Picture a star-shaped cell in the brain, stretching its spindly arms out to cradle the neurons around it. That's an astrocyte, and for a long time, scientists thought its job was caretaking the brain, ...

A new study reveals that astrocytes, once dismissed as mere support cells, play a central role in fear memory.

A Dartmouth study challenges the conventional view that the amygdala—the two-sided structure deep in the brain involved in emotion, learning, and decision making—is simply the brain's primitive "fear ...

New research shows The amygdala helps choose between competing strategies when rewards are uncertain and decisions get confusing.

"I am often said to have identified the amygdala as the brain's 'fear' center. But the fact is, I have not done this, nor has anyone else." —Joseph LeDoux (2015) 3D illustration of both amygdala.

In the midst of assault, the brain's fear circuitry takes over while other key parts are impaired or even effectively shut down. This is the brain reacting to a life-threatening situation just the way ...

Around 70% of women who suffer a sexual assault develop PTSD; now scientists have shown that many of these women show a marked reduction in the usual communication between two important brain areas ...