1
|
Nie H, Hu X, Gao Y, Ma Y, Han P. Altered neural representation of olfactory food reward in the nucleus accumbens after acute stress. J Affect Disord 2024; 354:239-246. [PMID: 38461902 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.015] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Acute stress impairs reward processing. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) plays an important role in the processing of primary rewards such as food. The present study investigates how acute stress affects the olfactory food reward processing in the NAcc using the representational similarity analysis. Forty-eight participants underwent an olfactory fMRI session following either an acute psychosocial stress (N = 24; stress group) or a control (N = 24; control group). Brain activation was recorded during the anticipatory and the perceptual phases of high-calorie food, low-calorie food, and non-food odor stimuli. Compared to the control group, the stress group rated the high-calorie food odor as significantly more pleasant (p = 0.005). In the NAcc, acute stress significantly reduced the dissimilarity of food and non-food odors in the perceptual phase (p = 0.027) and marginally reduced the dissimilarity of high- and low-calorie foods in the anticipatory phase (p = 0.095). Significant negative correlations were observed between the level of NAcc representational differentiation for high- and low-calorie food odors during perception and the difference in pleasantness ratings between high- and low-calorie food odors (r = -0.40, p = 0.005). These findings suggest that acute stress may impair participants' ability to discriminate between olfactory food rewards, leading individuals to seek out more palatable foods in stressful situations in order to maintain positive emotions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoyu Nie
- MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xin Hu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yihang Ma
- MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Pengfei Han
- MOE Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Eckert MA, Benitez A, Soler ZM, Dubno JR, Schlosser RJ. Gray matter and episodic memory associations with olfaction in middle-aged to older adults. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol 2024; 14:961-971. [PMID: 37897207 PMCID: PMC11045322 DOI: 10.1002/alr.23290] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related declines in olfaction contribute to low quality of life and appear to occur with declines in cognitive function, including diminished episodic memory. We tested the hypothesis that low gray matter volume within cortical regions that support olfaction and episodic memory can explain age-related differences in olfactory and episodic memory functions. METHODS T1-weighted images, Sniffin' Sticks olfactory measures, and the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery were administered to 131 middle-aged to older adults (50-86 years; 66% female). Correlation was used to examine the associations between these measures. A network-based image processing approach was then used to examine the degree to which spatial patterns of gray matter variance were related to the olfactory and cognitive measures. Structural equation modeling was used to characterize the relative specificity of olfactory, cognitive, gray matter, and aging associations. RESULTS Olfactory threshold, discrimination, and identification exhibited small to medium effect size associations with episodic memory performance (rs = 0.27-0.42, ps < 0.002). Gray matter volume within medial temporal and orbitofrontal cortex was also related to olfactory (discrimination and identification) and episodic memory function (rs = 0.21-0.36, ps < 0.019). Age and episodic memory explained the same variance in olfaction that was explained by the medial temporal and orbitofrontal pattern of gray matter volume. CONCLUSIONS The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that identifying mechanisms contributing to differences in medial temporal and orbitofrontal cortex will advance our understanding of co-morbid olfactory and cognitive declines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Eckert
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina
| | | | - Zachary M. Soler
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina
| | - Judy R. Dubno
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina
| | - Rodney J. Schlosser
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Okumura T, Kida I, Yokoi A, Nakai T, Nishimoto S, Touhara K, Okamoto M. Semantic context-dependent neural representations of odors in the human piriform cortex revealed by 7T MRI. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26681. [PMID: 38656060 PMCID: PMC11041378 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26681] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Olfactory perception depends not only on olfactory inputs but also on semantic context. Although multi-voxel activity patterns of the piriform cortex, a part of the primary olfactory cortex, have been shown to represent odor perception, it remains unclear whether semantic contexts modulate odor representation in this region. Here, we investigated whether multi-voxel activity patterns in the piriform cortex change when semantic context modulates odor perception and, if so, whether the modulated areas communicate with brain regions involved in semantic and memory processing beyond the piriform cortex. We also explored regional differences within the piriform cortex, which are influenced by olfactory input and semantic context. We used 2 × 2 combinations of word labels and odorants that were perceived as congruent and measured piriform activity with a 1-mm isotropic resolution using 7T MRI. We found that identical odorants labeled with different words were perceived differently. This labeling effect was observed in multi-voxel activity patterns in the piriform cortex, as the searchlight decoding analysis distinguished identical odors with different labels for half of the examined stimulus pairs. Significant functional connectivity was observed between parts of the piriform cortex that were modulated by labels and regions associated with semantic and memory processing. While the piriform multi-voxel patterns evoked by different olfactory inputs were also distinguishable, the decoding accuracy was significant for only one stimulus pair, preventing definitive conclusions regarding the locational differences between areas influenced by word labels and olfactory inputs. These results suggest that multi-voxel patterns of piriform activity can be modulated by semantic context, possibly due to communication between the piriform cortex and the semantic and memory regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Okumura
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
| | - Ikuhiro Kida
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Atsushi Yokoi
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Tomoya Nakai
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
| | - Shinji Nishimoto
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)OsakaJapan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Kazushige Touhara
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
- International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI‐IRCN), Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| | - Masako Okamoto
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of TokyoTokyoJapan
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Clancy KJ, Devignes Q, Ren B, Pollmann Y, Nielsen SR, Howell K, Kumar P, Belleau EL, Rosso IM. Spatiotemporal dynamics of hippocampal-cortical networks underlying the unique phenomenological properties of trauma-related intrusive memories. Mol Psychiatry 2024:10.1038/s41380-024-02486-9. [PMID: 38454081 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02486-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Trauma-related intrusive memories (TR-IMs) possess unique phenomenological properties that contribute to adverse post-traumatic outcomes, positioning them as critical intervention targets. However, transdiagnostic treatments for TR-IMs are scarce, as their underlying mechanisms have been investigated separate from their unique phenomenological properties. Extant models of more general episodic memory highlight dynamic hippocampal-cortical interactions that vary along the anterior-posterior axis of the hippocampus (HPC) to support different cognitive-affective and sensory-perceptual features of memory. Extending this work into the unique properties of TR-IMs, we conducted a study of eighty-four trauma-exposed adults who completed daily ecological momentary assessments of TR-IM properties followed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Spatiotemporal dynamics of anterior and posterior hippocampal (a/pHPC)-cortical networks were assessed using co-activation pattern analysis to investigate their associations with different properties of TR-IMs. Emotional intensity of TR-IMs was inversely associated with the frequency and persistence of an aHPC-default mode network co-activation pattern. Conversely, sensory features of TR-IMs were associated with more frequent co-activation of the HPC with sensory cortices and the ventral attention network, and the reliving of TR-IMs in the "here-and-now" was associated with more persistent co-activation of the pHPC and the visual cortex. Notably, no associations were found between HPC-cortical network dynamics and conventional symptom measures, including TR-IM frequency or retrospective recall, underscoring the utility of ecological assessments of memory properties in identifying their neural substrates. These findings provide novel insights into the neural correlates of the unique features of TR-IMs that are critical for the development of individualized, transdiagnostic treatments for this pervasive, difficult-to-treat symptom.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Clancy
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Quentin Devignes
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Boyu Ren
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Laboratory for Psychiatric Biostatistics, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Yara Pollmann
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Sienna R Nielsen
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Kristin Howell
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Poornima Kumar
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Emily L Belleau
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Isabelle M Rosso
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Awasthi R, Yuan Q, Barkai E. Reversing Aging: Decline in Complex Olfactory Learning Can be Rectified by Restoring Intrinsic Plasticity of Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2024; 8:e2300323. [PMID: 38145360 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300323] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
The acquisition of complex rules requires modifications in intrinsic plasticity of excitatory neurons within relevant brain areas. Olfactory discrimination (OD) rule learning occludes slow calcium-dependent potassium current (sIAHP ) in piriform cortex (PC) pyramidal neurons, which increases their intrinsic neuronal excitability. Similar learning-induced sIAHP changes are demonstrated in hippocampal CA1. The shutdown of sIAHP is mediated by the metabotropic activation of the kainate subtype glutamatergic receptor, GluK2. Here, the duration of training required for OD rule learning increased significantly as the mice matured and aged is first shown, which appears earlier in 5xFAD mice. At the cellular biophysical level, aging is accompanied by reduction in the post-burst AHP in these neurons, while neuronal excitability remains stable. This is in contrast to aging CA1 neurons that exhibit enhanced post-burst AHPs in previous reports. Kainate reduces post-burst AHP in adults, but not in aged PC neurons, whereas it reduces post-burst AHPs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons of both young and aged mice. Overexpression of GluK2 in CA1 neurons restores OD learning capabilities in aged wild-type and 5xFAD mice, to a level comparable to young adults. Activation of GluK2 receptors in selectively vulnerable neurons can prevent aging-related cognitive decline is suggested.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richa Awasthi
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Qi Yuan
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada
| | - Edi Barkai
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Sepahvand T, Nazari N, Qin T, Rajani V, Yuan Q. Olfactory threat extinction in the piriform cortex: An age-dependent employment of NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2309986120. [PMID: 37878718 PMCID: PMC10622944 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309986120] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Extinction of threat memory is a measure of behavioral flexibility. In the absence of additional reinforcement, the extinction of learned behaviors allows animals and humans to adapt to their changing environment. Extinction mechanisms and their therapeutic implications for maladaptive learning have been extensively studied. However, how aging affects extinction learning is much less understood. Using a rat model of olfactory threat extinction, we show that the extinction of olfactory threat memory is impaired in aged Sprague-Darley rats. Following extinction training, long-term depression (LTD) in the piriform cortex (PC) was inducible ex vivo in aged rats and was NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-independent. On the other hand, adult rats acquired successful olfactory threat extinction, and LTD was not inducible following extinction training. Neuronal cFos activation in the posterior PC correlated with learning and extinction performance in rats. NMDAR blockade either systemically or locally in the PC during extinction training prevented successful extinction in adult rats, following which NMDAR-dependent LTD became inducible ex vivo. This suggests that extinction learning employs NMDAR-dependent LTD mechanisms in the PC of adult rats, thus occluding further LTD induction ex vivo. The rescue of olfactory threat extinction in aged rats by D-cycloserine, a partial NMDAR agonist, suggests that the impairment in olfactory threat extinction of aged animals may relate to NMDAR hypofunctioning and a lack of NMDAR-dependent LTD. These findings are consistent with an age-related switch from NMDAR-dependent to NMDAR-independent LTD in the PC. Optimizing NMDAR function in sensory cortices may improve learning and flexible behavior in the aged population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tayebeh Sepahvand
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NLA1B 3V6, Canada
| | - Negar Nazari
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NLA1B 3V6, Canada
| | - Tian Qin
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NLA1B 3V6, Canada
| | - Vishaal Rajani
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NLA1B 3V6, Canada
| | - Qi Yuan
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NLA1B 3V6, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Sepahvand T, Power KD, Qin T, Yuan Q. The Basolateral Amygdala: The Core of a Network for Threat Conditioning, Extinction, and Second-Order Threat Conditioning. Biology (Basel) 2023; 12:1274. [PMID: 37886984 PMCID: PMC10604397 DOI: 10.3390/biology12101274] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Threat conditioning, extinction, and second-order threat conditioning studied in animal models provide insight into the brain-based mechanisms of fear- and anxiety-related disorders and their treatment. Much attention has been paid to the role of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in such processes, an overview of which is presented in this review. More recent evidence suggests that the BLA serves as the core of a greater network of structures in these forms of learning, including associative and sensory cortices. The BLA is importantly regulated by hippocampal and prefrontal inputs, as well as by the catecholaminergic neuromodulators, norepinephrine and dopamine, that may provide important prediction-error or learning signals for these forms of learning. The sensory cortices may be required for the long-term storage of threat memories. As such, future research may further investigate the potential of the sensory cortices for the long-term storage of extinction and second-order conditioning memories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Qi Yuan
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St John’s, NL A1B 3V6, Canada; (T.S.); (K.D.P.); (T.Q.)
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zaman J, Yu K, Andreatta M, Wieser MJ, Stegmann Y. Examining the impact of cue similarity and fear learning on perceptual tuning. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13009. [PMID: 37563349 PMCID: PMC10415342 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40166-w] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Past research on the effects of associative aversive learning on discrimination acuity has shown mixed results, including increases, decreases, and no changes in discrimination ability. An animal study found that the type of learning experience determined the direction and extent of learning-induced changes. The current preregistered web-based study aimed to translate these findings to humans. Experiment 1 (N = 245) compared changes in stimulus discrimination between simple learning (only one oriented grating cue), coarse differential conditioning (physically distinct cues), and fine differential conditioning (physically similar cues) as well as to their three respective control groups. The discrimination task consisted of a two-alternative-forced-choice task with oriented grating stimuli. During learning, a specific orientation was paired with unpleasant pictures. Our analysis using generative modeling demonstrated weak to moderate evidence that aversive learning did not alter discrimination acuity in any of the groups. In a follow-up experiment (N = 121), we replicated these findings despite successful learning trajectories in all three groups and a more detailed assessment of discrimination acuity. Contrary to prior assumptions, our findings indicate that aversive learning does not enhance perceptual discrimination, and the presence of additional safety cues does not appear to moderate this effect.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Zaman
- Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, Box 3726, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
- School of Social Sciences, University of Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium.
| | - Kenny Yu
- Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, Box 3726, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Post Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Post Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Yannik Stegmann
- Department of Psychology (Experimental Clinical Psychology), University of Würzburg, 97070, Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Li W, Keil A. Sensing fear: fast and precise threat evaluation in human sensory cortex. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:341-352. [PMID: 36732175 PMCID: PMC10023404 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.01.001] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Animal models of threat processing have evolved beyond the amygdala to incorporate a distributed neural network. In human research, evidence has intensified in recent years to challenge the canonical threat circuitry centered on the amygdala, urging revision of threat conceptualization. A strong surge of research into threat processing in the sensory cortex in the past decade has generated particularly useful insights to inform the reconceptualization. Here, synthesizing findings from both animal and human research, we highlight sensitive, specific, and adaptable threat representations in the sensory cortex, arising from experience-based sculpting of sensory coding networks. We thus propose that the human sensory cortex can drive smart (fast and precise) threat evaluation, producing threat-imbued sensory afferents to elicit network-wide threat responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
| | - Andreas Keil
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Li W, Wilson DA. Threat Memory in the Sensory Cortex: Insights from Olfaction. Neuroscientist 2023:10738584221148994. [PMID: 36703569 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221148994] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala has long held the center seat in the neural basis of threat conditioning. However, a rapidly growing literature has elucidated extra-amygdala circuits in this process, highlighting the sensory cortex for its critical role in the mnemonic aspect of the process. While this literature is largely focused on the auditory system, substantial human and rodent findings on the olfactory system have emerged. The unique nature of the olfactory neuroanatomy and its intimate association with emotion compels a review of this recent literature to illuminate its special contribution to threat memory. Here, integrating recent evidence in humans and animal models, we posit that the olfactory (piriform) cortex is a primary and necessary component of the distributed threat memory network, supporting mnemonic ensemble coding of acquired threat. We further highlight the basic circuit architecture of the piriform cortex characterized by distributed, auto-associative connections, which is prime for highly efficient content-addressable memory computing to support threat memory. Given the primordial role of the piriform cortex in cortical evolution and its simple, well-defined circuits, we propose that olfaction can be a model system for understanding (transmodal) sensory cortical mechanisms underlying threat memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wen Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Bach DR. Aversive conditioning: Principles of memory storage in sensory cortex. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R426-R428. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|