Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; NHC Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment on Brain Functional Diseases, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Physiol Res. 2022 Nov 28;71(5):695-701. doi: 10.33549/physiolres.934899. Epub 2022 Aug 31.
Footshock is frequently used as an unconditioned stimulus in fear conditioning behavior studies. The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) contributes to fear learning and receives neuronal inputs from the claustrum. However, whether footshocks can induce a neuronal response in claustrum-MEC (CLA-MEC) projection remains unknown. Here, we combined fiber-based Ca2+ recordings with a retrograde AAV labeling method to investigate neuronal responses of MEC-projecting claustral neurons to footshock stimulation in freely moving mice. We achieved successful Ca2+ recordings in both anesthetized and freely exploring mice. We found that footshock stimulation reliably induced neuronal responses to MEC-projecting claustral neurons. Therefore, the footshock-induced response detected in the CLA-MEC projection suggests its potential role in fear processin.
足底电击通常被用作恐惧条件反射行为研究中的非条件刺激。内侧内嗅皮层（MEC）有助于恐惧学习，并接收来自屏状核的神经元输入。然而，足底电击是否能诱导屏状核-MEC（CLA-MEC）投射中的神经元反应尚不清楚。在这里，我们结合基于纤维的 Ca2+记录和逆行 AAV 标记方法，在自由活动的小鼠中研究了 MEC 投射到屏状核的神经元对足底电击刺激的神经元反应。我们在麻醉和自由探索的小鼠中都成功地进行了 Ca2+记录。我们发现，足底电击刺激可靠地诱导了 MEC 投射到屏状核的神经元的反应。因此，在 CLA-MEC 投射中检测到的足底电击诱导反应表明其在恐惧处理过程中的潜在作用。
