Abstract

Fear and anxiety are emotional reactions that are crucial for defense and even survival of an individual; their malfunctioning may be, however, destructive and even life threatening. The research project aims to identify the key molecular, synaptic and cellular components of amygdala and hippocampal circuitries and their interactions during processing of anxiety, learned fear and fear extinction, and to elucidate their malfunctioning and basic mechanisms potentially leading to future treatment strategies of pathological anxiety.

Fear
Behavioural manifestation associated with clearly identified imminent threat

Anxiety
Generalized fear without object, an apprehensive anticipation of future potential threats