Fear Factor: Missing Brain Enzyme MAO A/B Leads To Abnormal Levels Of Fear In Mice

Learned fear is a good thing. It keeps us from making risky, stupid decisions or falling over and over again into the same trap.  New research found that a missing brain protein may be the culprit in cases of severe over-worry, where the fear perseveres even when there's nothing of which to be afraid. The researchers examined mice without the enzymes monoamine oxidase A and B (MAO A/B), which sit next to each other in our genetic code as well as on that of mice. Prior research has found an association between deficiencies of these enzymes in humans and developmental disabilities along the autism spectrum such as clinical perseverance – the inability to change or modulate actions along with social context. read more

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