In a study done by the University
of Iowa they tested people that lacked the sense to fear. That is because the area
of their brain called the amygdala is deficient. They put people through
multiple tests that would frighten a normal person. These tests included snakes, horror movies, and other fearful things. They got no response from
the diseased test group.
That wasn't until they tried an experiment where they gave the people tested 35% carbon dioxide to see if that would frighten them. They knew what they were getting into before the experiment started and had no response. Then during the experiment they became fearful and showed multiple signs of fear. Including increased heart rate and the tested trying to get their masks off. The scientists concluded that the amygdala is non-responsive to fearful elements outside the body, and their normal human fears take place when something is wrong inside their body.
That wasn't until they tried an experiment where they gave the people tested 35% carbon dioxide to see if that would frighten them. They knew what they were getting into before the experiment started and had no response. Then during the experiment they became fearful and showed multiple signs of fear. Including increased heart rate and the tested trying to get their masks off. The scientists concluded that the amygdala is non-responsive to fearful elements outside the body, and their normal human fears take place when something is wrong inside their body.
In this
article I found the multiple themes of science. One of which is science is
based on evidence. This is because the University first did the experiment on
mice before they performed it on humans. Which also leads to another theme of
science which is a person’s view and experience can influence data. With doing
the experiment previously on mice they were expecting the same result, which in
turn may have influenced their data. Another theme of science that took place
in this experiment was the role of motivation and curiosity. The University
tried multiple tests to scare the patients but none worked until the carbon
dioxide. That is the motivation of the scientists to not give up after the first
fearful tactic failed.
I chose to write about this topic because it is fascinating that someone can have no fear. I personally feel like it was wrong for the university to test the people with 35% carbon dioxide.
link information- article title: "Human Brain is Divided on Fear and Panicother helpful links
link about Carbon dioxide and how it affects your body
http://www.livestrong.com/article/218049-the-effects-of-too-much-carbon-dioxide-in-the-blood/
link on how fear affects the body
http://www.fearexhibit.org/brain/full_body_experience
Jessica Rislove
I found a very similar website and it concluded the same results. Both disproved the theory that the sense of fear comes from the amygdala and without it they would be fearless. It is a very interesting that the amygdala is the reason people have a fear to external threats but when you have internal threats the natural human instincts kick in.
ReplyDeleteSource:
http://www.doctortipster.com/12699-the-amygdala-isnt-always-linked-to-fear.html
Where does instinct come from, if not the amygdala? It's found in all organic life, even in jellyfish, which have no brain or even a central nervous system. We do things by genetic habit, a sort of omni-guidance, to ensure a high survival rate. How does that genetic habit get seeded into our minds?
ReplyDeleteCharles Darwin explains instinctive tendencies -
http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Darwin/1859_7.htmL