Hypothalamic Oxytocin Neurons Represent Fear Engrams in Rats

BrainPost, 21 May 2019

Emotional memory representations or engrams (i.e. memory traces, stored in the brain) such as fear, are critical for survival. These engrams allow both animals and humans to sense, evaluate, and respond to dangerous situations in an appropriate manner. Two brain regions involved in the development of fear-related memories—the hypothalamus and the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA)—are connected by oxytocin neurons. The endogenous hormone oxytocin may play an important role in modulating fear, due to its ability to modulate the salience of social cues and events. However, the exact role of hypothalamic oxytocin neurons in fear conditioning or learning is unknown. Read more.