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Updated: May 14, 2026

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
Published on: March 20, 2014
Nicotine modulates the long-lasting storage of fear memory
Ramón H Lima1, Andressa Radiske, Cristiano A Köhler
1Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Biomedical Research Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre 90610-000, Brazil.
Abstract:
Late post-training activation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA)-hippocampus dopaminergic loop controls the entry of information into long-term memory (LTM). Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) modulate VTA function, but their involvement in LTM storage is unknown. Using pharmacological and behavioral tools, we found that α7-nAChR-mediated cholinergic interactions between the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus and the medial prefrontal cortex modulate the duration of fear-motivated memories, maybe by regulating the activation state of VTA-hippocampus dopamine connections.
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