How an innocuous event never associated with danger becomes frightening

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This project aims to investigate how the components of a fear memory are consolidated in specific regions of the medial temporal lobe using an animal model. The project intends to identify how the distinct components are integrated such that cues never before associated with danger become frightening. This knowledge is expected to improve understanding of basic memory processes and the failures of memory that characterise fear-related disorders. Intended benefits include improved strategies for the management of fear in disorders like post-traumatic stress, and development of new theories regarding the way in which animals generate expectations about absent events.