
pmid: 39106862
Engrams, which are cellular substrates of memory traces, have been identified in various brain areas, including the amygdala. While most identified engrams are composed of excitatory, glutamatergic neurons, GABAergic inhibitory engrams have been relatively overlooked. Here, we report the identification of an inhibitory engram in the central lateral amygdala (CeL), a key area for auditory fear conditioning. This engram is primarily composed of GABAergic somatostatin-expressing (SST(+)) and, to a lesser extent, protein kinase C-δ-expressing (PKC-δ(+)) neurons. Fear memory is accompanied by a preferential enhancement of synaptic inhibition onto PKC-δ(+) neurons. Silencing this CeL GABAergic engram disinhibits the activity of targeted extra-amygdaloid areas, selectively increasing the expression of fear. Our findings define the behavioral function of an engram formed exclusively by GABAergic inhibitory neurons in the mammalian brain.
Male, activity-dependent labeling, synaptic plasticity, GABAergic neurons, fear memory, chemogenetic, Central Amygdaloid Nucleus, Fear, electrophysiology, synaptic inhibition, Amygdala, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Protein Kinase C-delta, Memory, CP: Neuroscience, central amygdala, Animals, GABAergic Neurons, Somatostatin
Male, activity-dependent labeling, synaptic plasticity, GABAergic neurons, fear memory, chemogenetic, Central Amygdaloid Nucleus, Fear, electrophysiology, synaptic inhibition, Amygdala, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Protein Kinase C-delta, Memory, CP: Neuroscience, central amygdala, Animals, GABAergic Neurons, Somatostatin
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