Amygdala inactivation makes foraging rats ignore a predator, appearing fearless¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Following amygdala inactivation, rats in the foraging task ignore the mechanical predator as if fearless, a result that superficially agrees with threat-coding views. → Paré 2017

Evidence¶

Paré 2017¶

Paré, D. & Quirk, G. J. (2017). When scientific paradigms lead to tunnel vision: lessons from the study of fear. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-017-0007-4

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The article reports Choi and Kim's foraging-task finding: rats await before foraging and show apprehension under control conditions, but "following amygdala inactivation, rats ignore the Robogator". The article attributes the drastic increase in risk taking to reproducing the Type-1 firing suppression needed to initiate foraging, not to reduced threat signaling.

"Choi and Kim observed that following amygdala inactivation, rats ignore the Robogator, as if they have become fearless"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Amygdala neuron activity during naturalistic foraging tracks the rat's movement, not threat, contrary to the threat-coding model — related