Fear Learning Enhances Prefrontal Cortical Suppression of Auditory Thalamic Inputs to the Amygdala in Adults, but Not Adolescents

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

NicoleC. Ferrara¹  J.Amiel Rosenkranz¹  Eliska Mrackova¹  Mallika Padival¹  MaxineK. Loh¹ 

[1] Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Discipline of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA;

关键词: prefrontal cortex;    basolateral amygdala;    medial geniculate nucleus;    adolescent;    adult;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms21083008

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Adolescence is characterized by increased susceptibility to the development of fear- and anxiety-related disorders. Adolescents also show elevated fear responding and aversive learning that is resistant to behavioral interventions, which may be related to alterations in the circuitry supporting fear learning. These features are linked to ongoing adolescent development of medial prefrontal cortical (PFC) inputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) that regulate neural activity and contribute to the refinement of fear responses. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the extent of PFC inhibition of the BLA following fear learning is greater in adults than in adolescents, using anesthetized in vivo recordings to measure local field potentials (LFPs) evoked by stimulation of PFC or auditory thalamic (MgN) inputs to BLA. We found that BLA LFPs evoked by stimulation of MgN inputs were enhanced in adults following fear conditioning. Fear conditioning also led to reduced summation of BLA LFPs evoked in response to PFC train stimulation, and increased the capacity of PFC inhibition of MgN inputs in adults. These data suggest that fear conditioning recruits additional inhibitory capacity by PFC inputs to BLA in adults, but that this capacity is weaker in adolescents. These results provide insight into how the development of PFC inputs may relate to age differences in memory retention and persistence following aversive learning.

【 授权许可】

Unknown