Imagine hearing a sound that once signaled danger. Your body tenses even if you know the threat is gone. This tension is the legacy of how powerfully fear learning shapes the brain. The process of extinction is the attempt to undo that learning, replacing it with new knowledge that the cue no longer means harm.
This effort to unlearn fear is no longer just theoretical; it can be observed directly in the brain. In a recent study, researchers asked patients with implanted brain electrodes to view images paired with an unpleasant scream. Later, the pairings changed. One "danger" image became safe. This switch allowed the scientists to watch how the brain rewired itself during extinction.
The amygdala, often described as the brain’s fear alarm, did not go quiet during this process. Instead, it produced a rhythmic pattern of activity in the theta range that marked safe cues. At the same time, the hippocampus and temporal cortex stabilized the memory of specific images, while the prefrontal cortex tracked the context in which they appeared. Fear was not erased. It was overruled by a richer conversation across brain regions.
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