Fear conditioning

Fear conditioning is associative learning in which a previously neutral cue predicts an aversive event and later elicits defensive responses.

Classical conditioning: A form of learning in which a stimulus predicts another event and comes to elicit a response. Fear conditioning is a defensive form of this broader predictive learning.
Unconditioned response: A response elicited by a stimulus without prior learning. It distinguishes innate reactions to an aversive event from learned fear.
Fear extinction: A decline in a conditioned response after the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the aversive outcome. Extinction procedures test how learned fear changes when a cue no longer predicts danger.
Operant conditioning: Learning in which behavior changes according to its consequences. Fear conditioning links stimuli, whereas operant conditioning links actions and outcomes.
Conditioned stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that elicits a learned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus. A cue becomes the learned predictor of danger.
Conditioned response: A learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus. Fear-related behavior after the cue appears is the learned response.
Exposure therapy: A treatment that reduces avoidance and distress through repeated, structured contact with feared cues or situations. Its learning principles overlap with extinction of conditioned fear.
Instrumental avoidance learning: Learning to perform actions that prevent or end an aversive event. Avoidance actions can be learned alongside cue-elicited fear but are not the same association.
Unconditioned stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a response without prior associative learning. An aversive event, such as a shock, can supply the danger signal paired with the cue.
Associative learning: Learning in which an organism links events, stimuli, or actions with one another. Fear conditioning is a specific association between a cue and an aversive outcome.

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