Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Preparedness and Phobias01:09

Preparedness and Phobias

285
Human fear responses to certain stimuli, such as darkness, heights, deep water, and blood, can often arise despite the absence of direct negative experiences. This phenomenon is rooted in evolutionary psychology, which posits that humans have developed a predisposition to fear stimuli that historically posed significant survival threats. This predisposition, known as preparedness, suggests that early humans who developed a fear of potentially dangerous entities, such as venomous snakes and...
285
Survey Safety01:28

Survey Safety

342
Surveying near highways, rough terrain, or power lines involves significant risks. Working along highways is particularly dangerous and requires the use of warning signs and flagmen. It is safest to avoid working directly on roads and use offsets whenever possible. When highway work is unavoidable, it must follow all safety guidelines. Surveyors should wear bright clothing, such as orange reflective vests, to ensure visibility to motorists, coworkers, and hunters. In construction zones, wearing...
342
Design Consideration01:22

Design Consideration

494
Designing a structure involves a series of considerations, primarily the material's ultimate strength, calculated through tests that measure changes under increased force until the material reaches its breaking point or limit. The ultimate load, where the material breaks, is divided by its original cross-sectional area, resulting in the ultimate normal stress or strength. The ultimate shearing stress is another significant factor taken into account.
The factor of safety is another key...
494
Magical Thinking01:29

Magical Thinking

163
Magical thinking encompasses the belief in assumptions that defy logical reasoning yet appear intuitively convincing. It is a common psychological phenomenon that persists across various cultural and individual contexts. While these assumptions contradict empirical evidence and scientific laws, they often serve meaningful psychological roles in promoting emotional resilience and a sense of control, especially under stress or uncertainty.Thought-Action Fusion and the Law of SimilarityA key...
163
Obedience01:08

Obedience

35.1K
According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation,...
35.1K
Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance

513
Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the...
513

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Paraventricular thalamus hyperactivity mediates stress-induced sensitization of unlearned fear but not stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL).

eLife·2026
Same author

Rats use darting as a strategy to navigate between reward and safety during platform-mediated active avoidance under different social contexts.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

The behavioral and neural architecture of observational active avoidance is shaped by demonstrator experience and observer sex.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning (SEFL) Is Associated With Enhanced Reactivation of Fear Engrams in Caudal But Not Rostral Dentate Gyrus.

Hippocampus·2026
Same author

Second-order conditioning of safety in male and female rats.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same author

Neurobiological Correlates of Behavioral Resilience to Chronic Alcohol and Acute Stress in Male and Female Rats.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same journal

Meaning in life and biological functioning: A multisystem synthesis and agenda for future research.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Beyond Diagnosis: Why and How Virtual Reality Should be Used in Research on Neurodevelopmental Conditions?

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

What eye-movements tell us about Disorders of Consciousness?

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Systematic Review of Tactile-Based Interventions Combined with Multisensory Stimulation Protocols in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Disorders of Consciousness.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

Exploring the prognostic value of resting state brain activity in Disorders of Consciousness: A coordinate-based meta-analysis.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same journal

From microstates to macroscales: A critical review of maximum entropy modeling and energy landscape analysis in functional MRI.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.6K

Know safety, no fear.

Susan Sangha1, Maria M Diehl2, Hadley C Bergstrom3

  • 1Department of Psychological Sciences and Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|November 19, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain can suppress learned fear responses when no longer needed, but anxiety disorders impair this ability. Understanding fear suppression mechanisms is key to treating conditions like PTSD.

Keywords:
AmygdalaAvoidanceCortexDiscriminationExtinctionFearGeneralizationHippocampusSafety

More Related Videos

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality
10:38

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality

Published on: August 9, 2010

21.4K
Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

23.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
11:18

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat

Published on: September 12, 2014

15.6K
Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality
10:38

Human Fear Conditioning Conducted in Full Immersion 3-Dimensional Virtual Reality

Published on: August 9, 2010

21.4K
Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
08:32

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker

Published on: December 18, 2014

23.3K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Organisms must differentiate between harmful and safe stimuli to regulate defensive behaviors.
  • Learned fear responses, while adaptive, can persist inappropriately, leading to maladaptive behaviors.
  • Anxiety disorders are characterized by a failure to suppress fear in safe or avoidable situations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the neural mechanisms underlying the suppression of learned fear responses.
  • To explore how fear suppression is regulated during stimulus discrimination, fear extinction, and active avoidance.
  • To highlight the role of the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus in fear suppression.

Main Methods:

  • This review synthesizes findings from preclinical and clinical studies on fear learning and extinction.
  • It focuses on research investigating the tripartite circuit involving the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus.
  • Mechanisms of fear suppression are examined in the context of stimulus discrimination, extinction, and avoidance behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Fear suppression is an active process involving specific neural circuits, not merely the absence of fear.
  • The interplay between the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus is crucial for adaptive fear regulation.
  • Dysfunction in these circuits contributes to the persistent and inappropriate fear seen in anxiety disorders.

Conclusions:

  • Adaptive fear suppression is essential for thriving in dynamic environments.
  • Understanding the neural basis of fear suppression offers potential therapeutic targets for anxiety disorders like PTSD.
  • Targeting the tripartite circuit may restore appropriate fear regulation and alleviate pathological fear responses.