Fear In The Brain: Scientists Pinpoint How It's Processed

Recent findings published in the journal Brain and Cognition pinpoint just how fear arises in the brain.

Scientists discovered how to separate emotion from threat by controlling the dimension of arousal via emotional reaction that's provoked via response to stimuli.

"We are trying to find where thought exists in the mind," explained John Hart, Jr., M.D., Medical Science Director at the Center for BrainHealth, in a news release. "We know that groups of neurons firing on and off create a frequency and pattern that tell other areas of the brain what to do. By identifying these rhythms, we can correlate them with a cognitive unit such as fear."

By using electroencephalography (EEG), researchers were able to identify theta and beta wave activity that actually signifies the brains activity to visually threatening images.

"We have known for a long time that the brain prioritizes threatening information over other cognitive processes," explained Bambi DeLaRosa, study lead author. "These findings show us how this happens. Theta wave activity starts in the back of the brain, in its fear center - the amygdala - and then interacts with brain's memory center - the hippocampus - before traveling to the frontal lobe where thought processing areas are engaged. At the same time, beta wave activity indicates that the motor cortex is revving up in case the feet need to move to avoid the perceived threat."

With future studies, researchers hope to better determine more specific areas of the brain where fear centers are located and discover just how they're triggered.