An international study led by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the Neuropsychopharmacology Group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and researchers from the CIBER of Mental Health (CIBERSAM), and published in Nature Communications, may facilitate the creation of new personalized treatments for people diagnosed with schizophrenia.
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Central amygdala micro-circuits play active role in regulation of fear responses
The brain mechanisms underlying the suppression of fear responses have attracted a lot of attention as they are relevant for therapy of human anxiety disorders. Despite our broad understanding of the different brain regions activated during the experience of fear, how fear responses can be suppressed remains largely elusive. Researchers at the University of Bern and the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel have now discovered that the activation of identified central amygdala neurons can suppress fear responses.
Fear is an important reaction that warns and protects us from danger. But when fear responses are out of control, this can lead to persistent fears and anxiety disorders. In Europe, about 15 percent of the population is affected by anxiety disorders. Existing therapies remain largely unspecific or are not generally effective, because the detailed neurobiological understanding of these disorder