Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Neuron. 2010 Jan 28;65(2):257-69. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.12.002.
The ventral hippocampus, unlike its dorsal counterpart, is required for anxiety-like behavior. The means by which it acts are unknown. We hypothesized that the hippocampus synchronizes with downstream targets that influence anxiety, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). To test this hypothesis, we recorded mPFC and hippocampal activity in mice exposed to two anxiogenic arenas. Theta-frequency activity in the mPFC and ventral, but not dorsal, hippocampus was highly correlated at baseline, and this correlation increased in both anxiogenic environments. Increases in mPFC theta power predicted avoidance of the aversive compartments of each arena and were larger in serotonin 1A receptor knockout mice, a genetic model of increased anxiety-like behavior. These results suggest a role for theta-frequency synchronization between the ventral hippocampus and the mPFC in anxiety. They are consistent with the notion that such synchronization is a general mechanism by which the hippocampus communicates with downstream structures of behavioral relevance.
腹侧海马体与背侧海马体不同，它是焦虑样行为所必需的。其作用方式尚不清楚。我们假设海马体与影响焦虑的下游靶点（如内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC））同步。为了验证这一假设，我们在暴露于两种焦虑环境的小鼠中记录了 mPFC 和海马体的活动。mPFC 和腹侧海马体（而非背侧海马体）的θ频带活动在基线时高度相关，并且在两种焦虑环境中均增加。mPFC 中的θ功率增加预示着对每个竞技场的厌恶区域的回避，并且在血清素 1A 受体敲除小鼠中更大，这是一种焦虑样行为增加的遗传模型。这些结果表明腹侧海马体和 mPFC 之间的θ频带同步在焦虑中起作用。它们与这样的同步是海马体与行为相关的下游结构进行通信的一般机制的观点一致。
