"Researchers find the 'brain switch' for courage"

When we see danger, we react. Whether we choose to run and hide or confront our threat head-on, our "instant" decision is the result of a complex brain mechanism that integrates visual data and triggers an appropriate response. How does this occur? A new study explains.

In the animal kingdom, vision is vital for survival. This important sense informs the brain about predators and other threats, and in turn, the brain generates an appropriate reaction: courage or fear, fight or flight.

But how does this process take place? How do animals — humans included — integrate visual information with the appropriate brain circuits that control firstly our emotional states, and afterward, our behavior and actions?

New research brings us closer to an answer. Scientists led by Andrew Huberman, an associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, have found the brain circuits "responsible" for the decision to either fight or flee in the face of danger.

Although the study was conducted in mice, the findings are relevant for humans. In fact, the results have important implications for understanding and managing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and phobias.

Lindsey Salay is the first author of the paper, which has now been published in the journal Nature.

Source: Medical News Today  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321711.php

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