Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Fear

Fear is an adaptive emotional and physiological response to perceived threat that mobilizes the organism for defense, mediated by neural circuits centered on the amygdala and its connections to the hypothalamus, brainstem, and prefrontal cortex. It engages autonomic arousal, heightened vigilance, and defensive behav…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 61× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2476-1710 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Fear is an adaptive emotional and physiological response to perceived threat that mobilizes the organism for defense, mediated by neural circuits centered on the amygdala and its connections to the hypothalamus, brainstem, and prefrontal cortex. It engages autonomic arousal, heightened vigilance, and defensive behaviors, and its experimental study draws on paradigms such as fear conditioning and fear-potentiated startle, in which prior exposure to aversive stimuli amplifies reflexive responses. When fear becomes excessive, persistent, or decoupled from genuine danger, it underlies anxiety disorders, phobias, and post-traumatic stress, and its dysregulation involves neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems, including cholecystokinin, implicated in anxiety. Understanding the neurobiology and psychology of fear informs evidence-based treatments such as exposure-based and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Research relevant to this area examines the role of cholecystokinin in fear and anxiety, cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety, cognitive mechanisms of emotional conflict control, death anxiety, suicidal ideation in torture and war survivors, and the influence of fear and misconception on health behaviors. The journal publishes peer-reviewed studies on the neurobiology, cognition, and clinical management of fear and anxiety, including their measurement, underlying mechanisms, and the psychological treatments that address fear-related disorders.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2021

Fear of Falls and Frailty: Cause or Consequence or Both?

Marks RayCorresponding author
Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Exact topic Aging Research And Healthcare Cited by 4 doi:10.14302/issn.2474-7785.jarh-21-4041
2020

Mental Health in The Context of The COVID 19 Pandemic

Yadav RavinderCorresponding author
Medical Social Welfare Officer Department of Medical Record Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector-32, Chandigarh, India
Exact topic International Journal of Coronaviruses Cited by 1 doi:10.14302/issn.2692-1537.ijcv-20-3367

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 61 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Fear, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Depression And Therapy (ISSN 2476-1710).

Journal editorial board
Ladislav Volicer · United States Roberto Maniglio · Italy

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.