According to the model of fear circuitry proposed by LeDoux & Pine (2016), our brain process threatening stimuli in two loops:
Defensive survival circuit - this subcortical circuit, involving areas like the amygdala, controls defensive behaviours and physiological responses to threats.
Cognitive circuit - this cortical circuit involving areas like the prefrontal cortex, generates conscious feelings of fear and anxiety.
Traditionally these two functions have been conflated into a single "fear circuit", but they are actually separate systems. The defensie circuit operates non-consciously, while the cognitive circuit gives rise to conscious feelings. Separating these two systems provides a better framework for understanding fear and anxiety.
The brain processes threatening stimuli via fast and slow loop. The first invovles the thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus and quick activation of the SAM and also the HPA axis. The slow loop will process the stimulus more accurately, either sending messages to stop or to enhance the stress response, depending on the confirmation - or not - of the stimulus as threatening.
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Reference:
LeDoux, J. E., & Pine, D. S. (2016). Using neuroscience to help understand fear and anxiety: a two-system framework. American journal of psychiatry, 173(11), 1083-1093.
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