Role of the Primate Amygdala in Fear-Potentiated Startle: Effects of Chronic Lesions in the Rhesus Monkey

In experiment 1, we assessed the role of the primate amygdala and hippocampus in the acquisition of learned fear measured with fear-potentiated startle. Three groups of six rhesus monkeys were prepared with bilateral ibotenic acid lesions of the amygdaloid complex and the hippocampus or were sham op...

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Published inThe Journal of neuroscience Vol. 27; no. 28; pp. 7386 - 7396
Main Authors Antoniadis, Elena A, Winslow, James T, Davis, Michael, Amaral, David G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Soc Neuroscience 11.07.2007
Society for Neuroscience
Subjects
Amygdala - drug effects
Amygdala - pathology
Amygdala - physiology
Animals
Brain Diseases - chemically induced
Brain Diseases - diagnosis
Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology
Fear - physiology
Hippocampus - drug effects
Hippocampus - physiology
Ibotenic Acid - pharmacology
Macaca mulatta
Macaca mulatta - physiology
Macaca mulatta - psychology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Primates
Reflex, Startle - physiology
Retention (Psychology) - physiology
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Summary:In experiment 1, we assessed the role of the primate amygdala and hippocampus in the acquisition of learned fear measured with fear-potentiated startle. Three groups of six rhesus monkeys were prepared with bilateral ibotenic acid lesions of the amygdaloid complex and the hippocampus or were sham operated. Selective ibotenic acid lesions of the amygdala, but not the hippocampus, blocked the acquisition of fear-potentiated startle. In experiment 2, we assessed the role of the primate amygdala in the expression of fear-potentiated startle. Surprisingly, animals that sustained amygdala damage after they successfully learned fear-potentiated startle expressed normal fear-potentiated startle, despite a complete amygdala lesion based on magnetic resonance imaging assessments. These results suggest that although the amygdala is necessary for the initial acquisition of fear-potentiated startle, it is not necessary for the retention and expression of fear-potentiated startle. These findings are discussed in relation to the role of the amygdala in emotional learning and in cross-species comparisons of emotional behavior.
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ISSN:0270-6474
1529-2401
DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5643-06.2007