Stephen learned to fear thunder and lightning storms. When Stephen’s fear was first acquired, his neural responses were marked by a significant amount of neural activity in his:未知题型
A
hypothalamus
B
thalamus
C
amygdala
D
reticular activating system

Question

Stephen learned to fear thunder and lightning storms. When Stephen’s fear was first acquired, his neural responses were marked by a significant amount of neural activity in his:

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The amygdala is the brain’s key structure for acquiring and expressing conditioned fear.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Classical (Pavlovian) fear conditioning: a neutral stimulus (e.g., thunder) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) when paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), producing a conditioned fear response.
- Amygdala anatomy/function: lateral nucleus receives sensory input; central nucleus coordinates fear outputs (autonomic, hormonal, behavioral).
- Supporting evidence: lesion and imaging studies show the amygdala is necessary for acquiring and showing conditioned fear.

2. Step-by-step reasoning process
- Stephen initially had neutral reactions to storms; repeated pairing of loud thunder/lightning (US/aversive event) with the storm context made the storm cues predictive.
- Sensory information about thunder/lightning is relayed to the amygdala (directly and via the thalamus), where associative strengthening occurs (synaptic plasticity in the lateral amygdala).
- Once associations form, the central amygdala activates downstream targets (hypothalamus, brainstem) to produce the physiological and behavioral fear responses Stephen displays.

3. Calculations
- No numerical calculations are required; reasoning is neurobiological.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- The amygdala mediates acquisition and expression of learned fear; increased neural activity in the amygdala is the hallmark of recently acquired fear memories. Experimental manipulations that block amygdala function prevent fear learning and expression, confirming its central role.

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- Hypothalamus: mediates autonomic and endocrine aspects of fear responses (outputs), not the principal site of learning.
- Thalamus: relays sensory information to cortex and amygdala but does not itself store or primarily mediate fear learning.
- Reticular activating system (RAS): regulates arousal and wakefulness broadly, not specific associative fear learning.

6. Conclusion
- Therefore, Stephen’s initial acquisition of fear would show significant neural activity in the amygdala. This matches the provided correct answer: amygdala.

Stephen learned to fear thunder and lightning storms. When Stephen’s fear was first acquired, his neural responses were marked by a significant amount of neural activity in his:未知题型

类似问题

In the study by Erk et al (2007) the amygdala was more active in the negative picture condition during the high letter load condition of the working memory task. True or False:

Is the following statement true or false? In the products of methylation-hydrolysis, every -OH group corresponds to the position of a glycosidic bond in the starting polysaccharide.

Which of the follwoing structures represents amylopectin?

Which of the following is true about an aldopentose?I. It is a monosaccharide.II. It contains a CHO groupIII. It is a disaccharide.IV. It is an oligosaccharide.

For stock A, we have 𝛽 𝑖 = 0.70. Suppose the expected market risk premium next year is 9% and the risk-free rate is 3%. What is the expected return of this stock based on the CAPM? (Please answer in % and round to 2 decimal places. If the answer is 8.057%, then in the box, write 8.06)

更多留学生实用工具

智能学习助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单