Fear conditioning by-proxy: Social transmission of fear during memory retrieval
Open accessAbstract
After fear conditioning (e.g., by pairing a tone to a shock), memory retrieval typically leads to fear expression (e.g., freezing to the tone). Here, we examined the effect of a conditioned rat's fear memory retrieval on a naïve cage-mate's behavior to the conditioned stimulus. We show that rats exposed to a novel tone in the presence of a cage-mate previously conditioned to that same tone selectively showed increased freezing to the stimulus the next day (fear conditioning by-proxy). In addition, fear conditioning by-proxy experienced prior to pairing the tone to a mild shock increased freezing during presentation of that tone the next day. Our results suggest that, during memory retrieval, fear of a stimulus can be socially transmitted to a cage-mate. These findings may have implications for models of phobias.
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Fear conditioning by proxy leads to moderate levels of freezing when rats are exposed to the previously neutral and now emotionally charged stimulus on the day following the interaction.
“Fear conditioning by proxy leads to moderate levels of freezing when the rats are exposed to the previously neutral and now emotionally charged stimulus on the day following the interaction.157”
From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [157]
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- Authors
- Bruchey, A. K., Jones, C. E., & Monfils, M.-H.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Corresponding author
- Monfils, Marie-H.
- Venue
- Behavioural Brain Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 214
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 80-84
- ISSN
- 0166-4328 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2975564
- OpenAlex
- W2091150924
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Behavioural Brain Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R21 MH086805)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- fear conditioning, memory retrieval, fear memory, freezing behavior, conditioned stimulus, rats
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Conditioning, Classical, Fear, Male, Mental Recall, Social Behavior, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Rats
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