A parvalbumin-positive excitatory visual pathway to trigger fear responses in mice

Abstract

Looming in on the threat-response circuit What are the neural elements that transmit threat-relevant inputs in the brain? Shang et al. systematically identified the key neuronal subtypes in the mouse superior colliculus underlying active avoidance and defensive-like behaviors. They found a pathway that responded to looming objects, linking input from the retina to the fear center in the brain. Science , this issue p. 1472