Work

Faculty Opinions recommendation of The amygdala is a chemosensor that detects carbon dioxide and acidosis to elicit fear behavior.

Year: 2010

Type: peer-review

Abstract: The amygdala processes and directs inputs and outputs that are key to fear behavior.However, whether it directly senses fear-evoking stimuli is unknown.Because the amygdala expresses acid sensing ion channel-1a (ASIC1a), and ASIC1a is required for normal fear responses, we hypothesized that the amygdala might detect a reduced pH.We found that inhaled CO 2 reduced brain pH and evoked fear behavior in mice.Eliminating or inhibiting ASIC1a markedly impaired this activity, and localized ASIC1a expression in the amygdala rescued the CO 2 -induced fear deficit of ASIC1a-null animals.Buffering pH attenuated fear behavior, whereas directly reducing pH with amygdala microinjections reproduced the effect of CO 2 .These data identify the amygdala as an important chemosensor that detects hypercarbia and acidosis and initiates behavioral responses.They also give a molecular explanation for how rising CO 2 concentrations elicit intense fear and provide a foundation for dissecting the bases of anxiety and panic disorders.

Source: Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature

DOI: 10.3410/f.2393956.2027054

Authors: Luis de Lecea, Antoine Adamantidis

Institutions: Stanford Medicine, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Ion Channels and Receptors

Subfield: Sensory Systems

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke