LTD at amygdalocortical synapses as a novel mechanism for hedonic learning.
Elife
; 92020 11 10.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33169666
ABSTRACT
A novel, pleasant taste stimulus becomes aversive if associated with gastric malaise, a form of learning known as conditioned taste aversion (CTA). CTA is common to vertebrates and invertebrates and is an important survival response eating the wrong food may be deadly. CTA depends on the gustatory portion of the insular cortex (GC) and the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) however, its synaptic underpinnings are unknown. Here we report that CTA was associated with decreased expression of immediate early genes in rat GC of both sexes, and with reduced amplitude of BLA-GC synaptic responses, pointing to long-term depression (LTD) as a mechanism for learning. Indeed, association of a novel tastant with induction of LTD at the BLA-GC input in vivo was sufficient to change the hedonic value of a taste stimulus. Our results demonstrate a direct role for amygdalocortical LTD in taste aversion learning.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Avoidance Learning
/
Synapses
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Cerebral Cortex
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Conditioning, Classical
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Basolateral Nuclear Complex
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Models, Neurological
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Elife
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States