{"id":119159,"date":"2026-01-30T15:25:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/daredevil-climbers-brain-shows-no-fear-during-extreme-stunts-experts-reveal-why-119159"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:25:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:25:15","slug":"daredevil-climbers-brain-shows-no-fear-during-extreme-stunts-experts-reveal-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/daredevil-climbers-brain-shows-no-fear-during-extreme-stunts-experts-reveal-why-119159","title":{"rendered":"Daredevil climber’s brain shows no fear during extreme stunts: Experts reveal why"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

U.S. professional rock climber Alex Honnold upped the ante during his recent urban climb in Taiwan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The daredevil athlete scaled the Taipei 101 skyscraper<\/a> on Jan. 25 with no ropes or protective equipment. The event was streamed live on Netflix, as Fox News Digital previously reported.<\/p>\n

Honnold successfully reached the summit of the 101-story steel building in just an hour and 31 minutes, waving his arms in victory at the top. He later noted the view was “amazing,” even though it was windy.<\/p>\n

ONE MAN TURNED A GLOBAL SKYSCRAPER INTO HIS MOST DANGEROUS DESTINATION OF ALL: ‘PRETTY SURREAL’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As a career climber, Honnold’s conquests have included major mountain ranges across the U.S., plus Greenland\u2019s massive sea cliffs \u2014 three times the size of the Empire State Building.<\/p>\n

In a 2016 experiment, neuroscientist Jane Joseph set out to discover what in Honnold\u2019s brain<\/a> possessed him to take on such scary climbing by scanning it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The doctor was one of the first to perform fMRI scans \u2014 functional magnetic resonance imaging \u2014 on “high sensation seekers,” according to a Nautilus report.<\/p>\n

Joseph and a team of technicians found that Honnold\u2019s amygdala showed little activity in reaction to images that would typically trigger fear and stress reactions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Nowhere in the fear center of Honnold\u2019s brain could the neuroscientist spot activity,” the report noted.<\/p>\n

PSYCHIATRIST REVEALS HOW SIMPLE MINDSET SHIFTS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE CHRONIC PAIN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The researchers flipped the experiment, introducing a reward task where Honnold could win money. Normally, a control subject\u2019s amygdala and other brain structures “look like a Christmas tree lit up,” Joseph said.<\/p>\n

But Honnold\u2019s was “lifeless in black and white.” Activity showed only in the regions that process visual input \u2014 confirming that he was awake and looking at the screen.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s just not much going on in my brain,” Honnold told Joseph. “It just doesn\u2019t do anything.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Daniel Amen<\/a>, the founder of Amen Clinics and a California-based psychiatrist, did not scan Honnold\u2019s brain but is an expert in brain imaging.<\/p>\n

In the brain scans of other extreme athletes and adrenaline junkies, Amen said there\u2019s often lower baseline activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in fear inhibition, impulse control and risk evaluation.<\/p>\n

In these individuals, there is also a strong activation of reward and motivation circuits, or dopamine pathways, according to Amen.<\/p>\n

“Meaning, high stimulation feels normal \u2014 or even necessary \u2014 for them to feel engaged,” he said. “Some also show reduced reactivity in the amygdala, so situations that trigger fear in most people don\u2019t produce the same alarm response.”<\/p>\n

He added, “In short, their brains are less easily \u2018scared\u2019 and more strongly driven by challenge and novelty.<\/a>“<\/p>\n

Based on nearly 300,000 brain scans done at Amen Clinics, Dr. Amen noted that in people like Honnold who are “elite extreme performers,” the key difference compared to the average brain is “exceptional top-down control.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The prefrontal cortex stays online and organized under stress, allowing precise focus, emotional regulation and decision-making in high-risk environments,” he said. “Fear circuits activate just enough to sharpen attention \u2014 but not enough to overwhelm performance.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Brains like Honnold\u2019s are also often “very efficient” in sensory-motor integration, or when vision, balance<\/a> and motor planning “work seamlessly together.”<\/p>\n

“Instead of panic, the brain enters a highly regulated, flow-state pattern where attention is narrow, calm and precise,” he said.<\/p>\n

In the average brain, fear circuits tend to activate faster and louder, according to Amen \u2014 and the prefrontal cortex “tends to go offline” under threat, triggering hesitation, overthinking or panic.<\/p>\n

“Most people experience a strong mismatch between perceived risk and control, which is protective for survival but limits extreme performance<\/a>,” he said.<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“For the average person, high adrenaline disrupts accuracy and judgment; for extreme athletes, it organizes the brain,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Their brains are not reckless \u2014 they are better regulated under stress, whereas the average brain prioritizes safety and avoidance.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital\u2019s Jessica Mekles contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/health\/daredevil-climbers-brain-shows-no-fear-extreme-stunts-experts-reveal-why <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. professional rock climber Alex Honnold upped the ante during his recent urban climb in Taiwan.\u00a0 The daredevil athlete scaled the Taipei 101 skyscraper on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-119159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDaredevil climber's brain shows no fear during extreme stunts: Experts reveal why - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/daredevil-climbers-brain-shows-no-fear-during-extreme-stunts-experts-reveal-why-119159\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Daredevil climber's brain shows no fear during extreme stunts: Experts reveal why - 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