DTI detection of fear conditioning induced microstructural plasticity

Abstract

Fear conditioning is widely used to study the neural basis of learning and memory. Neural and cellular changes associated with learning memory have been suggested in specific regions by behavioral and histological studies. We employ DTI to assess the acute changes following fear conditioning. Significant FA changes were found in specific regions such as fimbria, amygdala, hippocampus, cingulum and piriform cortex. Our results indicated that plasticity began shortly after fear learning in limbic and white matter regions, and DTI is a valuable tool for detecting such microstructural plasticity.