Work

Biologically predisposed learning and selective associations in amygdalar neurons

Year: 2011

Type: preprint

Abstract: Modern views on learning and memory accept the notion of biological constraints-that the formation of association is not uniform across all stimuli. Yet cellular evidence of the encoding of selective associations is lacking. Here, conditioned stimuli (CSs) and unconditioned stimuli (USs) commonly employed in two basic associative learning paradigms, fear conditioning and taste aversion conditioning, were delivered in a manner compatible with a functional cellular imaging technique (Arc cellular compartmental analysis of temporal gene transcription by fluorescence in situ hybridization [catFISH]) to identify biological constraints on CS-US convergence at the level of neurons in basolateral amygdala (BLA). Results indicate coincident Arc mRNA activation within BLA neurons after CS-US combinations that yield rapid, efficient learning, but not after CS-US combinations that do not.

Source: Learning & Memory

DOI: 10.1101/lm.2053711

Authors: Ain Chung, Sabiha K. Barot, Jeansok J. Kim, Ilene L. Bernstein

Institution: University of Washington

Language: English

Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: University of Washington, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Awards: NEURAL MEDIATION OF CONDITIONED TASTE AVERSIONS, Neurocognitive Effects of Stress