DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.19.541463

Periaqueductal gray activates antipredatory neural responses in the amygdala of foraging rats

E. J.Kim M.-S. Kong S. Park J. Cho J. J. Kim

摘要

Pavlovian fear conditioning studies propose that the interaction between the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) functions as a prediction error mechanism for fear memory formation. However, their roles in responding to naturalistic predatory threats, where predictive cues are ambiguous and do not afford reiterative trial-and-error learning, remain unexplored. We conducted single-unit recordings in rats engaged in an approach food-avoid predator behavior, characterizing dPAG and BLA neurons responsive to a looming robot predator. Opto-stimulation of dPAG induced fleeing and increased BLA activity. Notably, BLA neurons activated by dPAG stimulation displayed an immediate response to the robot and heightened synchronous activity compared to non-responsive BLA neurons. Furthermore, anterograde and retrograde tracer injections into the dPAG and BLA, respectively, indicate that the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) may mediate dPAG-to-BLA neurotransmission. Our findings suggest that dPAG and BLA interactions, potentially via the PVT, underlie an innate antipredatory defensive mechanism.

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