The basic neuroscience of emotional experiences in mammals: The case of subcortical FEAR circuitry and implications for clinical anxiety
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2011 |
Authors: |
Jaak Panksepp, Thomas Fuchs, Paolo Iacobucci |
Publication/Journal: |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Keywords: |
amygdala, anxiety, benzodiazepines, fear, gaba, neuropeptides, periaqueductal gray |
ISBN: |
01681591 |
Abstract:
Evidence from behavioral neuroscience strongly suggests that the unconditional (innate) capacity to experience fear, along with fear-typical patterns of autonomic and behavioral arousal, arise from specific systems of the brain—the most prominent being a FEAR circuit which courses between the central amygdala and the periaqueductal gray of the midbrain. These circuits also mediate the raw affective properties of FEAR since animals escape and avoid such brain stimulation and develop conditioned place aversions to locations where they have had such negative experiences. These ancient emotional-affective systems appear to be relatively conserved among all mammalian species. Thus, the knowledge derived from common laboratory animals such as rats and mice, probably has basic scientific and therapeutic implications for all other mammals, including human beings. The neurochemical controls of the FEAR system range from benzodiazepines to neuropeptides that have implications in the search for new anti-anxiety treatments. Minor tranquilizers work by dampening activity in this emotional system through increased GABA-mediated neural inhibition. Drugs that can control clinical anxiety are summarized, and future directions are plotted.