Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear
In humans, activation of the ventral striatum, a region associated with reward processing, is associated with the extinction of fear, a goal in the treatment of fear-related disorders. This evidence suggests that extinction of aversive memories engages reward-related circuits, but a causal relations...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2016-09-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/12669 |
| _version_ | 1828375041409024000 |
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| author | Susana S Correia Anna G McGrath Allison Lee Ann M Graybiel Ki A Goosens |
| author_facet | Susana S Correia Anna G McGrath Allison Lee Ann M Graybiel Ki A Goosens |
| author_sort | Susana S Correia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In humans, activation of the ventral striatum, a region associated with reward processing, is associated with the extinction of fear, a goal in the treatment of fear-related disorders. This evidence suggests that extinction of aversive memories engages reward-related circuits, but a causal relationship between activity in a reward circuit and fear extinction has not been demonstrated. Here, we identify a basolateral amygdala (BLA)-ventral striatum (NAc) pathway that is activated by extinction training. Enhanced recruitment of this circuit during extinction learning, either by pairing reward with fear extinction training or by optogenetic stimulation of this circuit during fear extinction, reduces the return of fear that normally follows extinction training. Our findings thus identify a specific BLA-NAc reward circuit that can regulate the persistence of fear extinction and point toward a potential therapeutic target for disorders in which the return of fear following extinction therapy is an obstacle to treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:41:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93ad263954f24091910abceb65db11c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:41:31Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-93ad263954f24091910abceb65db11c22022-12-22T02:05:28ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2016-09-01510.7554/eLife.12669Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fearSusana S Correia0Anna G McGrath1Allison Lee2Ann M Graybiel3Ki A Goosens4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5246-2261McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesMcGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesMcGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesMcGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesMcGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United StatesIn humans, activation of the ventral striatum, a region associated with reward processing, is associated with the extinction of fear, a goal in the treatment of fear-related disorders. This evidence suggests that extinction of aversive memories engages reward-related circuits, but a causal relationship between activity in a reward circuit and fear extinction has not been demonstrated. Here, we identify a basolateral amygdala (BLA)-ventral striatum (NAc) pathway that is activated by extinction training. Enhanced recruitment of this circuit during extinction learning, either by pairing reward with fear extinction training or by optogenetic stimulation of this circuit during fear extinction, reduces the return of fear that normally follows extinction training. Our findings thus identify a specific BLA-NAc reward circuit that can regulate the persistence of fear extinction and point toward a potential therapeutic target for disorders in which the return of fear following extinction therapy is an obstacle to treatment.https://elifesciences.org/articles/12669fear extinctionreward conditioningbasolateral amygdalanucleus accumbensinfralimbic cortexprelimbic cortex |
| spellingShingle | Susana S Correia Anna G McGrath Allison Lee Ann M Graybiel Ki A Goosens Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear eLife fear extinction reward conditioning basolateral amygdala nucleus accumbens infralimbic cortex prelimbic cortex |
| title | Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear |
| title_full | Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear |
| title_fullStr | Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear |
| title_full_unstemmed | Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear |
| title_short | Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear |
| title_sort | amygdala ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long term fear |
| topic | fear extinction reward conditioning basolateral amygdala nucleus accumbens infralimbic cortex prelimbic cortex |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/12669 |
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