Fear conditioning is associated with synaptogenesis in the lateral amygdala

Fear conditioning in the rat typically involves pairing a conditioned stimulus (tone) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (foot shock) which elicits a freeze response. Although the circuitry that underlies this form of learning is well defined, potential synaptic changes associated with this for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Synapse (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2011-06, Vol.65 (6), p.513-519
Main Authors: Dalzell, L., Connor, S., Penner, M., Saari, M.J., Leboutillier, J.C., Weeks, A.C.W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amygdala
Amygdala - physiology
Amygdala - ultrastructure
Animals
Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology
Fear - physiology
Fear conditioning
Foot shock
Learning
Male
memory
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Plasticity (synaptic)
Probes
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Synapses - physiology
Synapses - ultrastructure
synaptic plasticity
Synaptogenesis
UCS
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Summary:Fear conditioning in the rat typically involves pairing a conditioned stimulus (tone) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (foot shock) which elicits a freeze response. Although the circuitry that underlies this form of learning is well defined, potential synaptic changes associated with this form of learning have not been fully investigated. This experiment examined synaptic structural plasticity in the lateral amygdala which is critical for the acquisition of the conditioned fear response. Adult male rats were randomly allocated to either a paired, unpaired or tone only condition. One day after the initial fear conditioning session and 1 h after a probe trial confirmation of a conditioned fear response, the rats were perfused and the relevant tissue was embedded for electron microscopic analysis. Synaptic changes were quantified in the lateral amygdala using a stereological approach. The results showed a significant increase in the number of synapses in the conditioned animals compared to controls. This finding suggests that an increase in synaptic compliment in the amygdala may underlie the acquisition of the conditioned fear response. Synapse, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0887-4476
1098-2396
1098-2396
DOI:10.1002/syn.20869