Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort that comes on abruptly and involves a cascade of physical and cognitive symptoms. In this video, I discuss the neuroscience of panic attacks, focusing primarily on the brain regions that are thought to be involved with the initiation and symptoms of panic attacks.
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đź“šYour Brain, Explained: What Neuroscience Reveals About Your Brain and its Quirks: amazon.com/Your-Brain-Explained-Neuroscience-Reveals/dp/1473696569
đź“šBizarre: The Most Peculiar Cases of Human Behavior and What They Tell Us About How the Brain Works: amazon.com/Bizarre-Peculiar-Cases-Human-Behavior/dp/139980121X
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youtu.be/BJshegpcFv8?si=ZvX8jc1nb2F5Nmgl
TRANSCRIPT
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort that involves a cascade of physical and cognitive symptoms. It typically comes on abruptly and reaches its peak intensity within minutes.
The neuroscience of panic attacks is an area of active research, but a group of brain structures sometimes referred to as the fear network may be involved. The fear network is normally involved in coordinating responses to threats in our environment, but during a panic attack, it can be activated despite the absence of an imminent threat. The fear network includes structures such as the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, hippocampus, insula, and prefrontal cortex, among others.
One pathway by which this network might lead to panic attacks involves the amygdala, which is thought to be important in analyzing incoming sensory information to determine if a threat is present. If a threat is detected, the amygdala communicates with the hypothalamus to activate a fight-or-flight response and sends signals to brainstem areas to increase respiratory rate and cause norepinephrine release, which increases blood pressure, heart rate, and fearful behaviors. In a panic attack, this all may occur even though no real threat is present.
The trigger for a panic attack can vary from person to person, and might engage various neural systems. It might, for instance, involve the incomplete prefrontal cortex regulation of fear-generating brain regions, or it could involve the disruption of interoception, which is a process by which the brain monitors signals from the body. The insula is thought to play a key role in interoception, and misinterpretation of interoceptive signals could cause the brain to mistakenly perceive harmless signals as dangerous. Additionally, the association of specific stimuli or experiences with panic attacks can lead to increased anxiety when encountering those stimuli, increasing the likelihood of repeat attacks.
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
Goddard AW. The Neurobiology of Panic: A Chronic Stress Disorder. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017 Nov 10;1:2470547017736038. doi: 10.1177/2470547017736038. PMID: 32440580; PMCID: PMC7219873.
Gorman JM, Liebowitz MR, Fyer AJ, Stein J. A neuroanatomical hypothesis for panic disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1989 Feb;146(2):148-61. doi: 10.1176/ajp.146.2.148. PMID: 2643361.
Gorman JM, Kent JM, Sullivan GM, Coplan JD. Neuroanatomical hypothesis of panic disorder, revised. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Apr;157(4):493-505. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.4.493. PMID: 10739407.
Van Diest I. Interoception, conditioning, and fear: The panic threesome. Psychophysiology. 2019 Aug;56(8):e13421. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13421. Epub 2019 Jun 22. PMID: 31228272.
Wiest G, Lehner-Baumgartner E, Baumgartner C. Panic attacks in an individual with bilateral selective lesions of the amygdala. Arch Neurol. 2006 Dec;63(12):1798-801. doi: 10.1001/archneur.63.12.1798. PMID: 17172622.
đź“ť Pass your next test with my neuroscience videos!
I’m Marc, a university professor at Penn State, and I’m here to take you on a journey into the fascinating world of the brain. I created this channel to break down complex topics into easy-to-understand snippets—perfect for both students and curious minds alike. 📚
My goal is to make learning neuroscience fun and accessible. Whether you're a student looking to supplement your studies or simply eager to understand the basics of the brain, this channel is for you.
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A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort that comes on abruptly and involves a cascade of physical and cognitive symptoms. In this video, I discuss the neuroscience of panic attacks, focusing primarily on the brain regions that are thought to be involved with the initiation and symptoms of panic attacks.
🧠Take your learning further with my free, self-paced Introduction to Neuroscience course featuring my videos, articles, and hundreds of quiz questions: neuroscientificallychallenged.com/course
If you're looking for accessible and entertaining ways to learn more about the brain, check out my books:
đź“šYour Brain, Explained: What Neuroscience Reveals About Your Brain and its Quirks: amazon.com/Your-Brain-Explained-Neuroscience-Reveals/dp/1473696569
đź“šBizarre: The Most Peculiar Cases of Human Behavior and What They Tell Us About How the Brain Works: amazon.com/Bizarre-Peculiar-Cases-Human-Behavior/dp/139980121X
WATCH MORE
youtu.be/BJshegpcFv8?si=ZvX8jc1nb2F5Nmgl
TRANSCRIPT
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort that involves a cascade of physical and cognitive symptoms. It typically comes on abruptly and reaches its peak intensity within minutes.
The neuroscience of panic attacks is an area of active research, but a group of brain structures sometimes referred to as the fear network may be involved. The fear network is normally involved in coordinating responses to threats in our environment, but during a panic attack, it can be activated despite the absence of an imminent threat. The fear network includes structures such as the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, hippocampus, insula, and prefrontal cortex, among others.
One pathway by which this network might lead to panic attacks involves the amygdala, which is thought to be important in analyzing incoming sensory information to determine if a threat is present. If a threat is detected, the amygdala communicates with the hypothalamus to activate a fight-or-flight response and sends signals to brainstem areas to increase respiratory rate and cause norepinephrine release, which increases blood pressure, heart rate, and fearful behaviors. In a panic attack, this all may occur even though no real threat is present.
The trigger for a panic attack can vary from person to person, and might engage various neural systems. It might, for instance, involve the incomplete prefrontal cortex regulation of fear-generating brain regions, or it could involve the disruption of interoception, which is a process by which the brain monitors signals from the body. The insula is thought to play a key role in interoception, and misinterpretation of interoceptive signals could cause the brain to mistakenly perceive harmless signals as dangerous. Additionally, the association of specific stimuli or experiences with panic attacks can lead to increased anxiety when encountering those stimuli, increasing the likelihood of repeat attacks.
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
Goddard AW. The Neurobiology of Panic: A Chronic Stress Disorder. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017 Nov 10;1:2470547017736038. doi: 10.1177/2470547017736038. PMID: 32440580; PMCID: PMC7219873.
Gorman JM, Liebowitz MR, Fyer AJ, Stein J. A neuroanatomical hypothesis for panic disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1989 Feb;146(2):148-61. doi: 10.1176/ajp.146.2.148. PMID: 2643361.
Gorman JM, Kent JM, Sullivan GM, Coplan JD. Neuroanatomical hypothesis of panic disorder, revised. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Apr;157(4):493-505. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.157.4.493. PMID: 10739407.
Van Diest I. Interoception, conditioning, and fear: The panic threesome. Psychophysiology. 2019 Aug;56(8):e13421. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13421. Epub 2019 Jun 22. PMID: 31228272.
Wiest G, Lehner-Baumgartner E, Baumgartner C. Panic attacks in an individual with bilateral selective lesions of the amygdala. Arch Neurol. 2006 Dec;63(12):1798-801. doi: 10.1001/archneur.63.12.1798. PMID: 17172622.
đź“ť Pass your next test with my neuroscience videos!
I’m Marc, a university professor at Penn State, and I’m here to take you on a journey into the fascinating world of the brain. I created this channel to break down complex topics into easy-to-understand snippets—perfect for both students and curious minds alike. 📚
My goal is to make learning neuroscience fun and accessible. Whether you're a student looking to supplement your studies or simply eager to understand the basics of the brain, this channel is for you.
Hit subscribe and get to know your brain, one video at a time! đź§
