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Qureshi OA, Leake J, Delaney AJ, Killcross S, Westbrook RF, Holmes NM. Danger Changes the Way the Brain Consolidates Neutral Information; and Does So by Interacting with Processes Involved in the Encoding of That Information. J Neurosci 2023; 43:2934-2949. [PMID: 36927572 PMCID: PMC10124951 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1796-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
This study examined the effect of danger on consolidation of neutral information in two regions of the rat (male and female) medial temporal lobe: the perirhinal cortex (PRh) and basolateral amygdala complex (BLA). The neutral information was the association that forms between an auditory stimulus and a visual stimulus (labeled S2 and S1) across their pairings in sensory preconditioning. We show that, when the sensory preconditioning session is followed by a shocked context exposure, the danger shifts consolidation of the S2-S1 association from the PRh to the BLA; and does so by interacting with processes involved in encoding of the S2-S1 pairings. Specifically, we show that the initial S2-S1 pairing in sensory preconditioning is encoded in the BLA and not the PRh; whereas the later S2-S1 pairings are encoded in the PRh and not the BLA. When the sensory preconditioning session is followed by a context alone exposure, the BLA-dependent trace of the early S2-S1 pairings decays and the PRh-dependent trace of the later S2-S1 pairings is consolidated in memory. However, when the sensory preconditioning session is followed by a shocked context exposure, the PRh-dependent trace of the later S2-S1 pairings is suppressed and the BLA-dependent trace of the initial S2-S1 pairing is consolidated in memory. These findings are discussed with respect to mutually inhibitory interactions between the PRh and BLA, and the way that these regions support memory in other protocols, including recognition memory in people.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The perirhinal cortex (PRh) and basolateral amygdala complex (BLA) process the pairings of neutral auditory and visual stimuli in sensory preconditioning. The involvement of each region in this processing is determined by the novelty/familiarity of the stimuli as well as events that occur immediately after the preconditioning session. Novel stimuli are represented in the BLA; however, as these stimuli are repeatedly presented without consequence, they come to be represented in the PRh. Whether the BLA- or PRh-dependent representation is consolidated in memory depends on what happens next. When nothing of significance occurs, the PRh-dependent representation is consolidated and the BLA-dependent representation decays; but when danger is encountered, the PRh-dependent representation is inhibited and the BLA-dependent representation is selected for consolidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar A Qureshi
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 2052
- Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec Canada, H4B 1R6
| | - Jessica Leake
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 2052
| | - Andrew J Delaney
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales Australia, 2678
| | - Simon Killcross
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 2052
| | - R Frederick Westbrook
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 2052
| | - Nathan M Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales Australia, 2052
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Fam J, Chieng B, Westbrook RF, Laurent V, Holmes NM. Second-order fear conditioning involves formation of competing stimulus-danger and stimulus-safety associations. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1843-1855. [PMID: 35524718 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
How do animals process experiences that provide contradictory information? The present study addressed this question using second-order fear conditioning in rats. In second-order conditioning, rats are conditioned to fear a stimulus, S1, through its pairings with foot-shock (stage 1); and some days later, a second stimulus, S2, through its pairings with the already-conditioned S1 (stage 2). However, as foot-shock is never presented during conditioning to S2, we hypothesized that S2 simultaneously encodes 2 contradictory associations: one that drives fear to S2 (S2-danger) and another that reflects the absence of the expected unconditioned stimulus and partially masks that fear (e.g. S2-safety). We tested this hypothesis by manipulating the substrates of danger and safety learning in the brain (using a chemogenetic approach) and assessing the consequences for second-order fear to S2. Critically, silencing activity in the basolateral amygdala (important for danger learning) reduced fear to S2, whereas silencing activity in the infralimbic cortex (important for safety learning) enhanced fear to S2. These bidirectional changes are consistent with our hypothesis that second-order fear conditioning involves the formation of competing S2-danger and S2-safety associations. More generally, they show that a single set of experiences can produce contradictory associations and that the brain resolves the contradiction by encoding these associations in distinct brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justine Fam
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Billy Chieng
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | | | - Vincent Laurent
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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Coureaud G, Colombel N, Duchamp-Viret P, Ferreira G. Higher-order trace conditioning in newborn rabbits. Learn Mem 2022; 29:349-354. [PMID: 36180128 PMCID: PMC9536754 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053607.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Temporal contingency is a key factor in associative learning but remains weakly investigated early in life. Few data suggest simultaneous presentation is required for young to associate different stimuli, whereas adults can learn them sequentially. Here, we investigated the ability of newborn rabbits to perform sensory preconditioning and second-order conditioning using trace intervals between odor presentations. Strikingly, pups are able to associate odor stimuli with 10- and 30-sec intervals in sensory preconditioning and second-order conditioning, respectively. The effectiveness of higher-order trace conditioning in newborn rabbits reveals that very young animals can display complex learning despite their relative immaturity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gérard Coureaud
- Sensory NeuroEthology Group, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, U1028, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche , UMR 5292, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon 1 University, Jean-Monnet University, Bron 69500, France
| | - Nina Colombel
- Sensory NeuroEthology Group, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, U1028, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche , UMR 5292, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon 1 University, Jean-Monnet University, Bron 69500, France
- FoodCircus Group, NutriNeuro Laboratory, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique 1286, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux 33076, France
| | - Patricia Duchamp-Viret
- Sensory NeuroEthology Group, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, U1028, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche , UMR 5292, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon 1 University, Jean-Monnet University, Bron 69500, France
| | - Guillaume Ferreira
- FoodCircus Group, NutriNeuro Laboratory, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique 1286, Bordeaux University, Bordeaux 33076, France
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Holmes NM, Fam JP, Clemens KJ, Laurent V, Westbrook RF. The neural substrates of higher-order conditioning: A review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 138:104687. [PMID: 35561894 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Sensory preconditioned and second-order conditioned responding are each well-documented. The former occurs in subjects (typically rats) exposed to pairings of two relatively neutral stimuli, S2 and S1, and then to pairings of S1 and a motivationally significant event [an unconditioned stimulus (US)]; the latter occurs when the order of these experiences is reversed with rats being exposed to S1-US pairings and then to S2-S1 pairings. In both cases, rats respond when tested with S2 in a manner appropriate to the affective nature of the US, e.g., approach when the US is appetitive and withdrawal when it is aversive. This paper reviews the neural substrates of sensory preconditioning and second-order conditioning. It identifies commonalities and differences in the substrates of these so-called higher-order conditioning protocols and discusses these commonalities/differences in relation to what is learned. In so doing, the review highlights ways in which these types of conditioning enhance our understanding of how the brain encodes and retrieves different types of information to generate appropriate behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan M Holmes
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Justine P Fam
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Kelly J Clemens
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Vincent Laurent
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - R Fred Westbrook
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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