Optogenetic excitation of cholinergic inputs to hippocampus primes future contextual fear associations
Abstract Learning about context is essential for appropriate behavioral strategies, but important contingencies may not arise during initial learning. A variant of contextual fear conditioning, context pre-exposure facilitation, allows us to directly test the relationship between novelty-induced ace...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2017-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02542-1 |
| Summary: | Abstract Learning about context is essential for appropriate behavioral strategies, but important contingencies may not arise during initial learning. A variant of contextual fear conditioning, context pre-exposure facilitation, allows us to directly test the relationship between novelty-induced acetylcholine release and later contextual associability. We demonstrate that optogenetically-enhanced acetylcholine during initial contextual exploration leads to stronger fear after subsequent pairing with shock, suggesting that novelty-induced acetylcholine release primes future contextual associations. |
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| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |