{"id":34728,"date":"2026-09-21T18:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=34728"},"modified":"2026-09-21T12:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T16:37:42","slug":"why-do-we-stay-afraid-for-so-long-when-the-brains-first-alarm-fires-so-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2026\/09\/why-do-we-stay-afraid-for-so-long-when-the-brains-first-alarm-fires-so-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we stay afraid for so long when the brain\u2019s first alarm fires so fast?"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA (September 14, 2026)\u2014Our survival depends on brains that constantly search for danger and, if found, stay alert until it has passed. The amygdala\u2014an area that sits deep in the brain, near the brain stem\u2014has long been considered the epicenter of our fear and danger response<\/strong>. But the amygdala\u2019s neurons fire only briefly when a threat first appears, so why do fear-response behaviors like fight, flight, or freeze last so long?<\/p>\n

Salk Institute neuroscientists turned to a mouse model to find an answer: an overlooked brain region that sits next to the amygdala, called the amygdalostriatal transition zone (ASt). Unlike the amygdala\u2019s neurons, neurons in the ASt fire with both strength and longevity\u2014explaining why some defensive responses persist<\/strong>. The insights into the brain\u2019s fear circuitry may be used in future therapeutic development for fear and panic disorders.<\/p>\n

The study, published in Neuron<\/em><\/a> on September 14, 2026, was funded by private philanthropy and federal grants from the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

What is the amygdalostriatal transition zone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always thought the amygdala was the fear center, while ignoring the space between the basolateral and central amygdala entirely,\u201d says co-corresponding author Kay Tye, PhD<\/a>, a professor and holder of the Wylie Vale Chair at Salk and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. \u201cIn the amygdala, you have firing right at the beginning of the danger\u2014but what about after that? What is causing that lingering fear? What if it\u2019s the amygdalostriatal transition zone?\u201d<\/p>\n

The ASt is tiny<\/strong>\u2014it\u2019s hard to reach, hard to study, and hard to distinguish from surrounding brain regions. Because of these challenges, the ASt has been relatively unexplored,<\/em> leaving scientists unsure whether it is even a distinct brain region. This is the first landmark in the Salk paper: The researchers show that the mouse ASt is a distinct brain region, separate from the neighboring amygdala and striatum regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ASt is at a crossroads between the brain\u2019s systems for emotional associations and action selection, but its function was largely unknown,\u201d says co-corresponding author Fergil Mills, PhD<\/a>, a former postdoctoral researcher in Tye\u2019s lab and current assistant professor at the University of Utah.<\/p>\n

How is the amygdalostriatal transition zone involved in fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After determining the ASt is distinct, the researchers moved on to characterizing its involvement in the danger response. Electrophysiology and calcium imaging revealed that the ASt\u2019s neurons have a robust, sustained response to danger cues.<\/p>\n

To further explore the effect ASt neurons have on danger response behaviors, the Salk team also specifically stimulated and inhibited only the ASt\u2019s neurons. Stimulation of the ASt drove freezing and avoidance behaviors; inhibition of the ASt revealed that a specific subset of dopamine-expressing neurons in the region is necessary to mount fear responses.<\/p>\n

What do these findings mean for fear and panic disorders?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis project has been an amazing adventure. When we started, we knew almost nothing about the ASt, and were truly exploring unknown territory in the brain,\u201d says Mills. \u201cNow, we have a much deeper understanding of this structure and have found that the ASt is a \u2018missing piece\u2019 of the circuits for fear that was hiding in plain sight for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ASt and this circuit could be really relevant in developing therapies for panic attacks or phobias,\u201d adds Tye. \u201cAnxiety disorders affect hundreds of millions of people globally. Understanding what happens in the brain when it\u2019s in high-alert danger mode is key to addressing those disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further research is needed to explore the new fear circuit now that it includes the ASt. The findings offer promising insights in the ongoing effort to create more effective, targeted therapeutics for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, and anxiety.<\/p>\n

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Salk Institute is an independent, nonprofit research institute founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. The Institute\u2019s mission is to drive foundational, collaborative, risk-taking research that addresses society\u2019s most pressing challenges, including cancer, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and crop resilience. This foundational science underpins all translational efforts, generating insights that enable new medicines and innovations worldwide. Learn more at\u00a0www.salk.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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JOURNAL<\/h4>\n

Neuron<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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LA JOLLA (September 14, 2026)\u2014Our survival depends on brains that constantly search for danger and, if found, stay alert until it has passed. The amygdala\u2014an area that sits deep in the brain, near the brain stem\u2014has long been considered the epicenter of our fear and danger response. But the amygdala\u2019s neurons fire only briefly when… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[901,1089,356,319,4,324],"tags":[1090,154,234,443,1091],"class_list":["post-34728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brain","category-fear","category-genetics-2","category-learning-2","category-memory","category-senses","tag-ats","tag-fear","tag-genetics","tag-memory","tag-panic-attacks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34731,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34728\/revisions\/34731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}