Stress reverses plasticity in the pathway projecting from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to the basolateral amygdala
Abstract
We have previously shown that high‐frequency stimulation to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) induces long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and that prior exposure to inescapable stress inhibits the induction of LTP in this pathway [Maroun & Richter‐Levin (2003)J. Neurosci., 23, 4406–4409]. Here, we show that the reciprocal pathway projecting from the vmPFC to the BLA is resistant to the induction of LTP. Conversely, long‐term depression (LTD) is robustly induced in the BLA in response to low‐frequency stimulation to the vmPFC. Furthermore, prior exposure to inescapable stress reverses plasticity in this pathway, resulting in the promotion of LTP and the inhibition of LTD. Our findings suggest that, under normal and safe conditions, the vmPFC is unable to exert excitatory synaptic plasticity over the BLA; rather, LTD, which encodes memory of safety in the BLA, is favoured. Following stressful experiences, LTP in the BLA is promoted to encode memory of fear.
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Previous animal studies have shown that stress can modulate the nature of interactions among brain regions.
“as well as modulate the nature of interactions among brain regions.123,124”
From Preferential loss of dorsal-hippocampus synapses underlies memory impairments provoked by short, multimodal stress (2014) · cites this paper as [123]
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- Authors
- Maroun, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Haifa (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Maroun, Mouna
- ORCID
- Maroun, Mouna
- Venue
- European Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2006-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 2917-2922
- ISSN
- 0953-816X (ISSN-L)
- 1460-9568
- OpenAlex
- W2166892356
- Cited by
- 82
- References
- 68
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 2.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- ventromedial prefrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation, long-term depression, inescapable stress, fear memory
- MeSH terms
- Amygdala, Animals, Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation, Efferent Pathways, Electric Stimulation, Male, Neuronal Plasticity, Stress, Physiological, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Prefrontal Cortex, Rats
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