Sung Yongmin, Kaang Bong-Kiun
School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Exp Neurobiol. 2022 Aug 31;31(4):221-231. doi: 10.5607/en22012.
Fear memory recruits various brain regions with long-lasting brain-wide subcellular events. The medial prefrontal cortex processes the emotional and cognitive functions required for adequately handling fear memory. Several studies have indicated that subdivisions within the medial prefrontal cortex, namely the prelimbic, infralimbic, and anterior cingulate cortices, may play different roles across fear memory states. Through a dedicated cytoarchitecture and connectivity, the three different regions of the medial prefrontal cortex play a specific role in maintaining and extinguishing fear memory. Furthermore, synaptic plasticity and maturation of neural circuits within the medial prefrontal cortex suggest that remote memories undergo structural and functional reorganization. Finally, recent technical advances have enabled genetic access to transiently activated neuronal ensembles within these regions, suggesting that memory trace cells in these regions may preferentially contribute to processing specific fear memory. We reviewed recently published reports and summarize the molecular, synaptic and cellular events occurring within the medial prefrontal cortex during various memory stages.
恐惧记忆会招募多个脑区，并伴随持久的全脑亚细胞水平的变化。内侧前额叶皮质负责处理妥善应对恐惧记忆所需的情绪和认知功能。多项研究表明，内侧前额叶皮质内的各个分区，即边缘前皮质、边缘下皮质和前扣带回皮质，在不同的恐惧记忆状态下可能发挥不同作用。通过特定的细胞结构和连接性，内侧前额叶皮质的这三个不同区域在维持和消除恐惧记忆方面发挥着特定作用。此外，内侧前额叶皮质内神经回路的突触可塑性和成熟表明，远期记忆会经历结构和功能重组。最后，最近的技术进展使得能够从基因层面研究这些区域内瞬时激活的神经元集群，这表明这些区域中的记忆痕迹细胞可能在处理特定恐惧记忆方面发挥着优先作用。我们回顾了最近发表的报告，并总结了在不同记忆阶段内侧前额叶皮质内发生的分子、突触和细胞水平的变化。
