Prior stress promotes the generalization of contextual fear memories: Involvement of the gabaergic signaling within the basolateral amygdala complex

BENDER, C.L.; OTAMENDI, A.; CALFA, G.D.; MOLINA, V.A.

PROGRESS OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2018 vol. 83 p. 18 - 18

0278-5846

ear generalization occurs when a response, previously acquired with a threatening stimulus, is transferred to a similar one. However, it could be maladaptive when stimuli that do not represent a real threat are appraised as dangerous, which is a hallmark of several anxiety disorders. Stress exposure is a major risk factor for the occurrence of anxiety disorders and it is well established that it influences different phases of fear memory; nevertheless, its impact on the generalization of contextual fear memories has been less studied. In the present work, we have characterized the impact of acute restraint stress prior to contextual fear conditioning on the generalization of this fear memory, and the role of the GABAergic signaling within the basolateral amygdala complex (BLA) on the stress modulatory effects. We have found that a single stress exposure promoted the generalization of this memory trace to a different context that was well discriminated in unstressed conditioned animals