A Neural Circuit for Memory Specificity and Generalization
Open accessAbstract
The Thalamus in Fear and Memory: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) mediates the cognitive control of many high-level brain functions. However, it is unclear which synaptic projections from the mPFC to subcortical regions are critical for maintaining the proper balance between retention and generalization of fear memory details. Using an array of behavioral, physiological, and anatomical techniques, Xu and Südhof (p. 1290 ) describe a neural circuit that controls memory generalization and specificity. This circuit involves the nucleus reuniens (NR), a thalamic nucleus of largely unknown function. Optogenetic activation of NR neurons in awake behaving mice revealed the role of the NR in fear memory generalization.
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The reuniens nucleus of the thalamus coordinates oscillatory synchrony between the mPFC and the vHPC, which is necessary for proper contextual representation of threat memories.
“The reuniens nucleus of the thalamus coordinates oscillatory synchrony between the mPFC and the vHPC, which is necessary for proper contextual representation of threat memories [46, 53].”
From Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and threat processing: implications for PTSD (2022) · cites this paper as [53]
The Summary and ‘Activity patterns of N. reuniens neurons control memory specificity’ sections report that the mPFC–reuniens–hippocampus circuit regulates the specificity of contextual fear memories during acquisition. They do not establish that reuniens coordinates oscillatory synchrony between the mPFC and specifically the ventral hippocampus, or that such synchrony is necessary for contextual representation (searched: oscillatory synchrony, synchrony, ventral hippocampus). No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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“TeNT irreversibly silences synaptic release by cleaving the vesicle protein synaptobrevin 53 ; we chose this approach over cell ablation strategies to avoid collateral damage from gliosis and other immune responses to cell death.”
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- Authors
- Xu, W., & Südhof, T. C.
- Affiliations
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Xu, Wei
- Südhof, Thomas C.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2013-03-15
- Volume
- 339
- Issue
- 6125
- Pages
- 1290-1295
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- PMC
- PMC3651700
- OpenAlex
- W1967531155
- Cited by
- 634
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 62 · 2016: 51 · 2015: 39 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 13
- FWCI
- 26.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- National Institute of Mental Health (K99MH099153, P50MH086403)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS077906, NS077906)
- 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
- memory specificity, nucleus reuniens, medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, neural circuits, post-traumatic stress disorder, optogenetic manipulation, neuronal firing patterns
- MeSH terms
- Dependovirus, Animals, Brain Mapping, Fear, Generalization, Psychological, Hippocampus, Male, Memory, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neural Pathways, Synapses, Prefrontal Cortex, Midline Thalamic Nuclei, Green Fluorescent Proteins, Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 2, Mice
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