Why do we stay afraid for so long when the brain's first alarm fires so fast?

Our survival depends on brains that constantly search for danger and, if found, stay alert until it has passed. The amygdala—an area that sits deep in the brain, near the brainstem—has long been considered the epicenter of our fear and danger response. But the amygdala's neurons fire only briefly when a threat first appears, so why do fear-response behaviors like fight, flight or freeze last so long?

Read it at Medical Xpress ↗

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