1RG
Translational Imaging, Central Institute of
Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim / Heidelberg University,
Mannheim, Germany; 2Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central
Institute of Mental Health, Medical
Faculty Mannheim / Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; 3RG
Developmental Biology, Central Institute of
Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim / Heidelberg University,
Mannheim, Germany; 4Laboratory of Neuropeptides, German Cancer
Research Center DKFZ, CellNetwort Cluster of Excellence, University of
Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; 5NeuroImaging, Central Institute
of Mental Health, Medical Faculty
Mannheim / Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
We are presenting preliminary results on a study investigating the BOLD response of the oxytocinergic network in the rat brain stimulated via optogenetics. We selectively expressed Channelrhodopsin-2-mCherry in oxytocin neurons. The guide cannula was implanted into the central amygdala for subsequent stimulation with an implanted optic fiber. Rats were subjected to a fear conditioning protocol and displayed substantial reduced fear response after blue light-evoked axonal oxytocin release within the central amygdala. Using a blocked laser activation fMRI scanning protocol we could show projections from the central amygdala to the superior colliculus in both rats investigated.