Neural circuit mechanisms generating prediction error coding to control adaptive fear learning

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26830023
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Ozawa Takaaki 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 脳科学総合研究センター, 客員研究員 (90625352)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 恐怖記憶 / 扁桃体 / 中脳水道周囲灰白質 / 条件づけ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For adaptive behavioral decision making, the strength of aversive learning needs to be appropriate to the level of danger. During auditory fear conditioning, learning finally reaches a steady state at a certain memory strength (termed the learning asymptote) beyond which further training is ineffective at producing learning. However, it is poorly understood how our brains set this fear learning asymptote. In this study, we found that (1) central nucleus of amygdala to ventrolateral periaqueductal gray pathway is activated by auditory stimulus predicting aversive outcome during fear conditioning to suppress response to aversive stimulus in lateral nucleus of amygdala, which is known as fear memory storage area. (2) This pathway further activates ventrolateral periaqueductal gray to rostroventral medulla pathway to set fear learning asymptote. Our findings give new insight into the neural mechanism of anxiety disorders which is typified by exaggerated fear learning.

Free Research Field

神経科学