Connecting the Circuits of Fear: Understanding Neural Pathways and Conditioning
The presynaptic neuron sends signals into the neurons of the amygdala to help generate the fear circuit.Copyright Alisha Hill
Students dive deeper into fear conditioning by exploring the neural pathways involved in tone and shock responses. They review the basics of synapses and neural pathways before using a virtual lab simulation to connect tone and shock pathways in the amygdala, aiming to create a circuit that results in fear conditioning. Throughout the process, students experiment with different firing rates and configurations, troubleshooting through trial and error to find the correct values that activate the neurons. The task culminates in a more advanced exploration of calcium ion plasticity, enhancing students' understanding of how fear conditioning works at multiple levels in the brain.
Neural engineers, biomedical engineers, and cognitive engineers apply principles from both biology and engineering to design, analyze, and optimize systems related to the brain and neural circuits. Neural engineers focus on developing technologies to interact with the brain, such as neural interfaces and brain-computer interfaces. Biomedical engineers work on systems that interface with biological systems, such as creating devices or tools for studying brain activity. Cognitive engineers, particularly those in fields like human-computer interaction, apply knowledge of the brain's response to stimuli to design systems or tools that adapt based on learning and behavior. These engineers often use similar principles—such as circuits, systems modeling, and adaptation—to create technologies that can respond to biological or cognitive inputs.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Identify and illustrate the neural circuits involved in processing tone and shock stimuli.
- Explain how separate neural pathways for tone and shock interact to enable fear learning in the brain.
- Describe the role of the amygdala in integrating these pathways to produce learned emotional responses.