Visual cortex ablations do not prevent extinction of fear-potentiated startle using a visual conditioned stimulus.
Following observations in the literature that sensory cortex ablations prevent extinction of conditioned fear, the present experiments tested the generality of this finding by examining whether visual cortex ablations would prevent extinction of conditioned fear as assessed by fear-potentiated startle using a visual conditioned stimulus. Consistent with previous reports, visual cortex ablations did not prevent the acquisition or expression of fear-potentiated startle to a visual conditioned stimulus. More importantly, visual cortex ablations did not prevent extinction of fear-potentiated startle to a visual conditioned stimulus, nor did they reverse preoperatively established extinction, indicating that sensory cortex is not required for extinction of conditioned fear in all situations.
Falls
W A
WA
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven 06508.
Davis
M
M
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D005239:Fear; D008027:Light / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009434:Neural Pathways; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D051381:Rats; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000601:surgery*