Why do people get “scared”?

Science Fiction Network, December 22 (Jin Kaiyi)

When people are frightened, they sometimes don't know what to do. We often call this state "frightened". Why do people get "frightened"? Recently, scientists from University College London in the UK revealed a brain mechanism that allows mice facing danger to instinctively escape to a safe place. When this mechanism is blocked, the mice will lose their way, that is, they will be "frightened". The relevant research has been published in the recent journal Nature.

In the face of danger, we instinctively go to a safe place. This process is based on memory, but scientists are still unclear about how the brain uses spatial memory to direct actions. To figure this out, scientists conducted experiments on mice and found that two areas of the mouse brain, the retrosplenial cortex and the superior colliculus, form a circuit between them. When facing danger, the retrosplenial cortex calculates the direction of the shelter and then sends the correct information to the superior colliculus. The superior colliculus uses this information to know the direction of the mouse's head. The cortical cells act like a compass to guide the moving mouse in the right direction to reach a safe place.

If the connection between these two areas is disrupted, preventing them from communicating information, the mice will be at a loss and lose their way when faced with danger, that is, they will be "scared". This shows that the circuit formed between the retrosplenial cortex and the superior colliculus is a key way for the brain to determine direction and reach a safe place. In addition, scientists have observed similar circuits in other organisms, suggesting that this mechanism exists throughout the animal kingdom, including humans.

Scientists say that although the drive to escape is innate, the reality still depends on specific circuits in the brain. Next, scientists will continue to conduct in-depth research to explore how the brain continuously updates important spatial information, and compare different species horizontally to find common rules for different species in facing important problems.