Phobias and the Brain Essay -- Neurology Psychology Papers

Phobias and the Brain You are in an airport waiting for your plane to arrive. You've never flown before, and are more terrified than you can ever remember being. Everyone has told you the supposedly comforting statistics - "millions of planes take off each day and there's only a handful of crashes," "flying is safer than driving." You know rationally that there is no reason to be so scared, but regardless your heart is racing, your palms are sweating, and you're light-headed. Simply the thought of being up in the air, out of control, makes you feel faint. Finally the flight attendant announces that your plane has arrived. But as all the other passengers line up to get onboard, you grab your luggage and walk straight out of the airport, with every step feeling more and more relieved. What is this feeling of anxiousness? Why can't you get rid of it even though you consciously know that it is irrational? What is it caused by? How can it be prevented or lessened? What you experienced in the airport is a phobia. A phobia is the sensation of extreme fear "when it is not justified by the presence of any real danger or threat, or by any rational cause, and when it is accompanied by a systematic avoidance of the situations that lead to it." (1) A phobia is brought on by a specific stimulus or situation, for example, insects, heights, crowds, or the dentist. Presentation with the fear-inducing stimulus causes a severe anxiety response with very apparent and specific physical manifestations, such as a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and sweating. Most individuals suffering from phobias are able to recognize that their fear is fundamentally irrational, yet nonetheless go through great lengths to avoid any contact with t... ... the Amygdala http://academic.uofs.edu/department/neuro/fear.html 8) Ledoux, Joseph. Fear and the Brain: Where Have We Been, and Where Are We Going? Society of Biological Psychiatry, 1998. 9)Personality Correlates to Memory Change http://web.uccs.edu/sstewart/Introduction.htm 10)The Link Between Phobias and Genetics http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro02/web3/www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8014/317030.html 11)A Page of Various Treatments for Phobias www.sover.net:80/~schwcof/psycho.htm 12)General Information of Phobias http://allpsych.com/journal/phobias.html 13) Fumas, Tomas et.al. Common Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow in Patients with Social Phobia Treated With Citalopram or Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. Arch General Psychiatry. Vol. 59, 2002. 14)Terms relating to phobias http://www.ac.www.edu/~knecht/352_phobias.html