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Updated: Jul 12, 2025
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Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
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Developmental changes in functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala following fear
K S Zimmermann1, R Richardson1, K D Baker1
1School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
|October 21, 2023
Summary
Fear extinction learning involves brain pathways that change during development. This study shows reduced functional connectivity in adolescent rats, potentially explaining impaired fear suppression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- The amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) undergo significant developmental changes affecting emotional learning.
- Pathways connecting the PFC and amygdala are crucial for fear extinction.
- Adolescent impairments in fear extinction suggest developmental alterations in these circuits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental changes in medial PFC (mPFC) to amygdala functional connectivity related to fear extinction.
- To identify potential neural mechanisms underlying adolescent deficits in fear extinction.
Main Methods:
- Used retrograde tracer (Fluorogold) in juvenile, adolescent, and adult rats infused into the amygdala.
- Assessed fear conditioning and extinction training.
- Measured learning-dependent plasticity (pMAPK) in amygdala-projecting mPFC neurons (PL and IL regions).
Main Results:
- mPFC layer II/III neurons projected ipsilaterally to the basolateral amygdala; layer V neurons projected bilaterally.
- No extinction-related plasticity changes were observed in prelimbic (PL)-amygdala pathways across development.
- Extinction-related plasticity in infralimbic (IL) layer V amygdala-projecting neurons decreased linearly with age.
Conclusions:
- Functional connectivity between the infralimbic cortex and amygdala shows significant developmental changes.
- These age-related alterations in IL-amygdala pathways may contribute to developmental changes in fear suppression and extinction learning.
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