Recall But Not Acquisition Of Conditioned Safety Requires The Infralimbic Cortex In Rats

The ability to discriminate between danger and safety is crucial for survival across species. Whereas danger signals predict the onset of a threat, safety signals ensure the non-occurrence of an aversive event, thereby inhibiting fear and stress responses. Patients suffering from PTSD show impaired learning to suppress their fear response in the presence of a safety cue. To elucidate the underlying neurbiology of safety learning, we investigated the effects of temporary IL inactivation with muscimol, a selective GABAA receptor agonist, on the acquisition and recall of conditioned safety utilizing the startle paradigm.