Curbing fear by axonal oxytocin release in the amygdala.
Oxytocin produces anxiolytic effects via the central nucleus of the amygdala but how the peptide reaches its receptors in this region has been unclear. In this issue of Neuron, Knobloch et al. (2012) demonstrate that evoked oxytocin release from axon terminals within the central amygdala results in attenuation of fear.
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.
Philip
P
Tovote
Andreas
A
Lüthi
D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism*
D010121:Oxytocin