| Program#/Poster#: |
603.03/EEE6 |
| Title: |
c-fos activation in
PFC following threat correlates positively with instrumental actions and
negatively with Pavlovian reactions. |
| Location: |
Hall F-J |
| Presentation Time: |
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012,
10:00 AM -11:00 AM |
| Authors: |
*R. C. MARTINEZ1,2,
N. GUPTA2, G. LAZARO-MUNOZ2, R. SEARS2,
J. OTOCH3, J. LEDOUX2,4, C. K. CAIN2,4;
1Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2New York Univ., New York, NY;
3Univ. de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 4Nathan S.
Kline Inst. for Psychiatric Res., Emotional Brain Inst., Orangeburg, NY
|
| Abstract: |
Performance of instrumental
active avoidance (AA) is constrained by Pavlovian defensive reactions such
as freezing. It has been noted that a substantial number of animals fail
to acquire avoidance responses and instead exhibit abnormally high rates
of freezing. Our previous work has shown that poor avoiders have a deficit
mainly in performance, not learning, as lesions that eliminate freezing
immediately rescue AA responding without further training. This work seeks
to expand the understanding of the neural circuits that contribute to the
competition between instrumental and Pavlovian responses with AA training.
For that we evaluate the pattern of c-Fos expression in periaqueductal gray,
striatum, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens (shell and core) and hippocampus
90-minutes after a shock-free Sidman AA test for both good- and poor-performing
rats. c-Fos activation was observed in all regions compared to box
controls, however, activation was significantly higher in both prelimbic
and infralimbic cortex for good performers compared to poor AA performers.
In both prefrontal regions, c-fos expression correlated positively
with AA responding and negatively with freezing. We previously found similar
effects in specific subregions of the amygdala, namely the dorsal part of
lateral amgydala, the anterior part of medial amygdala, and the lateral
part of central amygdala. Thus, this unbiased approach suggests that prefrontal
cortex and amygdala may play important, coordinated roles in the competitive
selection of defensive actions vs reactions in threatening situations.
|
| Support: |
LIM 26 - HCFMUSP |
|
K05 MH067048 |
|
R37 MH038774 |
|
R01 MH046516 |
|
K05 MH067048 |