AUTHOR=Alfieri Valerio , Mattera Andrea , Baldassarre Gianluca TITLE=Neural Circuits Underlying Social Fear in Rodents: An Integrative Computational Model JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2022.841085 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2022.841085 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=Social fear learning in rodents arises from a complex interplay between the prefrontal cortex and subcortical structures, such as the ventromedial hypothalamus and the dorsal periaqueductal grey matter. Experimental studies are revealing the contribution of these areas, but an integrative view and model of how they interact to produce adaptive behavior are still lacking. Here we present a computational model of social fear learning, proposing a set of integrated hypotheses on the possible macro organization of the brain system underlying this phenomenon. The model is validated by accounting for several different empirical findings and produces predictions to be tested in future experiments.