The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded a $418,750 Project Grant (CFDA 93.242 - Mental Health Research Grants) to Yale University to mechanistically investigate the neural circuits underlying anxiety disorders in humans. The 5-year research project, titled "Dorsal Anterior Cingulate and Anterior Insula Computations During Threat Avoidance in Humans," aims to use invasive neurophysiological techniques in epilepsy patients to map the individual and complementary roles of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula in safety assessment and aversive outcome response during a spatial avoidance task. The research will leverage single neuron activity, population dynamics, and network oscillations to outline the fundamental circuit-level organization of anxiety-related brain circuits, laying the groundwork for potential neural circuit reprogramming therapies to treat dysregulated anxiety disorders in the future.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:18 AM