
@article {1016,
	title = {Neighborhood matters: divergent patterns of stress-induced plasticity across the brain.},
	journal = {Nat Neurosci},
	volume = {18},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015 Oct},
	pages = {1364-75},
	abstract = {<p>The fact that exposure to severe stress leads to the development of psychiatric disorders serves as the basic rationale for animal models of stress disorders. Clinical and neuroimaging studies have shown that three brain areas involved in learning and memory--the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex--undergo distinct structural and functional changes in individuals with stress disorders. These findings from patient studies pose several challenges for animal models of stress disorders. For instance, why does stress impair cognitive function, yet enhance fear and anxiety? Can the same stressful experience elicit contrasting patterns of plasticity in the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex? How does even a brief exposure to traumatic stress lead to long-lasting behavioral abnormalities? Thus, animal models of stress disorders must not only capture the unique spatio-temporal features of structural and functional alterations in these brain areas, but must also provide insights into the underlying neuronal plasticity mechanisms. This Review will address some of these key questions by describing findings from animal models on how stress-induced plasticity varies across different brain regions and thereby gives rise to the debilitating emotional and cognitive symptoms of stress-related psychiatric disorders.</p>
},
	keywords = {Animals, Brain, Humans, Neuronal Plasticity, Stress, Psychological},
	issn = {1546-1726},
	doi = {10.1038/nn.4115},
	author = {Chattarji, Sumantra and Tomar, Anupratap and Suvrathan, Aparna and Ghosh, Supriya and Rahman, Mohammed Mostafizur}
}
@article {907,
	title = {Neuronal encoding of the switch from specific to generalized fear.},
	journal = {Nat Neurosci},
	volume = {18},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015 Jan},
	pages = {112-20},
	abstract = {<p>Fear memories are crucial for survival. However, excessive generalization of such memories, characterized by a failure to discriminate dangerous from safe stimuli, is common in anxiety disorders. Neuronal encoding of the transition from cue-specific to generalized fear is poorly understood. We identified distinct neuronal populations in the lateral amygdala (LA) of rats that signaled generalized versus cue-specific associations and determined how their distributions switched during fear generalization. Notably, the same LA neurons that were cue specific before the behavioral shift to generalized fear lost their specificity afterwards, thereby tilting the balance of activity toward a greater proportion of generalizing neurons. Neuronal activity in the LA, but not the auditory cortex, was necessary for fear generalization. Furthermore, targeted activation of cAMP-PKA signaling in the LA increased neuronal excitability of LA neurons and led to generalized fear. These results provide a cellular basis in the amygdala for the alteration of emotional states from normal to pathological fear.</p>
},
	keywords = {Animals, Auditory Cortex, Conditioning, Operant, Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases, Discrimination (Psychology), Fear, GABA Agonists, Generalization (Psychology), Male, Mental Recall, Neuronal Plasticity, Neurons, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Signal Transduction},
	issn = {1546-1726},
	doi = {10.1038/nn.3888},
	author = {Ghosh, Supriya and Chattarji, Sumantra}
}
