Amygdala-ventral striatum circuit activation decreases long-term fear
Abstract
In humans, activation of the ventral striatum, a region associated with reward processing, is associated with the extinction of fear, a goal in the treatment of fear-related disorders. This evidence suggests that extinction of aversive memories engages reward-related circuits, but a causal relationship between activity in a reward circuit and fear extinction has not been demonstrated. Here, we identify a basolateral amygdala (BLA)-ventral striatum (NAc) pathway that is activated by extinction training. Enhanced recruitment of this circuit during extinction learning, either by pairing reward with fear extinction training or by optogenetic stimulation of this circuit during fear extinction, reduces the return of fear that normally follows extinction training. Our findings thus identify a specific BLA-NAc reward circuit that can regulate the persistence of fear extinction and point toward a potential therapeutic target for disorders in which the return of fear following extinction therapy is an obstacle to treatment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 27, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.7554/elife.12669
Entities
People
- Allison Lee
- Ann Graybiel
- Anna G Mcgrath
- Ki A. Goosens
- Susana S. Correia
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Institute of Mental Health