Research article summary (published 27 Feb 1995):

Involvement of the central nucleus and basolateral complex of the amygdala in fear conditioning measured with fear-potentiated startle in rats trained concurrently with auditory and visual conditioned stimuli.

Full Abstract

The goal of this work was to test the involvement of the central nucleus and basolateral complex of the amygdala in fear conditioning, using auditory and visual conditioned stimuli (CSs). The acoustic startle reflex in rats was used as the behavioral index of conditioning because startle is reliably enhanced in the presence of a conditioned stimulus (CS) previously paired with a footshock. Initially, differential conditioning procedures indicated reliable discrimination between a noise CS and a visual CS. Subsequently, the effects of amygdala lesions were evaluated when both modalities were paired with shocks in the same rats. Electrolytic or ibotenic acid lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala blocked fear-potentiated startle to both auditory and visual CSs, consistent with the idea that the central nucleus serves as a response independent, final common relay for fear conditioning. Similarly, pre- or post-training electrolytic or NMDA-induced lesions of the basolateral complex of the amygdala, which damaged the lateral nucleus, and most of the basolateral nucleus, disrupted fear-potentiated startle to both CS modalities. This finding is consistent with the suggestion that, in fear conditioning, the basolateral complex of the amygdala serves as an obligatory relay of sensory information from subcortical and cortical sensory areas to the central nucleus of the amygdala.

Author information

Author/s: Campeau, S (S); Davis, M (M);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Grants: MH-00004 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH-25642 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH-47840 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1995-Mar; vol 15 (issue 3 Pt 2) : pp 2301-11

Dates: Created 1995/04/17; Completed 1995/04/17; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 7891168, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Acoustic Stimulation Amygdala - drug effects; injuries; physiology; ultrastructure Animals Auditory Pathways - physiology Brain Mapping Conditioning, Classical - physiology Electroshock Fear - physiology Fluorescent Dyes - diagnostic use

Ibotenic Acid - toxicity Male N-Methylaspartate - toxicity Photic Stimulation Rats Rats, Sprague-Dawley Startle Reaction - physiology Stilbamidines Visual Pathways - physiology

Associated Chemicals: 2-hydroxy-4,4'-diamidinostilbene, methanesulfonate salt (0) ; Fluorescent Dyes (0) ; Stilbamidines (0) ; Ibotenic Acid (2552-55-8) ; N-Methylaspartate (6384-92-5)

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