Dnmt3a in the dorsal dentate gyrus is a key regulator of fear renewal.

ABSTRACT: Renewal of extinguished fear memory in an altered context is widely believed to be a major limiting issue for exposure therapy in treating various psychiatric diseases. Effective prevention of fear renewal will significantly improve the efficacy of exposure therapy. DNA methyltransferase (DNMTs) mediated epigenetic processes play critical roles in long term memory, but little is known about their functions in fear memory extinction or renewal. Here we investigated whether DNMTs regulate fear renewal after extinction. We found that elevated Dnmt3a level in the dorsal dentate gyrus (dDG) of hippocampus was associated with the absence of fear renewal in an altered context after extinction training. Overexpression and knockdown of Dnmt3a in the dDG regulated the occurrence of fear renewal in a

SUBMITTER: Gong Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5865109 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature