New research shows how the brain collects threatening signals and transforms them into fear through a single pathway — potentially opening new avenues for treating PTSD and ASD
Have you ever wondered how your mind "explodes" loudly during a horror movie and gives you a jump scare?
Well, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego recently discovered a molecular pathway that transmits any threatening sounds, sights and smells into a single message: You should be scared.
More specifically, a molecule called CGRP is what enables neurons in two brain regions to combine different noxious sensory stimuli into a single signal.
This signal is then tagged as "negative" and sent to the amygdala - which is responsible for processing strong emotions.
Finally, the amygdala will interpret the negative signal and translate it into fear—which triggers fight-or-flight as well as the release of stress hormones and the sympathetic nervous system.
However, the research team is particularly interested in how the discovery of this new brain pathway could pave the way for new treatment options for anxiety disorders
"We were excited to find that CGRP neurons are activated by negative sensory cues from all five senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch," explained Sing Han, senior author of the study.
"Identification of novel risk pathways provides insight into the treatment of fear-related disorders."
Indeed, previous research has shown that different pathways independently convey visual, tactile, and acoustic danger signals to multiple brain regions.
Therefore, this discovery of a single pathway that bundles all signals is thought to be beneficial for survival.
Additionally, it may pave the way for scientists to better understand how CGRP signaling may help treat disorders associated with multisensory stimulus processing abnormalities—including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), autism spectrum disorders disorder (ASD), and migraine.
"Drugs that block CGRP have been used to treat migraines, so I'm hoping our study can be used to remove memories that are a risk factor for sensory hypersensitivity in PTSD or autism. can be an anchor for the use of type medicine," Suk joy Joshua emphasized. Kong. co-first author of the study.
To read the full results of the study, published in Cell Reports, you can visit the link here.
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