Fear of the dark

WikiDoc Resources for Fear of the dark
Articles
Most recent articles on Fear of the dark Most cited articles on Fear of the dark Review articles on Fear of the dark Articles on Fear of the dark in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Fear of the dark Images of Fear of the dark Photos of Fear of the dark Podcasts & MP3s on Fear of the dark Videos on Fear of the dark
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Fear of the dark Bandolier on Fear of the dark TRIP on Fear of the dark
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Fear of the dark at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Fear of the dark Clinical Trials on Fear of the dark at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Fear of the dark NICE Guidance on Fear of the dark NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Fear of the dark CDC on Fear of the dark
Books
Books on Fear of the dark
News
Fear of the dark in the news Be alerted to news on Fear of the dark News trends on Fear of the dark
Commentary
Blogs on Fear of the dark
Definitions
Definitions of Fear of the dark
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Fear of the dark Discussion groups on Fear of the dark Patient Handouts on Fear of the dark Directions to Hospitals Treating Fear of the dark Risk calculators and risk factors for Fear of the dark
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Fear of the dark Causes & Risk Factors for Fear of the dark Diagnostic studies for Fear of the dark Treatment of Fear of the dark
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Fear of the dark
International
Fear of the dark en Espanol Fear of the dark en Francais
Business
Fear of the dark in the Marketplace Patents on Fear of the dark
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Fear of the dark

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

The fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, of adults. Fear of the dark is usually not fear of darkness itself, but fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of fear of the dark is natural, especially as a phase of child development. Most observers report that fear of the dark seldom appears before the age of 2 years. When fear of the dark reaches a degree that is severe enough to be considered pathological, it is sometimes called achluophobia, nyctophobia (from Greek νυξ, "night"), scotophobia (from σκότος - "darkness"), or lygophobia (from λυγή - "twilight").

Some researchers, beginning with Sigmund Freud, consider the fear of the dark as a manifestation of separation anxiety disorder.

An alternate theory was posited in the 1960s, when scientists conducted experiments in a search for molecules responsible for memory. In one experiment, rats, normally nocturnal animals, were conditioned to fear the dark and a substance called "scotophobin" was supposedly extracted from the rats' brains; this substance was claimed to be responsible for remembering this fear. Subsequently, these findings were debunked.

See also

• List of phobias
• Fear of ghosts