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Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 4, 683-698, Copyright © 1984 by Society for Neuroscience
Subcortical efferent projections of the medial geniculate nucleus mediate emotional responses conditioned to acoustic stimuli
JE LeDoux, A Sakaguchi and DJ Reis
The purpose of this study was to identify the afferent link in the neural
pathway which mediates emotional responses coupled to auditory stimuli. We
evaluated whether autonomic and behavioral responses elicited by acoustic
conditioned emotional stimuli are based on afferent information derived
from the auditory cortex or from the auditory thalamic relay station, the
medial geniculate nucleus (MG), in rats. The rat auditory cortex was
defined through anterograde neuroanatomical tracing studies involving the
injection of HRP into MG. Lesions were then placed in the auditory cortex
or in MG. After 10 to 20 days the rats were subjected to classical fear
conditioning trials involving the pairing of a pure tone with electric
footshock. Changes in mean arterial pressure and heart rate and the
duration of immobilization ("freezing") and drink suppression elicited by
presentation during extinction trials (no footshock) of the acoustic
conditioned emotional stimulus were measured. Auditory cortex lesions did
not affect the magnitude of the mean arterial pressure or heart rate
conditioned responses nor the duration of freezing or drink suppression. In
contrast, lesions of MG suppressed the magnitude of both the autonomic and
somatomotor (behavioral) conditioned emotional responses but did not affect
either autonomic or somatic responses elicited by the footshock
unconditioned stimulus. Lesions of the inferior colliculus, the primary
source of afferent input to MG, replicated the effects of MG lesions. These
findings demonstrate that lesions of MG and lower auditory centers, but not
lesions of the auditory cortex, block autonomic and behavioral conditioned
emotional responses coupled to acoustic stimuli and indicate that
subcortical rather than cortical efferents of MG sustain these responses.
Our concurrent observation that MG projects to several subcortical areas
(central and lateral amygdala; caudate-putamen; ventromedial hypothalamus)
involved in emotional behavior and autonomic function suggests hypotheses
concerning subsequent links in this emotional processing pathway.
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