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Updated: May 27, 2026
07:02
Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
Published on: March 20, 2014
Fear conditioning is disrupted by damage to the postsubiculum
Siobhan Robinson1, David J Bucci
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. Siobhan.Robinson@dartmouth.edu
Hippocampus
|November 15, 2011
Summary
The postsubiculum (PoSub) is crucial for learning new fear memories. PoSub lesions impair fear conditioning acquisition and auditory fear expression, but not contextual fear memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Memory Research
Background:
- The hippocampus is key for spatial memory, but parahippocampal contributions are less understood.
- The postsubiculum (PoSub) interacts with memory-related structures and is implicated in spatial navigation.
- The role of PoSub in associative learning beyond spatial memory remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the postsubiculum's role in Pavlovian fear conditioning.
- To determine if PoSub is necessary for the acquisition and expression of fear memories.
Main Methods:
- Rats with PoSub lesions or sham surgery underwent fear conditioning with auditory and contextual cues.
- Fear responses were assessed 24 hours and 3 days post-training.
- Lesions were also made after training to assess memory consolidation.
Main Results:
- PoSub lesions impaired the acquisition of conditioned fear responses.
- Lesioned rats showed deficits in both contextual and auditory fear expression when lesions preceded training.
- When lesions occurred post-training, contextual fear expression was unaffected, but auditory fear was reduced.
Conclusions:
- The postsubiculum is essential for acquiring conditioned fear.
- PoSub contributes to the expression of auditory fear memory but not contextual fear memory.
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