Sensing fear: Fast-and-precise threat evaluation in human sensory cortex

Abstract

Animal models of threat processing have evolved beyond the amygdala to incorporate a distributed neural network. In human research, evidence has intensified in recent years to challenge the canonical threat circuitry centered on the amygdala, urging revision of threat conceptualization. A strong surge of research into threat processing in the sensory cortex in the past decade has generated particularly useful insights to inform the re-conceptualization. Here, synthesizing findings from both animal and human research, we highlight sensitive, specific, and adaptable threat representations in sensory cortex, arising from experience-based sculpting of sensory coding networks. We thus propose that the human sensory cortex is capable of “smart” (fast and precise threat) evaluation, resulting in threat-imbued sensory cascades to elicit network-wide threat responses.

Changes in fear-associated learning task brain activation over the COVID-19 pandemic period: a preliminary longitudinal analysis

“…Overall, we observed that the pandemic group showed a reduction over time of brain activations associated with FALT across different phases and brain regions. While we acknowledge that the brain regions identified in our current study may not conventionally align with fear learning tasks, it is important to note that a number of studies have highlighted instances of modified context and sensory processing within fear-related fMRI tasks [see (11,43) for reviews]. We speculated that social isolation and physical confinement secondary to quarantine measures during the pandemic may have driven these FALT-related brain activation alterations.…”