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Fear Paralysis Fear paralysis is a defensive response to a stimulus by humans and some animals. Fear Paralysis is a reaction that detaches a person from the current situation they are experiencing which is often induced by a situation or environment. Being physically, mentally, and emotionally immobilized by your fear means you are unable to feel the enormity of what is happening and therefore management of this reaction is necessary in order to prevent recurrence.

Fear Paralysis Reflex
The fear paralysis reflex develops in utero and is one of the earliest reflexes to emerge in humans in the womb and can be retained after birth if it has not been integrated properly. Birger Kaada carried out research in to sudden infant death syndrome induced by the fear paralysis reflex. The fear paralysis reflex is induced by fear and in human infants restraint of movement, sudden or unfamiliar noises, separation and exposure to unfamiliar environments may result in immediate motor paralysis and can proceed to asystole and fatal cardiac rhythms.

Causes
The fear paralysis reflex is induced by fear as a result of a threatening event perceived as a danger. The trauma of the event can often lead Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as can the dissociation from an event. A threatening event can be different for each individual and can be as a result of a phobia, a situation, anxiety, learnt behaviour or a conditioned response as shown in the work of Pavlov.

Mechanism
Emotional and behavioural responses activate various circuits within the brain. It was assumed that emotions were originally processed in the limbic system and that emotion and cognition were separate functions and must therefore have different underlying neuroanatomical substrates. Newer technology available to researchers today including FMRI allow more detailed studies to be carried out.

A fear paralysis response is made up of various systems and areas within the brain being triggered, these include:


 * The prefrontal cortex is the front part of the frontal lobe of the brain. This region of the brain supports the complex cognition behaviours and therefore actions and reactions to situations and environments.
 * The periaqeductal grey (PAG) is a brain region responsible for dictating how humans and animals respond to perceived danger.
 * The amygdala plays an important role in many aspects of emotional and behavioural responses. A circuit from the lateral and central nuclei of the amygdala, throughout the ventral-anterior and medial hypothalamic areas, down to the PAG may constitute the executive system for fear, as the flight and freeze mechanism can be evoked along the whole of this system as well as the induction of fear.
 * The cerebellar plays a part in some cognitive functions including regulation of fear responses.

Often research is conducted in laboratories with rats being used as a mean to understanding various brain functions. Research in to the central neural pathways involved in fear evoked behaviours have looked to test the hypotheses that fear evoked freezing is associated with v1PAG activation and is cerebellar dependant. The study addresses the gap in understanding neural pathways and mechanisms that link the PAG to patterns of motor response associated with survival behaviours. The study concludes that the cerebellar region is necessary for normal levels of expression of freezing behaviour that is both innate and learned as a result of fearful stimulus.

Management
There are various management techniques to help control fear paralysis. These can be both psychological or pharmacological interventions and are similar to those used to treat phobias or anxiety disorders.

Basic techniques can include, breathing techniques which encourage the individual to relax and reduce the fear paralysis response, other relaxation techniques and the practice of basic mindfulness can be encouraged. More longer term interventions are cognitive behavioural therapy and pharmacological interventions which may vary dependant on the severity of the reactions.