Abstract
The study of “fear” can be traced back to the differences between “behaviorism” and “psychoanalysis” on cognition, while recent research on the learning and memory of fear by using modern cell and molecular biology experimental techniques has made our understanding of “fear” gradually multi-level and in-depth. At present, our research on fear can be divided into three levels, namely behavior, brain circuits and molecular. At the level of behavior, Pavlovian conditioning experiments have become the core method for studying fear, and behavioral approaches have been used for fear-related mental illnesses, such as the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At the level of brain circuits, the brain circuits with the amygdala as the core have gradually become clear, and there is also a two-system or one-system debate on how to recognize the fear process. At the molecular level, the Hebbian synaptic plasticity mechanism and neuromodulatory-dependent mechanism are used to explain the process of fear memory acquisition. Based on the current three levels of research, revealing how feelings of fear may generate is likely to play a guiding role in the further understanding of “fear” and treatment of related diseases.
Highlights
Our understanding of fear has gone through a process from shallow to deep
Scientists represented by John Watson abandoned the illusory “consciousness” in psychology, and no longer studied “fear” as an emotion; based on Pavlov’s classical conditioned reflex experiment, they believed that fear was a constructive conditioned reflex [1, 2]
The deepening understanding of the brain circuits of fear has led to the emergence of two new theoretical models after psychoanalysis and behaviorism, both of which attempt to present the nature of fear, but there is no definite evidence to prove which is right and which is wrong
Summary
Our understanding of fear has gone through a process from shallow to deep. When it comes to the word “fear”, non-professionals usually regard it as an emotional response involving consciousness. Looking back on the professional understanding of “fear”, two core psychological schools in the early 20th century – “behaviorism” and “psychoanalysis” respectively gave their own explanations for “fear”. With the development of modern cell and molecular biology technology, as in many cognitive processes, our research on “fear” is further deepened from the psychological level to the level of brain circuits involved in “fear”, and even to the level of molecular mechanism regulating “fear” learning and memory. This thesis will illustrate the current understanding of learning and memory of fear from a multi-level perspective
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