Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Investigating the Neural Mechanisms of Aware and Unaware Fear Memory with fMRI
Published on: October 6, 2011
Neuropsychology of fear and loathing
A J Calder1, A D Lawrence, A W Young
1MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 2EF, UK. andy.calder@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
For over 60 years, ideas about emotion in neuroscience and psychology have been dominated by a debate on whether emotion can be encompassed within a single, unifying model. In neuroscience, this approach is epitomized by the limbic system theory and, in psychology, by dimensional models of emotion. Comparative research has gradually eroded the limbic model, and some scientists have proposed that certain individual emotions are represented separately in the brain. Evidence from humans consistent with this approach has recently been obtained by studies indicating that signals of fear and disgust are processed by distinct neural substrates. We review this research and its implications for theories of emotion.
Related Concept Videos
The Scientific Method
Reason and Intuition
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner famously demonstrated the development of fear through classical conditioning in their experiment with Little Albert. They paired the...
Preparedness and Phobias
Physiological Theories: James-Lange Theory of Emotion
Cognitive Theories: Lazarus Mediational Theory of Emotion
Cognitive Appraisal and Emotional Response
Lazarus proposed that emotions are not solely...

