Brain Circuitry for Fear and Anxiety Is the Same on fMRI

A study in people fails to detect differences in the brain’s response to fear or anxiety, long thought to be controlled by different neural circuits.

Written byAmanda Heidt

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fear, anxiety, fMRI, study, neural circuits, brain study, neuroscience, amygdala, BNST

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A prevailing belief in neuroscience has long been that fear and anxiety are distinct emotions, prompted by different stimuli that in turn activate different regions of the brain. Fear is a more basal response to an immediate threat thought to be controlled by the amygdala, while anxiety, linked to a part of the brain known as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, or BNST, plays out over time and doesn’t always stem from obvious danger.

Scientists are now challenging the belief that the two emotions are segregated in the brain. A study published September 21 in The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates that when people are subjected to a certain threat meant to prompt fear or an uncertain threat that evokes anxiety, their brains seem to react the same, calling upon both the amygdala and the BNST in their response. While fear and anxiety are distinct ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
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Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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