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basolateral amygdala

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·November 11, 2020·3 min read

Taste Aversion Reveals How Bad Experiences Modify Brain and Behavior

Learning to avoid certain tastes depends on the long term reduction in activity the connections between threat and taste sensors in the brain.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 14, 2020·4 min read

Autism Researchers Map Brain Circuitry of Social Preference

Study reveals how two neural circuits dictate the choice between social approach and avoidance. The network connecting the infralimbic cortex to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) impairs social behavior if there is a decrease in neural activity. Another network connecting the prelimbic cortex to the BLA similarly impairs social behavior if the neural activity is increased.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 5, 2020·5 min read

Chemical messenger in brain could point to better treatments for anxiety

Corticotropin-releasing factor and neuropeptide Y work in synchronized opposition to each other to remodel and rewire neurons in the amygdala as a response to stress. The process, researchers say, can be manually reversed to help relieve anxiety.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 2, 2020·5 min read

Newly discovered memory process influences decision-making

Memory encoding processes important for decision making begin in the basolateral amygdala. The basolateral amygdala then creates cellular memories in the nucleus accumbens. The findings shed light on the learned connection between stimuli and reward.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 23, 2020·2 min read

Childhood trauma changes your brain, but it doesn’t have to be permanent

Female rats that experienced early life adversity developed abnormal connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in response to neglect.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·January 15, 2020·5 min read

With these neurons, extinguishing fear is its own reward

Fear extinction memories and feelings of reward are both stored in neurons that express the Ppp1r1b gene in the posterior of the basolateral amygdala.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·December 18, 2019·4 min read

Booze on the brain

Dysfunction in a brain pathway that usually keeps compulsive drinking in check may play a critical role in alcohol use disorder.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 8, 2019·4 min read

Cannabis Exposure and Stress in Adolescence Can Lead to Anxiety Disorders in Adults

A new study reports exposure to cannabis and stress during the teenage years may result in an increased risk of developing anxiety disorders later in life.

the amygdala is highlighted in this brain image

Featured Neuroscience

·October 4, 2018·6 min read

Pyramid Shaped Neurons Provide Algorithm for Us to Recognize and Categorize Food

Researchers report pyramidal neurons in the basolateral amygdala help us to recognize and categorize foods.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 14, 2018·5 min read

Possible New Pathway to Treat Anxiety

Researchers have identified a new neural pathway that may provide a good target for a drug to reduce anxiety symptoms.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 13, 2018·4 min read

High Saturated Fat Diet Linked to Poor Stress Coping Skills in Adolescents

Researchers report high fat diets in teens is associated with poor stress coping skills later in life.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 10, 2018·4 min read

Brain Circuits Behind Putting Up a Fight or Freezing in Place Identified

Researchers have identified two brain pathways that appear to be critical in determining how mice react to visual threats. The findings could have implications for treating PTSD and phobias in humans.