Processing of visually evoked innate fear by a non-canonical thalamic pathway

Pengfei Wei, Nan Liu, Zhijian Zhang, Xuemei Liu, Yongqiang Tang, Xiaobin He, Bifeng Wu, Zheng Zhou, Yaohan Liu, Juan Li, Yi Zhang, Xuanyi Zhou, Lin Xu, Lin Chen, Guoqiang Bi, Xintian Hu, Fuqiang Xu and Liping Wang ()
Additional contact information
Pengfei Wei: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Nan Liu: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhijian Zhang: Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xuemei Liu: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yongqiang Tang: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaobin He: Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bifeng Wu: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zheng Zhou: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yaohan Liu: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Juan Li: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yi Zhang: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xuanyi Zhou: College of Life Science, Wuhan University
Lin Xu: Institute of Zoology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lin Chen: State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guoqiang Bi: CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, and School of Life Sciences, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, The University of Science and Technology of China
Xintian Hu: Institute of Zoology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fuqiang Xu: Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liping Wang: Shenzhen Key Lab of Neuropsychiatric Modulation and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The ability of animals to respond to life-threatening stimuli is essential for survival. Although vision provides one of the major sensory inputs for detecting threats across animal species, the circuitry underlying defensive responses to visual stimuli remains poorly defined. Here, we investigate the circuitry underlying innate defensive behaviours elicited by predator-like visual stimuli in mice. Our results demonstrate that neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) are essential for a variety of acute and persistent defensive responses to overhead looming stimuli. Optogenetic mapping revealed that SC projections to the lateral posterior nucleus (LP) of the thalamus, a non-canonical polymodal sensory relay, are sufficient to mimic visually evoked fear responses. In vivo electrophysiology experiments identified a di-synaptic circuit from SC through LP to the lateral amygdale (Amg), and lesions of the Amg blocked the full range of visually evoked defensive responses. Our results reveal a novel collicular–thalamic–Amg circuit important for innate defensive responses to visual threats.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7756

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