Article
Behavioral Sciences
Chung-Fu Sun, Chun-hui Chang
Summary: This study found that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is not actively engaged in the acquisition of Pavlovian fear conditioning, but aberrant activation of the OFC impairs fear learning. Specifically, activation of the medial OFC affected the acquisition/consolidation of contextual fear, while activation of either the lateral OFC or the medial OFC affected the acquisition/consolidation of cued fear.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Geoffrey W. Diehl, A. David Redish
Summary: Decision-making requires different aspects of information and involves multiple cognitive processes. The rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is believed to play a central role in these abilities. Previous studies on mPFC function have yielded controversial results, but this study with rats performing an economic decision task revealed four distinct functional domains within mPFC, closely related to anatomical subregions. Dorsal mPFC regions were more involved in processing active decisions, while ventral regions were more engaged in motivational factors.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Nicholas A. Heroux, Colin J. Horgan, Mark E. Stanton
Summary: The CPFE is a variant of contextual fear conditioning where prefrontal inactivation disrupts retention test freezing in adolescent rats, and the mPFC shows robust learning-related gene expression during immediate-shock training. NMDA receptor plasticity in the prefrontal cortex is important for the acquisition and/or consolidation of incidental context learning, but not required for context retrieval or acquisition of a context-shock association during immediate-shock training in the CPFE.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Adam X. Gorka, Ryan T. Philips, Salvatore Torrisi, Adrienne Manbeck, Madeline Goodwin, Monique Ernst, Christian Grillon
Summary: Computational models suggest that negative prediction errors (PEs) weaken aversive associations during conditioning and extinction. This study investigates the role of periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) in processing negative PEs in the human brain using ultra-high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results show that negative PEs are associated with increased PAG responses and connectivity with medial areas of Brodmann area 9 during differential conditioning.
SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Annalise N. Binette, Jianfeng Liu, Hugo Bayer, Kennedi L. Crayton, Laila Melissari, Samantha O. Sweck, Stephen Maren
Summary: Stress has a significant impact on fear extinction and affects the activity of PV interneurons in the mPFC. PV interneurons regulate extinction learning under stress in a sex-dependent manner, and this effect is mediated by amygdaloprefrontal projections.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Wiktor Bilecki, Joachim Latusz, Kinga Gawlinska, Magdalena Chmelova, Marzena Mackowiak
Summary: The study showed that short-term adolescent social isolation did not significantly affect fear memory and anxiety in adult rats, but altered protein levels related to synapse maturation and energy transfer. Additionally, the impact of adolescent social isolation on normally developing brains was different than those with a history of MAM administration.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Christine Stubbendorff, Carl W. Stevenson
Summary: Research has shown that dopamine plays a crucial role in regulating various contextual fear processes, although the related neurochemical mechanisms are still not fully understood. Understanding how dopamine regulates contextual fear can provide novel insights into the neurochemical modulation of neural circuit function underlying memory processing.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Anabel M. M. Miguelez Fernandez, Hanna M. Molla, Daniel R. Thomases, Kuei Y. Tseng
Summary: The study shows that disruption of prefrontal cortex (PFC) alpha 7nAChR signaling impacts hippocampal and amygdalar transmission, with significant effects observed in adult rats. Prefrontal infusion of MLA affects trace fear-conditioning and extinction in an age-dependent manner, potentially due to the late-adolescent maturation of ventral hippocampal-PFC functional connectivity and its modulation by alpha 7nAChR signaling.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Alisa Pajser, Christian Foster, Brooke Gaeddert, Charles L. Pickens
Summary: Extended fear training can lead to fear incubation, while single fear conditioning results in high fear expression sustained over time. The observed low fear soon after training may be related to fear extinction-like processes.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biology
Rebecca A. Mount, Sudiksha Sridhar, Kyle R. Hansen, Ali Mohammed, Moona Abdulkerim, Robb Kessel, Bobak Nazer, Howard J. Gritton, Xue Han
Summary: The study found that different populations of hippocampal CA1 neurons play different roles in trace conditioning and extinction learning, with unique connectivity patterns. Additionally, differences in CA1 network connectivity were observed between conditioning and extinction, despite overall connectivity density remaining constant.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Masoomeh Dadkhah, Ali Rashidy-Pour, Abbas Ali Vafaei
Summary: This study identified the key role of the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in regulating fear extinction. By infusing the D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride into the IL region, auditory fear extinction was enhanced in an inverted U-shape pattern, with moderate doses being most effective.
PHARMACOLOGY BIOCHEMISTRY AND BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Sucharita S. Somkuwar, Emmanuel G. Villalpando, Leon W. Quach, Brian P. Head, Benjamin S. McKenna, Miriam Scadeng, Chitra D. Mandyam
Summary: The study found that forced abstinence from chronic intermittent ethanol vapor exposure leads to increased myelination in the rodent medial prefrontal cortex, accompanied by microstructural deficits, which contribute to persistent drinking behavior and cognitive impairments. The alterations in myelin integrity in the mPFC are associated with gray matter damage and deficits in PFC-dependent behaviors.
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Giovanna Traina, Jack A. Tuszynski
Summary: This review provides an overview of the role that classical neurotransmitters play in the contextual conditioning model of fear and PTSD.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ning Xu, Lian Geng, Xianxia Yan, Aijun Niu, Hui Yu, Bo Su
Summary: The Wnt signaling pathway is involved in adult extinction, and manipulating this pathway can facilitate or impair the extinction process. Inhibition of the pathway using Dkk1 accelerates extinction, while enhancement of the pathway impairs extinction. These findings provide insights into the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in memory extinction and suggest its potential therapeutic implications for psychiatric disorders.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Min Soo Kang, Jin-Hee Han
Summary: The study suggests that the hippocampus receiving input from MEC plays a crucial role in the formation of contextual fear memory after learning. Optogenetic inhibition of MEC inputs within 5 minutes after learning reduces freezing behavior during retrieval test, while the same manipulation performed 30 minutes before retrieval test has no effect on fear memory.
