How the brain learns to tell safe people from threatening ones
Official title: The neural bases of social fear discrimination memory
Funded at Columbia University Health Sciences · NIH-11298471 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how a small part of the brain helps mice remember which individuals are safe or scary, to better understand social anxiety and conditions linked to 22q11.2.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | August 26, 2019 |
| Project end | December 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $586,701 |
| NIH project number | 2R01MH120292-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11298471 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People affected by social anxiety, schizophrenia-related social withdrawal, or the 22q11.2 microdeletion would be the most relevant patient groups for future clinical follow-up from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Because this is preclinical, mouse-focused research, people seeking immediate new therapies for unrelated medical conditions are unlikely to benefit directly from the work right now.
What this research studies
Researchers use mouse models to see how the CA2 region of the hippocampus and its downstream brain targets control social fear discrimination after social fear conditioning. They combine behavioral tests with tools that can turn specific brain cells on or off and record brain activity to map the circuits involved. The team compares normal mice with a mouse model of the human 22q11.2 microdeletion, a genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, to see how CA2 dysfunction affects social memory. Findings aim to reveal circuits that could become targets for future therapies to reduce generalized social fear.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to specific brain circuits to target for new treatments that reduce social anxiety and improve social functioning in people with schizophrenia risk or 22q11.2-related problems.
How similar studies have gone: Previous mouse studies (including the investigators' prior work) have shown dorsal CA2 is important for social memory and required for social fear discrimination, but translating those findings into human treatments has not yet been done.
Where this research is happening
-
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Siegelbaum, Steven a — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Siegelbaum, Steven a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.