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Extinction is a process that diminishes the memory of a learned behaviour. This may occur by unlearning the original memory association that produces the behaviour or by learning a new association that inhibits it.
Whether fear memories can be attenuated through on demand electrical stimulation remains unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate that fear extinction can be augmented through closed-loop stimulation of the reward system, guided by hippocampal SWRs.
A circuit running from CamKIIα-positive neurons of the medial preoptic area to the ventral periaqueductal gray induces exploration of a fear-conditioned place and facilitates fear extinction in mice.
Fear is actively maintained in balance in mice by the insular cortex, which gates extinction learning according to an animal’s fear level using interoceptive signals related to fear expression that are sent to the brain via the vagus nerve.
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is attributed with various functions during valuation, affect regulation and social cognition. Nature Neuroscience asked a moderator to lead researchers in a dialogue on shared and distinct viewpoints of this region's roles.
