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Developmental Changes In The Activation And Structure Of The Contextual Fear Neural Circuit From Infancy To Adulthood, Anthony John Santarelli
Developmental Changes In The Activation And Structure Of The Contextual Fear Neural Circuit From Infancy To Adulthood, Anthony John Santarelli
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The contextual fear circuit, centered on the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA), is comprised of projections from the hippocampal formation and prefrontal cortex, and mediates an animals ability to learn and predict associations between the environment and biologically relevant stimuli. While the function and structure of this circuit has been well characterized in adult species, relatively little is known about its development as an animal transitions from infancy to adulthood. Recent evidence has begun to suggest that infants, juveniles, and adolescents may show remarkable heterogeneity in the behavioral, activational, and structural properties of the circuit. In this thesis, I …