Huiying Zhao, Jinrong Liu, Yujin Shao, Xiang Feng, Binhan Zhao, Li Sun, Yijun Liu, Linghui Zeng, Xiao-Ming Li, Hongbin Yang, Shumin Duan, Yan-Qin Yu
The nucleus of Darkschewitsch (ND), mainly composed of GABAergic neurons, is widely recognized as a component of the eye-movement controlling system. However, the functional contribution of ND GABAergic neurons (NDGABA ) in animal behavior is largely unknown. Here, we show that NDGABA neurons were selectively activated by different types of fear stimuli, such as predator odor and foot shock. Optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations revealed that NDGABA neurons mediate freezing behavior. Moreover, using circuit-based optogenetic and neuroanatomical tracing methods, we identified an excitatory pathway from the lateral periaqueductal gray (lPAG) to the ND that induces freezing by exciting ND inhibitory outputs to the motor-related gigantocellular reticular nucleus, ventral part (GiV)...
April 2024: National Science Review