A novel neuronal circuit embedded in the amygdala-accumbens pathway for fear expression

Fear is an evolutionarily conserved emotional response that is essential for protecting individuals against potentially harmful situations. When a threat occurs within a particular place, an associative fear memory is formed in the brain enabling individuals to adapt their future behaviour. Early work indicates that the basal amygdala (BA) plays a central role in fear processing. The classical view is that BA neurons projecting to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) preferentially respond to a conditioned stimulus predicting an aversive outcome, while BA neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) preferentially responded to a conditioned stimulus predicting an appetitive outcome. These results suggest a functional dichotomy in the BA of reward and punishment neuronal networks that are segregated in their outputs. Using a combination of molecular and in vivo techniques coupled with opto/pharmacogenetics, I will present recent evidence about the role of a subset of BA neurons activated during contextual fear learning, and projecting to the NAc, for the translation of fear memory into the appropriate selection of defensive behaviours. This newly-described pathway originating from a subset of “negative valence” neuronal ensembles may represent a potential target for preventing the behavioural expression of maladaptive fear without suppressing the memory of the traumatic event.

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