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Introduction Introduction
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Defining Fear Defining Fear
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Evolutionary Origins of Fear Evolutionary Origins of Fear
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The Neural Circuitry and Chemical Processes That Support Fear The Neural Circuitry and Chemical Processes That Support Fear
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Autonomic and Endocrine Responses Autonomic and Endocrine Responses
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Low-Level Behavioral Responses Low-Level Behavioral Responses
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Social Communicative Responses Social Communicative Responses
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Conclusions Conclusions
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References References
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26 Fear: An Evolutionary Perspective on Its Biological, Behavioral, and Communicative Features
Get accessKatherine O’Connell, Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University
Shawn A. Rhoads, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University
Abigail A. Marsh, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University
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Published:22 May 2024
Cite
Abstract
Fear is the multimodal state that accompanies the anticipation of an imminent or predictable aversive outcome. This state promotes adaptive autonomic, behavioral, and cognitive responses such as avoidance, escape, and learning. Fear is essential to animal species’ survival, and as such is highly conserved, with the emergence of basic fear learning and responding dating back at least 700 million years. The adaptive significance of fear reflects its effects not only on physiology and behavior, but also on social outcomes. Across a wide range of species, fear can be socially communicated via visual, auditory, and chemical signals, which promote avoidance of threat and social learning in observers. In some social species, the communication of fear can also benefit expressers by inhibiting aggression and eliciting care from observers. This chapter reviews the evolutionary functions and neural circuitry of fear and its autonomic, behavioral, and communicative features.
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