From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Claustrophobia (disambiguation).
Do ashkaft cave 2
Getting caught in a small hole , due to cave-ins or suddenly encountering a dangerous animal's den and being unable to defend oneself or retreat, could have caused claustrophobia to become a prepared phobia.

Claustrophobia is the fear of being enclosed in a small space or room and having no escape.[1] It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and even tight-necked clothing.[2] It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.


The term claustrophobia comes from Latin claustrum "a shut in place" and Greek φόβος, phóbos, "fear".











One study conducted by University of Wisconsin-Madison's neurology department revealed that anywhere from 2-5% of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia, but only a small percentage of these people receive some kind of treatment for the disorder.[citation needed]


The fears of enclosed spaces is an irrational fear. Most claustrophobic people who find themselves in a room without windows consciously know that they aren't in danger, yet these same people will be afraid, possibly terrified to the point of incapacitation, and many do not know why.


The red structure is the amygdala.

The amygdala is one of the smallest structures in the brain, but also one of the most powerful. The amygdala is needed for the conditioning of fear, or the creation of a fight-or-flight response. A fight-or-flight response is created when a stimulus is associated with a grievous situation. Cheng believes that a phobia's roots are in this fight-or-flight response.

In generating a fight-or-flight response, the amygdala acts in the following way: The amygdala's anterior nuclei associated with fear each other. Nuclei send out impulses to other nuclei, which influence respiratory rate, physical arousal, the release of adrenaline, blood pressure, heart rate, behavioral fear response, and defensive responses, which may include freezing up. These reactions constitute an 'autonomic failure' in a panic attack.

Neuron upclose
Brain synapse


Classical conditioning[edit]

Claustrophobia results as the mind comes to connect confinement with danger. It often comes as a consequence of a traumatic childhood experience,[5] although the onset can come at any point in an individual's life. Such an experience can occur multiple times, or only once, to make a permanent impression on the mind.[6] The majority of claustrophobic participants in an experiment done by Lars-Göran Öst reported that their phobia had been "acquired as a result of a conditioning experience.[7]" In most cases, claustrophobia seems to be the result of past experiences.

Conditioning experiences[edit]


  • A child gets shut into a box.
  • A child is locked in a closet.
  • A child falls into a deep pool and cannot swim.

The term 'past experiences', according to one author, can extend to the moment of birth. In John A. Speyrer's "Claustrophobia and the Fear of Death and Dying", the reader is brought to the conclusion that claustrophobia's high frequency is due to birth trauma, about which he says is "one of the most horrendous experiences we can have during our lifetime," and it is in this helpless moment that the infant develops claustrophobia.[8]

GE Signa MRI
In an MRI, the patient is inserted into the tube.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can trigger claustrophobia. An MRI scan entails lying still for some time in a narrow tube. In a study involving claustrophobia and MRI, it was reported that 13% of patients experienced a panic attack during the procedure. The procedure has been linked not only to the triggering of 'preexisting' claustrophobia, but also to the onset of the condition in some people.[9] Panic attacks experienced during the procedure can stop the person from adjusting to the situation, thereby perpetuating the fear.[10]

Miners in small spaces
The conditions inside a mine


Another factor that could cause the onset of claustrophobia is "information received.[7]" As Aureau Walding states in "Causes of Claustrophobia", many people, especially children, learn who and what to fear by watching parents or peers. This method does not only apply to observing a teacher, but also observing victims. Vicarious classical conditioning also includes when a person sees another person exposed directly to an especially unpleasant situation.[12] This would be analogous to observing someone getting stuck in a tight space, suffocated, or any of the other examples that were listed above.

Prepared phobia[edit]

There is research that suggests that claustrophobia isn't entirely a classically conditioned or learned phobia. It is not necessarily an inborn fear, but it is very likely what is called a prepared phobia. As Erin Gersley says in "Phobias: Causes and Treatments," humans are genetically predisposed to become afraid of things that are dangerous to them. Claustrophobia may fall under this category because of its "wide distribution… early onset and seeming easy acquisition, and its non-cognitive features.[13]" The acquisition of claustrophobia may be part of a vestigial evolutionary survival mechanism,[5] a dormant fear of entrapment and/or suffocation that was once important for the survival of humanity and could be easily awakened at any time.[14] Hostile environments in the past would have made this kind of pre-programmed fear necessary, and so the human mind developed the capacity for "efficient fear conditioning to certain classes of dangerous stimuli".[12]

Rachman provides an argument for this theory in his article: "Phobias". He agrees with the statement that phobias generally concern objects that constitute a direct threat to human survival, and that many of these phobias are quickly acquired because of an "inherited biological preparedness".[15] This brings about a prepared phobia, which is not quite innate, but is widely and easily learned. As Rachman explains in the article: "The main features of prepared phobias are that they are very easily acquired, selective, stable, biologically significant, and probably [non-cognitive]." 'Selective' and 'biologically significant' mean that they only relate to things that directly threaten the health, safety, or survival of an individual. 'Non-cognitive' suggests that these fears are acquired unconsciously. Both factors point to the theory that claustrophobia is a prepared phobia that is already pre-programmed into the mind of a human being.


Cognitive therapy[edit]


In vivo exposure[edit]

This method forces patients to face their fears by complete exposure to whatever fear they are experiencing.[16] This is usually done in a progressive manner starting with lesser exposures and moving upward towards severe exposures.[16] For example, a claustrophobic patient would start by going into an elevator and work up to an MRI. Several studies have proven this to be an effective method in combating various phobias, claustrophobia included.[16] S.J. Rachman has also tested the effectiveness of this method in treating claustrophobia and found it to decrease fear and negative thoughts/connotations by an average of nearly 75% in his patients.[3] Of the methods he tested in this particular study, this was by far the most significant reduction.[3]

Interoceptive exposure[edit]




MRI procedure[edit]

Because they can produce a fear of both suffocation and restriction, MRI scans often prove difficult for claustrophobic patients.[17] In fact, estimates say that anywhere from 4–20% of patients refuse to go through with the scan for precisely this reason.[18] One study estimates that this percentage could be as high as 37% of all MRI recipients.[17] The average MRI takes around 50 minutes; this is more than enough time to evoke extreme fear and anxiety in a severely claustrophobic patient.



Use of virtual reality distraction to reduce claustrophobia[edit]


Separating the fear of restriction and fear of suffocation[edit]





Probability ratings in claustrophobic patients and non-claustrophobics[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Claustrophobia". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2013-05-19. 
  2. ^ a b c Öst, "The Claustrophobia Scale"
  4. ^ Cleithrophobia
  5. ^ a b Fritscher
  6. ^ Walding
  7. ^ a b Rachman, "Claustrophobia", in Phobias: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Treatment. 168
  8. ^ Speyrer
  9. ^ Thorpe 1081
  10. ^ Thorpe 1082
  11. ^ Rachman, "Claustrophobia", 169
  12. ^ a b Carlson 511
  13. ^ Rachman, "Claustrophobia," 170
  14. ^ Gersley
  15. ^ Rachman, "Phobias"


  • Cheng, Dominic T., et al. "Human Amygdala Activity During the Expression of Fear Responses". Behavioral Neuroscience. Vol. 120. American Psychological Association. 14 Sept. 2006.
  • Fritscher, Lisa. "Claustrophobia: Fear of Enclosed Spaces". New York Times Company. 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 9 Sept. 2010.
  • Gersley, Erin. "Phobias: Causes and Treatments". AllPsych Journal. AllPsych Online. 17 Nov. 2001. Web. 18 Sept. 2010.
  • Hayano, Fumi PhD., et al. "Smaller Amygdala Is Associated With Anxiety in Patients With Panic Disorder". Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. Vol. 63, Issue 3. Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology 14 May 2009.
  • Öst, Lars-Göran. "The Claustrophobia Scale: A Psychometric Evaluation". Behaviour Research and Therapy 45.5 (2007): 1053–64.
  • Rachman, S.J. "Phobias". The Gale Group. 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2010.[dead link]
  • Speyrer, John A. "Claustrophobia and the Fear of Death and Dying". The Primal Psychotherapy Page. N.p. 3 Oct. 1995. Web. 9 Sept. 2010.
  • Thorpe, Susan, Salkovis, Paul M., & Dittner, Antonia. "Claustrophobia in MRI: the Role of Cognitions". Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Vol. 26, Issue 8. 3 June 2008.
  • Walding, Aureau. "Causes of Claustrophobia". Livestrong Foundation. 11 June 2010. Web. 18 Sept. 2010.[dead link]
  • "What Causes Claustrophobia?" Neuroscience Blog. NorthShore University HealthSystem. 11 June 2009. Web. 9 Sept. 2010.