Stress activates the fight, flight, or freeze response, leading individuals to experience intense panic when faced with distressing situations. The influence of stress is so profound that it can modify memories, affecting how events are recalled. This alteration can result in the generalization of fear, extending it to situations that are not inherently threatening. A study published in the journal Cell revealed the significant effects of stress on fear-related memories.

How stress skews memories

To investigate the effects of stress on memory, researchers conducted experiments with mice. They exposed the mice to two distinct sounds; one sound was paired with a mild shock, creating a fearful association, while the other sound was presented without any adverse consequence. The brain encodes these memories to prevent the recurrence of distressing experiences. However, excessive stress can lead to a tendency to generalize these memories.

In the study, the mice experienced such high levels of stress that their memory processing was compromised. As a result, their fear responses became generalized, causing them to react fearfully to other sounds, rather than just the one associated with the shock.

The researchers discovered that the endocannabinoid system in the brain plays a crucial role in regulating stress. Nevertheless, when stress levels become excessive, this system can become disrupted, leading to confusion in memory processing.

Generalisation of fear

Similar to the way the mice could not differentiate between the safe and threatening sounds due to overwhelming stress, human memories can also become distorted under pressure. When the brain is inundated with stress, it struggles to accurately identify what is safe versus what is dangerous. Consequently, individuals may begin to perceive benign situations as threatening due to these altered memories. Stress can induce anxiety about circumstances that are, in fact, harmless.

Rather than solely recalling the dangerous event and remaining vigilant, the brain tends to generalize the fear, leading to unnecessary worry about similar situations that pose no real threat.

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