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Neural circuits involved in the renewal of extinguished fear
Author(s) -
Chen Weihai,
Wang Yan,
Wang Xiaqing,
Li Hong
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1002/iub.1636
Subject(s) - basolateral amygdala , neuroscience , amygdala , fear processing in the brain , infralimbic cortex , psychology , fear conditioning , fear potentiated startle , extinction (optical mineralogy) , hippocampal formation , memory consolidation , hippocampus , prefrontal cortex , cognition , biology , paleontology
The last 10 years have witnessed a substantial progress in understanding the neural mechanisms for the renewal of the extinguished fear memory. Based on the theory of fear extinction, exposure therapy has been developed as a typical cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Although the fear memory can be extinguished by repeated presentation of conditioned stimulus without unconditioned stimulus, the fear memory is not erased and tends to relapse outside of extinction context, which is referred to as renewal. Therefore, the renewal is regarded as a great obstruction interfering with the effect of exposure therapy. In recent years, there has been a great deal of studies in understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of fear renewal. These offer a foundation upon which novel therapeutic interventions for the renewal may be built. This review focuses on behavioral, anatomical and electrophysiological studies that interpret roles of the hippocampus, prelimbic cortex and amygdala as well as the connections between them for the renewal of the extinguished fear. Additionally, this review suggests the possible pathways for the renewal: (1) the prelimbic cortex may integrate contextual information from hippocampal inputs and project to the basolateral amygdala to mediate the renewal of extinguished fear memory; [2][Jovanovic, T., 2010] the ventral hippocampus may innervate the activities of the basolateral amygdala or the central amygdala directly for the renewal. © 2017 IUBMB Life, 69(7):470–478, 2017