From Light to Fear: How the Brain Learns Safety

Animals and humans must quickly learn what is dangerous and what is safe in order to survive. This kind of “fear learning” depends on a brain region called the prefrontal cortex, which helps us form, control, and erase fearful memories. Surprisingly, recent work shows that this brain area is sensitive to how bright the surrounding light is.

In this project, we will study how light information travels from the eye to deep brain centers and then to the prefrontal cortex, and how this chain of signals changes fear learning and memory. Using mice, we will identify which cells respond to light along this pathway, how they talk to each other, and how turning them on or off affects the creation, recall, and erasure of fearful memories.

By revealing how natural light engages specific brain circuits to shape fear learning and memory, this project will advance fundamental understanding of brain-environment interactions and help build a scientific foundation for future technological and therapeutic innovations.