If your arachnophobia is constantly making you freak out, you might want to have your amygdala looked at. A man who had his amygdala removed to treat seizures discovered that he was cured of his extreme fear of spiders.
A 44-year-old businessman went under the knife to have part of his brain removed. A brain scan revealed that he was suffering from seizures as a result of a rare condition called sarcoidosis, which caused damage to his amygdala.
Once his amygdala was removed, the man noticed that his fear of spiders had subsided. Not only did he cure his fear of the eight-legged freaks, but he also found himself wanting to get up close and personal and even touch the critters.
The man was cured of his arachnophobia because the amygdala is linked to emotional reactions in the brain, such as processing fear, anger and pleasure. Neurons located in the amygdala are responsible for fear conditioning, where the brain learns through repeated experiences that we fear something.
"It's like when you see a snake and you jump back in alarm, but when you look back you realize it's just a stick," says Dr. Nick Medford from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School who observed the man. "That's your quick-and-dirty panic response: it isn't very accurate but it's necessary for basic survival. And then there's the more nuanced fear-appraisal which takes longer to process but is more accurate."
Even though removing part of his brain cured the man of his fear of spiders, his other fears like public speaking remained with him. Removing his amygdala seemed to only cure fears linked to those that cause quick panicked responses.
After his surgery, the man also developed a "stomach-lurching" dislike for music, which was triggered by hearing a television advertisement. Over time, the man was able to enjoy music again, but his arachnophobia never returned.
The man now finds spiders fascinating, coming a long way from when his fear had him throwing tennis balls and spraying hairspray at the insects.
Common, more realistic techniques to cure arachnophobia include taking a blood pressure pill or undergoing brain stimulation.
