Abstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) acting through the tyrosine kinase B receptor (TrkB) is thought to be a critical mediator of learning. As there are no available selective antagonists of TrkB, we used a lentivirus encoding a dominant-negative TrkB (TrkB.t1) to antagonize BDNF signaling during extinction of conditioned fear. Whereas TrkB.t1-infected rats showed normal within-session extinction, their retention of extinction was impaired, suggesting that amygdala TrkB activation is required for the consolidation of stable extinction memories.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fnn1718/MediaObjects/41593_2006_Article_BFnn1718_Fig1_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fnn1718/MediaObjects/41593_2006_Article_BFnn1718_Fig2_HTML.jpg)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cannistraro, P.A. & Rauch, S.L. Psychopharmacol. Bull. 37, 8–25 (2003).
Ressler, K.J. et al. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 61, 1136–1144 (2004).
Falls, W.A., Miserendino, M.J. & Davis, M. J. Neurosci. 12, 854–863 (1992).
Walker, D.L., Ressler, K.J., Lu, K.T. & Davis, M. J. Neurosci. 22, 2343–2351 (2002).
Quirk, G.J., Russo, G.K., Barron, J.L. & Lebron, K. J. Neurosci. 20, 6225–6231 (2000).
Milad, M.R. & Quirk, G.J. Nature 420, 70–74 (2002).
Cain, C.K., Blouin, A.M. & Barad, M. J. Neurosci. 22, 9113–9121 (2002).
Schroeder, J.P. & Packard, M.G. Learn. Mem. 11, 641–647 (2004).
Rattiner, L.M., Davis, M., French, C.T. & Ressler, K.J. J. Neurosci. 24, 4796–4806 (2004).
Ressler, K.J., Paschall, G., Zhou, X.L. & Davis, M. J. Neurosci. 22, 7892–7902 (2002).
Middlemas, D., Lindberg, R. & Hunter, T. Mol. Cell. Biol. 11, 143–153 (1991).
Santini, E., Muller, R.U. & Quirk, G.J. J. Neurosci. 21, 9009–9017 (2001).
Kang, H., Welcher, A.A., Shelton, D. & Schuman, E.M. Neuron 19, 653–664 (1997).
Bramham, C.R. & Messaoudi, E. Prog. Neurobiol. 76, 99–125 (2005).
Marsicano, G. et al. Nature 418, 530–534 (2002).
Acknowledgements
Support was provided by the US National Institutes of Health (MH47840 to M.D., MH069884 to K.J.R. and MH070218 to J.P.C.), the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD; K.J.R.), NIH/NCRR base grant (P51RR000165) to Yerkes National Primates Research Center and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (National Science Foundation agreement IBN-987675).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Fig. 1
Behavioral Paradigms. Schematic outline of the behavioral paradigms used in Experiment #1 (in situ hybridization experiment), (A), Experiment #2 (B), and Experiment #3 (C). (PDF 44 kb)
Supplementary Fig. 2
The CB1 antagonist rimonabant impairs within-session extinction. (PDF 90 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chhatwal, J., Stanek-Rattiner, L., Davis, M. et al. Amygdala BDNF signaling is required for consolidation but not encoding of extinction. Nat Neurosci 9, 870–872 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1718
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1718
This article is cited by
-
Positive modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the mPFC reduces the spontaneous recovery of fear
Molecular Psychiatry (2022)
-
Role of BDNF in the development of an OFC-amygdala circuit regulating sociability in mouse and human
Molecular Psychiatry (2021)
-
7,8-Dihydroxyflavone Alleviates Anxiety-Like Behavior Induced by Chronic Alcohol Exposure in Mice Involving Tropomyosin-Related Kinase B in the Amygdala
Molecular Neurobiology (2021)
-
Neurobiology of BDNF in fear memory, sensitivity to stress, and stress-related disorders
Molecular Psychiatry (2020)
-
Neurotrophin signalling in amygdala-dependent cued fear learning
Cell and Tissue Research (2020)