Neuroscientists identify role of basolateral amygdala neurons

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is a region of the brain that has been almost exclusively studied in the context of fear and emotion. Only recently have researchers begun to question whether the BLA may play a larger, overarching role in memory and behavior. Yet almost nothing is known about the neuronal activity of the BLA during naturalistic behavior. To address these questions, neuroscientists at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL observed the neuronal activity in this brain region while rats freely engaged with a variety of different ethological stimuli.  Interactions with ethological stimuli are relevant to the animal's survival and to the propagation of its genes, and include food, prey and conspecifics. In a new study, published today in Cell Reports, the researchers demonstrate strong responses to these classes of events in the BLA.

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