Cortical Representations of Affective Pain Shape Empathic Fear in Male Mice

-Codes and example datasets related to Choi et al., (2024) Nature Communications
-Source Data related to Choi et al., (2024) Nature Communications
-Original figures (Fig. 5, Fig. 6) related to Choi et al., (2024) Nature Communications
Here, using miniature endoscopic calcium imaging, we identify distinct and dynamic neural ensembles in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that encode observational fear across both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in male mice. Notably, we find that the population dynamics encoding vicarious freezing information are conserved in ACC pyramidal neurons and are specifically represented by affective, rather than sensory, responses to direct pain experience. Furthermore, using circuit-specific imaging and optogenetic manipulations, we show that distinct populations of ACC neurons projecting to the periaqueductal gray (PAG), but not to the basolateral amygdala (BLA), selectively convey affective pain information and regulate observational fear.