The amygdala integrates sensory stimuli, encodes emotional states and instructs other brain centers to initiate physiological and behavioral responses. We are using circuit genetic approaches to resolve how the networks of various amygdala neuronal populations orchestrate these processes. Pharmaco-, optogenetics and viral tracing uncovered a local inhibitory network of two antagonistic neuronal populations in the lateral central amygdala (CEl) that gates amygdala output to control conditioned fear. In search for underlying circuit mechanisms, we conducted combined pharmacogenetics and in vivo electrophysiological recordings. Results from these experiments suggest that the antagonistic neuronal populations operate like a seesaw which alternates between two states: in the absence of a conditioned stimulus (CS), so called CEl-off neurons, identified by the expression of PKCδ, are active, inhibiting their counterpart CEl-on neurons and amygdala output; in the presence of the CS, CElon neurons are active, inhibiting CEl-off neurons, which disinhibits amygdala output and fear signals to the brain stem. In support of this model, initial pharmacogenetic experiments have shown that a reduction of CEl-off neuronal activity results in significantly more amygdala output and conditioned freezing than usual. Current circuit genetic experiments aim at further investigating macrocircuit and pharmacological control of emotional gating in CE.