Sanguedo Frederico Velasco, Dias Caio Vitor Bueno, Dias Flavia Regina Cruz, Samuels Richard Ian, Carey Robert J, Carrera Marinete Pinheiro
Behavioral Pharmacology Group, Laboratory of Animal Morphology and Pathology, State University of North Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, 28013-600, RJ, Brazil.
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, State University of North Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2016 Mar;233(5):841-50. doi: 10.1007/s00213-015-4163-z. Epub 2015 Dec 19.
Phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been used to identify brain areas activated by exogenous stimuli including psychostimulant drugs.
Assess the role of the amygdala in emotional responses.
Experimental manipulations were performed in which environmental familiarity was the variable. To provide the maximal degree of familiarity, ERK was measured after removal from the home cage and re-placement back into the same cage. To maximize exposure to an unfamiliar environment, ERK was measured following placement into a novel open field. To assess whether familiarity was the critical variable in the ERK response to the novel open field, ERK was also measured after either four or eight placements into the same environment. ERK quantification was carried out in the amygdala, frontal cortex, and the nucleus accumbens.
After home cage re-placement, ERK activation was found in the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens but was absent in the amygdala. Following placement in a novel environment, ERK activation was more prominent in the amygdala than the frontal cortex or nucleus accumbens. In contrast, with habituation to the novel environment, ERK phosphors declined markedly in the amygdala but increased in the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens to the level observed following home cage re-placement.
The differential responsiveness of the amygdala versus the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens to a novel versus a habituated environment is consistent with a reciprocal interaction between these neural systems and points to their important role in the mediation of behavioral activation to novelty and behavioral inactivation with habituation.
磷酸化细胞外信号调节激酶（ERK）已被用于识别包括精神刺激药物在内的外源性刺激所激活的脑区。
评估杏仁核在情绪反应中的作用。
进行了实验操作，其中环境熟悉度是变量。为了提供最大程度的熟悉度，在从饲养笼中取出并重新放回同一笼子后测量ERK。为了最大程度地暴露于陌生环境，在放入新的旷场后测量ERK。为了评估熟悉度是否是ERK对新旷场反应的关键变量，在四次或八次放入同一环境后也测量了ERK。在杏仁核、额叶皮质和伏隔核中进行ERK定量。
放回饲养笼后，在额叶皮质和伏隔核中发现了ERK激活，但在杏仁核中未发现。放入新环境后，杏仁核中的ERK激活比额叶皮质或伏隔核更明显。相比之下，随着对新环境的习惯化，杏仁核中的ERK磷酸化明显下降，但额叶皮质和伏隔核中的ERK磷酸化增加到放回饲养笼后观察到的水平。
杏仁核与额叶皮质和伏隔核对新环境与习惯化环境的不同反应性与这些神经系统之间的相互作用一致，并表明它们在介导对新奇事物的行为激活和习惯化导致的行为失活中起重要作用。
