Fig. 3: The SC-LPMR circuit suppresses the fear of heights.

Representative images (a, b) and (c, d) c-Fos⁺ cell quantification in the superior colliculus (SC; a, c) and the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus (LPTN; b, d) (n = 4 mice/group). LPLR and LPMR refer to the lateral rostral and medial rostral subregions of LPTN, respectively. Chemogenetic inhibition of SC neurons increases the fear of heights in mice (e) on the OHP after CNO treatment, as indicated by reduced peripheral exploration and increased trembling duration (n = 9 mice/group) (f). g, h Effect of chemogenetic inhibition of glutamatergic neurons in the SC on fear of heights (n = 10 mice/group). i, j Effect of chemogenetic inhibition of pan-neuronal activities at LPMR on the fear of heights (n = 5 mice/group). k, l Effect of chemogenetic inhibition of SC neurons that project to LPMR on the fear of heights. Virus vectors for Cre-dependent hM4Di (red) were injected into the SC, and AAV2/Retro-hSyn-Cre-EGFP vectors (green) were injected into the LPMR (control n = 8 and CNO group n = 9). m, n Effect of local inhibition of axon terminals of the SC-LPMR pathway on fear of heights. CNO was applied through a cannula duplex implanted in the LPMR region (n = 5 mice/group). Pink dots indicate individual mice. Data are presented as the mean ± S.E.M. and analyzed using a one-tailed (^$) or two-tailed (^#) Student’s t-test. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.