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Chemogenetic Activation of Astrocytes in the Basolateral Amygdala Contributes to Fear Memory Formation by Modulating the Amygdala–Prefrontal Cortex Communication

Authors :
Zhuogui Lei
Li Xie
Cheuk Hin Li
Yuk Yan Lam
Aruna Surendran Ramkrishnan
Zhongqi Fu
Xianlin Zeng
Shu Liu
Zafar Iqbal
Ying Li
Source :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol 23, Iss 11, p 6092 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is one of the key brain areas involved in aversive learning, especially fear memory formation. Studies of aversive learning in the BLA have largely focused on neuronal function, while the role of BLA astrocytes in aversive learning remains largely unknown. In this study, we manipulated the BLA astrocytes by expressing the Gq-coupled receptor hM3q and discovered that astrocytic Gq modulation during fear conditioning promoted auditorily cued fear memory but did not affect less stressful memory tasks or induce anxiety-like behavior. Moreover, chemogenetic activation of BLA astrocytes during memory retrieval had no effect on fear memory expression. In addition, astrocytic Gq activation increased c-Fos expression in the BLA and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during fear conditioning, but not in the home cage. Combining these results with retrograde virus tracing, we found that the activity of mPFC-projecting BLA neurons showed significant enhancement after astrocytic Gq activation during fear conditioning. Electrophysiology recordings showed that activating astrocytic Gq in the BLA promoted spike-field coherence and phase locking percentage, not only within the BLA but also between the BLA and the mPFC. Finally, direct chemogenetic activation of mPFC-projecting BLA neurons during fear conditioning enhanced cued fear memory. Taken together, our data suggest that astrocytes in the BLA may contribute to aversive learning by modulating amygdala–mPFC communication.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14220067 and 16616596
Volume :
23
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.93c4a25fac25435d8c8a996fb8eaef93
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23116092