A distinct cortical code for socially learned threat.

ABSTRACT: Animals can learn about sources of danger while minimizing their own risk by observing how others respond to threats. However, the distinct neural mechanisms by which threats are learned through social observation (known as observational fear learning^1-4 (OFL)) to generate behavioural responses specific to such threats remain poorly understood. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) performs several key functions that may underlie OFL, including processing of social information and disambiguation of threat cues^5-11. Here we show that dmPFC is recruited and required for OFL in mice. Using cellular-resolution microendoscopic calcium imaging, we demonstrate that dmPFC neurons code for observational fear and do so in a manner that is distinct from direct experience. We

SUBMITTER: Silverstein SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11856618 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature