Psychology and Biology of Fear

Chaos, Anxiety, Fear and Rational Thinking 

Summary statement reported in Perplexity ai:

Chaos, anxiety, and fear can indeed impact the prefrontal cortex, affecting rational thinking. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for conscious self-control, decision-making, and the ability to retrieve memories. Research has shown that even mild stress can weaken the influence of the prefrontal cortex, leading to unchecked primal impulses and mental paralysis1. Continuous chaos and chronic stress can induce a fear state in the brain, leading to the shutdown of the prefrontal area, which is essential for sending comforting messages to the amygdala and insula, thus affecting the experience of stress, anxiety, and tension. Furthermore, stress signaling pathways can impair the structure and function of the prefrontal cortex, leading to a rapid and dramatic loss of its abilities. The prefrontal cortex is highly sensitive to the detrimental effects of stress exposure, which can cause architectural changes in its dendrites. Therefore, it is evident that chaos, anxiety, and fear can have a significant impact on the prefrontal cortex and rational thinking.

Links to resources: 

Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked and mental paralysis sets in.

From Anxious to Reckless: A Control Systems Approach Unifies Prefrontal-Limbic Regulation Across the Spectrum of Threat Detection

How To Survive The Chaos That’s Killing Us – Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation

https://wapo.st/3PDT8ai

How does fear affect rational behavior?
Fear can have a significant impact on rational behavior. When we experience fear, our body releases hormones that prepare us for a “fight or flight” response.
This response can cause several physiological changes, such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and a decrease in functions not needed for survival, such as our digestive system.

Fear can also affect our cognitive abilities, such as our ability to think clearly and make good decisions.

Research has shown that fear is associated with greater pessimism and feelings of unpredictability about the future.

Fear can also cause us to be more risk-averse and less willing to take chances. 
In some cases, fear can lead to avoidance behaviors, where we avoid situations or activities that we perceive as threatening.
However, it’s important to note that fear can also have adaptive functions in terms of both cognition and behavioral responses.

Fear can help us prepare for dangerous situations and can increase our vigilance and attention to potentially threatening stimuli.

Overall, fear can have both positive and negative effects on rational behavior, depending on the situation and the individual’s response to fear. It’s important to learn how to cope with fear and manage its impact on our behavior to make rational decisions.

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-fear-2671696

https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-fear-and-hate-and-what-each-of-us-can-do-to-stop-it-113710

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/cc89ba0a-bbac-47f4-b6f7-a593c0ae9cd2?s=u

https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/leviathan/section10/

How Fear and Anger Impact Democracy

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3595162/

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/10/election-stress

https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/fear-motivator-elections

https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/politics-policymaking/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-based-politics/

Inevitably, The Politics Of Terror: Fear Has Become Part Of Washington’s Power Struggle

https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-fear-how-fear-goes-tribal-allowing-us-to-be-manipulated-109626

https://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/053007_gore_excerpt.pdf

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/