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Regulation of the fear network by mediators of stress: norepinephrine alters the balance between cortical and subcortical afferent excitation of the lateral amygdala
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-21, 00:27 authored by Otto JohnsonOtto Johnson, Hou, M, Prager, EM, LeDoux, JEPavlovian auditory fear conditioning involves the integration of information about an acoustic conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA). The auditory CS reaches the LA subcortically via a direct connection from the auditory thalamus and also from the auditory association cortex itself. How neural modulators, especially those activated during stress, such as norepinephrine (NE), regulate synaptic transmission and plasticity in this network is poorly understood. Here we show that NE inhibits synaptic transmission in both the subcortical and cortical input pathway but that sensory processing is biased toward the subcortical pathway. In addition binding of NE to β-adrenergic receptors further dissociates sensory processing in the LA. These findings suggest a network mechanism that shifts sensory balance toward the faster but more primitive subcortical input.
History
Publication title
Frontiers in Behavioral NeuroscienceVolume
5Article number
23Number
23Pagination
1-7ISSN
1662-5153Department/School
School of Psychological SciencesPublisher
Frontiers Research FoundationPlace of publication
SwitzerlandRights statement
Copyright: © 2011 Johnson, Hou, Prager and LeDoux. This is an open-access article subject to a non-exclusive license between the authors and Frontiers Media SA, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and other Frontiers conditions are complied with.Repository Status
- Open