In nature, animals display defensive behaviors that reflect the spatiotemporal distance of
threats. Laboratory-based paradigms that elicit specific defensive responses in rodents have …

The overconsumption of highly caloric and palatable foods has caused a surge in obesity
rates in the past half century, thereby posing a healthcare challenge due to the array of …

Fear and anxiety are brain states that evolved to mediate defensive responses to threats.
The defense reaction includes multiple interacting behavioral, autonomic and endocrine …

Perception of threats is essential for survival. Previous findings suggest that parallel
pathways independently relay innate threat signals from different sensory modalities to …

The parabrachial nucleus (PBN) is a major hub that receives sensory information from both
internal and external environments. Specific populations of PBN neurons are involved in …

Breathing is regulated automatically by neural circuits in the medulla to maintain
homeostasis, but breathing is also modified by behavior and emotion. Mice have rapid …

Learning to associate cues, both directly and indirectly, with biologically significant events is
essential for survival. Second-order conditioning (SOC) involves forming an association …

Pain that persists beyond the time required for tissue healing and pain that arises in the
absence of tissue injury, collectively referred to as nociplastic pain, are poorly understood …

Behavioral responses to environmental stimuli are dictated by the affective valence of the
stimulus, good (positive valence) or bad (negative valence). These stimuli can innately elicit …

Punishment such as electric shock or physical discipline employs a mixture of physical pain
and emotional distress to induce behavior modification. However, a neural circuit that …