A central amygdala to zona incerta projection is required for acquisition and remote recall of conditioned fear memory

M Zhou, Z Liu, MD Melin, YH Ng, W Xu… - Nature neuroscience, 2018 - nature.com
M Zhou, Z Liu, MD Melin, YH Ng, W Xu, TC Südhof
Nature neuroscience, 2018nature.com
The formation and retrieval of conditioned fear memories critically depend on the amygdala.
Here we identify an inhibitory projection from somatostatin-positive neurons in the central
amygdala to parvalbumin-positive neurons in the zona incerta that is required for both recent
and remote fear memories. Thus, the amygdala inhibitory input to parvalbumin-positive
neurons in the zona incerta, a nucleus not previously implicated in fear memory, is an
essential component of the fear memory circuitry.
Abstract
The formation and retrieval of conditioned fear memories critically depend on the amygdala. Here we identify an inhibitory projection from somatostatin-positive neurons in the central amygdala to parvalbumin-positive neurons in the zona incerta that is required for both recent and remote fear memories. Thus, the amygdala inhibitory input to parvalbumin-positive neurons in the zona incerta, a nucleus not previously implicated in fear memory, is an essential component of the fear memory circuitry.
nature.com