Fig. 6: CeA stimulation during Pavlovian fear conditioning.
From: The central amygdala recruits mesocorticolimbic circuitry for pursuit of reward or pain
a Traditional Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm: defensive freezing CR elicited by a CS+ tone that predicts unavoidable footshock UCS in Pavlovian chamber. Contextual odor CS+ (almond or lemon scent) was also paired with UCS shock chamber. Right shows training stimuli and session timeline. b Freezing conditioned response (CR) during subsequent test session without UCS (% CS-elicited freezing minus % baseline freezing; ChR2 rats, N = 8, eYFP rats, N = 5, two-way ANOVA, trial type × virus interaction: F1,11 = 5.07, p = 0.036; Bonferroni-corrected pairwise ChR2 laser vs. nonlaser trials t-test: p = 0.035). Right graphs show individual freezing CRs elicited by CS+ presentation over pre-CS+ baseline (ChR2: two-way repeated measures ANOVA, effect of laser: F1,7 = 7.36, p = 0.03, 1st trial laser vs. nonlaser freezing: Bonferroni-corrected pairwise t-test: #p = 0.034; eYFP: two-way repeated measures ANOVA, effect of laser: F1,4 = 0.98, p = 0.38). c Odor-place avoidance test, with separate compartments containing either CS+ odor (paired with footshock) or CS− odor (paired with homecage). Time spent in either CS+ or CS− side (CeA ChR2 rats, N = 8 vs. eYFP rats, N = 5, two-way ANOVA, virus × CS+ odor interaction: F1,11 = 6.06, p = 0.03, Bonferroni-corrected pairwise CS+ vs. CS− time, ChR2: p = 0.04, 95% CI: −393, −77, d = −1.25, eYFP: p = 0.2). Data represent mean and SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.
