Trace but not delay fear conditioning requires attention and the anterior cingulate cortex

AUTOR(ES)

Han, C. J.

FONTE

National Academy of Sciences

RESUMO

Higher cognitive functions such as attention have been difficult to model in genetically tractable organisms. In humans, attention-distracting stimuli interfere with trace but not delay conditioning, two forms of associative learning. Attention has also been correlated with activation of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but its functional significance is unclear. Here we show that a visual distractor interferes selectively with trace but not delay auditory fear conditioning in mice. Trace conditioning is associated with increased neuronal activity in ACC, as assayed by relative levels of c-fos expression, and is selectively impaired by lesions of this structure. The effects of the ACC lesions are unlikely to be caused by indirect impairment of the hippocampus, which is required for mnemonic aspects of trace conditioning. These data suggest that trace conditioning may be useful for studying neural substrates of attention in mice, and implicate the ACC as one such substrate.

Documentos Relacionados

• Timing of Fear Expression in Trace and Delay Conditioning Measured by Fear-Potentiated Startle in Rats
• Inactivation of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Impairs Extinction of Rabbit Jaw Movement Conditioning and Prevents Extinction-Related Inhibition of Hippocampal Activity
• Trace fear conditioning involves hippocampal α5 GABAA receptors
• Damage to the Lateral and Central, but Not Other, Amygdaloid Nuclei Prevents the Acquisition of Auditory Fear Conditioning
• Dissociation between conflict detection and error monitoring in the human anterior cingulate cortex