Activation of the ERK2 in Basolateral amygdala underlies the promoting influence of stress on fear memory and anxiety: Influence of midazolam pretreatment

NOELIA M MALDONADO; PABLO J ESPEJO; IRENE D MARTIJENA; VICTOR ALEJANDRO MOLINA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 24 p. 262 - 262

font size="1"> Exposure toemotionallyarousingexperienceselicits arobustandpersistentmemoryandenhances anxiety.Theamygdalacomplexplaysakeyroleinstress-inducedemotionalprocessingandinthe fearmemoryformation.ItiswellknownthatERKactivationintheamygdalaisaprerequisitefor fearmemoryconsolidation.Moreover,stresselevates p-ERK2levelsinseveralareasofthebrain stress circuitry.Therefore,giventhattheERK1/2cascadeisactivatedfollowingstressandthatthe role ofthiscascadeiscriticalintheformationof fearmemory,thepresentstudyinvestigatedthe potential involvementofp-ERK2inamygdalasubnucleiinthepromotinginfluence ofstressonfear memory formationandonanxiety-likebehavior.A robust andpersistentERK2activationwasnoted in theBasolateralamygdala(BLA),whichwasevidentat5minafterrestraintandlastedatleast one dayafterthestressfulexperienc