In nature, animals display defensive behaviors that reflect the spatiotemporal distance of
threats. Laboratory-based paradigms that elicit specific defensive responses in rodents have …

Decades of research has identified the brain areas that are involved in fear, fear extinction,
anxiety and related defensive behaviours. Newly developed genetic and viral tools …

Inhibitory neurotransmission plays a key role in anxiety disorders, as evidenced by the
anxiolytic effect of the benzodiazepine class of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor …

We review recent work on the role of intrinsic amygdala networks in the regulation of
classically conditioned defensive behaviors, commonly known as conditioned fear. These …

Research on avoidance conditioning began in the late 1930s as a way to use laboratory
experiments to better understand uncontrollable fear and anxiety. Avoidance was initially …

Animals learn to avoid harmful situations by associating a neutral stimulus with a painful
one, resulting in a stable threat memory. In mammals, this form of learning requires the …

The central amygdala (CeA) plays a central role in physiologic and behavioral responses to
fearful stimuli, stressful stimuli, and drug-related stimuli. The CeA receives dense inputs from …

Highlights•Central amygdala circuits mediate defensive and appetitive responses.•Central
amygdala circuit activity is controlled by local inhibitory interactions.•Central amygdala …

The amygdala is essential for fear learning and expression. The central amygdala (CeA),
once viewed as a passive relay between the amygdala complex and downstream fear …

The central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA) is a brain region that integrates external and
internal sensory information and executes innate and adaptive behaviors through distinct …