The neurobiology of fear: Understanding anxiety in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder does not include anxiety as one of its core features, which has its own unique and additional level of complexity. The prevalence of anxiety disorder is not considered a core dimension, yet majority of individuals with autism exhibit clinically elevated levels of anxiety or suffer from at least one anxiety disorder, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. Individuals with anxiety are more susceptible to heightened and prolonged negative emotional states, which are indicative of potential dysfunctions within the brain systems responsible for regulating negative emotions. Anxiety is believed to have a neurobiological component, and considerable research has long been conducted to determine how its arousal impacts behavioral development in typical situations. Investigation has focused on the structural development of the amygdala implicated in the neurobiology of autism. An overview of the role of the prefrontal cortex in modulation of amygdala function is presented in this paper, as well how differences in amygdala and prefrontal cortex connectivity may play a role in influencing the presentation of anxiety syndrome in the context of autism spectrum disorder.

Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), anxiety, amygdala, neural circuits, brain connectivity, functional connectivity, neural mechanisms, emotion regulation, anxiety pathways in autism

How to cite this paper

Lleuvelyn A. Cacha, Dolores Mirabueno and Lourdes P. Terrado (2025) The Neurobiology of Fear: Understanding Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Multiscale Neuroscience 4(3), 196-207.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56280/1713559115

​Author Affiliation
Lleuvelyn A. Cacha
Graduate School
Research Coordination
University of the East, Manila

Dolores Mirabueno
College of St Benilde, De La Salle University

Lourdes P. Terrado
Graduate School
University of the East, Manila

Received 9 July 2025
Accepted 10 August 2025
Online published September 2025

Conflict of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest

​Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Neural Press.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the CC BY 4.0 license.

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