Course Syllabus

Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety

 

Semester & Location:	Fall 2025 - DIS Copenhagen
Credits:	Core course - 3 credits
Course Study Tour:	Munich or Heidelberg
Major Disciplines:	Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology
Prerequisite(s):	One year of biology at university level
Faculty Members:	Bettina Hornbøll Borch (bho@dis.dk)
Program Director:	Susana Dietrich
Time & Place:	Mondays and Thursdays Classroom: TBD

Faculty

Bettina Hornbøll Borch Ph.D. (Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, 2017), MSc. (Neurobiology, University of Copenhagen, 2006), BA (Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2004). Has been conducting neuroscience research for approx. 10 years, investigating emotion processing with functional brain imaging under serotonergic challenges. With DIS since 2012.

Course Description

Humans share brain structures controlling the fear response with other mammals, birds, and reptiles. These structures have been evolutionarily preserved because fear helps protect us from danger, injury, and death. Although we are now further removed from the dangerous elements of nature, our primal fear instincts remain and thus anxiety has evolved. We will examine the neurobiological, psychological, as well as evolutionary aspects of fear and anxiety, and consider how it ties into decision-making in our everyday lives. We will examine this set of issues from a multidisciplinary perspective, synthesizing recent work from the fields of biology, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

Expected Learning Outcomes

After completion of this course the student will be able to:

• Explain functioning of the brain in general terms, in particular with respect to fear (and emotion) processing
• Describe several theories and concepts of emotion, and be able to differentiate between fear and anxiety
• Identify fear and anxiety in an evolutionary, biological, philosophical, and psychological sense
• Discuss the influence of fear and anxiety in everyday life as well as how they are components of several common dysfunctional behaviors

The objectives of the study tour are:

• Enhance your knowledge of Neuroscientific research, and educational methods.
• Expose you to potential careers in neuroscience through visits with leading figures in both research and educational institutions.
• Broaden your understanding of the critical connection between academia and science mediation.
• To explore how neuroscience of fear can also be a part of everyday life, now and in the past, by also including historically relevant information and research
• To explore and learn more about other societies in Europe present and in a historical perspective
• To explore and experience a different culture  
• Broaden your horizon within the field of neuroscience and go beyond the classroom.  
• Encourage you to develop further questions and insights regarding your personal, academic, and professional interests. 
•  Provide an educational and social setting for you to interact with your peers and professors. 

Expectations for class as well as study tour:

• Actively participate in all activities
• Engage in discussions, ask questions, and contribute to achieving the learning objectives
• Respect the destination, the speakers, DIS staff, and your fellow classmates
• Represent yourself, your home university and DIS in a positive light

Approach to Teaching

The course will be taught with a dynamic approach where the students are expected to participate in an interactive way, by contributing with questions, opinions, explanations and class facilitation. 

Course Components

Expectations of Students & Code of Conduct

• Laptops are not allowed to be open in the classroom unless agreed upon for specified tasks such as article reading and or for discussion purposes (Tasks will be agreed upon in each class)
• Reading must be done prior to the class session
• Since class participation is a component of the final grade, you will need to be present and participating to receive full credit. Your grade will be impacted by unexcused absences and lack of participation.
• Be in class on time!
• Classroom etiquette includes being respectful of one another’s opinions; listening to others and entering a dialogue in a constructive manner

• Extensions: There will be no extensions. Any exceptions must be accompanied by prior agreement with me. Late work will not be accepted. It will not be possible to make a do-over of any assignments.
  
  

Workload

This is an intensive course thus you should expect a high workload. You should expect to use a good amount of time in preparing for each day of classes some of the preptime has been included in the class time, but you should still expect to spend a good amount of time to prepare. 

Field Study

Field studies serve to complement your course work by placing you in other contexts than class in order to compare, extend and rethink what has been (or will be) read and discussed in class.

Study Tour to Munich or Heidelberg

Study tours are an intense combination of discipline-related and cultural exploration and experiences, bonding with fellow students, and fun. 

The tour will give an insight to the course, by way of visiting research facilities as well as museums that are of relevance to the general field of neuroscience but also more specifically Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety. We will naturally explore being in a new culture, as well as what has come out of those places in the past in relation to medical history in respect to fear and anxiety. During the tour, we will go beyond research and explore more of the everyday impact that certain situations can have on fear and anxiety processing.  

Evaluations and Grading

There are four categories of which the final grade consist of, each of the categories contains sub assignments or elements (except for the final exam), all of which has to be completed in order to receive a passing grade. The four groups are:

Engagement and Participation

Study tour assignment

Class facilitation and 

Exams

More fulfilling information about each assignment will be given in class. 

Final grade break down

The breakdown of the final grade can be found in canvas (e.g. syllabus, assignment, and grades), please be aware that to be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

 Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

  DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org

 

DIS Contacts

Susana Dietrich, Program Director, sd@dis.dk 

Required Reading

• Peer reviewed scientific articles, all relating to the material covered in the course. All reading material is available through canvas

Recommended material:

1. The app “iSurf Brainview Desktop” which can be downloaded for free from the apple app store has a general reference for brain structures and functions. Apple app store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ios/id36?mt=8
2. http://www.thehumanbrain.info is a web page in relation to a book of the same name, and contains all kinds of interesting and useful information about the human brain.

Reference List

• Caspi, A. (2003). Influence of Life Stress on Depression: Moderation by a Polymorphism in the 5-HTT Gene. Science, 301(5631), 386–389. 
• Critchley, H.D., 2009. Psychophysiology of neural, cognitive and affective integration: fMRI and autonomic indicants. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 73(2), pp.88–94. 
• Damasio, A. R. (1996). The somatic marker hypothesis and the possible functions of the prefrontal cortex. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 351(1346), 1413–1420. 
• Davydow, D. S., Zatzick, D., Hough, C. L., & Katon, W. J. (2013). A longitudinal investigation of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms over the course of the year following medical-surgical intensive care unit admission. General Hospital Psychiatry, 35(3), 226–232. 
• Dedovic, K., Duchesne, A., Andrews, J., Engert, V., & Pruessner, J. C. (2009). The brain and the stress axis: The neural correlates of cortisol regulation in response to stress. NeuroImage, 47(3), 864–871. 
• Fisher, P.M. & Hariri, A.R. (2012). Linking variability in brain chemistry and circuit function through multimodal human neuroimaging. 11(6):633-642. 
• Gore, J. C. Principles and practice of functional MRI of the human brain. J. Clin. Invest. 112, 4–9 (2003). 
• Hariri A.R. (2009). The neurobiology of individual differences in complex behavioral traits. Annual Rewievs Neuroscience 32:225-247. 
• Hartley, C. A., & Phelps, E. A. (2009). Changing Fear: The Neurocircuitry of Emotion Regulation. Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 35(1), 136–146. 
• Koenigsberg, H. W., Fan, J., Ochsner, K. N., Liu, X., Guise, K., Pizzarello, S., et al. (2010). Neural correlates of using distancing to regulate emotional responses to social situations. Neuropsychologia, 48(6), 1813–1822. 
• LeDoux, J. E., & Muller, J. (1997). Emotional memory and psychopathology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 352(1362), 1719–1726. 
• Lipka, J. et al., 2014. Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Brain Responses to Subliminal and Supraliminal Threat and Their Functional Significance in Specific Phobia. BPS, 76(11), pp.869–877. 
• Ohman, A. (2005). The role of the amygdala in human fear: Automatic detection of threat. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(10), 953–958.
• Olsson, A., & Phelps, E. A. (2007). Social learning of fear. Nature Neuroscience, 10(9), 1095–1102. 
• Raine, A. (2013) The Anatomy of Violence. Penguin UK. pp. 114 – 120. 
• Soares, S. C., Esteves, F., Lundqvist, D., & Öhman, A. (2009). Some animal specific fears are more specific than others: Evidence from attention and emotion measures. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(12), 1032–1042. 
• Tsuchiya, N., & Adolphs, R. (2007). Emotion and consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(4), 158–167. 
• William, J. (1884). What is an Emotion? Oxford Journals, 9(34), 188–205.
• Ziegler, S. I. (2005). Positron Emission Tomography: Principles, Technology, and Recent Developments. Nuclear Physics A, 752, 679–687.