235. Novel Mechanisms of Fear Reduction Targeting the Biological State of the Developing Brain

Abstract

Anxiety disorders, which often emerge during adolescence, are characterized by difficulty discriminating between threatening and safe contexts. Translational studies in developing mice and humans have demonstrated dynamic changes in frontoamygdala circuitry that supports extinction learning, raising the question of whether adolescents with anxiety disorders may benefit from efforts to optimize fear reduction through novel mechanisms that rely on alternate neural circuitry.