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Boffins Find That Brain's Fear Center is Equipped With Built-in Suffocation Sensor
In addition to the insight into the normal fear response, the discovery may help to explain and perhaps even correct what goes wrong in those who suffer from panic attacks, the researchers say. (It's been known for almost a century that carbon dioxide inhalation can trigger panic attacks, and that patients with panic disorder are particularly susceptible.)
"The amygdala has been thought of as part of the fear circuitry of the brain," said John Wemmie of the University of Iowa, Iowa City. "Now we see it isn't just part of a circuit, it is also a sensor."
"It's interesting that evolution positioned an acid sensor right in this central circuit," added Michael Welsh, also of the University of Iowa. "Detecting an elevated carbon dioxide is critical for survival. When you are suffocating, this circuit triggers mechanisms for escape or relief of the problem."
The circuit in question resides in the amygdala, a structure that stimulates the sympathetic nervous system for fight-or-flight and links to other brain regions involved in the response to threat. The amygdala is known from earlier studies to play a role in both innate and learned fears.
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