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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Ex Vivo Optogenetic Dissection of Fear Circuits in Brain Slices
Published on: April 5, 2016
Synapse-specific reconsolidation of distinct fear memories in the lateral amygdala
Valérie Doyère1, Jacek Debiec, Marie-H Monfils
1Neurobiologie de l'Apprentissage, de la Mémoire et de la Communication (NAMC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR8620, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France.
Abstract:
When reactivated, memories enter a labile, protein synthesis-dependent state, a process referred to as reconsolidation. Here, we show in rats that fear memory retrieval produces a synaptic potentiation in the lateral amygdala that is selective to the reactivated memory, and that disruption of reconsolidation is correlated with a reduction of synaptic potentiation in the lateral amygdala. Thus, both retrieval and reconsolidation alter memories via synaptic plasticity at selectively targeted synapses.
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