Neat News 2998 (added 2024-03-16)
Fear switch
Public Domain by Gustave Courbet
Fear can make us more alert (and thereby potentially save our lives), but can also make us freeze. Now scientists found in mice that there is a switch in the brains that switches from the first to the second mode by brain chemistry and neural signalling. They also found a way to suppress the transition by an adeno-associated virus, if given early enough, but ineffective after the transition has happened. This finding may also explain why antidepressants are often ineffective in treating PTSD.
related: #fear #switch #suppression
