MentalHealthDaily

Astrocyte Calcium Signals Shape Amygdala Fear Memory and Extinction in Mice

by GLOOM

Photoreal illustration of astrocytes interacting with neurons in the amygdala, conveying glial role in fear circuit dynamics.

A 2026 Nature mouse study found that basolateral amygdala astrocyte Ca2+ signals tracked fear retrieval and extinction, then showed causality: 3 mg/kg CNO manipulations of astrocyte DREADDs pushed early-extinction freezing in opposite directions while both disrupting later extinction retrieval.1 Research Highlights Astrocytes tracked fear state: after 3 tone-shock pairings and 2 days of 25 cue-only …

Resting Brain Connectivity Predicts Fear Extinction Learning

by GLOOM

Photoreal illustration of brain network connections in the fear-extinction circuitry, with imagery linking amygdala and prefrontal regions.

A 2026 multimodal MRI analysis of 509 healthy adults found that fear acquisition, extinction learning, and renewal were not predicted by one generic “fear circuit” score: functional connectivity predicted acquisition, structural connectivity predicted extinction, and effective connectivity was the only renewal signal.1 The extinction result is the clinically interesting piece because exposure therapy depends on …