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The amygdala encodes specific sensory features of an aversive reinforcer

Nature Neuroscience volume 13, pages 536–537 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Studies of reconsolidation, in which retrieved memories are altered and restored, offer an approach for exploring the associative structure of fear memory. We found that exposure to the unconditioned stimulus initiates an unconditioned stimulus−specific reconsolidation of learned fear in rats that depended on the amygdala. Thus, specific features of the unconditioned stimulus appear to be encoded in the amygdala as part of fear memories stored there.

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Figure 1: Exposure to the unconditioned stimulus alone triggers memory reconsolidation.
Figure 2: Reconsolidation is selective to the reactivated unconditioned stimulus.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank C. Farb and J. Erlich for their advice and S. Kadakia for her technical assistance. This research was supported by grants R01 MH046516, R37 MH038774 and P50 MH058911 to J.E.L. and a National Science Foundation–Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (NSF-CNRS) International Cooperative grant, a CNRS Project International de la Coopération Scientifique grant and a CNRS-UPS-NYU collaboration grant EmoTime to V.D. and J.E.L. L.D.-M. was supported by a Fulbright/Spanish Ministry of Education postdoctoral fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. W.M. Keck Foundation Laboratory of Neurobiology, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA

    Jacek Dębiec, Llorenç Díaz-Mataix, David E A Bush, Valérie Doyère & Joseph E LeDoux

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine–Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, New York, USA

    Jacek Dębiec

  3. Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Krakow, Poland

    Jacek Dębiec

  4. Centre de Neurosciences Paris-Sud, CNRS UMR8195, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France

    Valérie Doyère

  5. Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York, USA

    Joseph E LeDoux

Authors
  1. Jacek Dębiec
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  2. Llorenç Díaz-Mataix
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  3. David E A Bush
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  4. Valérie Doyère
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  5. Joseph E LeDoux
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Contributions

J.D. designed and conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, interpreted the results, wrote the initial manuscript and was involved in the revision process. L.D.-M. was involved in conducting experiments, analyzing the data, interpreting the results and writing and revising the manuscript. D.E.A.B. conducted all the statistical data analysis and was involved in designing the experiments, interpreting the results and writing and revising the manuscript. V.D. was involved in designing and conducting the experiments, interpreting the results and writing and revising the manuscript. J.E.L. was involved in the design of the studies, the interpretation of the results and the preparation and revision of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacek Dębiec.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Figures 1–6 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 1786 kb)

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Dębiec, J., Díaz-Mataix, L., Bush, D. et al. The amygdala encodes specific sensory features of an aversive reinforcer. Nat Neurosci 13, 536–537 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2520

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