The role of the GABAergic system of the amygdala in the autonomic and behavioral manifestations of conditioned reflex fear was studied in groups of “active” and “passive” rabbits selected on the basis of testing in an open field and a dark-light chamber. The animals were trained to a conditioned reflex by combining light (4 sec) and electrocutaneous stimulation of the hindlimbs (1 sec, 10 Hz). The extent of conditioned reflex fear was assessed in terms of changes in heart rate and respiratory movements in response to the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli as compared with rates prior to training. After training, a GABA receptor agonist (muscimol, 0.1 μg/1 μl) or antagonist bicuculline metabromide, 0.5 μg/1 μl) was applied locally into the right or left basal nucleus of the amygdala via a cannula. Administration of muscimol into the amygdala induced more extensive autonomic changes in passive rabbits than in active, eliminating the reduction in the rate of respiratory movements in response to the conditioned stimulus typical of freezing, as well as weakening or altering responses to electrocutaneous stimulation, as judged by heart and respiratory rates. Activation of the left amygdala with bicuculline increased the probability of active motor reactions in active rabbits, while activation of the right amygdala, conversely, increased the probability of freezing. These results provide evidence of the nonequivalence of the GABAergic system of the amygdala in animals with active and passive behavioral strategies.
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Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 63, No. 6, pp. 730–743, November–December, 2013.
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Pavlova, I.V., Rysakova, M.P. Effects of Administration of an Agonist and an Antagonist of GABAA Receptors into the Amygdala in Rabbits on the Respiratory and Cardiac Components of Conditioned Reflex Fear. Neurosci Behav Physi 45, 188–198 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-015-0057-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-015-0057-0