AMY-MPFC-EXTINCTION · Functional connectivity between the primate amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex: role in extinction of emotional memories
7РП — „Хора“ (Действия „Мария Кюри“)
- Период
- 2009-10-01 → 2013-09-30
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 100 000 €
- Участници
- 1
- Схема
- MC-IRG
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.
Накратко на български
Връзката между амигдалата и префронталния кортекс при примати се анализира чрез учене чрез звуци и миризми. Разбирането на тези механизми помага за намаляване на ефекта от болезнени спомени и подобряване на терапията при тревожност и посттравматично стресово разстройство.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Functional connectivity between the primate amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex: role in extinction of emotional memories.
The major goal of this project was to establish a laboratory that investigates the brain mechanisms that underlie extinction of negative emotional learning and memory. Extinction is an important process by which previously formed negative associations are being reversed i.e. the dangerous stimulus becomes safe. Failure to update such memories- to extinguish properly, can result in anxiety-disorders and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD). Indeed, this is the major model for PTSD, and extinction is the basis for expousre-therapy, which is the main behavioral tool for treatment of anxiety and PTSD. However, the exact brain mechanisms in the primate remain vague. We focused on interactions between the amygdala - a brain region highly involved in emotional memory and anxiety, and the prefrontal cortex - a brain region known to modulate the amygdala and emotions. We established a primate model for emotional learning, using tone-odor conditoning, and tested it on humans and non-human primates. We tracked the neural codes that underlie learning of positive vs. negative memories, extinction of negative memories, and failure to extinguish it. Importantly, we showed that we can manipulate directly this neural pathway (cortex-amygdala) and prevent recovery of aversive memories, hence suggesting a tool to be tested in further clinical implications. The results shed light on the mechanisms in this pathway and may suggest ways to further manipulate neural information transfer in it in order to reduce the effect of aversive memories and help extinguish them.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
The purpose of this study is to bridge over an important gap between rodent and human studies. Studies in rodents have shown the importance of the reciprocal connections between the medial-prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the amygdala, and described their contribution to the acquisition and extinction of fear-associations. In parallel, imaging studies in humans have observed activation in the mPFC-amygdala pathway during regulation of emotion, and behavioral studies in patients have revealed that dysfunction of the network underlies different psychiatric disorders. Indeed, relevant disorders are different forms of failures to regulate emotion, mainly different forms of anxiety disorders, such as PTSD. The amygdala-mPFC network is much more complex in primates than in rodents and expanded during evolution. Moreover, elaborate paradigms that mimic real-world scenarios can not be tested with rodents. Similarly, imaging studies in humans have several limitations. For example, differentiating sub-nuclei within the amygdala (and mPFC) is limited by the spatial resolution; observing complex interactions between areas during the task is limited by the low temporal resolution; and many physiological manipulations are impossible in humans. We will first record simultaneously from the amygdala and mPFC of awake- behaving monkeys during rest, electrical stimulation, and temporary inactivation of one of the structures; then, we will record during acquisition and recall of extinction of fear-associations. Our main goal is to characterize interactions between the mPFC and the amygdala, different sub-nuclei within the amygdala, and different sub-areas of the mPFC. This project will help bring the research in primates to a baseline closer to that in rodents, and will therefore validate (or not), and expand on established findings with relevance to clinical applications. Importantly, the next step of this project will study more complex forms of extinction.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE · RehovotКоординаторИзраел
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз