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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 15.
Published in final edited form as: Brain Res. 2012 Nov 8;1511:73–92. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.11.001

Fig. 6. Amygdala circuitry mediates fear and anxiety.

Fig. 6

The amygdala plays a major role in fear and anxiety responses through its complex microcircuits and its connectivity with distal regions. Information about environmental stimuli converge in the LA, which is gated by GABAergic inputs from the external capsule. The BLA projects to the CeL to modulate anxiety-related behavior, where CeLon and CeLoff neurons form a reciprocal inhibitory feedback loop. CeLoff neurons inhibit CeM output neurons, which innervate downstream effector structures, such as the PAG. Furthermore, hypothalamic projections to the CeL modulate activity via OT, and CeL projections inhibit BNST activity. Dotted lines represent non-optogenetic findings. Double hash marks represent uncertainty in neuronal population from projection origin. Abbreviations: ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; BA, basal amygdala; BLA, basolateral amygdala; BNST, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; CeL, lateral division of the central amygdala; CeM, medial division of the central amygdala; EC, external capsule; Glu, glutamate; HT, hypothalamus; LA, lateral amygdala; OT, oxytocin; PAG, periaqueductal gray; PKC-δ, protein kinase C-delta; TeA, temporal association cortex.