Chemogenetic Activation of the Ventral Subiculum-BNST Pathway Reduces Context Fear Expression

Overview

Journal Learn Mem

Specialty Neurology

Date 2023 Aug 24

PMID 37620150

Authors

Leeza Kopaeva

Alexandrina Yakimov

Louise Urien

Elizabeth P Bauer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

An inability to reduce fear in nonthreatening environments characterizes many anxiety disorders. The pathway from the ventral subiculum (vSUB) to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is more active in safe contexts than in aversive ones, as indexed by FOS expression. Here, we used chemogenetic techniques to specifically activate the vSUB-BNST pathway during both context and cued fear expression by expressing a Cre-dependent hM3D(Gq) receptor in BNST-projecting vSUB neurons. Activation of the vSUB-BNST pathway reduced context but not cued fear expression. These data suggest that the vSUB-BNST pathway contributes to behavioral responses to nonaversive contexts.

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