What part of or brain makes us have fears of certain things?

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I have always wondered why we have fear so, reddit explain

In: Biology

Anonymous 0 Comments

Fear starts in the Amygdala section of the brain. Because humans are very complex creatures close to the whole brain is going to get used to interpret and think about that fear, but the base reaction is in the amygdala.

As for why we fear things, it is to protect ourselves. Fear is an innate way for a creature to keep itself from doing something that will hurt it. being fearful of falling keeps you from putting yourself in a situation where you might fall, being scared of strange animals will keep you from messing with things that might hurt you.

While some argue that some fears, such as of spiders/snakes, are hardwired into human beings, this is still hotly debated.

Fear mostly is something babies are taught/learn. For example, babies are not born afraid of heights, in experiments where (without actually putting the baby in danger) researchers have put toys over and edge or over a realistically painted cliff on the floor, and babies will very happily crawl out over that drop. Fearing heights is something learned by recognizing the danger that heights offer.