The Ventromedial Hypothalamus Mediates Predator Fear Memory

Overview

Journal Eur J Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2016 Mar 19

PMID 26991018

Citations 29

Authors

Bianca A Silva

Camilla Mattucci

Piotr Krzywkowski

Rachel Cuozzo

Laura Carbonari

Cornelius T Gross

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The amygdala has been shown to be essential for the processing of acute and learned fear across animal species. However, the downstream neural circuits that mediate these fear responses differ according to the nature of the threat, with separate pathways having been identified for predator, conspecific and physically harmful threats. In particular, the dorsomedial part of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VHMdm) is critical for the expression of defensive responses to predators. Here, we tested the hypothesis that this circuit also participates in predator fear memory by transient pharmacogenetic inhibition of the VMHdm and its downstream effector, the dorsal periaqueductal grey, during predator fear learning in the mouse. Our data demonstrate that neural activity in the VMHdm is required for both the acquisition and recall of predator fear memory, whereas that of its downstream effector, the dorsal periaqueductal grey, is required only for the acute expression of fear. These findings are consistent with a role for the medial hypothalamus in encoding an internal emotional state of fear.

Citing Articles

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