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The Journal of Neuroscience, January 20, 2010, 30(3):832-837; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4145-09.2010

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Brief Communications
Lack of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activation Underlies the Immediate Extinction Deficit

Seok Chan Kim,¹ Yong Sang Jo,¹ Il Hwan Kim,² Hyun Kim,² and June-Seek Choi¹

¹Department of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea, and ²Department of Anatomy, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 136-705, Korea

Correspondence should be addressed to June-Seek Choi, Department of Psychology, Korea University, 5-1 Anam, Seongbuk, Seoul 136-701, Korea. Email: j-schoi{at}korea.ac.kr

We conducted a series of experiments to investigate the neural basis of the immediate extinction deficit, the lack of extinction when the interval between fear memory acquisition and extinction is short. In experiment 1, rats were given extinction training composed of 15 conditioned stimuli (CSs) either 15 min (immediate extinction: I-EXT) or 24 h (delayed extinction: D-EXT) after five tone–shock pairings. In the retention test performed 48 h after conditioning, I-EXT group exhibited significantly higher freezing than D-EXT group. In experiment 2, functional activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was detected using c-fos immunoreactivity. The number of Fos-positive neurons in the mPFC was significantly lower in I-EXT group than in D-EXT group. In experiment 3, rats received immediate extinction with microstimulation of the infralimbic region (IL) of the mPFC, either contingently paired or unpaired with the CS. In a subsequent retention test, the paired stimulation group exhibited decreased freezing relative to the unpaired stimulation group. Together, our results suggest that the immediate extinction deficit may be linked to the lack of neuronal activity in the IL.

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Received Aug. 22, 2009; accepted Nov. 12, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to June-Seek Choi, Department of Psychology, Korea University, 5-1 Anam, Seongbuk, Seoul 136-701, Korea. Email: j-schoi{at}korea.ac.kr

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

When the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Fails: Implications for Extinction and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

Peter A. Groblewski and James M. Stafford
J. Neurosci. 2010 30: 7124-7126. [Full Text]  

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				J. H. Kim, S. Li, and R. Richardson Immunohistochemical Analyses of Long-Term Extinction of Conditioned Fear in Adolescent Rats Cereb Cortex, June 24, 2010; (2010) bhq116v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Groblewski and J. M. Stafford When the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Fails: Implications for Extinction and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment J. Neurosci., May 26, 2010; 30(21): 7124 - 7126. [Full Text] [PDF]

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