There is more than the amygdala: potential threat assessment in the cingulate cortex

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Fear conditioning models anxiety disorders, implicating the amygdala.
• Current models may not fully differentiate between immediate and potential threat processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a distinction between immediate threat processing (amygdala) and potential threat processing (cingulate cortex/insula).
• To review evidence supporting a separate potential threat system implicated in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Main Methods:

• Review of four related literature domains: rodent remote contextual fear conditioning, OCD symptom provocation, fMRI risk assessment, and precautionary reasoning studies.
• Synthesis of findings across these diverse research areas.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests the amygdala processes immediate threats, while the cingulate cortex and insula process potential threats.
• Findings converge to support a distinct potential threat assessment system.

Conclusions:

• The cingulate cortex and insula are crucial for assessing potential threats, distinct from the amygdala's role in immediate threats.
• This supports models of a separate potential threat system that is dysfunctional in OCD.