The nature and neurobiology of fear and anxiety: State of the science and opportunities for accelerating discovery

Shannon E Grogans; Eliza Bliss-Moreau; Kristin A Buss; Lee Anna Clark; Andrew S Fox; Dacher Keltner; Alan S Cowen; Jeansok J Kim; Philip A Kragel; Colin MacLeod; Dean Mobbs; Kristin Naragon-Gainey; Miquel A Fullana; Alexander J Shackman

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105237

The nature and neurobiology of fear and anxiety: State of the science and opportunities for accelerating discovery

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Aug:151:105237. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105237. Epub 2023 May 18.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
⁶ Hume AI, New York, NY 10010, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
⁹ Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA; Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
¹¹ School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
¹² Adult Psychiatry and Psychology Department, Institute of Neurosciences, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain; Imaging of Mood, and Anxiety-Related Disorders Group, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹³ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Electronic address: shackman@umd.edu.

PMID: 37209932
PMCID: PMC10330657 (available on 2024-08-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105237

Abstract

Fear and anxiety play a central role in mammalian life, and there is considerable interest in clarifying their nature, identifying their biological underpinnings, and determining their consequences for health and disease. Here we provide a roundtable discussion on the nature and biological bases of fear- and anxiety-related states, traits, and disorders. The discussants include scientists familiar with a wide variety of populations and a broad spectrum of techniques. The goal of the roundtable was to take stock of the state of the science and provide a roadmap to the next generation of fear and anxiety research. Much of the discussion centered on the key challenges facing the field, the most fruitful avenues for future research, and emerging opportunities for accelerating discovery, with implications for scientists, funders, and other stakeholders. Understanding fear and anxiety is a matter of practical importance. Anxiety disorders are a leading burden on public health and existing treatments are far from curative, underscoring the urgency of developing a deeper understanding of the factors governing threat-related emotions.

Keywords: Affective neuroscience; Affective science; Emotion; Fear and anxiety; Psychopathology.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Animals
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
Anxiety* / psychology
Emotions
Fear* / psychology
Humans
Mammals
Neurobiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding