These miners were trapped underground for 14 days, during which six of the miners died of suffocation. After their rescue, ten of the miners were studied for ten years. All but one were greatly affected by the experience, and six developed phobias to "confining or limiting situations". The only miner who did not develop any noticeable symptoms was the one who acted as leader.Another factor that could cause the onset of claustrophobia is "information received". 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. 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
There is research that suggests that claustrophobia is not 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."
There is a 25% chance that both parents will pass the gene to their child, resulting in hydranencephaly. Genetic hydranencephaly afflicts both males and females in equal numbers. Post-natal brain injury
Though hydranencephaly is typically a congenital disorder, it can occur as a postnatal diagnosis in the aftermath of meningitis, intracerebral infarction, ischemia, or a traumatic brain injury. Diagnosis
An accurate, confirmed diagnosis is generally impossible until after birth, though prenatal diagnosis using fetal ultrasonography (ultrasound) can identify characteristic physical abnormalities. After birth, diagnosis may be delayed for several months because the infants early behavior appears to be relatively normal. The most accurate diagnostic techniques are thorough clinical evaluation (considering physical findings and a detailed patient history); advanced imaging techniques, such as angiography, computerized tomography (CT scan), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); and (more rarely) transillumination. However, diagnostic literature fails to provide a clear distinction between severe obstructive hydrocephalus and hydranencephaly, leaving some children with an unsettled diagnosis.Preliminary diagnosis may be made in utero via standard ultrasound, and can be confirmed with a standard anatomy ultrasound. Hydranencephaly is sometimes misdiagnosed as bilaterally symmetric schizencephaly (a less destructive developmental process on the brain), severe hydrocephalus (cerebrospinal fluid excess within the skull), or alobar holoprosencephaly (a neurological developmental anomaly). Once destruction of the brain is complete, the cerebellum, midbrain, thalami, basal ganglia, choroid plexus, and portions of the occipital lobes typically remain preserved to varying degrees.