Study Finds Astrocytes Key to Fear Memory Formation and Extinction

Researchers discover support cells in the brain's fear center play an active role in encoding, recalling, and extinguishing fearful memories.

Published on Feb. 21, 2026

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A new study published in Nature reveals that astrocytes, the star-shaped support cells in the brain, are just as important as neurons in the formation and extinction of fear memories. Using a mouse model, researchers found that astrocytes in the brain's fear center, the amygdala, encode and maintain neural fear signaling. Manipulating astrocyte activity influenced the strength of fear memories, challenging the long-held neuron-centric view of how fear learning works. The findings suggest targeting astrocyte-related pathways could complement existing therapies for disorders driven by persistent fearful memories, such as PTSD and anxiety.

Why it matters

The study's findings challenge the traditional view of astrocytes as passive support cells, showing they play an active role in fear learning and memory. This could lead to new treatment approaches for disorders characterized by debilitating fear memories, as targeting astrocytes may complement existing neuron-focused therapies.

The details

The research team used fluorescent activity sensors to observe astrocytes in the amygdala responding in real-time as fear memories were formed, recalled, and extinguished in a mouse model. Selectively increasing or suppressing the signals astrocytes send to neighboring neurons directly influenced the strength of fear memories. Disrupting astrocyte activity also impaired the ability of neurons to form normal fear-related activity patterns and effectively transmit information about defensive reactions to other brain regions.

  • The study was published in the scientific journal Nature on February 21, 2026.

The players

Lindsay Halladay

Assistant professor at the University of Arizona Department of Neuroscience and one of the study's senior authors.

Andrew Holmes

Researcher at the National Institutes of Health and co-lead author of the study.

Olena Bukalo

Researcher at the National Institutes of Health and co-lead author of the study.

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What they’re saying

“Astrocytes are interwoven among neurons in the brain, and it seemed unlikely they were there just for housekeeping. We wanted to understand what they're actually doing – and how they're shaping neural activity in the process.”

— Lindsay Halladay, Assistant professor (Mirage News)

“For the first time, we found that astrocytes encode and maintain neural fear signaling.”

— Lindsay Halladay, Assistant professor (Mirage News)

What’s next

Halladay's next goal is to study what roles astrocytes play across the broader brain circuitry involved in fear processing, as the amygdala does not act alone and relies on other regions like the prefrontal cortex and midbrain.

The takeaway

This study fundamentally changes our understanding of how fear memories are formed and stored in the brain, showing that astrocytes, not just neurons, are active participants in fear learning and memory. Targeting astrocyte-related pathways could lead to new therapeutic approaches for disorders driven by persistent fear memories.