Fear, Defense & Associative Regulation

在很多情况下，恐惧是一种习得的反应。该研究项目旨在了解这些习得性恐惧背后的神经生物学机制。一项研究考察了n -甲基-d-天冬氨酸受体的操作，看看它们是否参与了恐惧记忆的编码，而不是记忆巩固、检索或行为表现。这种受体很有趣，因为它与神经元的某些变化有关，这些变化可能为神经系统存储信息提供了一种方式。第二项研究探索了内源性阿片样物质（内啡肽）在恐惧学习中的作用。恐惧导致内啡肽的释放，而这些内啡肽反过来又限制或调节额外的学习。这种规则通常会控制恐惧的程度，因此恐惧的程度是适合于特定情况的。

In many situations fear is a learned response. This research project seeks to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these learned fears. One line of research examines manipulations of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors to see if they are involved in encoding of fear memory as opposed to memory consolidation, retrieval or behavioral performance. This receptor is interesting because it has been implicated in certain changes in neurons that may provide a way for the nervous system to store information. The second line of research explores the role of endogenous opioids (endorphins) in fear learning. Fear causes release of endorphins and these endorphins in turn limit or regulate additional learning. This regulation normally results in controlling the magnitude of fear, so that the amount of fear is appropriate for the particular circumstance.