability, when rated both by the investigators (Cronbach's alpha .799) and by the patients themselves (Cronbach's alpha .760). It is temporally stable, and both divergent and convergent validity tests had good results. Factorial analysis revealed three domains: fear of being injured, trust to medical staff and fear of losing privacy or autonomy. This study developed new reliable and valid instrument for measuring fear of hospitalisation. Identification of patients with high level of fear of hospitalisation by this instrument should help clinicians to administer measures which may decrease fear and prevent avoidance of healthcare utilisation. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Reduced Consolidation, Reinstatement, and Renewal of Conditioned Fear Memory by Repetitive Treatment of Radix Polygalae in Mice

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Jung-Won Shin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The therapeutic goal for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD is to promote extinction and to prevent the relapse of fearful memories. Research has identified pharmacological treatments that may regulate the formation and extinction of fear memories, but not many reagents that block the relapse of extinguished fear are known. Radix Polygalae (RP is an Asian herb used for sedation, and its ingredients have anxiolytic and antidepressant properties. As various neurological effects have been identified, we tested whether RP affects the relapse of fear. Freezing in response to a conditioned context and cues was used to measure the effects of RP in mice. In cohort 1 (n = 30, consolidation, extinction, and reinstatement were tested during the course of 18 days of treatment. In cohort 2 (n = 30, consolidation, extinction, and renewal were tested during 10 days of treatment. The consolidation, extinction, reinstatement, and possibly the renewal of context-induced freezing were inhibited due to the administration of RP in animal subjects. However, the effects of RP on the freezing responses of subjects elicited by conditioned auditory cues were less obvious. Because it effectively suppresses the consolidation of fear memories, RP may be used for primary and secondary prevention of symptoms in PTSD patients. Additionally, because it effectively suppresses the reinstatement and renewal of fear memories, RP may be applied for the prevention of fear relapse in PTSD patients who have undergone exposure therapy.

Fear of repeated injections in children younger than 4 years receiving subcutaneous allergy immunotherapy.

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de Vos, Gabriele; Shankar, Viswanathan; Nazari, Ramin; Kooragayalu, Shravan; Smith, Mitchell; Wiznia, Andrew; Rosenstreich, David

2012-12-01

Allergy immunotherapy during early childhood may have potential benefits for the prevention of asthma and allergy morbidity. However, subcutaneous immunotherapy has not yet been prospectively researched in children younger than 4 years, primarily because of safety concerns, including the fear and psychological distress young children may experience with repeated needle injections. To quantify fear in atopic children younger than 4 years with a history of wheezing who are receiving subcutaneous immunotherapy. Fear of injection was graded during a total of 788 immunotherapy injection visits in 18 children (age, 37 months; SD, 9 months) receiving subcutaneous allergy immunotherapy. The parent and the injection nurse assigned fear scores on a scale of 0 to 10 after each injection visit. At the time of analysis, children had a median of 49 injection visits (range, 12-88) during a median study period of 81.5 weeks (range, 15-165 weeks). Fifteen children (83%) lost their fear of injections during the study. A fear score of 0 was achieved after a mean of 8.4 visits (SD, 7.4). The more injection visits were missed, the more likely children were to retain fear of injections (hazard ratio, 0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-1.02; P=.05). Age, adverse events, number of injections at each visit, and change of injection personnel were not associated with increased fear. Our analysis suggests that most children receiving weekly subcutaneous immunotherapy lose their fear of injections during the treatment course. Children with increased intervals between visits may be at higher risk of experiencing fear of injections. clinicaltrial.gov identifier NCT01028560. Copyright © 2012 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fears of American Children Following Terrorism

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Burnham, Joy J.; Hooper, Lisa M.

2008-01-01

Two months after 9/11, the fears of children and adolescents in Grades 2-12 were examined utilizing the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children and Adolescents (FSSC-AM). Fear intensity scores and age and gender differences are reported. Terrorist-related content on the FSSC-AM (e.g., terrorist attacks, our country being invading by enemies)…

BDNFval66met affects neural activation pattern during fear conditioning and 24 h delayed fear recall.

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Lonsdorf, Tina B; Golkar, Armita; Lindström, Kara M; Haaker, Jan; Öhman, Arne; Schalling, Martin; Ingvar, Martin

2015-05-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the most abundant neutrophin in the mammalian central nervous system, is critically involved in synaptic plasticity. In both rodents and humans, BDNF has been implicated in hippocampus- and amygdala-dependent learning and memory and has more recently been linked to fear extinction processes. Fifty-nine healthy participants, genotyped for the functional BDNFval66met polymorphism, underwent a fear conditioning and 24h-delayed extinction protocol while skin conductance and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses (functional magnetic resonance imaging) were acquired. We present the first report of neural activation pattern during fear acquisition 'and' extinction for the BDNFval66met polymorphism using a differential conditioned stimulus (CS)+ > CS- comparison. During conditioning, we observed heightened allele dose-dependent responses in the amygdala and reduced responses in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex in BDNFval66met met-carriers. During early extinction, 24h later, we again observed heightened responses in several regions ascribed to the fear network in met-carriers as opposed to val-carriers (insula, amygdala, hippocampus), which likely reflects fear memory recall. No differences were observed during late extinction, which likely reflects learned extinction. Our data thus support previous associations of the BDNFval66met polymorphism with neural activation in the fear and extinction network, but speak against a specific association with fear extinction processes. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Psychological Intrusion – An Overlooked Aspect of Dental Fear

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Helen R. Chapman

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Dental fear/anxiety is a widely recognised problem affecting a large proportion of the population. It can result in avoidance and/or difficulty accepting dental care. We believe that psychological intrusion may play a role in the aetiology and maintenance of dental fear for at least some individuals. In this narrative review we will take a developmental perspective in order to understand its impact across the lifespan. We will consider the nature of ‘self,’ parenting styles, the details of intrusive parenting or parental psychological control, and briefly touch upon child temperament and parental anxiety. Finally, we draw together the supporting (largely unrecognised evidence available in the dental literature. We illustrate the paper with clinical examples and discuss possibly effective ways of addressing the problem. We conclude that psychological intrusion appears to play an important role in dental fear, for at least some individuals, and we call for detailed research into the extent and exact nature of the problem. A simple means of identifying individuals who are vulnerable to psychological intrusion would be useful for dentists.

An experiment on fear of public speaking in virtual reality.

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Pertaub, D P; Slater, M; Barker, C

2001-01-01

Can virtual reality exposure therapy be used to treat people with social phobia? To answer this question it is vital to known if people will respond to virtual humans (avatars) in a virtual social setting in the same way they would to real humans. If someone is extremely anxious with real people, will they also be anxious when faced with simulated people, despite knowing that the avatars are computer generated? In [17] we described a small pilot study that placed 10 people before a virtual audience. The purpose was to assess the extent to which social anxiety, specifically fear of public speaking, was induced by the virtual audience and the extent of influence of degree of immersion (head mounted display or desktop monitor. The current paper describes a follow up study conducted with 40 subjects and the results clearly show that not only is social anxiety induced by the audience, but the degree of anxiety experienced is directly related to the type of virtual audience feedback the speaker receives. In particular, a hostile negative audience scenario was found to generate strong affect in speakers, regardless of whether or not they normally suffered from fear of public speaking.

Factors defining face-to-face interruptions in the office environment

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Matysiak, A.J.; Markopoulos, P.

2006-01-01

This paper presents an on-going investigation on interruptions in the office caused by face-to-face interactions between knowledge workers. The study aims to identify opportunities for interactive solutions that will support both, the interrupters and the interrupted. The study involves contextual

Rescue of Impaired Fear Extinction and Normalization of Cortico-Amygdala Circuit Dysfunction in a Genetic Mouse Model by Dietary Zinc Restriction

OpenAIRE

Whittle, Nigel; Hauschild, Markus; Lubec, Gert; Holmes, Andrew; Singewald, Nicolas

2010-01-01

Fear extinction is impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder. Identifying drugs that facilitate fear extinction in animal models provides leads for novel pharmacological treatments for these disorders. Zinc (Zn) is expressed in neurons in a cortico-amygdala circuit mediating fear extinction, and modulates neurotransmitter systems regulating extinction. We previously found that the 129S1/SvImJ mouse strain (S1) exhibited a profound impairment in fear extin...

PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHECHEN YOUTH PROFESSING ISLAM AND EXPERIENCING MYTHOLOGICAL FEARS

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Razet Grimsoltanova

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article described the study of the relevance of the role and place of religious contents among young people in the postconflict areas of the South of Russia, the rate of experiences of mythological fear had been explored with the help of the survey, as well as individual psychological characteristics of subjects had been studied by methods of  Eysenck, Schmieschek, J. Rotter and Taylor. Those representatives of the surveyed youth sample experiencing a high level of mythological fear could fall into the danger zone of initiation in the group of non-traditional religious sects, as well as come under extremists’ influence, since manip-ulation of consciousness and human behavior, depending on individual psychological characteristics and by using of mythological content, such as fear of possession by jinni, is most effective. The study was attended by representatives of Islam at the age of 19-21, divided by gender: 100 young men and 100 girls. The study was aimed at identifying indi-vidual personality characteristics of temperament, character accentuations, locus of control, the level of personal anxiety and the results of a content analysis of the survey done by the author of the article were identified in accordance with five scales. Results of the study revealed that about 80% of subjects experiencing a high level of mythological fears had the same peculiar correlation indices. In connection with the results of research, we had worked out and suggested a complex of psycho-pedagogical support consisting of four modules for the purpose of education, preventive and corrective activities with young people experiencing a high level of mythological fear (fear of possession by jinni.

Fear of dental pain in Italian children: child personality traits and parental dental fear.

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D'Alessandro, Giovanni; Alkhamis, Nadia; Mattarozzi, Katia; Mazzetti, Michela; Piana, Gabriela

2016-06-01

Dental anxiety could impede dental treatment in children. Evidence shows that parents' fear of dentists contributes to children's anxiety towards dentists. The aim of the present study was to determine whether and to what extent: a) parents' anxiety and depression personality traits, b) parent's dental fear, and c) child personality traits can predict children's dental anxiety in an Italian population. One hundred and four children (5-14 years old) and one of their parents participated in the study. Well-known and validated questionnaires were administered to children (MCDASf, CFSS-DS, TAD) and parents (FDPQ, STAI Y1, Y2, and BDI-II). Dental anxiety is significantly associated with the anxiety personality trait and depression of the child and with parental fear of dental pain. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, regardless of age and gender, the best predictor of child dental anxiety is parent's fear of dental pain, rather than relatively stable temperaments of the child. In line with the literature concerning adults, these findings highlight the children dental anxiety as a complex phenomena consisting of different components, including the child's personality traits (anxiety trait and depression) and parents' dental fear. Clinical implications of this evidence are discussed. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Cellular and oscillatory substrates of fear extinction learning.

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Davis, Patrick; Zaki, Yosif; Maguire, Jamie; Reijmers, Leon G

2017-11-01

The mammalian brain contains dedicated circuits for both the learned expression and suppression of fear. These circuits require precise coordination to facilitate the appropriate expression of fear behavior, but the mechanisms underlying this coordination remain unclear. Using a combination of chemogenetics, activity-based neuronal-ensemble labeling and in vivo electrophysiology, we found that fear extinction learning confers on parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) a dedicated role in the selective suppression of a previously encoded fear memory and BLA fear-encoding neurons. In addition, following extinction learning, PV interneurons enable a competing interaction between a 6-12 Hz oscillation and a fear-associated 3-6 Hz oscillation within the BLA. Loss of this competition increases a 3-6 Hz oscillatory signature, with BLA→medial prefrontal cortex directionality signaling the recurrence of fear expression. The discovery of cellular and oscillatory substrates of fear extinction learning that critically depend on BLA PV interneurons could inform therapies aimed at preventing the pathological recurrence of fear following extinction learning.

What Makes Children Fearful and Anxious

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Honig, Alice Sterling; Miller, Susan A.; Church, Ellen Booth

2007-01-01

This article explains the causes of children's fears and anxieties in the following age brackets: (1) 0-2 years old; (2) 3-4 years old; and (3) 5-6 years old. It presents situations wherein children develop fears and anxious feelings. It also discusses how to deal and manage these fears and anxieties and enumerates what can be done to make…

The fear-avoidance model in whiplash injuries.

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Nieto, Rubén; Miró, Jordi; Huguet, Anna

2009-05-01

The aim of this work was to study whether fear of movement, and pain catastrophizing predict pain related-disability and depression in sub-acute whiplash patients. Moreover, we wanted to test if fear of movement is a mediator in the relation between catastrophizing and pain-related disability/depression as has been suggested by the fear-avoidance model [Vlaeyen JWS, Kole-Snijders AMJ, Boeren RGB, van Eek H. Fear of movement/(re)injury in chronic low back pain and its relation to behavioral performance. Pain 1995;62:363-72]. The convenience sample used was of 147 sub-acute whiplash patients (pain duration less than 3 months). Two stepwise regression analyses were performed using fear of movement and catastrophizing as the independent variables, and disability and depression as the dependent variables. After controlling for descriptive variables and pain characteristics, catastrophizing and fear of movement were found to be predictors of disability and depression. Pain intensity was a predictor of disability but not of depression. The mediation effect of fear of movement in the relationships between catastrophizing and disability, and between catastrophizing and depression was also supported. The results of this study are in accordance with the fear-avoidance model, and support a biopsychosocial perspective for whiplash disorders.

A model of the generation of ataque de nervios: the role of fear of negative affect and fear of arousal symptoms.

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Hinton, Devon E; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Pollack, Mark H

2009-01-01

This article examines a model of the generation of ataque de nervios, according to which both fear of negative affectivity and fear of arousal symptoms are associated with the emergence of ataques. We examine the relationship of fear of negative affectivity and fear of arousal to the severity of ataque de nervios during the last month and the last 6 months among Caribbean Latinos residing in the United States. The measures include a Fear of Anger Scale and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), the ASI augmented with two items that assess fear of arousal symptoms common in ataques: chest tightness and a sense of inner heat. In keeping with the model of ataque generation, one-way analysis of variances (ANOVAs) and discriminant function analyses illustrated that items assessing "fear of negative affect" and "fear of somatic and psychological symptoms of arousal" both differentiated well among the levels of ataque severity. In addition, key ataque symptoms-mental incapacitation fears, shakiness, chest tightness, palpitations, and a sense of inner heat-were the best discriminators among levels of ataque severity. In patients with severe ataques, the scores of "fear of negative affect" and "fear of ataque-de-nervios-type somatic and psychological symptoms" were extremely elevated. This further suggests that both these types of fears are associated with this idiom of distress and that the specific content of the fears is linked to the symptom picture of the idiom. This suggests specific therapeutic targets for the treatment of ataque, namely, the reduction of anxiety sensitivity (and more generally negative-emotion and arousal sensitivity) using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), relaxation, and mindfulness techniques.

Effects of task demands on the early neural processing of fearful and happy facial expressions.

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Itier, Roxane J; Neath-Tavares, Karly N

2017-05-15

Task demands shape how we process environmental stimuli but their impact on the early neural processing of facial expressions remains unclear. In a within-subject design, ERPs were recorded to the same fearful, happy and neutral facial expressions presented during a gender discrimination, an explicit emotion discrimination and an oddball detection tasks, the most studied tasks in the field. Using an eye tracker, fixation on the face nose was enforced using a gaze-contingent presentation. Task demands modulated amplitudes from 200 to 350ms at occipito-temporal sites spanning the EPN component. Amplitudes were more negative for fearful than neutral expressions starting on N170 from 150 to 350ms, with a temporo-occipital distribution, whereas no clear effect of happy expressions was seen. Task and emotion effects never interacted in any time window or for the ERP components analyzed (P1, N170, EPN). Thus, whether emotion is explicitly discriminated or irrelevant for the task at hand, neural correlates of fearful and happy facial expressions seem immune to these task demands during the first 350ms of visual processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF FEAR LEARNING AND MEMORY

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Johansen, Joshua P.; Cain, Christopher K.; Ostroff, Linnaea E.; LeDoux, Joseph E.

2011-01-01

Pavlovian fear conditioning is a useful behavioral paradigm for exploring the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory because a well-defined response to a specific environmental stimulus is produced through associative learning processes. Synaptic plasticity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) underlies this form of associative learning. Here we summarize the molecular mechanisms that contribute to this synaptic plasticity in the context of auditory fear conditioning, the form of fear conditioning best understood at the molecular level. We discuss the neurotransmitter systems and signaling cascades that contribute to three phases of auditory fear conditioning: acquisition, consolidation, and reconsolidation. These studies suggest that multiple intracellular signaling pathways, including those triggered by activation of Hebbian processes and neuromodulatory receptors, interact to produce neural plasticity in the LA and behavioral fear conditioning. Together, this research illustrates the power of fear conditioning as a model system for characterizing the mechanisms of learning and memory in mammals, and potentially for understanding fear related disorders, such as PTSD and phobias. PMID:22036561

Molecular mechanisms of fear learning and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansen, Joshua P; Cain, Christopher K; Ostroff, Linnaea E; LeDoux, Joseph E

2011-10-28

Pavlovian fear conditioning is a particularly useful behavioral paradigm for exploring the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory because a well-defined response to a specific environmental stimulus is produced through associative learning processes. Synaptic plasticity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) underlies this form of associative learning. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanisms that contribute to this synaptic plasticity in the context of auditory fear conditioning, the form of fear conditioning best understood at the molecular level. We discuss the neurotransmitter systems and signaling cascades that contribute to three phases of auditory fear conditioning: acquisition, consolidation, and reconsolidation. These studies suggest that multiple intracellular signaling pathways, including those triggered by activation of Hebbian processes and neuromodulatory receptors, interact to produce neural plasticity in the LA and behavioral fear conditioning. Collectively, this body of research illustrates the power of fear conditioning as a model system for characterizing the mechanisms of learning and memory in mammals and potentially for understanding fear-related disorders, such as PTSD and phobias. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear of violence during armed conflict: Social roles and responsibilities as determinants of fear.

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Williams, Nathalie E; Ghimire, Dirgha; Snedker, Karen A

2018-03-01

This article investigates the prevalence and determinants of fear as a consequence of living through armed conflict. We use survey data from Nepal during the armed conflict (1996-2006) to examine how trauma, sex and gender, age, marriage, and household size affect fear of violence. We also disaggregate types of worry, and find substantial variance on whether respondents were more concerned about livelihood consequences of conflict than physical danger. We supplement quantitative analyses with discussion of in-depth interviews from the study area on these same topics. Overall, our results highlight the enduring impact of gender roles in Nepal and that conflict might disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable and have greater social responsibilities. This article provides a unique comparison between fear of violence during armed conflict in a low-income country to the fear of crime literature based in high-income countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The sum of all fears: conceptual challenges with measuring fear of cancer recurrence.

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Costa, Daniel S J; Smith, Allan Ben; Fardell, Joanna E

2016-01-01

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is increasingly recognised as a major concern for people with cancer once active treatment is completed. Several instruments have been designed to assess FCR; however, no gold standard has emerged. Many instruments conceptualise FCR as a multidimensional construct. However, this potentially conflates FCR as an outcome with its antecedents and consequences. This is problematic when an aggregate of distinct dimensions is calculated, as is commonly recommended. For example, the total score on the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory is an aggregate of items from seven sub-scales: triggers, severity, psychological distress, coping strategies, functioning impairments, insight and reassurance. Similarly, the total score on the Fear of Progression Questionnaire is an aggregate of affective reaction, partnership/family, work and loss of autonomy. Arguably, the severity and affective reaction domains represent fear, and the other sub-scales represent related concepts, rather than "dimensions" of FCR. The total score represents a combination of concepts whose meaning is unclear. The same total score could be produced by patients with very different experiences, and patients with the same level of fear could have very different total scores. Therefore, we argue that although the level of FCR may be determined by a complex network of antecedents and modifiers and have variable consequences, FCR itself may be a simple concept, which can be assessed using a smaller number of items. Conceptual clarity in its research infancy should prevent FCR becoming a construct that is vaguely operationalised and interpreted.

Fear of clowns in hospitalized children: prospective experience.

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Meiri, Noam; Schnapp, Zeev; Ankri, Amichi; Nahmias, Itay; Raviv, Amnon; Sagi, Omer; Hamad Saied, Mohamad; Konopnicki, Muriel; Pillar, Giora

2017-02-01

Medical clowns (MC) have become an integral part of the pediatric staff of hospital wards. While several studies have demonstrated the huge benefits of MC, there are almost no data regarding fear of clowns, a known phenomenon that means an irrational fear of clowns. In the current study, we sought to examine the prevalence of fear of clowns in pediatrics wards, and to characterize the affected children. The clinical work of three certified MCs was prospectively assessed. Every child with fear of clowns was noted, data were retrieved from the medical records, and the parents/child completed a specific questionnaire with a research assistant. Fear of clowns was defined as crying, anxiety response or effort to avoid contact with the MCs in small children, while in older children, it was determined if the child either reported fear of MCs or made actions to avoid clowns' intervention. A total of 1160 children participated in the study. All were hospitalized in the department of pediatrics or the pediatric emergency medicine department at Carmel Medical Center, and were exposed to a MC intervention session. Of the 1160 children, 14 children experienced fear of clowns (1.2%). The average age of children who experienced fear of clowns was 3.5 years (range 1-15). Interestingly, most of the children demonstrating fear of clowns were girls (12 out of 14, 85.7%). We found no association between fear of clowns and specific diagnosis, fever, clinical appearance, religion, or ethnicity. The prevalence of fear of clowns in the general pediatric hospitalized population was 1.2%, with a significant predominance of girls (85.7%). Children who experienced significant fear of clowns also experienced significant fear of encountering or thinking about a MC visit. Fear of clowns can affect children at any age (range 1-15), any ethnicity, religion, or degree of illness. Further large scale studies are required to better understand this unique phenomenon of fear of clowns. What is Known

A Discrete Population of Neurons in the Lateral Amygdala Is Specifically Activated by Contextual Fear Conditioning

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Wilson, Yvette M.; Murphy, Mark

2009-01-01

There is no clear identification of the neurons involved in fear conditioning in the amygdala. To search for these neurons, we have used a genetic approach, the "fos-tau-lacZ" (FTL) mouse, to map functionally activated expression in neurons following contextual fear conditioning. We have identified a discrete population of neurons in the lateral…

The Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FOPQ): assessment of pain-related fear among children and adolescents with chronic pain.

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Simons, Laura E; Sieberg, Christine B; Carpino, Elizabeth; Logan, Deirdre; Berde, Charles

2011-06-01

An important construct in understanding pain-related disability is pain-related fear. Heightened pain-related fear may result in behavioral avoidance leading to disuse, disability, and depression; whereas confrontation of avoided activities may result in a reduction of fear over time and reengagement with activities of daily living. Although there are several measures to assess pain-related fear among adults with chronic pain, none exist for children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to develop a new tool to assess avoidance and fear of pain with pediatric chronic pain patients: the Fear of Pain Questionnaire, child report (FOPQ-C), and Fear of Pain Questionnaire, parent proxy report (FOPQ-P). After initial pilot testing, the FOPQ-C and FOPQ-P were administered to 299 youth with chronic pain and their parents at an initial multidisciplinary pain treatment evaluation. The FOPQ demonstrated very strong internal consistency of .92 for the child and parent versions. One-month stability estimates were acceptable and suggested responsivity to change. For construct validity, the FOPQ correlated with generalized anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and somatization. Evidence of criterion-related validity was found with significant associations for the FOPQ with pain, healthcare utilization, and functional disability. These results support the FOPQ as a psychometrically sound measure. Pain-related fear plays an important role in relation to emotional distress and pain-related disability among children and adolescents with chronic pain. Identification of patients with high levels of fear avoidance of pain with the FOPQ will inform how to proceed with psychological and physical therapy interventions for chronic pain. Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dental fear and caries in 6-12 year old children in Greece. Determination of dental fear cut-off points.

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