| First Author | Chalkea ZS | Year | 2023 |
| Journal | Int J Mol Sci | Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 20 | PubMed ID | 37894831 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:342275 | Mgi Id | MGI:7546167 |
| Doi | 10.3390/ijms242015143 | Citation | Chalkea ZS, et al. (2023) Fear Conditioning by Proxy: The Role of High Affinity Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors. Int J Mol Sci 24(20) |
| abstractText | Observational fear-learning studies in genetically modified animals enable the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the social transmission of fear-related information. Here, we used a three-day protocol to examine fear conditioning by proxy (FCbP) in wild-type mice (C57BL/6J) and mice lacking the beta2-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Male animals of both genotypes were exposed to a previously fear-conditioned (FC) cage mate during the presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS, tone). On the following day, observer (FCbP) mice were tested for fear reactions to the tone: none of the beta2-KO mice froze to the stimulus, while 30% of the wild-type mice expressed significant freezing. An investigation of the possible factors that predicted the fear response revealed that only wild-type mice that exhibited enhanced and more flexible social interaction with the FC cage mate during tone presentations (Day 2) expressed fear toward the CS (Day-3). Our results indicate that (i) FCbP is possible in mice; (ii) the social transmission of fear depends on the interaction pattern between animals during the FCbP session and (iii) beta2-KO mice display a more rigid interaction pattern compared to wild-type mice and are unable to acquire such information. These data suggest that beta2-nAChRs influence observational fear learning indirectly through their effect on social behaviour. |
