ERIC Number: EJ1027239
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Feb
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0502
EISSN: N/A
Persistent Prelimbic Cortex Activity Contributes to Enhanced Learned Fear Expression in Females
Fenton, Georgina E.; Pollard, Amelia K.; Halliday, David M.; Mason, Rob; Bredy, Timothy W.; Stevenson, Carl W.
Learning & Memory, v21 n2 p55-60 Feb 2014
Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress, are more prevalent in women and are characterized by impaired inhibition of learned fear and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) dysfunction. Here we examined sex differences in fear extinction and mPFC activity in rats. Females showed more learned fear expression during extinction and its recall, but not fear conditioning. They also showed more spontaneous fear recovery and more contextual fear before extinction and its recall. Moreover, enhanced learned fear expression in females was associated with sustained prelimbic (PL) cortex activity. These results suggest that sex differences in learned fear expression may involve persistent PL activation.
Descriptors: Anxiety Disorders, Fear, Females, Conditioning, Gender Differences, Animals, Cognitive Psychology
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797-2924. Tel: 800-843-4388; Tel: 516-367-8800; Fax: 516-422-4097; e-mail: cshpres@cshl.edu; Web site: http://www.learnmem.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A