TITLE:
Behavioral and Neurobiological Assessments of Predator-Based Fear Conditioning and Extinction
AUTHORS:
Joshua D. Halonen, Phillip R. Zoladz, Collin R. Park, David M. Diamond
KEYWORDS:
Fear Conditioning, Predator Exposure, Hippocampus, Sleep Deprivation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.6 No.8,
July
22,
2016
ABSTRACT: Shock, immobilization, and exposure to predator-related stimuli have all been used to study fear conditioning in rodents, but they have never been used in conjunction in a single study. Experiment 1 compared the effects of these three reinforcers, alone and in various combinations, on the expression of long-term conditioned fear memory and extinction in adult male rats. Whereas foot shock conditioning, alone, was rapidly extinguished; the combination of immobilization and cat exposure, or all 3 stimuli together, produced a significant increase in the magnitude of fear conditioning and greater resistance to extinction, which persisted for at least 5 weeks post-training (p