Distinct ventral hippocampal inhibitory microcircuits regulating anxiety and fear behaviors
Kaizhen Li, Konstantinos Koukoutselos, Masanori Sakaguchi, Stéphane Ciocchi
Abstract
In emotion research, anxiety and fear have always been interconnected, sharing overlapping brain structures and neural circuitry. Recent investigations, however, have unveiled parallel long-range projection pathways originating from the ventral hippocampus, shedding light on their distinct roles in anxiety and fear. Yet, the mechanisms governing the emergence of projection-specific activity patterns to mediate different negative emotions remain elusive. Here, we show a division of labor in local GABAergic inhibitory microcircuits of the ventral hippocampus, orchestrating the activity of subpopulations of pyramidal neurons to shape anxiety and fear behaviors in mice. These findings offer a comprehensive insight into how distinct inhibitory microcircuits are dynamically engaged to encode different emotional states. The mechanisms by which the brain processes the intertwined states of anxiety and fear remain unclear. Here, authors show that distinct inhibitory microcircuits in the ventral hippocampus differentially regulate anxiety and fear behaviors.