Medial prefrontal cortex acetylcholine signaling mediates the ability to learn an active avoidance response following learned helplessness training.

ABSTRACT: Increased brain levels of acetylcholine (ACh) have been observed in patients with depression, and increasing ACh levels pharmacologically can precipitate stress-related behaviors in humans and animals. Conversely, optimal ACh levels are required for cognition and memory. We hypothesize that excessive ACh signaling results in strengthening of negative encoding in which memory formation is aberrantly strengthened for stressful events. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for both top-down control of stress-related circuits, and for encoding of sensory experiences. We therefore evaluated the role of ACh signaling in the mPFC in a learned helplessness task in which mice were exposed to repeated inescapable stressors followed by an active avoidance task. Using fiber photometry with a

SUBMITTER: Abdulla ZI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11631976 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature