Fear not: recent advances in understanding the neural basis of fear memories and implications for treatment development

Milton, Amy

doi:10.12688/f1000research.20053.1

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 111 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Individuals suffering from pathological fear frequently experience false alarms that cause them to perceive safe situations as dangerous. This overactive fear is perhaps the major defining component of PTSD, where exaggerated and inflexible coupling of no-longer danger-predictive cues to fear produces disabling behaviors in inappropriate situations ( 40 – 42 ). Exposure-based fear extinction is an important source of therapeutic benefit, but it often fails, for poorly understood reasons ( 43 – 46 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of fear extinction by hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone–expressing neurons

Concetti

Bracey

Peleg‐Raibstein

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Learning to fear danger is essential for survival. However, overactive, relapsing fear behavior in the absence of danger is a hallmark of disabling anxiety disorders that affect millions of people. Its suppression is thus of great interest, but the necessary brain components remain incompletely identified. We studied fear suppression through a procedure in which, after acquiring fear of aversive events (fear learning), subjects were exposed to fear-eliciting cues without aversive events (safety learning), leading to suppression of fear behavior (fear extinction). Here we show that inappropriate, learning-resistant fear behavior results from disruption of brain components not previously implicated in this disorder: hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone–expressing neurons (MNs). Using real-time recordings of MNs across fear learning and extinction, we provide evidence that fear-inducing aversive events elevate MN activity. We find that optogenetic disruption of this MN activity profoundly impairs safety learning, abnormally slowing down fear extinction and exacerbating fear relapse. Importantly, we demonstrate that the MN disruption impairs neither fear learning nor related sensory responses, indicating that MNs differentially control safety and fear learning. Thus, we identify a neural substrate for inhibition of excessive fear behavior.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of fear extinction by hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone–expressing neurons

Concetti

Bracey

Peleg‐Raibstein

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A novel method of treating PTSD involves the disruption of memory reconsolidation [ 162 ]. Pharmacologically, this could be done through trauma memory reactivation with the administration of an amnesic drug, resulting in the disruption of memory consolidation.…”

Section: Treatment Modalities For Ptsd and E-mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Predict, Prevent, and Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Review of Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Biomarkers

Jowf

Ahmed

Reijnders

et al. 2023

IJMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can become a chronic and severely disabling condition resulting in a reduced quality of life and increased economic burden. The disorder is directly related to exposure to a traumatic event, e.g., a real or threatened injury, death, or sexual assault. Extensive research has been done on the neurobiological alterations underlying the disorder and its related phenotypes, revealing brain circuit disruption, neurotransmitter dysregulation, and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction. Psychotherapy remains the first-line treatment option for PTSD given its good efficacy, although pharmacotherapy can also be used as a stand-alone or in combination with psychotherapy. In order to reduce the prevalence and burden of the disorder, multilevel models of prevention have been developed to detect the disorder as early as possible and to reduce morbidity in those with established diseases. Despite the clinical grounds of diagnosis, attention is increasing to the discovery of reliable biomarkers that can predict susceptibility, aid diagnosis, or monitor treatment. Several potential biomarkers have been linked with pathophysiological changes related to PTSD, encouraging further research to identify actionable targets. This review highlights the current literature regarding the pathophysiology, disease development models, treatment modalities, and preventive models from a public health perspective, and discusses the current state of biomarker research.

show abstract

“…As an emotion, fear is divided into three coordinated domains of response, which include physiological and behavioral changes, in addition to the characteristics named subjective "feelings" that are referred to when considering emotional states. 17 Similarly, it is important to mention that anxiety disorders are the pathological expression of fear and are closely related to an irrational anxiety response to a non-existent danger. It is one of the reactions that produces the greatest number of mental, emotional, behavioral and psychosomatic disorders.…”

Section: Fear and Pathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear in the COVID-19 context

Olvera-Cruz

2023

Mex J Med Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire population worldwide, defined by the World Health Organization as an "infectious disease" caused by a new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has managed to spread unexpectedly, causing high morbidity and mortality rates and negatively impacting multiple aspects of human life, not only physical health but also mental health; In this regard, psychosocial factors such as fear, depression, stress and anxiety are common manifestations in any situation that puts the life of the individual at risk, since, according to the National Survey of Mental Health, 18% of the population between 15 and 64 years of age suffers from some mood disorder. In view of this, the objective of this article is to carry out a literature review on the affectations that the world population has suffered as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, on fear, which is an experience that produces an unstable emotional effect derived from the valuation of a potentially dangerous situation and that one has no control over it, as well as on its affectations that the world population has suffered as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

Fear not: recent advances in understanding the neural basis of fear memories and implications for treatment development

Cited by 13 publications

References 111 publications

Control of fear extinction by hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone–expressing neurons

Control of fear extinction by hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone–expressing neurons

To Predict, Prevent, and Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Review of Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Biomarkers

Fear in the COVID-19 context

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About