- Highlights
- Salk neuroscientists identify and characterize new region in the brain’s fear circuit called the amygdalostriatal transition zone (ASt)
- ASt neurons fire with more strength and for longer than the amygdala, which has historically been considered the brain’s fear center
- Findings explain why fear responses like freezing can last so long and point to therapeutic innovations for disorders like PTSD, anxiety
LA JOLLA—Our survival depends on brains that constantly search for danger and, if found, stay alert until it has passed. The amygdala—an area that sits deep in the brain, near the brain stem—has long been considered the epicenter of our fear and danger response. But the amygdala’s neurons fire only briefly when a threat first appears, so why do fear-response behaviors like fight, flight, or freeze last so long?
Salk Institute neuroscientists turned to a mouse model to find an answer: an overlooked…
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