Memory consolidation of Pavlovian fear conditioning: a cellular and molecular perspective

• Published in: Trends in Neurosciences Vol. 24; no. 9; pp. 540 - 546
• Main Authors: Schafe, Glenn E, Nader, Karim, Blair, Hugh T, LeDoux, Joseph E
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2001; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: amygdala; Animals; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cellular biology; Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology; Fear & phobias; Fear - physiology; fear conditioning; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Long-Term Potentiation - physiology; LTP; Memory; Memory - physiology; memory consolidification; Molecular biology; Neurology; Neurons - physiology; Neurotransmission and behavior; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Conginitive Science; LTP; amygdala; Neuroscience; fear conditioning; memory consolidification; Potentiation; Amygdala; Memory; Central nervous system; Basal ganglion; Review; Classical conditioning; Long term; Learning; Fear; Acquisition process; Synaptic transmission; Synaptic plasticity; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0166-2236; 1878-108X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01969-X

Pavlovian fear conditioning has emerged as a leading behavioral paradigm for studying the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. Although considerable progress has been made in understanding the neural substrates of fear conditioning at the systems level, until recently little has been learned about the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. The success of systems-level work aimed at defining the neuroanatomical pathways underlying fear conditioning, combined with the knowledge accumulated by studies of long-term potentiation (LTP), has recently given way to new insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie acquisition and consolidation of fear memories. Collectively, these findings suggest that fear memory consolidation in the amygdala shares essential biochemical features with LTP, and hold promise for understanding the relationship between memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity in the mammalian brain.