Abstract #2321

Investigation of Optogenetically Induced Oxytocin Release Within Central Amygdala on BOLD Signals in Rat Brain at 9.4T

Philipp Lebhardt¹,², Wolfgang Kelsch³, Apar Jain⁴, Miriam Kernert⁴, Valery Grinevich⁴, Gabriele Ende⁵, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg², Alexander Sartorius¹,², Wolfgang Weber-Fahr¹,⁵

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.