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Updated: Feb 12, 2026

A Behavioral Assay for Investigating the Role of Spatial Memory During Instinctive Defense in Mice
Published on: July 21, 2018
Surviving threats: neural circuit and computational implications of a new taxonomy of defensive behaviour
Joseph LeDoux1,2,3, Nathaniel D Daw4
1Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Research on defensive behaviour in mammals has in recent years focused on elicited reactions; however, organisms also make active choices when responding to danger. We propose a hierarchical taxonomy of defensive behaviour on the basis of known psychological processes. Included are three categories of reactions (reflexes, fixed reactions and habits) and three categories of goal-directed actions (direct action-outcome behaviours and actions based on implicit or explicit forecasting of outcomes). We then use this taxonomy to guide a summary of findings regarding the underlying neural circuits.
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