Inactivation of the prelimbic cortex enhances freezing induced by trimethylthiazoline, a component of fox feces

Christopher J. Fitzpatrick, Dayan Knox, Israel Liberzon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that the rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical for the expression of unconditioned defense behaviors. The prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortices comprise the majority of the mPFC, but the role of these regions in mediating unconditioned defense behaviors is not well understood. In order to address this, we temporarily inactivated the PL or IL and documented the effects of these manipulations on freezing induced by trimethylthiazoline (TMT), a component of fox feces, and center region avoidance in the open field (OF). PL inactivation enhanced TMT-induced freezing, but had no effect on OF behavior. IL inactivation had no effect on any behavioral measure. The results of this study are the first to demonstrate that the PL can have an inhibitory role with regard to unconditioned defense behavior. Further research is needed to define the parameters under which the PL inhibits unconditioned defense behavior.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)320-323
Number of pages4
JournalBehavioural Brain Research
Volume221
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2011

Keywords

  • Anxiety
  • Fear
  • Lesion
  • MPFC
  • Predator odor
  • Rat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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