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Related Experiment Videos

Disrupting basolateral amygdala function impairs unconditioned freezing and avoidance in rats.

A Vazdarjanova1, L Cahill, J L McGaugh

  • 1Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, and Department of Neurobiology and Behaviour, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3800, USA. almira@nsma.arizona.edu

The European Journal of Neuroscience
|September 15, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Lesions in the basolateral amygdala (BLC) impair freezing and avoidance behaviors. This suggests the BLC is crucial for expressing fear responses, not just learning them.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • The basolateral amygdala (BLC) is implicated in fear conditioning.
  • Lesions to the BLC disrupt freezing behavior in response to conditioned stimuli.
  • Previous research suggests BLC-lesioned rats can still form conditioned associations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the BLC in the expression of unconditioned fear responses.
  • To determine if BLC lesions affect behavior towards a novel fear-eliciting stimulus.
  • To clarify the BLC's contribution to fear learning versus fear expression.

Main Methods:

  • Temporary inactivation of the BLC using lidocaine.
  • Permanent excitotoxic lesions of the BLC using NMDA.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Observation of freezing and avoidance behaviors in rats exposed to a cat hair stimulus.

    • Main Results:

    • Both temporary and permanent BLC lesions significantly impaired unconditioned freezing behavior.
    • BLC lesions also reduced avoidance behaviors in response to the novel fear stimulus.
    • These results indicate the BLC's involvement in the expression of fear behaviors.

    Conclusions:

    • The basolateral amygdala (BLC) plays a critical role in the expression of freezing and avoidance behaviors.
    • Impaired freezing in BLC-lesioned rats may reflect a deficit in fear expression rather than associative learning.
    • The BLC might potentiate the subjective experience of fear.