Essay On Fear Conditioning

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Fear is a vital response for survival, in the face of threats and is also an important component of behavioural defence systems in mammals. Ivan Pavlov (1920’s) introduced the concept of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning can be used to learn various emotions including fear; this is known as a conditioned emotional response (Carlson, 2010, p.g 369). In this essay, Pavlovian (cued) fear conditioning and contextual fear conditioning will be discussed, and then the neural mechanisms underlying fear conditioning will be evaluated using various studies carried out on animals and humans.
In Pavlov’s fear conditioning, an emotionally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented in concurrence with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). Following one or several pairings, the CS is able to elicit responses that would naturally occur when danger is sensed. The responses are innate and they automatically occur in the occurrence of appropriate stimuli. Some of the responses that usually occur are behavioural (freezing), autonomic (change in blood pressure or heart rate) and endocrine mechanisms (secretion of stress hormones) {Aggleton, 2000, p.g 292}.
One of the classic examples of fear conditioning is the experiment carried out on little Albert by Watson and Rayner (1920). Little Albert was an infant (11 months old), who was conditioned to fear white rats. Initially when he was exposed to the white rat, little Albert would approach it and play with it. After awhile, when little Albert tried to touch the rat, a loud noise (US) was created which would startle little Albert and cause him to cry (unconditioned response –UR). This pairing was repeated a few times. Later on, when the rat (CS) was again presented to little Alber...

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...er. Some of these responses include: freezing, change in blood pressure or heart rate or secretion of stress related hormones. Neural mechanisms underlying fear conditioning have been significantly analyzed in recent years. Two major components underlying fear conditioning are the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala deals with the association formation, whereas the hippocampus deals with contextual fear conditioning. These findings are usually found from lesion, neuroimaging and behavioral studies. However, there are also other critical issues being researched on, such as: whether amygdala is the storage place for fear memory or what the accurate amygdala circuit that mediates fear conditioning is. Advancements in exploring underlying neural mechanisms can help to better learning and memory, and also help to understand the basis of fear and anxiety disorders.

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