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A return to the psychiatric dark ages with a two-system framework for fear
Michael S Fanselow1, Zachary T Pennington2
1Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Behaviour Research and Therapy
|November 13, 2017
Summary
Fear is an integrated response to danger, not separate systems. Understanding its neurobiology requires studying autonomic, behavioral, and emotional components together for better anxiety disorder treatments.
Area of Science:
- Neurobiology
- Anxiety Disorders
- Defense Mechanisms
Background:
- Decades of progress in fear and anxiety neurobiology.
- Traditional view: fear as coordinated defense systems.
- Recent challenge: a 'two-system' framework for threat responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- Critique the 'two-system' framework for fear.
- Advocate for an integrated model of fear.
- Improve understanding and treatment of fear disorders.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and theoretical analysis.
- Critique of LeDoux's 'two-system' model.
- Argument for a unified neurobiological approach.
Main Results:
- Fear is an integrated autonomic, behavioral, and cognitive-emotional response.
- A central fear generator dictates the genesis of fear components.
- Common upstream brain regions link fear components.
Conclusions:
- The 'two-system' model may impede scientific progress.
- Studying fear components separately hinders mechanistic understanding.
- An integrated approach is crucial for advancing fear disorder treatments.