Perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and amygdala exhibit the strongest activations during threat shooting tasks, with pgACC peaking specifically on high-threat “shoot” decisions to override freezing and drive action. PAG shows robust preparatory activity linked to reduced body sway and motor priming across threat levels, while bilateral amygdala amplifies threat salience throughout.[nature +1] Activation Patterns pgACC activation surges during the critical switch from passive defense to active response, correlating with faster, accurate shooting under shock risk. PAG, central to the defense cascade, ramps up imminence-related responses, co-activating with striatum for rapid execution.[nature] Supporting Regions Amygdala connectivity strengthens with pgACC and PAG under threat, enhancing discrimination of armed targets. Insula and supplementary motor areas contribute to heightened arousal and motor output, though less dominantly than the core triad.[frontiersin +1]