Nature Neuroscience - 9, 1321 - 1329 (2006)
Published online: 10 September 2006; | doi:10.1038/nn1771
Emotional enhancement of memory via amygdala-driven facilitation of rhinal
interactions
Rony Paz, Joe Guillaume Pelletier, Elizabeth P Bauer & Denis Paré
Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey, 197 University Avenue, Newark, New Jersey 07102,
USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Denis Paré pare at axon.rutgers.edu or
Rony Paz rony.paz at gmail.com
Emotions generally facilitate memory, an effect mediated by the basolateral
amygdala (BLA). To study the underlying mechanisms, we recorded BLA,
perirhinal and entorhinal neurons during an appetitive trace-conditioning
task. We focused on the rhinal cortices because they constitute the
interface between the hippocampus, a mediator of memory consolidation, and
the neocortex, the storage site of declarative memories. We found that,
after unexpected rewards, BLA activity increased impulse transmission from
perirhinal to entorhinal neurons and that this effect decayed as the
association between conditioned stimuli and rewards was learned. At this
late phase of learning, the BLA effect occurred when the animals were
anticipating the reward. By enhancing the processing of sensory cues, the
BLA-mediated facilitation of rhinal interactions may explain how the
amygdala promotes memory formation in emotional conditions.
