| First Author | McCullough KM | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 7 |
| Pages | 13149 | PubMed ID | 27767183 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:242649 | Mgi Id | MGI:5905945 |
| Doi | 10.1038/ncomms13149 | Citation | McCullough KM, et al. (2016) Molecular characterization of Thy1 expressing fear-inhibiting neurons within the basolateral amygdala. Nat Commun 7:13149 |
| abstractText | Molecular characterization of neuron populations, particularly those controlling threat responses, is essential for understanding the cellular basis of behaviour and identifying pharmacological agents acting selectively on fear-controlling circuitry. Here we demonstrate a comprehensive workflow for identification of pharmacologically tractable markers of behaviourally characterized cell populations. Thy1-eNpHR-, Thy1-Cre- and Thy1-eYFP-labelled neurons of the BLA consistently act as fear inhibiting or 'Fear-Off' neurons during behaviour. We use cell-type-specific optogenetics and chemogenetics (DREADDs) to modulate activity in this population during behaviour to block or enhance fear extinction. Dissociated Thy1-eYFP neurons are isolated using FACS. RNA sequencing identifies genes strongly upregulated in RNA of this population, including Ntsr2, Dkk3, Rspo2 and Wnt7a. Pharmacological manipulation of neurotensin receptor 2 confirms behavioural effects observed in optogenetic and chemogenetic experiments. These experiments identify and validate Ntsr2-expressing neurons within the BLA, as a putative 'Fear-Off' population. |
