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Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
Published on: March 20, 2014
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Conditioned stimulus presentations alter anxiety level in fear-conditioned mice
Yujie Zhang1, Kunfu Ouyang1, Tatiana V Lipina2,3
1State key laboratory of chemical oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China.
Molecular Brain
|March 31, 2019
Summary
Fear conditioning in mice revealed that a specific cue (CS) can reduce anxiety levels, contrary to typical beliefs. This finding impacts how we understand and measure fear versus anxiety responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Fear is typically triggered by distinct cues, while anxiety onset is less precise.
- The independent measurement of fear and anxiety is challenging, with unclear differences.
- Understanding the interplay between fear and anxiety is crucial for neurological and psychological research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between fear and anxiety using discriminative fear conditioning in mice.
- To examine how fear expression influences anxiety measurements.
- To explore the neural mechanisms underlying fear and anxiety responses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized behavioral, heart rate, and calcium (Ca2+) imaging in ventral hippocampal CA1 (vCA1) neurons in mice.
- Administered diazepam to assess its effect on anxiety levels.
- Injected PKMzeta inhibitor peptide (ZIP) into the basolateral amygdala to block fear expression.
Main Results:
- Fear occurrence significantly interfered with anxiety measurements.
- Diazepam reduced basal anxiety but not during conditioned stimulus (CS) presentation.
- ZIP injection abolished CS-triggered fear and reduced anxiety to basal levels.
- Heart rate and vCA1 calcium responses indicated reduced anxiety during CS presentation.
Conclusions:
- Conditioned stimulus presentations may reduce anxiety in fear-conditioned mice.
- Fear and anxiety exhibit complex interactions influenced by specific cues.
- Neural pathways, including vCA1 and basolateral amygdala, play a role in modulating fear and anxiety.
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