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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2025

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice

Published on: March 20, 2014

Inhibitory fear memory engram in the mouse central lateral amygdala.

Wen-Hsien Hou¹, Meet Jariwala², Kai-Yi Wang³

¹Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; DANDRITE, The Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Center for Proteins in Memory - PROMEMO, Danish National Research Foundation, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.

|August 6, 2024

Summary

Researchers identified a novel inhibitory engram in the amygdala, crucial for fear memory. This GABAergic engram, composed of specific neuron types, plays a key role in regulating fear expression.

Keywords:

CP: Neuroscience GABAergic neurons activity-dependent labeling central amygdala chemogenetic electrophysiology fear memory synaptic inhibition synaptic plasticity

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Last Updated: Jun 17, 2025

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice

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Published on: March 20, 2014

Ex Vivo Optogenetic Dissection of Fear Circuits in Brain Slices

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Published on: April 5, 2016

$Combined Optogenetic and Freeze-fracture Replica Immunolabeling to Examine Input-specific Arrangement of Glutamate Receptors in the Mouse Amygdala$

Combined Optogenetic and Freeze-fracture Replica Immunolabeling to Examine Input-specific Arrangement of Glutamate Receptors in the Mouse Amygdala

Published on: April 15, 2016

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cellular Biology
Behavioral Science

Background:

Engrams, the cellular basis of memory, are typically excitatory.
Inhibitory engrams, particularly in the amygdala, remain understudied.
The central lateral amygdala (CeL) is vital for auditory fear conditioning.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize inhibitory engrams in the CeL.
To investigate the role of these inhibitory engrams in fear memory.
To understand the neuronal composition and function of inhibitory engrams.

Main Methods:

Utilized optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques to target and manipulate specific neuronal populations.
Employed electrophysiological recordings to assess synaptic inhibition.
Investigated behavioral outputs related to fear memory expression.

Main Results:

Identified a novel inhibitory engram in the CeL, primarily composed of somatostatin-expressing (SST(+)) and protein kinase C-δ-expressing (PKC-δ(+)) GABAergic neurons.
Observed enhanced synaptic inhibition onto PKC-δ(+) neurons during fear memory recall.
Demonstrated that silencing this CeL inhibitory engram disinhibits downstream areas and selectively increases fear expression.

Conclusions:

This study defines the existence and function of an inhibitory engram in the mammalian brain.
The CeL inhibitory engram, composed of SST(+) and PKC-δ(+) neurons, is critical for regulating fear memory.
Targeting inhibitory engrams offers a potential avenue for understanding and modulating fear-related behaviors.