ReviewMouse models of fear-related disorders: Cell-type-specific manipulations in amygdala

•The amygdala is made of many subnuclei and cell types.•A detailed understanding of the cell-type structure is critical.•Fear disorders such as PTSD, Panic, and Phobia are related to amygdala dysfunction.•We review the CRF and other amygdala peptides in anxiety, fear and extinction.

Fear conditioning is a model system used to study threat responses, fear memory and their dysregulation in a variety of organisms. Newly developed tools such as optogenetics, Cre recombinase and DREADD technologies have allowed researchers to manipulate anatomically or molecularly defined cell subtypes with a high degree of temporal control and determine the effect of this manipulation on behavior. These targeted molecular techniques have opened up a new appreciation for the critical contributions different subpopulations of cells make to fear behavior and potentially to treatment of fear and anxiety disorders. Here we review progress to date across a variety of techniques to understand fear-related behavior through the manipulation of different cell subtypes within the amygdala.