Amygdala inputs to prefrontal cortex guide behavior amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment

BLN (basolateral amygdaloid nuclear complex) UBERON:0006107 projects to PL (Prelimbic area) UBERON:8440032 · Rat

AAV-CaMKIIa-ChR2-eYFP or ArchT-GFP expressed in BLA labelled axon terminals in the medial prefrontal cortex. These terminals were targeted by optical fibers placed in dorsal PL.

Fig. 6a; Fig. 7a; Supplementary Fig. S8a

Made by an AI model reading the paper (claude-opus-5-5, extract@0.3.0); a second AI model (claude-opus-5-5) is unsure. “The paper expressed opsins in BLA to manipulate terminals in mPFC, but the available text never shows labelled terminals, and that histology is only in a supplementary figure that is not described.”

BLN (basolateral amygdaloid nuclear complex) UBERON:0006107 projects to PL (Prelimbic area) UBERON:8440032 · Rat

Retrograde CAV2-Cre injected into PL, combined with Cre-dependent ChR2 or hM4D(Gi) in BLA, labelled PL-projecting BLA neurons. These were confirmed in slices and photoidentified in vivo, where 11 of 60 recorded BLA units (18%) responded at short latency.

Fig. 4a-c, 4f-h; Fig. 7g

Made by an AI model reading the paper (claude-opus-5-5, extract@0.3.0); a second AI model (claude-opus-5-5) agrees.

BLN (basolateral amygdaloid nuclear complex) UBERON:0006107 functionally connects to PL (Prelimbic area) UBERON:8440032 · Rat

Photostimulating ChR2-expressing BLA terminals in PL increased cue-evoked freezing. Infusing the AMPA/NMDA antagonists NBQX+AP5 into PL abolished this effect, indicating glutamatergic transmission from BLA terminals within PL.

Fig. 6e-i

Made by an AI model reading the paper (claude-opus-5-5, extract@0.3.0); a second AI model (claude-opus-5-5) agrees.