This is your brain on fear
fMRI identifies sources of conditional
fear
By Amanda
Kalaydjian
Ever wonder why a horror movie can cause you to lie awake in fear all night?
Thanks to imaging’s role in studying this complex emotion, researchers may
soon be able to explain why.
Using fMRI, they’re identifying the mechanisms underlying conditioned
fear, in which fear is experienced, as well as instructed fear, in which fear is
learned through communication.
“With the advent of techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging, we can
look at the interaction of systems,” said Dr. Elizabeth Phelps, an
associate professor of psychology at New York University.
Functional MRI has determined that the right amygdala is predominantly
activated during fear conditioning, while the left amygdala is predominantly
activated during fear learning.
Not everyone supports using imaging in psychological research, however. Some
critics contend it will supplant the study of behavior.
“Our ability to understand brain activity is dependent on understanding
behavior,” Phelps said. “They have to progress jointly if we ever hope
to understand what brain signals mean.”
