Serotonin modulates an inhibitory input to the central amygdala from the ventral periaqueductal gray.

ABSTRACT: Fear is an adaptive state that drives defensive behavioral responses to specific and imminent threats. The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is a critical site of adaptations that are required for the acquisition and expression of fear, in part due to alterations in the activity of inputs to the CeA. Here, we characterize a novel GABAergic input to the CeA from the ventral periaqueductal gray (vPAG) using fiber photometry and ex vivo whole-cell slice electrophysiology combined with optogenetics and pharmacology. GABA transmission from this ascending vPAG-CeA input was enhanced by serotonin via activation of serotonin type 2 C (5HT_2C) receptors. Results suggest that these receptors are presynaptic. Interestingly, we found that GABA release from the vPAG-CeA input is enhanced

SUBMITTER: Hon OJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9630515 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature