There has been found that a middle aged woman feels no kind of fear. Fear is a survival instinct and yet she feels nothing of it. They had tried scaring her with a number of terrifying situations such as being held at gunpoint and knife point. She even giggles in haunted houses! She has an unusual genetic disorder called Urbach-Wiethe disease. In one's late childhood, this disease will destroy both sides of the amygdala. The amygdala is composed of two structures the shape and size of almonds on each side of the brain. This damage to the brain had caused the woman to know no fear. They had tested this on animals, but the thing is that if animals can actually feel fear consciously. They also gave her a electronic diary to record for 3 months and fear was an emotion that had never been recorded. Also, she isn't just afraid of life threatening situations, but she also is not afraid of normal everyday fears such as social acceptance and public speaking. The researchers also tried to scare her through many clips or movies such as The Blair Witch Project or The Shining. The damge done to her brain acts at a very unconscious and instinctive level. Not only is there a lack of interest, but you become more curious to what may cause fear.
Fear can be our worst enemy, but it can be our best friend. I believe this is a very interesting article. I think the more we learn about the brain, the better. This could be bad if it were to go wild somehow, but it has little potential to do so since its only genetics.
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