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Published on: November 4, 2011
A role for prefrontal cortex in the extinction of a conditioned taste aversion
G Andrew Mickley1, Cynthia L Kenmuir, Anna M Yocom
1Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Program, Baldwin-Wallace College, 275 Eastland Road, Berea, OH 44017-2088, USA. amickley@bw.edu
Abstract:
This study used immunohistochemical methods to determine if the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the extinction of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). As rats reached 90% reacceptance of a tastant (saccharin: SAC) that had previously been associated with lithium chloride-induced malaise, c-Fos protein expression increased dramatically as compared to animals with active CTAs, animals without CTAs (i.e., explicitly unpaired CS-US exposures) or animals drinking SAC for the first time. These data indicate a role for mPFC (prelimbic and infralimbic cortex) in the formation of a CTA extinction memory.
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