Contextual fear conditioning is associated with lateralized expression of the immediate early gene c-fos in the central and basolateral amygdalar nuclei.
Fos, the protein product of the immediate early gene c-fos, was used to map functional circuitry underlying contextual conditioned fear. Male rats were given footshocks in a distinctive context and later tested using freezing as the behavioral measure and compared with no-shock and no-retention-test control groups. An increased number of Fos-immunoreactive neurons was found in the lateral part of the central nucleus and in the anterior basolateral and lateral amygdalar nuclei in the brains of the conditioned-fear group compared with controls. Further, a greater number of Fos-immunoreactive neurons was observed in the right central and anterior basolateral nuclei compared with the number of labeled neurons in these structures on the left.
Neuroscience Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520, USA.
Andrea P
AP
Scicli
Gorica D
GD
Petrovich
Larry W
LW
Swanson
Richard F
RF
Thompson
D000679:Amygdala / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D017781:Genes, Immediate-Early / Q000502:physiology*; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000502:physiology*; D007103:Immobilization / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley