012 Treatment of Phobias with Dr. Kate Baker

Today's show is about how to diagnose a phobia, with Dr. Kate Baker of the University of Michigan. In two weeks, we will be back with a second episode on treatment of phobias.

This episode may be most helpful for pre-clinical and clinical students, as well as residents early in their training.

In today's episode we cover:

Specific phobias (like fear of flying, fear of getting an injection)

Social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder), which can include things like fear of public speaking

Agoraphobia

Fear neurocircuitry

Specific Phobia criteria: - intense anxiety, almost always provoked by stimulus - avoidance / endured with intense anxiety - anxiety out of proportion to actual danger - clinical distress or impairment (social, occupational, etc) - duration over 6 months - not better explained by another disorder

Social phobia: one additional criterion to the specific phobia criteria is: individual fears that he/she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated, such as being rejected or embarrassed.

Agoraphobia: The additional criterion to specific phobia is two or more of the following: Fear of: - using public transportation - being in open spaces - being in enclosed spaces - being in a crowd or line - being outside the home alone

Basic steps of neurocircuitry: 1. signal of danger/trauma inputted into brain 2. brain puts context around this information 3. if brain interpretation is of concern, then fight/flight activated.

Key brain structure in the fear response is the amygdala.

Resources:

You may find it helpful to review fear neurocircuitry from the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative website.