Palomares E, Hernandez Perez O, Crespo Ramirez M, Aguilar Roblero R, Fuxe K, Perez de la Mora M (2015) Selective ablation of the intercalated neurons of the amygdala increased the anxiety-like behavior in the Elevated Plus Maze. Neuroscience 2015 Abstracts 694.14/N4. Society for Neuroscience, Chicago IL.
Summary: The intercalated (ITC) islands of the amygdala are clusters of inhibitory neurons that surround the basolateral complex (BLA) and contain a dense population of dopamine D1 and μ-opioid receptors. Lateral ITC (lITC) islands provide feed-forward inhibition to the BLA, whereas medial ITC (mITC) islands form an inhibitory interface between the BLA and central nucleus (CeA), the main output region of the amygdala. Previous studies have shown that ITC neurons play a role in fear extinction. However the functional role of the ITC islands in the un-conditioned anxiety has not been studied. To elucidate the involvement of the ITC islands in the anxiety-like behavior in the Elevated Plus Maze, we bilaterally infused the toxin saporin conjugate with the agonist of the μ-opioid receptors, dermorphine, (SAP-DER; 0.75pmol/0.250µl/lado) in closed proximity to the mITC islands to specifically ablate the neurons of the ITC islands. Behaviorally, SAP-DER injections significantly increased the time that the rats spent in the open arm of the maze as compared with their lesion control group. No effects on locomotion in the open-field test were found. These results suggest that ablate of the ITC neurons results in anxiogenic effects and support ITC neurons play an important role in mediate anxiolytic responses.
Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12)