Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26504902›Full record

ArticleScience advances2015

Prefrontal inputs to the amygdala instruct fear extinction memory formation.

Olena Bukalo, Courtney R Pinard, Shana Silverstein, Christina Brehm, Nolan D Hartley, Nigel Whittle, Giovanni Colacicco, Erica Busch, Sachin Patel, Nicolas Singewald and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 152 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
152citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

152 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Role of Human Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Learning and Recall of Enhanced Extinction.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2019
    Trial
  3. Article
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  5. Review
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  13. Review
  14. Research Review: What we have learned about the endocannabinoid system in developmental psychopathology.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Science advances · 2025
    Article
  20. Article

92 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Olena BukaloLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA. ; Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Courtney R PinardLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA.
Shana SilversteinLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA. ; Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Christina BrehmDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82/III, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Nolan D HartleyDepartment of Psychiatry and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Nigel WhittleDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82/III, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Giovanni ColaciccoLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA.
Erica BuschLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA.
Sachin PatelDepartment of Psychiatry and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Nicolas SingewaldDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Pharmacy and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82/III, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Andrew HolmesLaboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20853, USA.

Funding

Mouse models of stress disorders and addictionZIAAA000411 · NIAAA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM · PI HOLMES, ANDREW · 2009 to 2025
$37.7M
Training in Fundamental NeuroscienceT32MH064913 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI IHRIE, REBECCA A, WINDER, DANNY G. · 2001 to 2022
$7.6M
Research Project: Sensory and Multisensory Contributions to AutismU54HD083211 · NICHD · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI HARRELL, FRANK E. · 2015 to 2019
$7.1M
Stress adaptations in endocannabinoid signaling in the amygdalaK08MH090412 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI PATEL, SACHIN · 2010 to 2014
$842k
Afferent-specific Endocannabinoid Signaling in the Central AmygdalaR21MH103515 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI PATEL, SACHIN · 2014 to 2015
$412k
Austrian Science Fund FWF P 25375Intramural NIH HHS Z99 AA999999NICHD NIH HHS U54 HD083211NIMH NIH HHS K08 MH090412NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH103515NIMH NIH HHS T32 MH064913
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Persistent anxiety after a psychological trauma is a hallmark of many anxiety disorders. However, the neural circuits mediating the extinction of traumatic fear memories remain incompletely understood. We show that selective, in vivo stimulation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)-amygdala pathway facilitated extinction memory formation, but not retrieval. Conversely, silencing the vmPFC-amygdala pathway impaired extinction formation and reduced extinction-induced amygdala activity. Our data demonstrate a critical instructional role for the vmPFC-amygdala circuit in the formation of extinction memories. These findings advance our understanding of the neural basis of persistent fear, with implications for posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders.

Identifiers

PMID26504902
PMCPMC4618669

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.