PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chris K. Cain
AU  - Ashley M. Blouin
AU  - Mark Barad
TI  - L-Type Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels Are Required for Extinction, But Not for Acquisition or Expression, of Conditional Fear in Mice
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-20-09113.2002
DP  - 2002 Oct 15
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 9113--9121
VI  - 22
IP  - 20
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/20/9113.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/20/9113.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2002 Oct 15; 22
AB  - It has been shown recently that extinction of conditional fear does not depend acutely on NMDA-type glutamate receptors, although other evidence has led to the hypothesis that L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LVGCCs) play a role in conditional fear. We therefore tested the role of LVGCCs in the acquisition, expression, and extinction of conditional fear of cue and context in mice. Using systemic injections of two LVGCC inhibitors, nifedipine and nimodipine, which both effectively cross the blood–brain barrier, we show that LVGCCs are essential for the extinction, but not for the acquisition or expression, of conditional fear in mice.