Do you find it difficult to overcome an irrational fear? Blame it on the specific neural circuits hardwired in the brain that control fear recognition, and fear renewal even when fear has seemingly been overcome.
References
Davis, M. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 15, 353–375 (1992).
Herry, C. et al. Nature 454, 600–606 (2008).
Likhtik, E., Popa, D., Apergis-Schoute, J., Fidacaro, G. A. Jr & Paré, D. Nature 454, 642–645 (2008).
Pavlov, I. P. Conditioned Reflexes (Dover, 1927).
Rescorla, R. A. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 11, 329–352 (1988).
Sah, P., Faber, E. S. L., Lopez de Armentia, M. & Power, J. Physiol. Rev. 83, 803–834 (2003).
Falls, W. A., Miserendino, M. J. & Davis, M. J. Neurosci. 12, 854–863 (1992).
Quirk, G. J., Repa, J. C. & LeDoux, J. E. Neuron 15, 1029–1039 (1995).
Collins, D. R. & Paré, D. Learn. Mem. 7, 97–103 (2000).
Delaney, A. J. & Sah, P. J. Neurophysiol. 86, 717–723 (2001).
McDonald, A. J., Mascagni, F. & Guo, L. Neuroscience 71, 55–75 (1996).
Paré, D., Quirk, G. J. & Ledoux, J. E. J. Neurophysiol. 92, 1–9 (2004).
Quirk, G. J., Likhtik, E., Pelletier, J. G. & Paré, D. J. Neurosci. 23, 8800–8807 (2003).
Woodruff, A. R. & Sah, P. J. Neurophysiol. 98, 2956–2961 (2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sah, P., Westbrook, R. The circuit of fear. Nature 454, 589–590 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454589a
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/454589a
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
The effects of the recurrent social isolation stress on fear extinction and dopamine D2 receptors in the amygdala and the hippocampus
Pharmacological Reports (2023)
-
There is nothing to fear but the amygdala: applying advances in the neuropsychiatry of fear to public policy
Mind & Society (2015)
-
Differential role of Rac in the basolateral amygdala and cornu ammonis 1 in the reconsolidation of auditory and contextual Pavlovian fear memory in rats
Psychopharmacology (2014)
-
Modulation of medial prefrontal cortical activity using in vivo recordings and optogenetics
Molecular Brain (2012)