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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Pre-Training Reversible Inactivation of the Basal Amygdala (BA) Disrupts Contextual, but Not Auditory, Fear Conditioning, in Rats

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Author(s):
Akagi Jordao, Elisa Mari [1] ; Amaral Onishi, Barbara Kazue [1] ; Xavier, Gilberto Fernando [1]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Biosci Inst, Dept Physiol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 1
Document type: Journal article
Source: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 4 APR 30 2015.
Web of Science Citations: 1
Abstract

The basolateral amygdala complex (BLA), including the lateral (LA), basal (BA) and accessory basal (AB) nuclei, is involved in acquisition of contextual and auditory fear conditioning. The BA is one of the main targets for hippocampal information, a brain structure critical for contextual learning, which integrates several discrete stimuli into a single configural representation. Congruent with the hodology, selective neurotoxic damage to the BA results in impairments in contextual, but not auditory, fear conditioning, similarly to the behavioral impairments found after hippocampal damage. This study evaluated the effects of muscimol-induced reversible inactivation of the BA during a simultaneous contextual and auditory fear conditioning training on later fear responses to both the context and the tone, tested separately, without muscimol administration. As compared to control rats micro-infused with vehicle, subjects micro-infused with muscimol before training exhibited, during testing without muscimol, significant reduction of freezing responses to the conditioned context, but not to the conditioned tone. Therefore, reversible inactivation of the BA during training impaired contextual, but not auditory fear conditioning, thus confirming and extending similar behavioral observations following selective neurotoxic damage to the BA and, in addition, revealing that this effect is not related to the lack of a functional BA during testing. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 11/04820-7 - What is the nature of involvement of the amygdalas basal nucleus in contextual fear conditioning?
Grantee:Elisa Mari Akagi Jordão
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master