{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T05:17:25Z","timestamp":1787894245473,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain","award":["PSI2013-42912-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSI2013-42912-R"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain","award":["PSI2017-83222-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSI2017-83222-R"]}]},{"award":["PSI2013-42912-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSI2013-42912-R"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05r0vyz12","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["PSI2017-83222-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PSI2017-83222-R"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05r0vyz12","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000780","name":"European Commission","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["E-MOTION 1808341802"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E-MOTION 1808341802"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000780","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["E-MOTION 1808341802"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E-MOTION 1808341802"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00k4n6c32","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ.","EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Small-animal phobia (SAP) is characterized by exaggerated fear responses to biologically relevant threat cues, yet the extent to which personality traits influences neural threat processing remains unclear. This study examined whether Cluster C personality traits (avoidant, dependent, and obsessive\u2013compulsive) modulate neural responses to phobic stimuli in SAP. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected from 39 individuals with SAP and non-phobic controls while viewing phobia-relevant and neutral stimuli. Whole-brain analyses were conducted to identify group differences in brain activation, and additional models assessed the influence of Cluster C personality traits on neural responses. Compared with controls, individuals with SAP showed greater activation in regions involved in threat processing and emotional salience, including the anterior cingulate cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, pallidum, fusiform gyrus, and thalamus. Higher avoidant traits were associated with increased activation in visual regions implicated in threat detection, whereas dependent and obsessive\u2013compulsive traits were linked to greater recruitment of prefrontal areas involved in cognitive control and emotion regulation. These findings suggest that neural responses to phobic stimuli are influenced not only by the presence of SAP but also by personality-related vulnerability, highlighting the role of Cluster C traits in shaping perceptual and regulatory aspects of threat processing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe16090126","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T15:04:32Z","timestamp":1787756672000},"page":"126","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neural Threat Processing in Individuals with Small-Animal Phobia Is Shaped by Cluster C Personality Traits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7057-6644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ascensi\u00f3n","family":"Fumero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Psicolog\u00eda Cl\u00ednica, Psicobiolog\u00eda y Metodolog\u00eda, Facultad de Psicolog\u00eda, Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6129-8053","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"Rivero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea de Canarias, 38300 La Orotava, Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3068-0196","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rosario J.","family":"Marrero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Psicolog\u00eda Cl\u00ednica, Psicobiolog\u00eda y Metodolog\u00eda, Facultad de Psicolog\u00eda, Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Grecucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Education, Psychology and Communication Sciences, University of Bari, 70122 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Teresa","family":"Olivares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Psicolog\u00eda Cl\u00ednica, Psicobiolog\u00eda y Metodolog\u00eda, Facultad de Psicolog\u00eda, Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9168-9920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wenceslao","family":"Pe\u00f1ate","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Psicolog\u00eda Cl\u00ednica, Psicobiolog\u00eda y Metodolog\u00eda, Facultad de Psicolog\u00eda, Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"},{"name":"Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, American Psychiatric Association Publishing. [5th ed.]. text rev.; DSM-5-TR.","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425787"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ant\u00f3nio, H., Gamito, P., Bouchard, S., Mansuklal, S. A., Cardoso, J., Vieira de Castro, M., and Pinto, R. (2025). Traumatic events, psychopathology, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the general community and first responders: Presence of symptoms and associated factors. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15, (12).","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe15120241"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Arena, L., Pe\u00f1ate, W., Rivero, F., Marrero, R. J., Olivares, T., Scarano, A., Fumero, A., and Grecucci, A. (2025). Gray and white matter alterations in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: A data fusion machine learning approach. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 19.","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1559760"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"262","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2015.07.051","article-title":"Medial prefrontal pathways for the contextual regulation of extinguished fear in humans","volume":"122","author":"Kragel","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1016\/0165-1781(94)90110-4","article-title":"Hamilton anxiety rating scale interview guide: Joint interview and test-retest methods for interrater reliability","volume":"53","author":"Bruss","year":"1994","journal-title":"Psychiatry Research"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.1007\/s10548-023-01013-3","article-title":"White and gray matter abnormalities in young adult females with dependent personality disorder: A diffusion-tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry study","volume":"37","author":"Cui","year":"2024","journal-title":"Brain Topography"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2014.09.017","article-title":"Elevated amygdala activity during reappraisal anticipation predicts anxiety in avoidant personality disorder","volume":"172","author":"Denny","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Affective Disorders"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Duradoni, M., Colombini, G., Barucci, C., Zagaglia, V., and Guazzini, A. (2025). Psychopathological correlates of dysfunctional smartphone and social media use: The role of personality disorders in technological addiction and digital life balance. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15, (7).","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe15070136"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"115","article-title":"Neural circuits in anxiety and stress disorders: A focused review","volume":"2015","author":"Duval","year":"2015","journal-title":"Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1037\/h0093817","article-title":"An SR inventory of anxiousness","volume":"76","author":"Endler","year":"1962","journal-title":"Psychological Monographs: General and Applied"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.4067\/S0718-48082014000300008","article-title":"La evaluaci\u00f3n de los trastornos de la personalidad seg\u00fan el DSM-5: Recursos y limitaciones","volume":"32","author":"Esbec","year":"2014","journal-title":"Terapia Psicol\u00f3gica"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1016\/j.paid.2011.10.021","article-title":"Mood-congruent thoughts and personality disorder pathology","volume":"52","author":"Farmer","year":"2012","journal-title":"Personality and Individual Differences"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"490","DOI":"10.1017\/S1092852914000662","article-title":"The neuropsychology of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: A new analysis","volume":"20","author":"Fineberg","year":"2015","journal-title":"CNS Spectrums"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2012.07.004","article-title":"Comorbidity of personality disorders in anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis of 30 years of research","volume":"145","author":"Friborg","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Affective Disorders"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1521\/pedi_2013_27_101","article-title":"Executive functioning in people with obsessive-compulsive personality traits: Evidence of modest impairment","volume":"29","author":"Dattilo","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Personality Disorders"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gkintoni, E., and Nikolaou, G. (2025). Neuroscientific framework of cognitive\u2013behavioral interventions for mental health across diverse cultural populations: A systematic review of effectiveness, delivery methods, and engagement. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 16, (1).","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe16010002"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"550","DOI":"10.3758\/s13415-024-01258-w","article-title":"The two sides of phobos: Gray and white matter abnormalities in phobic individuals","volume":"25","author":"Grecucci","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u00fcnther, V., Strukova, M., Pecher, J., Webelhorst, C., Engelmann, S., Kersting, A., Hoffmann, K., Egloff, B., Okon-Singer, H., Lobsien, D., and Suslow, T. (2023). Cognitive avoidance is associated with decreased brain responsiveness to threat distractors under high perceptual load. Brain Sciences, 13, (4).","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci13040618"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2044-8341.1959.tb00467.x","article-title":"The assessment of anxiety states by rating","volume":"32","author":"Hamilton","year":"1959","journal-title":"British Journal of Medical Psychology"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"282","DOI":"10.1080\/02699931.2011.579414","article-title":"Neurobiological correlates of cognitions in fear and anxiety: A cognitive\u2013neurobiological information-processing model","volume":"26","author":"Hofmann","year":"2012","journal-title":"Cognition & Emotion"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"427","DOI":"10.1016\/0887-6185(95)00022-G","article-title":"Social phobia with and without avoidant personality disorder: Preliminary behavior therapy outcome findings","volume":"9","author":"Hofmann","year":"1995","journal-title":"Journal of Anxiety Disorders"},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"e70115","article-title":"Strategies and mechanisms of precision genome engineering: From gene editing to genome writing","volume":"3","author":"Huang","year":"2024","journal-title":"iMetaOmics"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"311","DOI":"10.1111\/pcn.12055","article-title":"Meta-analysis of functional brain imaging in specific phobia","volume":"67","author":"Ipser","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2020.08.006","article-title":"Future directions in personality pathology development research from a trainee perspective: Suggestions for theory, methodology, and practice","volume":"37","author":"Johnson","year":"2021","journal-title":"Current Opinion in Psychology"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"229","DOI":"10.1177\/014662168100500209","article-title":"The appropriateness of using the SR inventory of anxiousness to measure sources of behavioral variability","volume":"5","author":"Kameoka","year":"1981","journal-title":"Applied Psychological Measurement"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1002\/mpr.168","article-title":"The world mental health (WMH) survey initiative version of the world health organization (WHO) composite international diagnostic interview (CIDI)","volume":"13","author":"Kessler","year":"2004","journal-title":"International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1002\/da.20655","article-title":"Specific phobia: A review of DSM-IV specific phobia and preliminary recommendations for DSM-V","volume":"27","author":"LeBeau","year":"2010","journal-title":"Depression and Anxiety"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152144","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comppsych.2019.152144","article-title":"Altered spontaneous brain activity in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder","volume":"96","author":"Lei","year":"2020","journal-title":"Comprehensive Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"553","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2006.09.019","article-title":"DSM-IV personality disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication","volume":"62","author":"Lenzenweger","year":"2007","journal-title":"Biological Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e144","DOI":"10.1017\/S003329172610436X","article-title":"Multimodal fusion of brain imaging and proteomics reveals a brain\u2013body pathway linking depression and metabolic dysfunction","volume":"56","author":"Lian","year":"2026","journal-title":"Psychological Medicine"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1016\/S1516-4446(12)70017-X","article-title":"Neuroimaging in specific phobia disorder: A systematic review of the literature","volume":"34","author":"Linares","year":"2012","journal-title":"Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Loranger, A. W., Janca, A., and Sartorius, N. (1997). Assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders: The ICD-10 international personality disorder examination (IPDE), Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511663215.003"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1233","DOI":"10.1016\/S1053-8119(03)00169-1","article-title":"An automated method for neuroanatomic and cytoarchitectonic atlas-based interrogation of FMRI data sets","volume":"19","author":"Maldjian","year":"2003","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1016\/0028-3932(71)90067-4","article-title":"The assessment and analysis of handedness: The edinburgh inventory","volume":"9","author":"Oldfield","year":"1971","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comppsych.2017.09.011","article-title":"Avoidant personality disorder and social phobia: Does mindreading make the difference?","volume":"80","author":"Pellecchia","year":"2018","journal-title":"Comprehensive Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejpsy.2016.12.003","article-title":"A meta-analytic review of neuroimaging studies of specific phobia to small animals","volume":"31","author":"Fumero","year":"2017","journal-title":"The European Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1722","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2007.06101764","article-title":"The relationship between avoidant personality disorder and social phobia: A population-based twin study","volume":"164","author":"Czajkowski","year":"2007","journal-title":"American Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijchp.2017.06.002","article-title":"Neuroimaging in cockroach phobia: An experimental study","volume":"17","author":"Rivero","year":"2017","journal-title":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2015.07.075","article-title":"Implementation of a new parcellation of the orbitofrontal cortex in the automated anatomical labeling atlas","volume":"122","author":"Rolls","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12597","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-69127-3","article-title":"Neuronal correlates of spider phobia in a combined FNIRS-EEG study","volume":"10","author":"Rosenbaum","year":"2020","journal-title":"Scientific Reports"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e14716","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.14716","article-title":"The phobic brain: Morphometric features correctly classify individuals with small animal phobia","volume":"62","author":"Scarano","year":"2024","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"320","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2019.09.029","article-title":"The relation between anxious personality traits and fear generalization in healthy subjects: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"107","author":"Sep","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1161","DOI":"10.26420\/AustinJClinNeurol.2023.1161","article-title":"Dependent personality disorder: An approach based on FMRI","volume":"10","author":"Tariq","year":"2023","journal-title":"Austin Journal of Clinical Neurology"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"601","DOI":"10.1093\/occmed\/kqv054","article-title":"Hamilton rating scale for anxiety (HAM-A)","volume":"65","author":"Thompson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Occupational Medicine"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1037","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2008.09.006","article-title":"Prefrontal-subcortical pathways mediating successful emotion regulation","volume":"59","author":"Wager","year":"2008","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.12.058","article-title":"Cluster-extent based thresholding in FMRI analyses: Pitfalls and recommendations","volume":"91","author":"Woo","year":"2014","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1049","DOI":"10.1111\/jon.12924","article-title":"Functional MRI findings in personality disorders: A review","volume":"31","author":"Zarnowski","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroimaging"}],"container-title":["European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2254-9625\/16\/9\/126\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T04:17:32Z","timestamp":1787890652000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2254-9625\/16\/9\/126"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]},"references-count":47,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ejihpe16090126"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ejihpe16090126","relation":{},"ISSN":["2254-9625"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2254-9625","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]]}}}