Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
Failure of fear extinction in insomnia: An evolutionary perspective
Lampros Perogamvros1, Anna Castelnovo2, David Samson3
1Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Basic Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The pathophysiology of insomnia remains poorly understood, yet emerging cross-disciplinary approaches integrating natural history, observational studies in traditional populations, gene-phenotype expression and experiments are opening up new avenues to investigate the evolutionary origins of sleep disorders, with the potential to inform innovations in treatment. Previous authors have supported that acute insomnia is a normal biopsychosocial response to a perceived or real threat and may thus represent an adaptive response to stress. We further extend this hypothesis by claiming that insomnia reflects a fear-related evolutionary survival mechanism, which becomes persistent in some vulnerable individuals due to failure of the fear extinction function. Possible treatments targeting fear extinction are proposed, such as pharmacotherapy and emotion-based cognitive behavioral therapy.
Related Concept Videos
Preparedness and Phobias
Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...
Insomnia
Multiple factors contribute...
Management of Insomnia
Understanding Sleep
The circadian rhythm, a nearly 24-hour cycle, is deeply influenced by environmental light cues. Light exposure directly affects the hypothalamus, which in turn regulates...
Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...

