What is the part of the brain that has an important role in fear extinction?
According to the famous quote by Marie Curie “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood”, the scientists worked hard to understand more about the part of the brain responsible for overcoming fear. They found special cells in the brain that allow animals to overcome fear and anxiety by recalling memories of similar situations when they were unafraid. We knew from previous analyses that a part of the brain called the amygdala-an almond-shaped mass of cells deep in the brain—plays an important role in this process.
Now, using a technique that selectively eliminates brain cells, neuroscientist Denis Paré and colleagues have revealed that cells called intercalated (ITC) neurons are crucial for overcoming fear. "The available data indicates that one does not unlearn fear but instead learns not to fear the threatening stimulus in particular contexts," said Paré, of Rutgers University in New Jersey. Paré and colleagues demonstrated the importance of ITC neurons by training rats wandering free in cages to associate a certain sound with a mild electric shock to their feet. This conditioning taught the rats to be afraid of the sound, and they would freeze in place for a few seconds whenever they heard it.
What is the part of the brain that has an important role in fear extinction?