Abstract
Background
Social organisms synchronize behaviors as an evolutionary-conserved means for thriving.
Synchronization under threat, in particular, benefits survival and occurs across species,
including humans, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown, due to the scarcity
of the relevant animal models. Here, we developed a rodent paradigm in which mice
synchronize classically conditioned fear response and identified an underlying neuronal
circuit.
Methods
Males and female mice were trained individually in an auditory fear conditioning and
then tested 24 h later as dyads allowing unrestricted social interaction during exposure
to the conditioned stimulus, under the visible or infrared illumination to eliminate
visual cues. The synchronization of the immobility or freezing bouts was quantified
by calculating the effect size Cohen’s D for the difference between the actual freezing
time overlap and the overlap by chance. The inactivation of the dorsomedial prefrontal
cortex, dorsal hippocampus, or ventral hippocampus was achieved by local infusions
of muscimol. The chemogenetic disconnection of the hippocampus-amygdala pathway was
performed by expressing hM4D(Gi) in the ventral hippocampal neurons and infusing CNO
in the amygdala.
Results
Mice synchronized cued but not contextual fear. It was higher in males than in females
and attenuated in the absence of visible light. Inactivation of the ventral but not
dorsal hippocampus or dorsomedial prefrontal cortex abolished fear synchronization.
Finally, the disconnection of the hippocampal-amygdala pathway diminished fear synchronization.
Conclusions
Mice synchronize expression of conditioned fear relying on the ventral hippocampus-amygdala
pathway, suggesting that the hippocampus transmits social information to the amygdala
to synchronize threat response.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
July 11,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 17,
2022
Received:
December 14,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of Society of Biological Psychiatry.
