Characterization of ventromedial hypothalamus activity during exposure to innate and conditioned threats.

ABSTRACT: In the face of imminent predatory danger, animals quickly detect the threat and mobilize key survival defensive actions, such as escape and freezing. The dorsomedial portion of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is a central node in innate and conditioned predator-induced defensive behaviours. Prior studies have shown that activity of steroidogenic factor 1 (sf1)-expressing VMH cells is necessary for such defensive behaviours. However, sf1-VMH neural activity during exposure to predatory threats has not been well characterized. Here, we use single-cell recordings of calcium transients from VMH cells in male and female mice. We show this region is activated by threat proximity and that it encodes future occurrence of escape but not freezing. Our data also show that VMH cells encoded proxim

SUBMITTER: Tobias BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12934513 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature