ArticleNature neuroscience2021
Divergent projections of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus mediate the selection of passive and active defensive behaviors.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Paratenial thalamus engages in reciprocal and broadcast circuits with the prefrontal cortex.Cell reports · 2026Article
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- Dopamine D2 receptors bypass canonical signaling to directly tune NMDA receptor function and aversive learning.Science advances · 2026Article
- Distinct projections of PVN oxytocin neurons regulate the divergent defensive behaviors in response to social threat.Science advances · 2026Article
- Article
- Bypassing the VTA: Thalamic modulation of striatal dopamine prioritizes safety.Nature communications · 2026Article
- A synaptic mechanism for encoding the learned value of action-derived safety.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Sex-specific increased reactivity of the PVT and prolonged PVT→CeA circuit engagement following psilocin administration.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Wakefulness regulation of memory encoding and retrieval: structure and activity.National science review · 2026Review
- Modulatory mechanism of the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) under general anesthesia.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Paraventricular thalamic inputs to the ventral pallidum shape reward seeking during threat and fear responding in extinction.Behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- Igfbp2 Downregulation in PVT-CeA Glutamatergic Circuits Drives Neonatal Anesthesia-Induced Fear Memory Deficits.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Neural and molecular investigation into the paraventricular thalamus for chronic restraint stress induced depressive-like behaviors.Journal of advanced research · 2025Article
- Sources of Synaptic Input to Neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens Shell That Project to the Ventral Pallidum.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2025Article
- Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects of Organic Polysulfide, Dimethyl Trisulfide Are Partly Mediated by the Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 Ion Channel in Mice.Pharmaceutics · 2025Article
- Tolerance in Thalamic Paraventricular Nucleus Neurons Following Chronic Treatment of Animals with Morphine.eNeuro · 2025Article
- Genotype-dependent functional role of the anterior and posterior paraventricular thalamus in pavlovian conditioned approach.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Article
- GABAergic neurons in central amygdala contribute to orchestrating anxiety-like behaviors and breathing patterns.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Regulation of PVT-CeA Circuit in Deoxynivalenol-Induced Anorexia and Aversive-Like Emotions.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The appropriate selection of passive and active defensive behaviors in threatening situations is essential for survival. Previous studies have shown that passive defensive responses depend on activity of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), whereas active ones primarily rely on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the mechanisms underlying flexible switching between these two types of responses remain unknown. Here we show in mice that the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) mediates the selection of defensive behaviors through its interaction with the CeA and the NAc. We show that the PVT-CeA pathway drives conditioned freezing responses, whereas the PVT-NAc pathway is inhibited during freezing and, instead, signals active avoidance events. Optogenetic manipulations revealed that activity in the PVT-CeA or PVT-NAc pathway biases behavior toward the selection of passive or active defensive responses, respectively. These findings provide evidence that the PVT mediates flexible switching between opposing defensive behaviors.
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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.