Second-order threat conditioning

We investigated how the brain forms indirect fear associations through olfactory second-order conditioning (SOC) in rats. Our findings show that NMDAR-dependent plasticity in the basolateral amygdala and posterior piriform cortex is essential for SOC, with each region playing distinct yet coordinated roles in learning and memory. Molecular profiling of activated neurons revealed cell-type-specific gene activation and chromatin remodeling underlying these processes.