| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (50 min. 30 sec.) ; 304921710 bytes |
| Summary |
Examines the nature of fear - our most primal and powerful emotion. From its evolutionary origins in the involuntary fight-or-flight survival instinct to its essential function as a learning tool today.Utilising advanced computer graphic imagery Primal Instincts journeys inside the brain to witness the amazing work of the tiny but powerful amygdala - the most primitive part of the brain that puts us on high alert before we even know we are afraid.Melbourne pizza worker, Giles, knows what paralysing fear feels like and the program recreates the night his restaurant was robbed by a knife-wielding attacker.Primal Instincts travels to the ends of the fear spectrum, beginning with those who are unable to experience the emotion - and the harm they can do to themselves and to others. We also meet people who suffer from fear gone wrong and find out how phobias can hijack the 'thinking' part of the brain - the frontal cortex. The study of fear is one of the hottest topics in emotions research today. It turns out one protein in the brain could be responsible for all panic attacks. It might also be possible to predict early in life which children are likely to develop fear disorders. Testing the circuits of our fear responses is a process we begin early in life. As children we discover that being scared can also be fun and that is something fear junkies among us never outgrow.Primal Instincts reveals how military scientists tried to develop a 'brave pill' for soldiers on the battlefield and how another has discovered a way of 'turning down the volume' on disabling memories of fear.The program also examines the 'hot' debate about brain engineering - If we try to erase just one emotional memory, can it be guaranteed the entire hard drive won't be wiped? The challenge to science is how to control unnecessary fear without destroying our ability to survive - as survival is what fear is for.PRODUCTION DETAILS:Executive Producer: Stefan Moore. Series Producer: Ian Cuming |
| Event |
Broadcast 2009-12-01 at 11:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: PG |
| Subject |
Amygdaloid body.
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Emotions and social behavior.
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Fear -- Psychological aspects.
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Human behavior.
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Survivalism.
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Australia.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Milliken, Angie, cast
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Trueman, Wendy, director
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