(provided by candidate): Past Pavlovian conditioning procedures have demonstrated that changes in fast glutamatergic transmission play an important role in the formation of emotional memories associated with the acquisition, retention, and extinction of fear. However, there are converging lines of evidence suggesting that changes in GABAergic transmission may also be involved in these processes. The research in the current application will help in understanding how GABAergic systems influence these processes. This will be accomplished by: (1) identifying and quantifying the expression of mRNAs encoding various GABA related genes which may play a role in the molecular processes involved in the acquisition, retrieval, and extinction of conditioned fear, (2) examining training-induce changes in the expression of GABA-related genes and examining changes in GABA(A) binding in the amygdala after the acquisition, retrieval, and extinction of Pavlovian fear, and (3), examining the function of amygdala alpha 1-GABA(A) receptors in the acquisition, retrieval, and extinction of conditioned fear in alpha l-GABA(A) inducible knockout mice. ? ?
