Open AccessTheta oscillations synchronize human medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala during fear learning
Author(s) -
Si Chen,
Zheng Tan,
Wenran Xia,
Carlos Alexandre Gomes,
Xilei Zhang,
Wenjing Zhou,
Shuli Liang,
Nikolai Axmacher,
Liang Wang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
science advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.928
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 2375-2548
DOI - 10.1126/sciadv.abf4198
Subject(s) - amygdala , neuroscience , prefrontal cortex , psychology , fear processing in the brain , basolateral amygdala , fear conditioning , stimulus (psychology) , electroencephalography , temporal lobe , cognitive psychology , epilepsy , cognition
Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that fear acquisition and expression rely on the coordinated activity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala and that theta oscillations support interregional communication within the fear network. However, it remains unclear whether these results can be generalized to fear learning in humans. We addressed this question using intracranial electroencephalography recordings in 13 patients with epilepsy during a fear conditioning paradigm. We observed increased power and inter-regional synchronization of amygdala and mPFC in theta (4 to 8 hertz) oscillations for conditioned stimulus (CS+) versus CS-. Analysis of information flow revealed that the dorsal mPFC (dmPFC) led amygdala activity in theta oscillations. Last, a computational model showed that trial-by-trial changes in amygdala theta oscillations predicted the model-based associability (i.e., learning rate). This study provides compelling evidence that theta oscillations within and between amygdala, ventral mPFC, and dmPFC constitute a general mechanism of fear learning across species.