PMID- 33115925
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210216
LR  - 20210526
IS  - 1529-2401 (Electronic)
IS  - 0270-6474 (Print)
IS  - 0270-6474 (Linking)
VI  - 40
IP  - 48
DP  - 2020 Nov 25
TI  - Differential Encoding of Predator Fear in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus and 
      Periaqueductal Grey.
PG  - 9283-9292
LID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0761-18.2020 [doi]
AB  - The ventromedial hypothalamus is a central node of the mammalian predator defense 
      network. Stimulation of this structure in rodents and primates elicits abrupt 
      defensive responses, including flight, freezing, sympathetic activation, and 
      panic, while inhibition reduces defensive responses to predators. The major 
      efferent target of the ventromedial hypothalamus is the dorsal periaqueductal 
      gray (dPAG), and stimulation of this structure also elicits flight, freezing, and 
      sympathetic activation. However, reversible inhibition experiments suggest that 
      the ventromedial hypothalamus and periaqueductal gray play distinct roles in the 
      control of defensive behavior, with the former proposed to encode an internal 
      state necessary for the motivation of defensive responses, while the latter 
      serves as a motor pattern initiator. Here, we used electrophysiological 
      recordings of single units in behaving male mice exposed to a rat to investigate 
      the encoding of predator fear in the dorsomedial division of the ventromedial 
      hypothalamus (VMHdm) and the dPAG. Distinct correlates of threat intensity and 
      motor responses were found in both structures, suggesting a distributed encoding 
      of sensory and motor features in the medial hypothalamic-brainstem instinctive 
      network.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Although behavioral responses to predatory threat 
      are essential for survival, the underlying neuronal circuits remain undefined. 
      Using single unit in vivo electrophysiological recordings in mice, we have 
      identified neuronal populations in the medial hypothalamus and brainstem that 
      encode defensive responses to a rat predator. We found that both structures 
      encode both sensory as well as motor aspects of the behavior although with 
      different kinetics. Our findings provide a framework for understanding how innate 
      sensory cues are processed to elicit adaptive behavioral responses to threat and 
      will help to identify targets for the pharmacological modulation of related 
      pathologic behaviors.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2020 the authors.
FAU - Esteban Masferrer, Maria
AU  - Esteban Masferrer M
AD  - Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, EMBL Rome, European Molecular Biology 
      Laboratory, Monterotondo RM 00015, Italy.
FAU - Silva, Bianca A
AU  - Silva BA
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3877-1356
AD  - Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, EMBL Rome, European Molecular Biology 
      Laboratory, Monterotondo RM 00015, Italy.
FAU - Nomoto, Kensaku
AU  - Nomoto K
AD  - Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal.
FAU - Lima, Susana Q
AU  - Lima SQ
AD  - Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal.
FAU - Gross, Cornelius T
AU  - Gross CT
AD  - Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, EMBL Rome, European Molecular Biology 
      Laboratory, Monterotondo RM 00015, Italy gross@embl.it.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20201028
PL  - United States
TA  - J Neurosci
JT  - The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for 
      Neuroscience
JID - 8102140
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Cues
MH  - Electrodes, Implanted
MH  - Electrophysiological Phenomena
MH  - Fear/*physiology
MH  - Male
MH  - Mice
MH  - Mice, Inbred C57BL
MH  - Optogenetics
MH  - Periaqueductal Gray/*physiology
MH  - *Predatory Behavior
MH  - Rats
MH  - Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology
MH  - Ventromedial Hypothalamic Nucleus/*physiology
PMC - PMC7687061
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - defensive behavior
OT  - electrophysiology
OT  - optogenetics
OT  - periaqueductal gray
OT  - predator fear
OT  - ventromedial hypothalamus
EDAT- 2020/10/30 06:00
MHDA- 2021/02/17 06:00
PMCR- 2021/05/25
CRDT- 2020/10/29 05:41
PHST- 2018/03/22 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/08/20 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/10/21 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/10/30 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/02/17 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/10/29 05:41 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/05/25 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - JNEUROSCI.0761-18.2020 [pii]
AID - JN-RM-0761-18 [pii]
AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0761-18.2020 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Neurosci. 2020 Nov 25;40(48):9283-9292. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0761-18.2020. 
      Epub 2020 Oct 28.