Analysis of behavioral constraints and the neuroanatomy of fear to the predator odor trimethylthiazoline: A model for animal phobias

Specific phobias, including animal phobias, are the most common anxiety disorders, and have a strong innate and genetic component. Research on the neurobiology and environmental constraints of innate fear of predators in rodents may be useful in elucidating mechanisms of animal phobias in humans. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2008-09, Vol.32 (7), p.1267-1276
Main Authors: Rosen, Jeffrey B., Pagani, Jerome H., Rolla, Katherine L.G., Davis, Cameron
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amygdala
Amygdala - drug effects
Amygdala - physiology
Animals
Anxiety
Anxiety - chemically induced
Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis
Behavior, Animal - drug effects
Disease Models, Animal
Environment
Fear
Fear - drug effects
Fear conditioning
Humans
Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus - drug effects
Neural Pathways - drug effects
Odorants
Phobia
Phobic Disorders - chemically induced
Predator odor
Rats
Thiazoles - pharmacology
TMT
Trimethylthiazoline
Unconditioned fear
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Summary:Specific phobias, including animal phobias, are the most common anxiety disorders, and have a strong innate and genetic component. Research on the neurobiology and environmental constraints of innate fear of predators in rodents may be useful in elucidating mechanisms of animal phobias in humans. The present article reviews research on innate fear in rats to trimethylthiazoline (TMT), an odor originally isolated from fox feces. TMT induces unconditioned freezing and other defensive responses that are regulated by the dose of TMT and the shape of the testing environment. Contextual conditioning induced by TMT occurs, but is constrained by the environment. Lesion studies indicate the amygdala circuitry subserving fear conditioning is not necessary for unconditioned fear to TMT. Additionally, a medial hypothalamic defensive circuit also appears not necessary for unconditioned freezing to TMT, whereas circuits that include the medial nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are essential. The importance of these findings of innate predator odor fear in rodents to animal phobias in humans is discussed.
ISSN:0149-7634
1873-7528
DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.006