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The brain region most extensively implicated in learning extinction is the infralimbic cortex (IL) of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) [36] The IL is important for the extinction of reward- and fear-associated behaviors, while the amygdala has been strongly implicated in the extinction of conditioned fear. [4]
In fear conditioning, the main circuits that are involved are the sensory areas that process the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, certain regions of the amygdala that undergo plasticity (or long-term potentiation) during learning, and the regions that bear an effect on the expression of specific conditioned responses.
Exposure therapy is based on the principle of respondent conditioning often termed Pavlovian extinction. [10] The exposure therapist identifies the cognitions, emotions and physiological arousal that accompany a fear-inducing stimulus and then tries to break the pattern of escape that maintains the fear.
In rats, the fear-motivated response is to freeze, so in both fear extinction and avoidance conditioning inhibition of the amygdala via the mPFC leads to more movement (shuttling) and less freezing. The basolateral region of the amygdala is implicated in extinction of fear behaviors and expression of avoidance behaviors; [ 2 ] [ 3 ] however ...
Flooding is a psychotherapeutic method for overcoming phobias. In order to demonstrate the irrationality of the fear, a psychologist would put a person in a situation where they would face their phobia. Under controlled conditions and using psychologically-proven relaxation techniques, the subject attempts to replace their fear with relaxation.
From the cognitive psychology perspective, cognitions and feelings precede behavior, so it initially uses cognitive restructuring. The goal of the therapy is for the individual to learn how to cope with and overcome their fear in each level of an exposure hierarchy. The process of systematic desensitization occurs in three steps.
Pavlovian fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm in which organisms learn to predict aversive events. [1] It is a form of learning in which an aversive stimulus (e.g. an electrical shock) is associated with a particular neutral context (e.g., a room) or neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone), resulting in the expression of fear responses to the originally neutral stimulus or context.
Reciprocal inhibition is based on the idea that two opposing mental states cannot coexist and is used as both a psychological and biological mechanism. [13] The theory that "two opposing states cannot occur simultaneously" i.e. relaxation methods that are involved with desensitization inhibit feelings of anxiety that come with being exposed to phobic stimuli. [13]