Generalized extinction of fear memory depends on co-allocation of synaptic plasticity in dendrites.

ABSTRACT: Memories can be modified by new experience in a specific or generalized manner. Changes in synaptic connections are crucial for memory storage, but it remains unknown how synaptic changes associated with different memories are distributed within neuronal circuits and how such distributions affect specific or generalized modification by novel experience. Here we show that fear conditioning with two different auditory stimuli (CS) and footshocks (US) induces dendritic spine elimination mainly on different dendritic branches of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the mouse motor cortex. Subsequent fear extinction causes CS-specific spine formation and extinction of freezing behavior. In contrast, spine elimination induced by fear conditioning with >2 different CS-USs often co-exists on the same dend

SUBMITTER: Xu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9889816 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature