title: A cerebellar-vestibular explanation for fears/phobias: hypothesis and study.
abstract: To clarify and test the cerebellar-vestibular (CV) basis of fears/phobias, responses of 4000 learning disabled children, adolescents, and adults with neurological and electronystagmographic (ENG) evidence of CV-dysfunction were analyzed for anxiety-related symptoms. Of this sample, 64.6% indicated fears/phobias; females were significantly more predisposed; mixed-handedness was significantly related to fears of heights and reduced vestibular response or asymmetric vestibular functioning. Also, adults had a higher incidence of the specific fears/phobias characterizing agoraphobia than children and adolescents. Analysis of factors reported as triggering the fears/phobias led to (1) a classification and theory of fears/phobias, obsessions/compulsions, and related anxiety symptoms based on realistic or traumatic, neurotic, and CV- or other CNS-based mechanisms rather than on DSM-III--R surface descriptions; (2) an understanding of the relationships between mitral valve prolapse, agoraphobia and panic episodes, as well as depression; and (3) new insights into differential diagnosis and selective treatment.
authors.affiliation: New York University Medical Center.
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Levinson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002150:Caloric Tests; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004584:Electronystagmography; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014726:Vestibular Nuclei / Q000503:physiopathology*