Fear generalization modulated by shock intensity and protein synthesis inhibitor

behavioral data of the animal study named fear generalization modulated by shock intensity and protein synthesis inhibitor.Research background: Maladaptive fear responses, including sensitized threat reactions and overgeneralization, contribute to anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. While stress intensity contributes to the generation and extent of such maladaptive fear, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.Objectives: To demonstrate whether footshock stress intensity and protein synthesis inhibition differentially impact fear sensitization and generalization in mice.Criteria of participants: 103 male C57B/6J miceMethod of data collections: Behavioral test quantified by video analyzing software FreezingFrame 3 (Coulbourn Instruments).Major findings: Increasing footshock intensities led to graded elevations in sensitized and generalized fear responses, elucidating the impact of stress intensity on fear processing.Mild footshocks failed to induce discriminative fear memory, highlighting how stress intensity shapes discriminative fear learning. Protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide injection selectively reduced fear generalization, implying an active protein synthesis-dependent process in discriminative fear memory formation.