HHS Creates a Fearless Mouse

You have to wonder why, but National Institutes of Health researchers have discovered that knocking out a specific gene in the brains of mice creates mice that are basically fearless -- mice that are "unperturbed by situations that would normally trigger instinctive or learned fear responses."

Researchers found that a protein in the brain called "stathmin" is critical to triggering fear. So, you knockout the stathmin, you knock out fear. In this HHS press release, the scientists say "Fear memories are so essential for survival that they are easily formed and rarely lost. The workings of fear circuitry, centered in the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain, are well understood. But relatively little is known about fear’s molecular basis..."

Mice with their stathmin knocked out showed less anxiety or freezing-up when they heard a tone they had been trained to associate with an electric shock. The test mice also showed greater boldness when exploring the unknown, like "novel open space and maze environments," a sign of less fear.

And why? What's the point of this research into controlling a basic human behavior? After all, fear is "essential for survival," right? The researchers suggest that the payoff will be better treatments for anxiety disorders. So maybe someday we will be able to step onto a stage to give a speech without feeling fear... or onto a battlefield to fight a war.

Also See: Future of War Brainstormed at Sandia Labs