--- abstract: |- The Paleolithic-Threat hypothesis reviewed here posits that habitual efferent fainting can be traced back to fear-induced allelic polymorphisms that were selected into some genomes of anatomically, mitochondrially, and neurally modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) in the Mid-Paleolithic because of the survival advantage they conferred during periods of inescapable threat. We posit that during Mid-Paleolithic warfare an encounter with “a stranger holding a sharp object” was consistently associated with threat to life. A heritable hard- wired or firm-wired (prepotentiated) predisposition to abruptly increase vagal tone and collapse flaccidly rather than freeze or attempt to flee or fight in response to an approaching sharp object, a minor injury, or the sight of blood, polymorphism for the hemodynamically “paradoxical” flaccid- immobility in response to these stimuli may have increased some non-combatants’ chances of survival. This is consistent with the unusual age and sex pattern of fear-induced fainting. The Paleolithic-Threat hypothesis also predicts a link to various hypo-androgenic states (e.g. low dehydroxyepiandrosterone-sulfate. We offer five predictions testable via epidemiological, clinical, and ethological/primatological methods. The Paleolithic-Threat hypothesis has implications for research in the aftermath of man-made disasters, such as terrorism against civilians, a traumatic event in which this hypothesis predicts epidemics of fear-induced fainting altloc: [] chapter: ~ commentary: ~ commref: ~ confdates: ~ conference: ~ confloc: ~ contact_email: ~ creators_id: [] creators_name: - family: Bracha given: Stefan honourific: Dr. lineage: '' - family: Bracha given: Adam S. honourific: '' lineage: '' - family: Williams given: Andrew E. honourific: Dr. lineage: '' - family: Ralston given: Tyler C. honourific: '' lineage: '' - family: Matsukawa given: Jennifer M. honourific: '' lineage: '' date: 2005 date_type: published datestamp: 2006-08-01 department: ~ dir: disk0/00/00/50/35 edit_lock_since: ~ edit_lock_until: ~ edit_lock_user: ~ editors_id: [] editors_name: [] eprint_status: archive eprintid: 5035 fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png;/5035/1/2005_C.A.R_review_FEAR%2DCIRCUITRY%2DDRIVEN_FAINTS.pdf full_text_status: public importid: ~ institution: ~ isbn: ~ ispublished: pub issn: ~ item_issues_comment: [] item_issues_count: 0 item_issues_description: [] item_issues_id: [] item_issues_reported_by: [] item_issues_resolved_by: [] item_issues_status: [] item_issues_timestamp: [] item_issues_type: [] keywords: 'fainting, human evolution, war, combat, fear-circuitry, androgens, stress-induced disorders ' lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:56:33 latitude: ~ longitude: ~ metadata_visibility: show note: ~ number: ~ pagerange: 238-241 pubdom: TRUE publication: Clinical Autonomic Research publisher: ~ refereed: TRUE referencetext: ~ relation_type: [] relation_uri: [] reportno: ~ rev_number: 12 series: ~ source: ~ status_changed: 2007-09-12 17:06:25 subjects: - bio-evo - psycphs succeeds: ~ suggestions: ~ sword_depositor: ~ sword_slug: ~ thesistype: ~ title: |- The human fear-circuitry and fear-induced fainting in healthy individuals The paleolithic-threat hypothesis type: journalp userid: 6567 volume: 15