[Dog]

Researchers have pinpointed the part of the brain that causes people to experience fear -- a discovery that could improve treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety conditions.

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[RobynC]

@Dog

Doesn't this effectively make this woman a psychopath?

R.C.
Remember to seriously read my signature down below and be sure you understand what I mean by it...

[Larxene]

@Dog:

*pats Dog as a form of human love* Your reward. :)
@RobynC:

Maybe. But there are many other symptoms of psychopathy that needs to be present before we can conclude that.


Practical and Ethical Issues

1. Fear is a major source of motivation. It often motivates us to avoid things that threaten our survival, like confronting an animal that's faster and/or stronger than us. Note that my suspicions ring true when considering the information at the final few paragraphs: the woman doesn't avoid spiders and snakes but rather touches them.

2. When doing such experiments there is always a risk of targeting the wrong parts of the amygdala. Since the amygdala modulates emotions, it's not surprising that a mistake could prevent the patient from ever feeling other forms of emotions, such as joy and excitement.

3. If scientists eventually are able to prevent people from experiencing certain emotions, this may pose a threat to society in cases where a dictatorship arises.