The DOI matches its Crossref record; 172 of the 175 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Emotional Brain, Fear, and the Amygdala
Open accessAbstract
1. Considerable progress has been made over the past 20 years in relating specific circuits of the brain to emotional functions. Much of this work has involved studies of Pavlovian or classical fear conditioning, a behavioral procedure that is used to couple meaningless environmental stimuli to emotional (defense) response networks. 2. The major conclusion from studies of fear conditioning is that the amygdala plays critical role in linking external stimuli to defense responses. 3. Before describing research on the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning, though, it will be helpful to briefly examine the historical events that preceded modern research on conditioned fear.
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In the citing paper
“Briefly, the association between a stimulus predicting shock and the shock forms in basolateral regions of the amygdala.”
From Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. (2016) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“From there the information passes to the central nucleus of the amygdala, which in turns projects to the regions that control the behaviors and physiological responses that are the symptoms of fear (Davis, Rainnie, & Cassell, 1994; LeDoux, 2003; Maren & Quirk, 2004).”
From Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience. (2016) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“The anatomical projections from the amygdala and mPFC to the hypothalamus, PAG, locus ceruleus, raphe, and autonomic-related brainstem nuclei play major roles in organizing the endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stressors and emotional stimuli (Figure 10) (Davis and Shi, 1999;LeDoux, 2003;O ¨ngu ¨r et al, 2003).”
From Neurocircuitry of Mood Disorders (2010) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“Parallel and convergent efferent projections from the amygdala and the medial prefrontal network to the hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray (PAG), nucleus basalis, locus ceruleus, dorsal raphe, and medullary vagal nuclei organize neuroendocrine, autonomic, neurotransmitter and behavioral responses to stressors and emotional stimuli”
From Neurocircuitry of Mood Disorders (2010) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“Amygdala stimulation of the locus ceruleus, lateral hypothalamus and PAG increases sympathetic autonomic arousal in rodents (Fig. 5) (LeDoux 2003; Gold and Chrousos 2002).”
From Brain structural and functional abnormalities in mood disorders: implications for neurocircuitry models of depression (2008) · cites this paper as LeDoux 2003
In the citing paper
“The BLA sends anatomical projections to the central nucleus of the amygdala (ACe) and the BNST, and projections from these structures to the hypothalamus, PAG, nucleus basalis, locus ceruleus, raphe and other diencencephalic and brainstem nuclei play major roles in organizing the neuroendocrine, neurotransmitter, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stressors and emotional stimuli (Davis and Shi”
From Brain structural and functional abnormalities in mood disorders: implications for neurocircuitry models of depression (2008) · cites this paper as LeDoux 2003
In the citing paper
“positive memories are rarely induced in mice, unlike fear conditioning, which is more commonly used for its robustness and long-lasting effects [45–47].”
From Positive early-life olfactory memory is rooted in the olfactory bulb and triggers large-scale changes beyond the olfactory system (2026) · cites this paper as [46]
In the citing paper
“The expression and inhibition of learned fear is largely regulated by the amygdala, hippocampus, and PFC in adult rodents and humans (Knapska et al., 2012;LeDoux, 2003;Maren and Quirk, 2004;Tovote et al., 2015)”
From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“required for the acquisition and expression of learned fear”
From Childhood adversity and neural development: Deprivation and threat as distinct dimensions of early experience (2014) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“Fear is a defensive mechanism that activates behavioral and neurobiological responses to danger that promote survival, including freezing and activation of sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis”
From Childhood adversity and neural development: Deprivation and threat as distinct dimensions of early experience (2014) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“An extensive literature in rodents has characterized the neural circuitry that underlies fear learning using Pavlovian fear conditioning tasks”
From Childhood adversity and neural development: Deprivation and threat as distinct dimensions of early experience (2014) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“The CMA is critical in the generation of behavioral responses through projections to the brainstem, striatum, and regions of the cortex (LeDoux, 2003).”
From Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions (2015) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“The amygdala can be subdivided into basolateral (BLA), centromedial (CMA) and superficial (SFA) nuclei, each with distinct functional connections to the cortex supporting different brain functions.”
From Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions (2015) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“The BLA facilitates associative learning processes, like fear conditioning, through afferent projections from the frontal cortex and other subcortical regions (LeDoux, 2003, Phelps and LeDoux, 2005).”
From Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions (2015) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“Converging evidence from this field suggests the amygdalaa key brain region for emotion regulation (LeDoux, 2003), processing (Seeley et al., 2007), detection (Ousdal et al., 2008), and vigilance for social cues across sensory modalities (Whalen, 2007) is an important target of OT administration.”
In the citing paper
“decreasing amygdala cholinergic activity through α4β2* nAChR blockade could decrease stress reactivity and depression-like symptoms (LeDoux, 2003; Mineur et al., 2007)”
From Mood and anxiety regulation by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: A potential pathway to modulate aggression and related behavioral states (2015) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“The quality of parent-child relationships affects both sexual behavior and neural development and activation, specifically in the amygdala”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
In the citing paper
“which has been associated with reward processing (Ernst et al., 2005), emotional processing (Whalen et al., 2013), and fear response (LeDoux, 2003)”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as LeDoux, 2003
Citations
Cites
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A synaptic model of memory: long-term potentiation in the hippocampus
Bliss, T. V. P., & Collingridge, G. L. (1993) · Nature · doi:10.1038/361031a0 · Cited by 11,566
Plum, F. (1960) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1960.03840090124020 · Cited by 10,388
LeDoux, J. E. (2000) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.23.1.155 · Cited by 8,444
Self-citationDESCARTES' ERROR: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain
Marg, E. (1995) · Optometry and Vision Science · doi:10.1002/j.1538-9235.1995.tb03988.x · Cited by 8,178
Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene
Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T. E., Taylor, A., Craig, I. W., Harrington, H., McClay, J., Mill, J., Martin, J., Braithwaite, A., et al. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1083968 · Cited by 8,120
Bliss, T. V. P., & Gardner-Medwin, A. R. (1973) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010274 · Cited by 7,424
(1995) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 7,217
Working with Emotional Intelligence
Goleman, D. (1999) · ETC: A Review of General Semantics · doi:10.66774/etc_5601_103 · Cited by 6,254
(1962) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 4,856
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Fear-related anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder
Moreland-Capuia, A. R., Vahabzadeh, A., Gillespie, C. F., & Ressler, K. J. (2023) · Neurobiology of Brain Disorders · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-85654-6.00005-8 · Cited by 3
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Metadata
- Authors
- LeDoux, J.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- Corresponding author
- LeDoux, Joseph
- ORCID
- LeDoux, Joseph
- Venue
- Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
- Published
- 2003-10
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4-5
- Pages
- 727-738
- ISSN
- 0272-4340 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6830
- PMC
- PMC11530156
- OpenAlex
- W1513763202
- Cited by
- 1,818
- References
- 175
- Citations by year
- 2026: 60 · 2025: 85 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 73 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 119 · 2020: 88 · 2019: 125 · 2018: 83 · 2017: 87 · 2016: 114 · 2015: 95 · 2014: 77 · 2013: 85 · 2012: 96
- FWCI
- 16.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- amygdala, fear conditioning, classical conditioning, emotional brain, defense response, emotional circuits
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Animals, Conditioning, Psychological, Emotions, Fear, Humans, Limbic System, Models, Neurological, Neural Pathways, Sensation, Models, Animal
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