Authentic Biochemistry

Fear-conditioning  learning is a low-threshold  enduring psychiatric  process that prepares a defense against dangerous phenomena and reduces the need to iteratively  relearn the signal. It is a pattern recognition response that can be modulated by experience and the severity of the stress signal and it is  a response that deteriorates in the elderly and in certain neuropsycoses  and anxiety disorders throughout life. Fear conditioning must be fluid  to readjust according to reverse learning.  Persistent fear and avoidance of the potential for fear-associated events are common presentations of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and avoidant behavior  maintains SAD, thus it prevents the reversal of fear in social situations. The best treatment outcomes are CBT including exposure therapy, which leads to  fear extinction. Pharmacotherapy including  antidepressants, benzodiazepines, beta-blockers, anticonvulsants, or neuroleptics, are commonly administered with lo