Delayed Recall of Fear Extinction in Rats with Lesions of Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Autor/inn/en	Lebron, Kelimer; Milad, Mohammed R.; Quirk, Gregory J.
Titel	Delayed Recall of Fear Extinction in Rats with Lesions of Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Quelle	In: Learning & Memory, 11 (2004) 5, S.544-548 (5 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1072-0502
DOI	10.1101/lm.78604
Schlagwörter	Memory; Fear; Animals; Brain; Auditory Stimuli; Conditioning; Recall (Psychology) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Gedächtnis; Furcht; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Gehirn; Auditive Stimulation; Abberufung
Abstract	Extinction of auditory fear conditioning is thought to form a new memory. We previously found that rats with vmPFC lesions could extinguish fear to the tone within a session, but showed no recall of extinction 24 h later. One interpretation is that the vmPFC is the sole storage site of extinction memory. However, it is also possible that lesioned rats were unable to retrieve extinction memory stored in other structures. To determine if a latent extinction memory could be retrieved with additional training, we repeated the experiment but added an additional 5 d of extinction reminder trials. Replicating our previous findings, vmPFC-lesioned rats extinguished normally on day 1, but showed no recall of extinction on day 2. Over the next 5 d, however, lesioned rats showed significant savings in their rate of re-extinction. Thus, the vmPFC is not the only site where extinction memory is stored. Nevertheless, lesioned rats receiving only two extinction trials per day required twice as many days to initiate extinction as controls. Although recall of extinction is possible without the vmPFC, it is significantly delayed. We suggest that the vmPFC accelerates extinction by permitting access to recently learned extinction trials, thereby maximizing behavioral flexibility. (Contains 3 figures.) (Author).
Anmerkungen	Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797-2924. Tel: 800-843-4388; 516-367-8800; Fax: 516-422-4097; e-mail: cshpres@cshl.edu; Web site: http://www.learnmem.org/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10