Cardozo et al. 2025 - Raw data

<b><i>Localized Synaptic Potentiation is Necessary and Sufficient for Context Fear Memory</i></b><i>The nature and distribution of the synaptic changes that underlie memory are not well</i><i> understood. We examined the synaptic mechanisms of context fear learning and found that </i><i>conditioning produced potentiation of excitatory synapses specifically onto the basolateral </i><i>amygdala neurons activated during learning. This synaptic potentiation lasted at least 7 days, </i><i>and its disruption impaired memory recall. High-frequency optogenetic stimulation of the CS </i><i>and US-activated ensembles or biochemical induction of synaptic potentiation in US-responsive </i><i>neurons alone was sufficient to produce a context fear association without prior associative </i><i>training. These results suggest that plasticity of CS inputs onto US-responsive amygdala neurons </i><i>is a necessary and sufficient step in forming context fear associations, and that context </i><i>discrimination is determined by the CS-specific amygdala inputs activated during retrieval.</i><br>