Researchers have discovered how the brain transforms the threats we receive into feelings of fear. It has been proven that threatening sensory signals can be transmitted to different parts of the brain along the same pathway.
Researchers have found a molecular biological pathway along which information moves from various kinds of signals. These may include different sounds, flavors, and what we see. This information subsequently triggers the fear response in the brain. The CGRP molecule allows neurons from two different areas of the brain to combine these disturbing stimuli into one signal, labeling it as negative, and send the data to the amygdala. It is there that these signals are translated into fears.
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Previous work has shown that different brain pathways separately send different alarm signals to different brain areas at once, and the amygdala receives significant amounts of information. In it, the neuroenzyme CGRP (calcitonin gene related peptide) associated with disgust is abundant.
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However, recent research has shown that these signals can be transmitted along one path. Visualization of single calcium cells to register the activity of CGRP neurons helped to find this out. The researchers specifically gave the mice threat signals to determine which sense was involved and which set of neurons were activated. Scientists are keen to study how the sending of disturbing messages affects the mental health problems that depend on sensory information. Among them are autism, PTSD and even migraines. (READ MORE)