Single cell RNAseq of brian cells in the basolateral amygdala with fear conditioning

Memory encodes past experiences, thereby enabling future plans. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is a center of salience networks that underlie emotional experiences and thus plays a key role in long-term fear memory formation. Here we used single-cell transcriptomics to illuminate the cellular and molecular architecture of the role of the basolateral amygdala in long-term memory. We identified transcriptional signatures in subpopulations of neurons and astrocytes that were memory-specific and persisted for weeks. These transcriptional signatures implicate neuropeptide and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) activation, ubiquitination pathways, and synaptic connectivity as key components of long-term memory. Strikingly, upon long-term memory formation a neuronal sub-population defined by increased Penk and decreased Tac expression constituted the most prominent component of the BLA’s memory engram. To study the molecular and cellular basis of memory consolidation, we applied fear conditioning paradigm on FosERcre - tdTomato reporter mice and performed single cell RNAseq for the basolateral amygdala.