New Discoveries in the Brain Sciences of Fear and Anxiety - From Basic to Clinical Neuroscience

This book focuses on the latest neuroscience findings about the neurobiology of fear and anxiety. Fear is a highly conserved and evolutionarily adaptive response to threats in the environment. Decades of research have identified the basic underlying neurocircuitry of fear and cutting-edge methods used in both animal models and humans continue to refine and shape our understanding of fear. While fear, when expressed in the appropriate context, is adaptive, excessive responses to threatening cues and contexts and anxiety are maladaptive. Fear-based disorders and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and impairing. These disorders often begin in childhood, highlighting the importance of genetics, early environment, and risk factors.