Scientists Discovered a ‘Fear Switch’ in The Brain, And How to Turn It Off
22nd July 2025
In a bid to better understand fear and how it works, a team led by neurobiologist Hui-Quan Li of the University of California San Diego has mapped the changes in brain chemistry and neural signaling in mice receiving hefty frights – and, even better, figured out how to stop it.
“Our results provide important insights into the mechanisms involved in fear generalization,” says neurobiologist Nicholas Spitzer of UC San Diego.
“The benefit of understanding these processes at this level of molecular detail – what is going on and where it’s going on – allows an intervention that is specific to the mechanism that drives related disorders.”
The study was conducted in mice genetically modified to express a specific transporter of the important neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, as well as a fluorescent protein in the nuclei of their brain cells, to allow the team to track the changes in the brain.