To better understand the neurobiology of attachment in infant rats, including attachments formed with an abusive caregiver. Within this context we use a fear- conditioning paradigm to understand the neurobiology of fear ontogeny or origination. This research indicates that infants process trauma differently than adults, due in part, to the infant attachment learning circuit and the delayed functional emergence of amygdala-dependent fear learning. Finally, the lab studies the enduring effects of early life trauma within the context of experiencing trauma with co-activation of the attachment circuitry.