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Neural organization of the defensive behavior system responsible for fear

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review volume 1, pages 429–438 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

This paper applies the behavior systems approach to fear and defensive behavior, examining the neural circuitry controlling fear and defensive behavior from this vantage point. The defensive behavior system is viewed as having three modes that are activated by different levels of fear. Low levels of fear promote pre-encounter defenses, such as meal-pattern reorganization. Moderate levels of fear activate post-encounter defenses. For the rat, freezing is the dominant post-encounter defensive response. Since this mode of defense is activated by learned fear, forebrain structures such as the amygdala play a critical role in its organization. Projections from the amygdala to the ventral periaqueductal gray activate freezing. Extremely high levels of fear, such as those provoked by physical contact, elicit the vigorous active defenses that compose the circa-strike mode. Midbrain structures such as the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray and the superior colliculus play a crucial role in organizing this mode of defense. Inhibitory interactions between the structures mediating circa-strike and post-encounter defense allow for the rapid switching between defensive modes as the threatening situation varies.

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  1. Department of Psychology and the Brain Research Institute, the University of California, Los Angeles

    Michael S. Fanselow

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  1. Michael S. Fanselow
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This paper is dedicated to the memory of Robert C. Bolles. The research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH39786. The article was partly prepared while the author was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grant 8900078. Thanks are due S. L. Young and J. P. DeCola for helpful comments.

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Fanselow, M.S. Neural organization of the defensive behavior system responsible for fear. Psychon Bull Rev 1, 429–438 (1994). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210947

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Keywords

  • Conditional Stimulus
  • Unconditional Stimulus
  • Superior Colliculus
  • Activity Burst
  • Defensive Behavior