What does fear conditioning measure?

The fear conditioning is an associative learning paradigm for measuring aversive learning and memory. In the fear conditioning procedure, a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) such as light or tone is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) such as mild footshock.

What type of conditioning is fear?

Fear conditioning is a form of classical conditioning, the type of associative learning pioneered by Ivan Pavlov in the 1920s.

What brain structure is involved in fear conditioning?

A triad of brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, form an essential brain circuit involved in fear conditioning and extinction. Within this circuit, the prefrontal cortex is thought to exert top-down control over subcortical structures to regulate appropriate behavioral responses.

What receptors are involved in fear conditioning?

Dopamine. Other studies suggest that dopamine receptor activation (both D1 and D2 receptor subtypes) in the amygdala contributes to the acquisition of fear conditioning (Greba et al., 2001; Guarraci et al., 2000; Guarraci et al., 1999; Nader and LeDoux, 1999).

How do you test for fear conditioning?

Typically, the fear conditioning test employs electrical footshock as an unconditioned fear stimulus (US) in conjunction with a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS), such as an experimental context or a discrete cue such as a light or a tone stimulus.

Is fear conditioning a theory?

Fear conditioning is a form of classical conditioning. It is the mechanism we learn to fear people, objects, places, and events that are aversive such as an electric shock. In evolution, this form of associative fear learning plays a critical role in our survival from future threats​3​.

How is fear classically conditioned?

In classical fear conditioning, a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g., tone) is repeatedly paired with an aversive stimulus (UCS, e.g., shock), yielding a CS-UCS association. Discrimination conditioning uses two CSs, one that is paired with the UCS (CS+) and another that is not (CS−).

What causes fear conditioning?

Fear conditioning is a simple form of associative learning, in which an animal learns to associate the presence of a neutral stimulus, termed the conditioned stimulus (CS), such as a light or a tone, with the presence of a motivationally significant stimulus, termed the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as an electric …

What is beta blockers role in fear conditioning?

Beta-blockers can reduce retrieval of fear memories (Kroes et al, 2010; Muravieva and Alberini, 2010), and have been suggested to impair reconsolidation (Debiec and Ledoux, 2004; Kindt et al, 2009; Schwabe et al, 2012), both associated with a reduction of fear responses.

How is fear conditioning accomplished?

Fear Conditioning (FC) is a type of associative learning task in which mice learn to associate a particular neutral Conditional Stimulus (CS; often a tone) with an aversive Unconditional Stimulus (US; often a mild electrical foot shock) and show a Conditional Response (CR; often as freezing).

How do fears get conditioned?

Fear conditioning is thought to depend upon an area of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is involved in acquisition, storage, and expression of conditioned fear memory.

How is fear acquired through classical conditioning?

Fear is a behavior that can be learned via classical conditioning. When a neutral stimulus, something that does not cause fear, is associated with an unconditioned stimulus, something that causes fear; the process then leads to the response of fear towards the previously neutral stimulus.