Research Areas

After Pavlovian fear conditioning, coherent theta activity (4-7Hz) occurs in amygdalo-hippocampal pathways during long-term stages of fear memory retrieval and has thus been suggested a neural correlate relating to consolidation of the memory. Particularly, influences of the medial prefrontal cortex are important for extinction of the initial fear memory. The research group investigates the relationship of patterns and/or coherence of neural activity in amygdalo-hippocampal-prefrontal circuits to stages of fear memory, using simultaneous multiple site field potential and unit recordings in freely behaving mice.

Fig. 1: Synchronized (correlated) theta activity (~6Hz) among all three channels (CA1 of hippocampus, lateral amygdala, medial prefrontal Cortex) during fear memory retrieval  24 hours after fear conditioning. (f, phase of freezing behaviour)

Selected Publications

J. Lesting, M. Geiger, R.T. Narayanan, H.-C. Pape & T. Seidenbecher (2011) Impaired extinction of fear and maintained amygdala-hippocampal theta synchrony in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia. 52(2):337-46.

V. Narayanan, R. S. Heiming, F. Jansen, J. Lesting, N. Sachser, H.-C. Pape, T. Seidenbecher (2011) Social Defeat: Impact on Fear Extinction and Amygdala-Prefrontal Cortical Theta Synchrony in 5-HTT Deficient Mice PLoS ONE: 6(7): e22600. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022600

J. Lesting, R.T. Narayanan, C. Kluge, S. Sangha, T. Seidenbecher, H.-C. Pape (2011) Patterns of Coupled Theta Activity in Amygdala-Hippocampal-Prefrontal Cortical Circuits during Fear Extinction. PLoS ONE 6(6): e21714. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021714

F. Chauveau, M.D. Lange, K. Jüngling, J. Lesting, T. Seidenbecher, H.C. Pape (2012) Prevention of stress-impaired fear extinction through neuropeptide S action in the lateral amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology 37(7):1588-99

P. Meuth, S. Gaburro, J. Lesting, A. Legler, M. Herty, T. Budde, S.G. Meuth, T. Seidenbecher, B. Lutz, H.-C. Pape (2013) Standardizing the analysis of conditioned fear in rodents: a multidimensional software approach. Genes Brain Behav. 12(5):583-592. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12040

Lesting J, Daldrup T, Narayanan V, Himpe C, Seidenbecher T, Pape HC (2013) Directional Theta Coherence in Prefrontal Cortical to Amygdalo-Hippocampal Pathways Signals Fear Extinction. PLoS ONE 8(10): e77707. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077707

T. Daldrup, J. Remmes, J. Lesting, S. Gaburro, M. Fendt, P. Meuth, V. Kloke, H.-C. Pape, T. Seidenbecher (2015) Expression of freezing and fear-potentiated startle during sustained fear in mice. Genes, Brain and Behavior. 14(3): 281-291. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12211

Seidenbecher T, Remmes J, Daldrup T, Lesting J, Pape H-C (2016) Distinct state anxiety after predictable and unpredictable fear training in mice. Behavioural Brain Research 304: 20-23.

Daldrup T, Lesting J, Meuth P, Seidenbecher T, Pape H-C (2016) Neuronal correlates of sustained fear in the anterolateral part of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 131: 137-146. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2016.03.020

Academic CV

Honours and Special Recognitions