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Neural Mechanisms Supporting Differential Auditory Fear Conditioning, Nicole Christine Ferrara

Theses and Dissertations

Pavlovian fear conditioning provides an ideal way to study memory formation, retention, and updating. Plasticity in the auditory thalamus is required during the acquisition and consolidation of a fear memory when a tone signals a foot shock. The medial geniculate nucleus (MgN) of the auditory thalamus sends projections to the amygdala and auditory cortex and is functionally divided into two different regions, the medial division (MGm) and the ventral division (MGv). Traditionally, these divisions are thought to relay auditory information to the amygdala during fear-related associative learning. However, recent research has suggested a more complex role for the MgN when …