Neuronale schaltkreise von furchtgedächtnis und furchtextinktion

Abstract

The principle of "Eat or Be Eaten" has proven a critically guiding element during evolution of both humans and animals. This may help to explain that the ability of detecting a danger or threat has been highly conserved throughout evolution, and, thus involves a high degree of homologies across species. Studies in laboratory animals thereby enable to identify key neurochemical, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying fear and anxiety, and importantly, to also draw conclusions on the mechanistics in human beings. This, in turn, provides a most valuable basis of fostering improvements in prognosis, diagnosis, prevention and therapies of anxiety disorders. The present article focuses on one aspect that is central to translational anxiety research, namely the neuronal substrates and circuits of fear memory and fear extinction. Following a brief introduction to the principles of fear conditioning, synaptic circuits will be described underlying the acquisition and extinction of fear memory in the mammalian brain. Historically established principles will be systematically compared with novel findings on the detailed synaptic circuit organization of the fear matrix. The knowledge of the neuronal substrates and connectivities will significantly improve our understanding of pathologically transformed states of fear and anxiety, and thereby help to derive novel intervention strategies for the treatment of anxiety disorders. © Springer-Verlag GmbH 2013.