#PATHOLOGICAL FEAR EXAMPLES UPDATE#

This not only includes fear-related autonomic and behavioral responses activated during pathological anxiety, but the perceptual fear response of greater vigilance. More than 20 years ago we presented a view that pathological anxiety developed through a process of neural sensitization or kindling-like processes that initiate changes in the brain’s adaptive fear circuits leading to enhanced perception and response to subsequent threat and danger ( Rosen and Schulkin, 1998).

#PATHOLOGICAL FEAR EXAMPLES UPDATE#

In this paper we explore and update the idea that pathological anxiety develops from hyperexcitability of neural circuits for adaptive fear. We suggest amygdala kindling induced hyperexcitability, hyper-inhibition and loss of inhibition provide clues to mechanisms for hyperexcitability and progressive changes in function initiated by stress and trauma. We use the metaphor and mechanisms of kindling to examine gains and losses in function of one excitatory and one inhibitory neuropeptide, corticotrophin releasing factor and somatostatin, respectively, to explore this sensitization hypothesis. Hyperexcitability is proposed to be due to acquired sensitization in fear circuits that progressively becomes more severe over time causing changing symptoms in early and late pathology. Hyperexcitability in fear circuits is suggested to be important for development of pathological anxiety and trauma from adaptive mechanisms of fear. 2School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States.Genetic Influences on Hyperexcitability.Corticotrophin-Releasing Factor in the Extended Amygdala: Hyperexcitability, Kindling and Fear.CRF: An Enhancer of Kindling and Fear-Induced Hyperexcitability.Somatostatin Interneurons in Acute and Chronic Stress Paradigms.Hippocampus: Kindling-Induced Gain of Somatostatin Hyper-Inhibition and Then Collapse.Somatostatin: Kindling-Induced Loss of Somatostatin Inhibition in the Amygdala.Somatostatin: An Inhibitory Interneuron Regulating Fear, Kindling and Hyperexcitability.Kindling Mechanisms of Hyperexcitability.

Hyperexcitability in Amygdala Neurons in Kindling and Stress: Similar Loss of Intrinsic Regulatory Mechanisms of Hyperpolarization.

Anxiety and PTSD Patients Have Memory Deficits, but Reminisce About Their Anxiety and Trauma: Role of Hippocampus.

Heterogeneity of Hyperexcitability in Anxiety and Trauma Patients.

Cortical Integration With Amygdala in Fear, Trauma and Anxiety Disorders.

Hyperexcitability in the Amygdala Is a Core Feature of Anxiety and Trauma Disorders.

Anxiety and Trauma Disorders Are Not Necessarily a Maladaptation of Fear Conditioning, but Exaggerated Anticipation of Threat.

Kindling of Emotional Hyperexcitability in Fear Circuits.

Kindling: A Metaphor for Hyperexcitability.

The editor and reviewer's affiliations are the latest provided on their Loop research profiles and may not reflect their situation at the time of review. University of California, Los Angeles, United States

Pathological fear examples