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Updated: Jan 8, 2026
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Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
Published on: March 20, 2014
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Axon initial segment dynamics during associative fear learning
Chloé Maëlle Benoit1,2, Dan Alin Ganea3,4, Ricardo Paricio-Montesinos1
1Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.
Nature Neuroscience
|December 23, 2025
Summary
The axon initial segment (AIS) dynamically remodels during fear learning and extinction. This plasticity is vital for memory formation and adapting neuronal excitability.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- The axon initial segment (AIS) is critical for neuronal excitability and action potential generation.
- AIS structure and function are known to change with neuronal adaptation and in disease states.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dynamic remodeling of the AIS in vivo during learning and memory processes.
- To determine if AIS plasticity plays a role in associative fear learning and extinction.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal two-photon in vivo imaging of the AIS.
- Focus on the medial prefrontal cortex of male mice.
Main Results:
- Observed dynamic AIS remodeling during associative fear learning.
- Documented significant AIS structural changes during fear extinction.
Conclusions:
- AIS plasticity is essential for homeostatic adaptation of neuronal excitability.
- AIS remodeling is a key feature of memory formation and recall.
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