Fast, instinctive behaviours such as predator-evoked escape responses are crucial for survival but are not always the optimal reaction in changing environments. The neural pathways by which animals learn to modify them are unknown. Here, Mederos et al. demonstrate in mice how experience-dependent learning that suppresses escape responses to visual threat is mediated by projections from posterolateral higher-order visual areas (plHVAs) to the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) via a subcortical plasticity mechanism.

Looming (dark and expanding) stimuli presented over an open arena mimic an aerial predator to mice, and reliably evoke instinctive escape behaviour mediated by subcortical brainstem circuits. The authors used a modified looming paradigm by repeatedly exposing mice to a looming stimulus of increasing contrast while blocking access to an escape shelter. This allowed the mice to learn that the looming stimulus was not threatening, and thus to suppress their instinctive escape responses, which the authors assessed after learning by unblocking their escape access.