Clinical findings and imaging studies in patients suffering from anxiety disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder, indicate that symptoms may manifest due to disruptions in pathways connecting the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe. These disruptions affect an individual’s ability to accurately integrate context with emotionally salient memories. I investigate these pathways and their synaptic interactions, which underlie the synthesis of contextual, emotional and mnemonic information, an understanding of which is prerequisite to the development of therapies for these psychiatric disorders.