The nature of fear and the pathology of trypophobia: a translational perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3843Keywords:
Trypophobia, Specific phobia, fear, Anxiety disordersAbstract
Trypophobia refers to a specific and persistent fear of clusters of holes. Phobias are common in the community (i.e., subclinical), but are usually presented in clinical settings as just one arm of a more complex anxiety diagnosis. The origins of fear-based psychopathology are overlapping and have long been investigated as a broad construct using translational paradigms (e.g., Pavlovian learning) to understand the conserved mechanisms underlying the symptoms. While many reviews on the etiological components of fear-based disorders exist, less have comprehensively integrated a truly translational perspective that highlights the significance of mechanistic research studying discrete anxiety profiles (e.g., phobias versus generalized anxiety). Here, I review literature spanning decades of research on the mechanisms that underlie phobias and discuss current debates in the field about how to interpret the evidence. Lastly, I offer novel insights about what we are missing and how we should move forward.
Keywords: trypophobia, fear, etiology
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