Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice
Published on: December 15, 2023
Acceleration of visually cued conditioned fear through the auditory pathway
Jessica R Newton1, Charlene Ellsworth, Tsuyoshi Miyakawa
1The Picower Center for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Defensive responses elicited by sensory experiences are critical for survival. Mice acquire a conditioned fear response rapidly to an auditory cue but slowly to a visual cue, a difference in learned behavior that is likely to be mediated by direct projections to the lateral amygdala from the auditory thalamus but mainly indirect ones from the visual thalamus. Here, we show that acquisition of visually cued conditioned fear is accelerated in 'rewired' mice that have retinal projections routed to the auditory thalamus. Visual stimuli induce expression of the immediate early gene Fos (also known as c-fos) in the auditory thalamus and the lateral amygdala in rewired mice, similar to the way auditory stimuli do in control mice. Thus, the rewired auditory pathway conveys visual information and mediates rapid activity-dependent plasticity in central structures that influence learned behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Preparedness and Phobias
Hearing
Conditioned Taste Aversion
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single exposure...
Auditory Perception
The Cochlea

