Olfactory-Mediated Fear Conditioning in Mice: Simultaneous Measurements of Fear-Potentiated Startle and Freezing

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Seth V. Jones, Emory University; Scott A. Heldt, Emory University; Michael Davis, Emory University; Kerry Ressler, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2005-02
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2005 by the American Psychological Association
• Final Published Version (URL): http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/bne/index.aspx
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Behavioral Neuroscience
• ISSN: 0735-7044
• Volume: 119
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 329
• End Page: 335
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by the Science and Technology Center Program (Center for Behavioral Neuroscience) of the National Science Foundation under Agreement IBN-987675; and by National Institutes of Health Grant MH69884, the Woodruff Foundation, and a Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships Culpeper Medical Scholarship to Kerry J. Ressler.
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

This study demonstrates that mice display olfactory-cued fear as measured with both freezing and fear-potentiated startle. Following a preconditioning test to measure any unconditioned responses to odor, mice received 5 pairings of a 10-s odor with a 0.25-s, 0.4-mA footshock. The next day, startle and freezing were measured in the presence and absence of the odor. Both fear measures increased after training with amyl acetate (Experiment 1) and acetophenone (Experiment 2). The enhancement of startle did not occur when the same number of odors and shocks were presented in an unpaired fashion (Experiment 3). Furthermore, mice were able to discriminate between an odor paired with shock and a nonreinforced odor (Experiment 4).