Abby Y. Ding1, 2, Qi Li3, 4, Iris Y. Zhou1, 2, Grainne M. McAlonan3, 4, Ed X. Wu1, 2
1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 2Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 3Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 4Centre for Reproduction Growth and Development , The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Fear conditioning (FC) is widely used to study the neural basis of learning and memory. The pivotal role of amygdala and hippocampus in memory formation and consolidation is well documented. in vivo DTI was employed in this study, voxel-based significant and distinct FA changes were found in amygdala and hippocampus, suggesting possible microstructural up-regulating in amygdala versus down-regulating in hippocampus 1 hour post-FC. Such changes reverted at 24 hr post-FC in various DTI indices. Our results indicated that DTI could be sensitive to probe short-term plasticity, and may provide insights for the accompanied brain plasticity network after FC
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