A non-image-forming visual circuit mediates the innate fear of heights in male mice

• Published in: Nature communications 2024-05, Vol.15 (1), p.3746-3746, Article 3746
• Main Authors: Shang, Wei, Xie, Shuangyi, Feng, Wenbo, Li, Zhuangzhuang, Jia, Jingyan, Cao, Xiaoxiao, Shen, Yanting, Li, Jing, Shi, Haibo, Gu, Yiran, Weng, Shi-Jun, Lin, Longnian, Pan, Yi-Hsuan, Yuan, Xiao-Bing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/378/1457; 631/378/3920; Animals; Anxiety; Aversion; Behavior; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Body height; Defensive behavior; Fear; Fear - physiology; Geniculate Bodies - physiology; Genomics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hypotheses; Information processing; Lateral geniculate nucleus; Male; Males; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; multidisciplinary; Neurons - physiology; Neurosciences; Otolaryngology; Periaqueductal Gray - physiology; Periaqueductal gray area; Physiology; Posture; Primary Visual Cortex - physiology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Superior Colliculi - physiology; Superior colliculus; Thalamus; Threats; Vertigo; Vestibular system; Visual cortex; Visual observation; Visual pathways; Visual Pathways - physiology; Visual Perception - physiology
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48147-x

The neural basis of fear of heights remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the fear response to heights in male mice and observed characteristic aversive behaviors resembling human height vertigo. We identified visual input as a critical factor in mouse reactions to heights, while peripheral vestibular input was found to be nonessential for fear of heights. Unexpectedly, we found that fear of heights in naïve mice does not rely on image-forming visual processing by the primary visual cortex. Instead, a subset of neurons in the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN), which connects to the lateral/ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (l/vlPAG), drives the expression of fear associated with heights. Additionally, we observed that a subcortical visual pathway linking the superior colliculus to the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus inhibits the defensive response to height threats. These findings highlight a rapid fear response to height threats through a subcortical visual and defensive pathway from the vLGN to the l/vlPAG. The neural basis underlying fear of heights is not well understood. Here the authors identify, in mice, a subcortical route for innate fear of heights, bypassing the primary visual cortex.